APUSH: Chapters 10/11 Conceptual Questions

Revolution of 1800

Jefferson defeated John Adams in 1800, proving that power could transfer peacefully between rival political parties under the Constitution.

"Negro President"

Federalist insult for Jefferson, arguing his election win was only possible because the 3/5 Clause gave Southern slave states extra electoral votes.

Sally Hemings & James Callender

Scandal-monger Callender published allegations that Jefferson fathered children with his enslaved servant Sally Hemings, sparking widespread political attacks.

Timothy Dwight

President of Yale who warned that electing Jefferson would result in Bibles being burned and Christian worship replaced by French radicalism.

Margaret Bayard Smith

Washington commentator who recorded that the peaceful power transfer of 1801 occurred without violence or disorder, proving constitutional stability.

Jefferson's Inaugural Address

1801 speech where Jefferson sought national unity after a bitter election, famously stating "We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists."

"Pell-Mell" Etiquette

Jefferson's informal White House dinner policy of seating guests without regard to official rank, which deeply offended British diplomats.

Albert Gallatin

Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury ("Watchdog of the Treasury") who kept Hamilton's financial framework intact except repealing the excise tax on whiskey.

Judiciary Act of 1801

Passed by the departing Federalist Congress to create 16 new federal judge positions, packing the judicial branch before Jefferson took office.

Midnight Judges

The 16 Federalist judges appointed by John Adams in his final hours in office under the Judiciary Act of 1801.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Marshall dismissed Marbury's suit for his commission, striking down part of the Judiciary Act of 1789 and establishing judicial review.

Judicial Review

The Supreme Court's authority to declare acts of Congress or state legislatures unconstitutional, established in Marbury v. Madison.

Samuel Chase Impeachment (1804)

House impeached arrogant Federalist Justice Chase, but the Senate acquitted him, setting the precedent that judges aren't removed for political bias.

Tripolitan War (1801-1805)

Four-year naval war triggered when the Pasha of Tripoli cut down the U.S. flagstaff over tribute demands; ended with a $60,000 ransom peace treaty.

Stephen Decatur & USS Philadelphia

Decatur heroically snuck into Tripoli harbor in 1804 and burned the captured U.S. frigate Philadelphia so pirates couldn't use it.

"Mosquito Fleet" ("Jeffs")

Jefferson's fleet of ~200 small, cheap coastal gunboats that proved useless in real naval combat during the War of 1812.

Revocation of Right of Deposit (1802)

Spanish commander at New Orleans revoked American warehouse privileges guaranteed in Pinckney's Treaty, provoking Western farmers to threaten war.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

U.S. bought Louisiana from France for $15 million (~3 cents/acre), doubling national territory, though strict constructionist Jefferson wrestled with its legality.

Toussaint L'Ouverture

Leader of the Haitian slave rebellion against France; losing Santo Domingo made Napoleon abandon his American empire and sell Louisiana.

Corps of Discovery (1804-1806)

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's expedition to explore the northern Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific, aided by Sacajawea.

Sacajawea

Shoshone woman who served as interpreter, guide, and symbol of peaceful intent for the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Blackfoot Conflict on Marias River

Exploration clash in Montana where Lewis's party killed a Blackfoot teenager attempting to steal horses, creating lasting tribal hostility.

Zebulon Pike

Explorer who mapped the upper Mississippi headwaters in 1805 and surveyed the southern Louisiana Territory in 1806, sighting Pike's Peak in Colorado.

Aaron Burr & Alexander Hamilton Duel

Burr killed Hamilton in an 1804 duel over political slurs, eliminating the Federalists' best leader and destroying Burr's political career.

Aaron Burr Conspiracy

Burr's plot with James Wilkinson to secede the Western U.S. and invade Spanish territory; tried for treason in 1807 but acquitted by Marshall.

Battle of Trafalgar (1805)

Admiral Nelson destroyed the combined French/Spanish fleet off Spain, securing total British mastery of the seas.

Battle of Austerlitz (1805)

Napoleon crushed Austrian and Russian armies in Moravia, establishing total French control over the European continent.

Orders in Council (1806)

British decrees closing European ports under French control to neutral shipping unless ships stopped in Britain first, trapping U.S. trade.

Impressment

British Royal Navy practice of forcibly seizing American sailors off merchant ships, claiming they were British deserters.

Chesapeake-Leopard Affair (1807)

British warship Leopard fired on U.S. frigate Chesapeake 10 miles off Virginia after it refused a search, killing 3 and seizing 4 sailors.

Embargo Act of 1807

Jefferson banned all U.S. exports to force Britain and France to respect neutral rights; devastated the U.S. economy instead of Europe.

"Ograbme"

Cynical cartoon name for the 1807 Embargo ("Embargo" backward), symbolizing how the trade ban bit American merchants.

Non-Intercourse Act (1809)

Replaced the Embargo Act; reopened foreign trade with all nations except Britain and France until either dropped trade restrictions.

Macon's Bill No. 2 (1810)

Offered to restore non-importation against either Britain or France if the other repealed trade restrictions; Napoleon used it to trick Madison into embargoing Britain.

Tecumseh & Tenskwatawa ("The Prophet")

Shawnee brothers who built a native confederacy east of the Mississippi to reject white culture and stop selling land to Americans.

Battle of Tippecanoe (1811)

William Henry Harrison defeated Native forces at Prophetstown, destroying Tecumseh's headquarters and driving Tecumseh into a British alliance.

William Henry Harrison

Governor of Indiana Territory and military leader who defeated Native forces at Tippecanoe and British forces at the Battle of the Thames.

War Hawks

Young, aggressive Democratic-Republicans from the South and West (led by Clay and Calhoun) who demanded war with Britain to take Canada and Florida.

Felix Grundy

War Hawk congressman from Tennessee who advocated invading Canada after losing three brothers in frontier clashes with Native Americans.

"Mr. Madison's War"

Federalist term for the War of 1812, opposing the conflict because New England merchants preferred trade with Britain over territorial expansion.

Three-Pronged Canadian Invasion (1812)

Flawed U.S. strategy attempting simultaneous attacks on Detroit, Niagara, and Lake Champlain instead of concentrating forces on Montreal.

USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides")

American frigate famous for its thick oak hull that bounced off British cannonballs when destroying the HMS Guerriere.

Oliver Hazard Perry & Lake Erie (1813)

Naval officer who defeated a British fleet on Lake Erie ("We have met the enemy and they are ours"), securing control of the Northwest.

Perry vs. Elliott Controversy

Feud between Perry and second-in-command Jesse Elliott, whom Perry accused of holding back his ship (Niagara) during the Battle of Lake Erie.

Battle of the Thames (1813)

U.S. victory in Canada where Harrison defeated British and Native troops, killing Tecumseh and ending the northern Native alliance.

Thomas Macdonough & Plattsburgh (1814)

Naval commander who turned his ship using cables at Lake Champlain, defeating a British fleet and saving New York from invasion.

"Bladensburg Races"

Panic-stricken retreat of 6,000 U.S. militiamen at Bladensburg, Maryland, leaving Washington, D.C. open to British occupation and burning.

Burning of Washington, D.C. (1814)

British forces set fire to the Capitol, Executive Mansion, and public buildings in retaliation for American raiding in York (Toronto).

Fort McHenry & "Star-Spangled Banner"

Fort McHenry withstood an all-night British naval bombardment in Baltimore harbor, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write the national anthem.

Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)

Andrew Jackson crushed the "Red Stick" Creeks in Alabama, forcing them to cede 20 million acres in the Treaty of Fort Jackson.

Battle of New Orleans (1815)

Jackson's victory over a British assault two weeks after the Treaty of Ghent was signed, sparking a surge of national pride.

Jean Lafitte

French pirate who aided Andrew Jackson at the Battle of New Orleans with artillery, ammunition, and men in exchange for presidential pardons.

Treaty of Ghent (1814)

Signed in Belgium on Christmas Eve; ended the War of 1812 in a virtual tie, restoring pre-war boundaries without addressing impressment.

Hartford Convention (1814-1815)

Secret New England Federalist meeting proposing constitutional amendments requiring 2/3 votes for embargoes, new states, and wars; ruined the party.

"Blue Light" Federalists

New Englanders accused of flashing lanterns on shores to alert blockading British ships when U.S. vessels tried to slip out of ports.

Rush-Bagot Agreement (1817)

Agreement between Britain and the U.S. severely limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes, establishing an unfortified U.S.-Canada border.

Tariff of 1816

First protective tariff in U.S. history (20-25%), designed to shield newly established American manufacturers from cheap British imports.

Henry Clay's American System

Economic plan featuring a strong Bank of the United States, protective tariffs, and federally funded internal improvements (roads and canals).

Erie Canal

State-funded New York canal completed in 1825 connecting the Hudson River to Lake Erie, lowering shipping costs and boosting Western trade.

"Era of Good Feelings"

Name for Monroe's presidency marked by one-party rule and post-war nationalism, though masked by debates over slavery, tariffs, and banking.

Panic of 1819

First major economic depression under the Constitution, caused by land speculation in the West and tight credit by the Bank of the U.S.

Land Act of 1820

Encouraged Western settlement by allowing pioneers to buy 80 acres of public land at a minimum price of $1.25 per acre in cash.

Tallmadge Amendment (1819)

Proposed prohibiting further slave imports into Missouri and emancipating slave children born there; passed the House but blocked in the Senate.

The "Peculiar Institution"

Southern term for chattel slavery, emphasizing the region's distinct economic and social labor system during early sectional debates.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Clay's compromise admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while banning slavery in Louisiana Purchase lands north of 36°30'.

36°30' Line

The Southern boundary of Missouri designated by the Missouri Compromise as the line dividing future free and slave territories in the Louisiana Purchase.

John Marshall & Judicial Nationalism

Chief Justice whose Supreme Court decisions consistently strengthened federal authority and protected private property rights over state laws.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Upheld the Bank of the U.S. using implied powers (Elastic Clause) and ruled states cannot tax federal entities ("power to tax is power to destroy").

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Struck down a New York steamboat monopoly, ruling that Congress alone holds constitutional power over interstate commerce.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)

Ruled that a private college charter is a contract protected against state interference under the Constitution.

Fletcher v. Peck (1810)

Yazoo land fraud case ruling that a state legislative land grant is a binding contract, establishing Supreme Court review over state laws.

Cohens v. Virginia (1821)

Upheld a state conviction for illegal lottery sales while confirming the Supreme Court's authority to review state supreme court rulings.

Daniel Webster

Federalist nationalist lawyer and senator who argued famous cases like Dartmouth College before the Marshall Court.

Anglo-American Convention of 1818

Pact setting the 49th parallel as the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase and establishing 10-year joint occupation of Oregon Country.

Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)

Spain ceded Florida and claims to Oregon to the U.S. in exchange for $5 million in claims and U.S. abandonment of claims to Texas.

Andrew Jackson in Florida

Jackson invaded Spanish Florida in 1818, capturing forts and executing British subjects, which J.Q. Adams used to pressure Spain into ceding Florida.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Foreign policy statement drafted by J.Q. Adams declaring non-colonization and non-intervention by European powers in the Americas.

Non-colonization & Non-intervention

The two pillars of the Monroe Doctrine warning Europe not to establish new Western Hemisphere colonies or interfere in American republics.

George Canning Proposal

British foreign secretary's 1823 proposal for a joint Anglo-American declaration against European intervention in Latin America, rejected by J.Q. Adams.

Russo-American Treaty of 1824

Agreement fixing the southernmost boundary of Russian territory in North America at 54°40' (the Alaska panhandle border).

North American Review

Highly nationalist intellectual magazine founded in 1815 reflecting American cultural independence following the War of 1812.

Why 1812 is a "Forgotten War"

War often overlooked because it ended in a military draw overshadowed by Napoleon, yet vital for ending Native resistance and cementing U.S. sovereignty.