Chapter/Packet 9

Question 1

Bill of Rights

Answer 1

It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States.

Question 2

Judiciary Act of 1789

Answer 2

established the multi-tiered federal court system we know today. In addition, it set the number of Supreme Court Justices at six and created the office of the Attorney General to argue on behalf of the United States in cases before the Supreme Court.

Question 3

funding at par

Answer 3

Payment of debts, such as government bonds, at face value. In 1790, Alexander Hamilton proposed that the federal government pay it’s Revolutionary war debts in full in order to bolster the nation’s credit.

Question 4

assumption

Answer 4

Assumption Day commemorates the belief that when Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, died, her body was “assumed” into heaven to be reunited with her soul, instead of going through the natural process of physical decay upon death.

Question 5

tariff

Answer 5

have three primary functions: to serve as a source of revenue, to protect domestic industries, and to remedy trade distortions (punitive function). The revenue function comes from the fact that the income from tariffs provides governments with a source of funding.

Question 6

excise tax

Answer 6

are taxes required on specific goods or services like fuel, tobacco, and alcohol. They are primarily taxes that must be paid by businesses, usually increasing prices for consumers indirectly. Excise taxes can be ad valorem (paid by percentage) or specific (cost charged by unit).

Question 7

strict construction

Answer 7

requires a judge to apply the text only as it is written. Once the court has a clear meaning of the text, no further investigation is required. Judges—in this view—should avoid drawing inferences from a statute or constitution and focus only on the text itself.

Question 8

Bank of the United
States

Answer 8

It helped fund the public debt left from the American Revolution, facilitated the issuance of a stable national currency, and provided a convenient means of exchange for all the people of the United States.

Question 9

Wabash, Battle of the

Answer 9

The American Indian victory at the Battle of the Wabash ultimately only delayed Euro-American settlement in the Northwest Territory. In 1793, Major General Anthony Wayne built a fort at the site of the defeat and it was named Fort Recovery.

Question 10

Whiskey Rebellion

Answer 10

The Whiskey Rebellion was the first test of federal authority in the United States. This rebellion enforced the idea that the new government had the right to levy a particular tax that would impact citizens in all states.

Question 11

Reign of Terror

Answer 11

one of the most significant events of the French Revolution. It was originally carried out to stop supposed threats to revolution, but ended up displaying the excesses of the revolution and the heights of violence.

Question 12

Haitian Revolution

Answer 12

In August of 1791 an organized slave rebellion broke out, marking the start of a twelve-year resistance to obtain human rights. The Haitian Revolution is the only successful slave revolt in history, and resulted in the establishment of Haiti, the first independent black state in the New World.

Question 13

Neutrality Proclamation

Answer 13

The most immediate effect of the Proclamation of Neutrality was that it kept the United States out of a war it wasn’t prepared for. In addition, it sparked debates about neutrality, foreign policy, and constitutional authority. Finally, the Proclamation also set a precedent for future foreign policy.

Question 14

Fallen Timbers, Battle of

Answer 14

As a result of the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the Indians signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ceded strategic areas, including Detroit, and control of most of the river crossings in the Old Northwest Territory to the United States. This essentially guaranteed U.S. domination over the Indian tribes.

Question 15

Greenville, Treaty of

Answer 15

therefore of major significance in pushing the frontier westward. The vast territory beyond the Ohio valley was opened to settlement, with little fear of conflict with Indian tribes.

Question 16

Jay’s Treaty

Answer 16

Signed on November 19, 1794, Jay’s Treaty was an agreement by the United States and Great Britain that helped avert war between the two nations.

Question 17

Pinckney’s Treaty

Answer 17

The treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States. It resolved territorial disputes between the two countries and granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River as well as duty-free transport through the port of New Orleans, then under Spanish control.

Question 18

Farewell Address

Answer 18

Washington offered his advice to the citizens of the United States. His key points were to warn Americans against the danger of political parties, to remain neutral in foreign conflicts and to celebrate their achievements.

Question 19

XYZ Affair

Answer 19

a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War. U.S. and French negotiators restored peace with the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine.

Question 20

Quasi-War with Frang,

Answer 20

the first seaborne conflict for the newly established U.S. Navy. It was the first action by the United States to protect its shipping abroad and the first effort to exert control over the Caribbean Sea.

Question 21

Convention of 1800

Answer 21

ended the Quasi-War between France and the United States. France agreed to return captured American ships, while the United States agreed to compensate its citizens for $20 million damages inflicted by France on American shipping.

Question 22

Alien Laws

Answer 22

These laws raised the residency requirements for citizenship from 5 to 14 years, authorized the president to deport “aliens,” and permitted their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime.

Question 23

Sedition Act

Answer 23

made it a crime for American citizens to “print, utter, or publish… any false, scandalous, and malicious writing” about the government. The laws were directed against Democratic-Republicans, the party typically favored by new citizens.

Question 24

Virginia and Kentucky Resolution

Answer 24

Drafted in secret by future Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the resolutions condemned the Alien and Sedition Acts as unconstitutional and claimed that because these acts overstepped federal authority under the Constitution, they were null and void.

Question 25

Alexander Hamilton

Answer 25

was a founding father of the United States, who fought in the American Revolutionary War, helped draft the Constitution, and served as the first secretary of the treasury. He was the founder and chief architect of the American financial system.

Question 26

Louis XIV

Answer 26

king of France (1643–1715), ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of the country’s most brilliant periods. Today he remains the symbol of absolute monarchy of the classical age.

Question 27

Edmond Genet

Answer 27

served as French minister to the United States from 1793 to 1794. His activities in that capacity embroiled the United States and France in a diplomatic crisis, as the United States Government attempted to remain neutral in the conflict between Great Britain and Revolutionary France.

Question 28

Little Turtle

Answer 28

In August 1795 Little Turtle signed the Treaty of Greenville, by which a loose confederacy of Indians ceded to the U.S. much of Ohio and parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan. Thereafter, he advocated peace and succeeded in keeping the Miami Indians from joining the Shawnee Confederacy of Tecumseh.

Question 29

“Mad Anthony” Wayne

Answer 29

Anthony Wayne served as an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. His military exploits earned him the nickname “Mad Anthony”. During the Revolution, Wayne played an important role in the 1777 Philadelphia campaign, the Battle of Monmouth, and the southern campaign.

Question 30

John Jay

Answer 30

The New York native drafted the state’s first constitution in 1777, and was chosen president of the Continental Congress the following year. Jay served as the key negotiator at the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and recognized the independence of the United States.

Question 31

John Adams

Answer 31

A Harvard-educated lawyer, he early became identified with the patriot cause; a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses, he led in the movement for independence. During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace.

Question 32

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

Answer 32

Talleyrand is perhaps best known for his conduct of French foreign affairs at the Congress of Vienna (1814-15), where the political map of Europe was significantly redrawn after the fall of the French Emperor Napoleon, who had conquered large parts of Europe.