Exam II - Short Answers Flashcards
Whiskey Rebellion
⤷ 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western pennsylvania in protest of the whiskey tax enacted by the federal government.
Backcountry pennsylvania farmers wanted to block collection of the new tax enacted to prevent further financial difficulty after the debt accumulated from the American Revolution (Alexander Hamilton - Treasury Secretary)
Rebels displayed banners reading “Liberty or Death”
President Washington responded by sending 13,000 troops - larger than force during american revolution - to end what people feared could lead to a revolution
Only time a president actually commanded an army in the field
Rebels offered no resistance
Government response similar to what Britain did to the colonies therefore it built support for the Jeffersonian Republicans, which overtook Washington’s Federalist Party for power in early 1800s
Revolution of 1800
⤷ fourth Presidential Election
Jefferson - Democratic-Republican vs. Adams - Federalist
Democratic-Republicans wanted to reduce national authority so people could rule more directly through state governments; Federalists wanted strong federal authority to restrain the excesses of popular majorities
“Jefferson and Liberty” became the motto of the Republican campaign of 1800.
Each side believed that victory by the other would ruin the US
Due to outdated Constitutional provision the republican candidates for President and Vice-President ended up tied with one other → Burr received the same number of electoral votes as Jefferson and the election was decided by the House of Representatives
Hamilton helped Jefferson win the Presidential vote by having New York papers describe Burr as unfit → Burr later challenged Hamilton to a duel, killed him, then ran to Mexico to start a Revolution to overthrow the U.S. (failure)
First transition of political power between opposing parties in US history therefore significant and referred to as the Revolution of 1800
Pontiac’s War
⤷ War between British and Native Americans that lasted from 1763-1766 in the Great Lakes region.
Abrupt departure of the French after Seven Years War eliminated balance-of-power diplomacy that had enabled groups likes the Iroquois to maintain a significant degree of autonomy
Domination of any outside power meant the loss of freedom, NAs feared
French ceded claimed NA lands to British control
Treaty of Paris left NAs more dependent than ever on the British and ushered in a period of confusion over land claims, control of the fur trade, and tribal relations in general
1763: after French defeat, NAs of Ohio Valley and Great Lakes launched a revolt against British rule → Pontiac’s Rebellion
During religious vision, NA prophet Neolin saw that NAs must reject European technology, free themselves from commercial ties with white people and dependence on alcohol, clothe themselves in traditional clothing and drive the British from their territory
Pontiac signed a treaty with the British in 1766
Jay’s Treaty
⤷ Treaty of foreign policy between Great Britain and America in 1794 known as the Treaty of Amity, Commerce, and Navigation.
Negotiations began because of federalist fears that disputes with Great Britain would lead to war
Did more for Great Britain than America
Agreement that lessened antagonisms between the United States and GB, established a base upon which A could build a sound national economy, and assured it commercial prosperity
Great Britain agreed to compensate merchants for captured ships and allow can trade with British Indies; America agreed to pay all pre-Revolution debts to Britain
France (at the time at war with England) interpreted the treaty as a violation of its own commercial treaty of 1778 with the US which led attacks by French on the US between 1798 to 1800
Commissions provided for by the Jay Treaty gave such an impetus to the principle of arbitration that modern internal arbitration has been generally dated from the treaty’s ratification
American System
⤷ Blueprint for government-promoted economic development presented by President James Madison in 1815
country lacked a uniform currency and found it almost impossible to raise funds for the war effort (transportation system not yet developed therefore difficult to move men and goods around the country)
Three pillars: national bank, a tariff on imported manufactured goods to protect American industry, and federal financing of improved roads and canals (particularly important to those who worried about the dangers of disunity)
Congress improved the program but at retirement the President vetoed because he became convinced that allowing the national government to exercise powers not mentioned in the Constitution would prove dangerous to individual liberty and southern interest
Tariff of 1816 → protection to goods that could be produced in the US
Second Great Awakening
⤷ Protestant religious revival during the early 1800s and swept the country and added a religious underpinning to personal self-improvement, self-reliance, and self-determination.
Originally planned by est religious leaders alarmed by low levels of church attendance
Peaked in 1820s and early 1830s
Democratized American Christianity
Boost in Christian ministers
Stressed the right to private judgment in spiritual matters and the possibility of universal salvation through faith and good works
Mormonism
⤷ a Christian denomination that was founded in the 1820s (during the Great Awakening) by Joseph Smith, an upstate New York farmer who had religious visions. Mormones hoped to create a Kingdom of God on earth.
End of governmental support for est. churches promoted competition among religious groups that kept religion alive and promoted emergence of new denominations: one of most successful: Mormons (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints)
Smith had a vision of the Book of Mormon which tells the story of three families who traveled from the ancient Middle East to the Americas where they eventually evolved into NA tribes - Jesus central - at that the second coming of Jesus would occur in the Americas
Controversial points (polygamy & Smith having absolute authority over his followers) outraged people who created mobs
Successor led people to establish near in Salt Lake City (Utah) - central place for Mormons now
Mormonism proved the limits of religious toleration & the opportunities of religious pluralism
Nativism
⤷ a phenomenon that grew out of fear of immigration’s impact. Nativism blamed immigrants for urban crimes, political corruption and accused them of a fondness for intoxicating liqupr and undercutting native-born skilled labourers.
US = both refuge for those seeking economic opportunity/escape from oppression & suspicion and hostility to foreign newcomers
Tension between catholics and protestants: catholic church became more assertive and protestants feared it threatened american institutions and american freedom
Irish influx of the 1840s and 1850s alarmed native-born americans and caused violent anti-immigration riots
Bonus Q: How did the War of 1812 provoke a sense of nationalism in the United States?
A: ⤷ USA moved towards a more unified stated with the help of the american system and the fact that they believed the won the War of 1812 which helped improve american self confidence; in 1813 the national anthem was written
