Final Keyword IDs Flashcards
Natural Aristocracy
Natural aristocracy was a theory of an elite ruling class that forms not due to money or birth, but due to intellectual prowess and experience. Elites holding these views were known as Whigs after the Revolution. This theory is significant because it shaped the Founding Fathers’ belief that the working class masses were unfit to rule and thus influenced the structure of the American government.
Gradual Emancipation
This was a practice undertaken by the northern states by which legislation enacted laws putting an end date to slavery and slaveholders freed their slaves after their death.
This allowed slavery to recede gradually from the North, as by 1804, all northern states had outlawed slavery or declared a date by which it would be outlawed.
The ending of slavery in the North was significant because it widened the sectional divide between the North and the South, as the South made no changes regarding slavery.
Shay’s Rebellion
Shay’s Rebellion was a working-class protest of taxes from the state government, led by Daniel Shay in western Massachusetts. This event is significant because it frightened many elites and convinced them to adopt a more nationalistic, pro-centralized government, eventually leading to the abandonment of the Articles of Confederation and the creation of the Constitution.
Articles of Confederation
This was the first attempt at a Constitution by the Founding Fathers, a system in which states had one vote, and national authority was weak. It was more of a loose coalition of states than a formal government and left Congress weak and the states empowered. It was significant because it created a divide between nationalists and states’ rights advocates, and forced the Founding Fathers to come together in 1787 to fix the issues created by the Articles and come up with the Constitution.
Three-Fifths Rule
The 3/5ths rule was a compromise created during the Constitutional Convention that allowed slaves to be counted as 3/5ths of a person for both representation in the House and for taxing purposes. This is significant because it marks a precedent in American politics of northerners and southerners attempting to push aside the issue of slavery through compromises. As well, it sustained the power of slave states, and allowed southern slaveholders to win all but 4 of the first 16 presidential elections.
Strict Constructionism
A theory supported by Thomas Jefferson that said that the national government had only the powers enumerated in the Constitution- essentially, if it’s not in the Constitution, the government could not do it. The debate over strict constructionism versus judicial activism (represented by Hamilton) is significant because it helped differentiate the beginnings of political parties in the US: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.
Alien and Sedition Acts
A series of bills passed in 1798 that extended the time required to live in the US for immigrants to become citizens from 4 years to 15 years, authorized the President to deport/imprison aliens in wartime, and prohibited public outspoken opposition against the government. This led Kentucky and Virginia to pass laws invalidating the Acts, thus asserting states’ rights over federal law. This is significant because it increased tension between nationalists and states’ rights advocates, and served as precedent for justifying secession during the Civil War.
Implied Powers
An idea that was pushed forward by Alexander Hamilton. Concept of implied powers means that the government is allowed to do anything that it isn’t explicitly prohibited from doing. This was opposed by Thomas Jefferson, who believed that most of these undecided powers should be given to the states.
Republican Agrarianism
Jefferson’s belief that the majority of the United States population should be autonomous farmers. He believed it to be feasible because of the massive amounts of land available, and he wanted the United States to be a country of agricultural farmers. This is significant because this belief inspired Jefferson to purchase the Louisiana territory in order to gain more land for farming.
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was a law that provided a method for how new states in the Northwest Territory could enter the Union. It laid out the path from public domain to territory to statehood in these areas, chartered a government for this territory, and listed a bill of rights guaranteed in this area. This was significant because it laid the foundation for government control over northwestern expansion.
Little Turtle
Also known as Michikinikwa, he was a military genius and chief of the Miami Indians who lived in the northwestern part of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Fought many battles against George Washington. Defeats Washington twice with Miami Confederacy, but finally defeated at Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. Loss and subsequent Treaty of Fort Wayne gives Ohio Country to the Americans.
Toussaint L’Ouverture
Toussaint L’Ouverture was a former slave and leading figure in the Haitian revolution against Napoleonic France. Although L’Ouverture himself was captured by Napoleon’s forces, the Haitian revolution was significant because it economically weakened France and directly led to Napoleon selling the territory of Louisiana to Jefferson.
Civilization Policy
A policy with the goal of “civilizing” natives by transforming them from savages into full-time agricultural farmers. By turning them away from traditional practices such as hunting and warfare and promoting more American practice such as settling down and farming, they would assimilate into American culture. This was significant because it revealed how the US was attempting to destroy native life with the intention of opening up new lands to white colonial settlers
Tenskwatawa
Tenskwatawa was a native Ohio country warrior-turned-prophet who told native communities to reject all contact with American goods and people. He and his followers killed natives who sold land to settlers or advocated selling land to settlers. His influence was significant because it lead to a wide pan-Indian alliance that eventually sparked the War of 1812.
Red Sticks
A group of Creek Indians in the south who followed Hillis Hadjo and aggressively advocated for no contact with American goods and people. The Red Sticks are significant because their belief that Britain would eventually regain power in the South reflected Tenskwatawa’s decision to seek alliance with Britain during the War of 1812.
Battle of Tippecanoe
A battle between Tenskwatawa’s forces and US forces that occurred shortly before the declaration of the War of 1812. This battle was significant because, although the native forces inflicted more damage, the United States claimed a great victory and war hawks used it as leverage to challenge both Native Americans and Great Britain. As well, this battle was used as political leverage to help Harrison win the presidency.
Impressment
Impressment refers to Great Britain’s policy of capturing American sailors and forcing them into service for the British navy. This policy was significant because it caused hostilities between the United States and Great Britain and in part lead to the War of 1812.
Fort Mims Massacre
A massacre that occurred in August of 1813 when a band of Red Sticks stormed Fort Mims, killing half the people inside. This was significant because it became a point of justification for those who wanted to exterminate the Red Sticks. This led to militiamen, Chickasaws, and Cherokees burning Red Stick villages in retaliation.
Treaty of Ghent
Officially ends the war between the United States and Great Britain in 1814. The treaty was significant because Great Britain agreed to evacuate forts throughout the United States, although it failed to secure a sovereign indigenous nation in the Ohio county. As this marked Britain’s exit from America, it changed the struggle between indigenous people and white settlers as the US was now the primary power in North America, and ended the paternalistic view towards natives.
Land Act of 1820
The Land Act of 1820 set the price for acquisition of western land to $1.25 an acre, and decreed that land sales would be conducted through auctions. This is significant because it did away with the earlier practice of wealthy spectators buying and reselling land and instead made land more accessible to lower classes. It also incentivized westward movement, which forced the US to confront the issue of what was to be done about slavery in the western territories
Monroe Doctrine
A cornerstone of US foreign policy that declared that the US was the sole imperial power in the Western Hemisphere- no European powers were allowed to interfere, colonize, or control any nation in the Western Hemisphere without it being viewed as an act of war against the US. This was significant because it implied American imperialism in the west, as by declaring that the US is the only dominant power allowed in the Western Hemisphere, it implies US authority over all other countries and territories in this hemisphere.
Missouri Compromise
A compromise created by Henry Clay that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Main as a free state, and established a rule that slavery would be banned above the 36’30 line. This is significant because it prevented open conflict between the North and the South and prevented Southern secession at the time, but also created a precedent of precarious balance between slave and free states
American System
A proposal by Henry Clay to establish a national bank, enact protective tariffs, and improve internal infrastructure in the US. This burst of nationalism following the War of 1812 was significant because it was an attempt to make the US more autonomous, as reliance on trade with Europe was a weakness during the war
McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v Maryland was a Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall rules that the state of Maryland cannot tax a branch of the federal bank. This case is significant because it advanced the Federalist vision of centralized government by confirming the power of Congress to establish a national bank, and of Congress’s implied powers to regulate economic activity
DeWitt Clinton
He was the governor of New York who proposed to link New York City and the Great Lakes by way of the Erie Canal, which runs from the Hudson River to lake Erie. The Erie Canal was finished in 10 years, under budget, in 1827. It was significant because it reduced the price of moving goods from Buffalo to New York City from 19 cents per mile to less than a cent per mile, increasing commercial shipping. As well, the success of the Erie Canal led to the construction of 3,000 miles of canals across the Eastern US
Steel Plow
Invented in 1837 by John Deere, this enabled for faster, more efficient plowing. It also was stronger and could break up tough soil in the arid west. This was significant because it was a prerequisite for Western movement, and also because it made farming more efficient and less time-consuming, leading to US wheat output tripling from 1850-1860, when the steel plow was first mass produced
Putting-Out System
This was a system where merchants with capital would buy raw materials for textiles, distribute them to households, and then get textiles back. This was a more efficient system than just creating textiles in households, and was significant because it was the intermediary step between household textile production and industrialization of the textile industry
Samuel Slater
He was a laborer in a UK industrial factory, and as such, knew important industrial technology. His movements were monitored, but he disguised himself, sailed to US soils, worked out an agreement with investors, and opened Slater’s Mill, a textile factory. He was significant because he brought British textile technology to America, jumpstarting the Industrial Revolution in the US, allowing for greater production of textiles quicker
Lowell Girls
Girls from Lowell Massachusetts who worked in textiles factories, supervised by matrons and ruled by strict rules of conduct. This was significant because it was a financial opportunity for young women, and offered an escape from rural isolationism. As well, this reflected how men were averse to working factory jobs, believing them to be degrading, and as such, women (who had experience producing textiles) often took them
Potato Famine
A period of mass starvation and disease from 1845-1849 that led to emigration from Ireland. Irish peasants suffered because of a blight on potato crops, and around 1.5 million emigrated to the US, staying in the major cities. This was significant because these poor Irish immigrants became a labor force for poor working condition factories, jobs that no one else was willing to take
