New Nation Flashcards
Thomas Jefferson
Third president of the United States, serving two terms. He was also vice-president under John Adams. He wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was a minister to France and later kept his country out of wars with England and France. Jefferson, along with James Madison, was a leader of the new Democratic-Republican Party. His politics brought him into conflict with Adams and Alexander Hamilton, who were the leaders of the new Federalist Party. Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase and sent Meriwether Lewis and James Clark on their famous visit to the Pacific Ocean. In his personal life, he was a successful inventor, inventing among other things a swivel chair and a wheel cipher, which could be used to send or read coded messages. He also had many interesting inventions at his home, Monticello.
James Monroe
Fifth president, served two terms. Fought in the Revolutionary War. Delegate from Virginia to the Constitutional Convention. Served on diplomatic mission to France in 1803, helped convince U.S. to accept Louisiana Purchase. Governor of Virginia. During the War of 1812, he served both as Secretary of State and as Secretary of War, the only person ever to do this. As president, bought Florida from Spain and, in 1823, issued the Monroe Doctrine, which basically told European nations to leave Central and South America alone.
Judiciary Act of 1789
1789 law that created the Judicial Branch of the federal government. Among the things provided for in the Act:
the number of members of the Supreme Court (6)
the number of lower district courts (13)
the idea that the Supreme Court can settle disputes between states
the idea that a decision by the Supreme Court is final.
Hamilton’s Financial Plan
As Treasury Secretary, Hamilton designed a financial system that made the United States the best credit risk in the western world. The paramount problem facing Hamilton was a huge national debt. He proposed that the government assume the entire debt of the federal government and the states. He proposed a tariff on imported goods and a national bank.
Whiskey Rebellion
First real test of the new United States Government’s authority to enforce federal laws. In Western Pennsylvania, people used a lot of whiskey: both to use up extra corn and as money. The federal government passed a tax on whiskey in 1791. Farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax, saying it was like the Stamp Act all over again. Trouble brewed for a couple years until 1794, when farmers assaulted federal tax collectors. President George Washington called out the national militia to put down what came to be called the Whiskey Rebellion. Many people were arrested, but all were later either pardoned or found not guilty.
Alien & Sedition Acts
Four laws of Congress that restricted the rights of groups of people. The Naturalization Act increased from 5 to 14 the number of years a non-American had to be living in America before he or she could become an American citizen. The Alien Act allowed the President to force non-Americans he thought dangerous to leave the country. The Alien Deportation Act allowed for the arrest and deportation of any non-American during wartime. The Sedition Act made it a crime to do “any false, scandalous and malicious writing.” This resulted in the jailing of 25 newspaper editors, most of them Democratic-Republicans. This was during the presidency of John Adams, a Federalist. The response to these acts was marked. Kentucky and Virginia passed resolutions opposing these acts.
XYZ Affair
Diplomatic scandal that almost caused another war, this one between the United States and France. France was, at the time, at war with Great Britain. A treaty between Britain and the U.S. failed to guarantee France the right to ship with the U.S. France sent to the United States three diplomats, thereafter named X, Y, and Z, with outrageous demands. The result was undeclared war between the two countries.
“Midnight Judges”
A few weeks before his term as president was over, John Adams signed into law the Judiciary Act of 1801, which reorganized the federal court system. The “midnight judges” were selected by President John Adams, who signed appointments up until midnight on his last day in office.
Marbury v. Madison
First decision by the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional (1803).
Here is a summary:
At the very end of his term, President John Adams had made many federal appointments, including William Marbury as justice of the peace in the District of Columbia.
Thomas Jefferson, the new president, refused to recognize the appointment of Marbury.
The normal practice of making such appointments was to deliver a “commission,” or notice, of appointment. This was normally done by the Secretary of State. Jefferson’s Secretary of State at the time was James Madison.
At the direction of Jefferson, Madison refused to deliver Marbury’s commission. Marbury sued Madison, and the Supreme Court took the case.
Chief Justice John Marshall wrote that the Judiciary Act of 1789, which spelled out the practice of delivering such commissions for judges and justices of the peace, was unconstitutional because it the gave the Supreme Court authority that was denied it by Article III of the Constitution. Thus, the Supreme Court said, the Judiciary Act of 1789 was illegal and not to be followed.
This was the first time the Supreme Court struck down a law because it was unconstitutional. It was the beginning of the practice of “judicial review.”
Louisiana Purchase
Huge addition of land that doubled the country. Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for the paltry sum of $15 million. The size of the Territory was 828,000 square miles! Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored this vast territory from 1804 to 1806.
Embargo Act of 1807
Law passed by Congress and signed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. This law stopped all trade between America and any other country. The goal was to get Britain and France, who were fighting each other at the time, to stop restricting American trade. The Act backfired, and the American people suffered. The Act was ended in 1809.
War of 1812
American victory over British forces in America and in Canada. Fighting both British and Native American troops in Canada, the U.S., and Florida, the Americans managed to win what some have called the “second war of independence,” despite stunning defeats in the north (loss of Fort Detroit) and the symbolic burning of the White House, Capitol, and other government buildings (Battle of Washington). The war had its roots in the Native American conflicts in the Northwest Territory and the British encouragement of those conflicts, as well as the continued British interference with American shipping. The last official battle of the war, the Battle of Baltimore, convinced the British that they didn’t have the troops to keep on fighting this war and fighting Napoleon, which they had been doing in Europe for most of the War of 1812 as well. They agreed to peace by signing the Treaty of Ghent. Ironically, commanders for neither side in the South heard of the treaty before the Battle of New Orleans, in January 1815. The American victory put an exclamation point on the overall war victory.
Monroe Doctrine
Proclamation in 1823 by President James Monroe. Basically, it warned European nations not to get involved in political matters in Central and South America. The Doctrine was intended to show that the United States was the only country that could influence such political matters. Further, several countries in South American had recently undergone revolutions against their European colonial owners and ended up with republican governments. The United States agreed with their political philosophy and did not want to see those newly free nations become European colonies again.
