Subunit 2.1 "Launching The New Ship of State 1789-1800

Question 1

Bill of Rights

Answer 1

The first ten Amendments to the Constitution (adopted 1791), part of the agreement between Madison and the Anti federalists, needed to be ratified. Protected Americans from the tyranny of the national government and was written into the Constitution itself.

Question 2

Judiciary Act of 1789

Answer 2

Set up the federal judiciary court system including the Supreme Court and attorney general.

Question 3

Alexander Hamilton

Answer 3

Born a poor bastard in the West Indies, married into wealth. Became Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury. He planned to shape the policies of Washington’s administration to aid the wealthy. (father of trickle-down economy)

Question 4

Hamilton;s Three Part Financial Plan

Answer 4

Part #1: Funding and Assumption of the Rev. War Debt: The federal government would assume/pay all state war debts and shift the attachment of wealthy creditors from the states to the national government. PASSED
Part #2: The Protective Tariff: Tax on imports that would bring revenue while simultaneously protecting the infant industries in the U.S. from competition from lower priced foreign goods. FAILED
Part #3: The National Bank of the U.S.
Wanted a National Bank to handle federal government business. PASSED

Question 5

1794 Whiskey Rebellion

Answer 5

A federal excise tax on whiskey, like sales tax. Western Penn. was hit the hardest, so they revolted (like Shays and Bacon’s rebellion). Washington commanded an army of 10,000 to put down this rebellion. Defiance was not allowed under the new constitution!

Question 6

Federalist Party

Answer 6

Favored an active federal government, a treasury that played a vital role in the nation’s economic life, and pro-British foreign policy. Strong support from merchants, manufacturers, and residents of New England.

Question 7

Democratic- Republican Party

Answer 7

Advocated a limited federal govn’t , little interference in economic affairs, and a pro-French foreign policy. Popular among debt-ridden farmers, artisans, and southerners.

Question 8

General “Mad Anthony” Wayne

Answer 8

Despite support from the British to the N.A., U.S. troops under him crushed the Northwest tribes at the Battle of Fallen Timbers

Question 9

Treaty of Greenville (1795)

Answer 9

N.A. agreed to leave their lands and move west across the Mississippi in return for the recognition of their tribe as a foreign nation with the right to negotiate the treaty. This treaty caused problems when U.S. wanted to remove these tribes from their land.

Question 10

French Revolution

Answer 10

Between 1789-93 Washington’s first term, the vast majority of Americans favored the French Revolution. However, in ‘93 with the outbreak of the “Reign of Terror” the nation split and polarized over the war. Fed. opposed, DR favored it.

Question 11

The Neutrality Proclamation (1793)

Answer 11

When England rose to resist the French Rev. President Wash. said the U.S. would remain neutral in the conflict. It established the foundation for American’s long history of trying to isolate itself from foreign entanglements- an isolationist policy.

Question 12

The Citizen Genet Incident (1793)

Answer 12

Citizen Gent visited the U.S. as an official agent of the French Revolutionary govn’t trying to get Americans to support the revolutionary thinking and arguing that President Washington’s position did not really represent the thinking of the american ppl. Created tremendous tension between the French govn’t and U.S. govn’t.

Question 13

Jay Treaty (1795)

Answer 13

1. The British exit from the forts they still occupied near the Great Lakes.
2. Payment of war debts by the U.S. Govnt to the British govnt for loss of property during war
3. Payment of pre-Revolutionary War debt owed British merchants by southern plantation owners.

Question 14

The Pinckney Treaty

Answer 14

A treaty that Thomas Pickney negotiated with Spain dealing with the U.S./Florida border, use of New Orleans, and the base of the Mississippi River Valley as a port of export. The Democraic-Republicans saw the Jay Treaty as tantamount to treason since Most of the agreement sought to appease the British, while the Federalists saw the Pickney Treaty as pro- DR.

Question 15

Washington’s Farewell Address (1797)

Answer 15

Published in the newspaper. 2 warnings= 1) warned American people that the country would not and could not survive if political parties were allowed to continue to polarize the expense of the unified national interest. 2) Warned that the U.S. could not survive in its infancy if it got involved in European affairs and therefore advised that it was best to stay out of permanent alliances with foreign nations.

Question 16

Washington’s Legacy

Answer 16

1) His administration made the Constitution a practical reality. 2) The Federalist achievements demonstrated that liberty and power were not mutually exclusive. 3) The govn’t was grounded in the rule of law, not men. 4) Made a virtuous exit and stepping away from power, where he became ultimate symbol of American virtue.

Question 17

1796 Election

Answer 17

Candidates: Jefferson for the D.R. and John Adams for the Federalists. Adams won presidency and Jefferson V.P.

Question 18

John Adams

Answer 18

Not a hard-line Federalist like Hamilton. Opposed Hamilton’s banking and funding schemes and offered only lukewarm support for the Jay Treaty. Adams mistrusted the English as much as Jefferson, BUT he also distrusted the French.

Question 19

XYZ Affair

Answer 19

Three French Ministers “X,Y,Z” met with the U.S. delegates and agreed to settle if the U.S. would pay a huge amount of money to the French Government, in effect pay a bribe.

Question 20

Convention of 1800

Answer 20

Due to the Franco- American conflict over the Jay Treaty and XYZ affair, a Quasi- War (undeclared War) broke out between the U.S. and France, the convention of 1800 was created. It ended this undeclared war.

Question 21

Alien Act (1798)

Answer 21

Curtailed French immigration to the U.S. (President Adams, with Federalist support used the anti-French and anti-DR sentiment due to the XYZ affair and the Quasi- War with France)

Question 22

Sedation Act (1798)

Answer 22

Suppressed free speech during this war era. Showed how during war Congress passed laws that were actually illegal but were made legal when the Federalist Supreme court ruled them constitutional.

Question 23

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798)

Answer 23

Written in direct response to the Alien and Sedation Acts. Written by Jefferson and Madison and favored the DR. Argued that when the federal government passed laws the states found unacceptable and unconstitutional they did not have to follow or implement them. This is a state’s rights argument.

Question 24

Strict and Loose Construction

Answer 24

The Federalists supported a loose construction/interpretation of the Constitution, which allowed them to get the National Bank. The DR wanted strict construction of the Constitution in order to deny the creation of the Bank, and excessive increase of power at the national level.