The Red Fox and the Revolution of 1800

Question 1

Election of 1800, tie, Jefferson and Burr

Answer 1

The two Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr defeated Federalist John Adams, but tied with each other. The final decision went the House of Representatives, where there was another tie. After a long series of ties in the House, Jefferson was finally chosen as president. Burr became vice-president. This led to the 12th Amendment, which requires the president and vice-president of the same party to run on the same ticket.

Question 2

Revolution of 1800

Answer 2

Jefferson’s election changed the direction of the government from Federalist to Democratic- Republican, so it was called a “revolution.”

Question 3

Jefferson’s Inaugural Address

Answer 3

Declared that he would avoid foreign alliances.

Question 4

12th Amendment

Answer 4

Brought about by the Jefferson/Burr tie, stated that presidential and vice-presidential nominees would run on the same party ticket. Before that time, all of the candidates ran against each other, with the winner becoming president and second-place becoming vice-president.

Question 5

Second Great Awakening

Answer 5

A series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans.

Question 6

Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828)

Answer 6

American painter, most famous for painting the portrait of Washington which was copied for the one dollar bill.

Question 7

Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827)

Answer 7

An American naturalist painter.

Question 8

French Alliance of 1778

Answer 8

France aided the U.S. in the American Revolution, and the U.S. agreed to aid France if the need ever arose. Although France could have used American aid during the French Revolution, the U.S. didn’t do anything to help. The U.S. didn’t fulfill their part of the agreement until World War I.

Question 9

French Revolution

Answer 9

The second great democratic revolution, taking place in the 1790s, after the American Revolution had been proven to be a success. The U.S. did nothing to aid either side. The French people overthrew the king and his government, and then instituted a series of unsuccessful democratic governments until Napoleon took over as dictator in 1799.

Question 10

Citizen Genêt

Answer 10

Edmond Charles Genêt. A French diplomat who came to the U.S. 1793 to ask the American government to send money and troops to aid the revolutionaries in the French Revolution. President Washington asked France to recall Genêt after Genêt began recruiting men and arming ships in U.S. ports. However, Washington later relented and allowed Genêt U.S. citizenship upon learning that the new French government planned to arrest Genêt.

Question 11

Neutrality Proclamation

Answer 11

Washington’s declaration that the U.S. would not take sides after the French Revolution touched off a war between France and a coalition consisting primarily of England, Austria and Prussia. Washington’s Proclamation was technically a violation of the Franco-American Treaty of 1778.

Question 12

XYZ Affair, Talleyrand

Answer 12

1798 - A commission had been sent to France in 1797 to discuss the disputes that had arisen out of the U.S.’s refusal to honor the Franco-American Treaty of 1778. President Adams had also criticized the French Revolution, so France began to break off relations with the U.S. Adams sent delegates to meet with French foreign minister Talleyrand in the hopes of working things out. Talleyrand’s three agents told the American delegates that they could meet with Talleyrand only in exchange for a very large bribe. The Americans did not pay the bribe, and in 1798 Adams made the incident public, substituting the letters “X, Y and Z” for the names of the three French agents in his report to Congress.

Question 13

Undeclared naval war with France

Answer 13

Late 1790s - Beginning in 1794, the French had began seizing American vessels in retaliation for Jay’s Treaty, so Congress responded by ordering the navy to attack any French ships on the American coast. The conflict became especially violent after the X,Y, Z Affair. A peace convention in 1800 with the newly installed dictator, Napoleon, ended the conflict.

Question 14

Convention of 1800

Answer 14

A conference between the U.S. and France which ended the naval hostilities.

Question 15

British seizure of American ships

Answer 15

France blocked English ports during the Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s; England responded by blocking French ports. The British seized neutral American merchant ships which tried to trade at French ports.

Question 16

“Rule of 1756”

Answer 16

A British proclamation that said that neutral countries could not trade with both of two warring nations; they had to chose sides and only trade with one of the nations. This justified Britain’s seizure of neutral American ships during the war between Britain and France in the early 1800s.

Question 17

Northwest posts

Answer 17

British fur-trading posts in the Northwest territory. Their presence in the U.S. led to continued British-American conflicts.

Question 18

Jay’s Treaty

Answer 18

1794 - It was signed in the hopes of settling the growing conflicts between the U.S. and Britain. It dealt with the Northwest posts and trade on the Mississippi River. It was unpopular with most Americans because it did not punish Britain for the attacks on neutral American ships. It was particularly unpopular with France, because the U.S. also accepted the British restrictions on the rights of neutrals.

Question 19

Washington’s Farewell Address

Answer 19

He warned against the dangers of political parties and foreign alliances.

Question 20

Spanish intrigue in the Southwest

Answer 20

During the late 1700s/early 1800s Spain was exploring and settling the region which is now the Southwest U.S. The Spanish used the Indians of Florida and Georgia as spies and encouraged the tribes to raid U.S. settlements, which contributed to the outbreak of the War of 1812 . Zebulon Pike used his expedition to the West as an opportunity to spy on the Spanish and map out their land.

Question 21

James Wilkinson (1759-1825)

Answer 21

Wilkinson had been an officer in the Continental Army, and later held several positions relating to the Army, such as secretary of the board of war and clothier general to the army. He was one of the Commissioners appointed to receive the Purchase Louisiana from the French, and served as Governor of Louisiana from 1805-1806. He informed Pres. Jefferson of Burr’s conspiracy to take over Louisiana, and was the primary witness against Burr at his treason trial, even though Wilkinson was himself implicated in the plot.

Question 22

“Mad” Anthony Wayne, Battle of Fallen Timbers

Answer 22

Wayne had been one of the leading generals of the Continental Army, and had played a crucial role in the defeat of Cornwallis at Yorktown. In the early 1790’s, the British held trading posts in the Ohio Valley and encouraged the local Indian tribes to attack the Americans. Led by Wayne, the Americans defeated the Miami Indians in the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794 near what is today Toledo, Ohio. This paved the way for American settlement of the Ohio Valley.

Question 23

Treaty of Greenville, 1795

Answer 23

Drawn up after the Battle of Fallen Timbers. The 12 local Indian tribes gave the Americans the Ohio Valley territory in exchange for a reservation and $10,000.

Question 24

Barbary pirates

Answer 24

The name given to several renegade countries on the Mediterranean coast of North Africa who demanded tribute in exchange for refraining from attacking ships in the Mediterranean. From 1795-1801, the U.S. paid the Barbary states for protection against the pirates. Jefferson stopped paying the tribute, and the U.S. fought the Barbary Wars (1801-1805) against the countries of Tripoli and Algeria. The war was inconclusive and the U.S. went back to paying the tribute.

Question 25

Changes in federal land laws and policies

Answer 25

The Land Acts of 1800 and 1820, and the Preemptive Acts of the 1830s and 1840s lowered the price of land and made it easier for prospective settlers to acquire it. This encouraged people to move west.

Question 26

President Jefferson

Answer 26

He believed in a less aristocratic presidency. He wanted to reduce federal spending and government interference in everyday life. He was a Democratic-Republican (originally an Anti- Federalist), so he believed in strict interpretation of the Constitution.

Question 27

Vice-President Burr

Answer 27

Aaron Burr was one of the leading Democratic-Republicans of New york, and served as a U.S. Senator from New York from 1791-1797. He was the principal opponent of Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist policies. In the election of 1800, Burr tied with Jefferson in the Electoral College. The House of Representatives awarded the Presidency to Jefferson and made Burr Vice- President.

Question 28

Sec. of Treasury Gallatin

Answer 28

Albert Gallatin was a Swiss immigrant who was a financial genius and served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1801 - 1814 under Presidents Jefferson and Madison. He advocated free trade and opposed the Federalists’ economic policies. Gallatin was a member of the U.S. delegation that negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, and later served as Ambassador to France and to Britain.

Question 29

Jefferson’s Inaugural Address, “We are all Federalists, we are all Republicans”

Answer 29

Jefferson (a Republican) declared that he wanted to keep the nation unified and avoid partisan conflicts.

Question 30

Federalist control of courts and judges, midnight judges

Answer 30

On his last day in office, President Adams appointed a large number of Federalist judges to the federal courts in an effort to maintain Federalist control of the government. (The Federalists had lost the presidency and much of Congress to the Republicans.) These newly-appointed Federalist judges were called midnight judges because John Adams had stayed up until midnight signing the appointments.

Question 31

Justice Samuel Chase

Answer 31

A Federalist judge appointed by Washington to the Supreme Court. Chase had been a Revolutionary War hero, and was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson disagreed with his rulings and had him impeached for publicly criticizing the Jefferson administration to the Maryland grand jury. Chase was acquitted by the Senate, and the impeachment failed. (This is the only attempt in history to impeach a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.)

Question 32

Tripolitan War (1801-1805)

Answer 32

Also called the Barbary Wars, this was a series of naval engagements launched by President Jefferson in an effort to stop the attacks on American merchant ships by the Barbary pirates. The war was inconclusive, afterwards, the U.S. paid a tribute to the Barbary states to protect their ships from pirate attacks.

Question 33

Treaty of Sam Ildefonso

Answer 33

1800 - In this treaty, Spain gave the Louisiana territory back to France (France had lost it to Spain in the Seven Years War).

Question 34

Louisiana Purchase: reasons, Jefferson, loose construction

Answer 34

1803 - The U.S. purchased the land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains from Napoleon for $15 million. Jefferson was interested in the territory because it would give the U.S. the Mississippi River and New Orleans (both were valuable for trade and shipping) and also room to expand. Napoleon wanted to sell because he needed money for his European campaigns and because a rebellion against the French in Haiti had soured him on the idea of New World colonies. The Constitution did not give the federal government the power to buy land, so Jefferson used loose construction to justify the purchase.

Question 35

Toussaint L’Overture

Answer 35

1803 - Led a slave rebellion which took control of Haiti, the most important island of France’s Caribbean possessions. The rebellion led Napoleon to feel that New World colonies were more trouble than they were worth, and encouraged him to sell Louisiana to the U.S.

Question 36

Federalist opposition to the Louisiana Purchase

Answer 36

Federalists opposed it because they felt Jefferson overstepped his Constitutional powers by making the purchase.

Question 37

Hamilton-Burr duel

Answer 37

After Burr lost to Jefferson as a Republican, he switched to the Federalist party and ran for governor of New York. When he lost, he blamed Hamilton (a successful Federalist politician) of making defamatory remarks that cost him the election. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, in which Hamilton was killed on July 11, 1804.

Question 38

Burr expedition, treason trial

Answer 38

After the duel, Burr fled New York and joined a group of mercenaries in the southern Louisiana territory region. The U.S. arrested them as they moved towards Mexico. Burr claimed that they had intended to attack Mexico, but the U.S. believed that they were actually trying to get Mexican aid to start a secession movement in the territories. Burr was tried for treason, and although Jefferson advocated Burr’s punishment, the Supreme Court acquitted Burr.

Question 39

Lewis and Clark expedition and its findings

Answer 39

1804-1806 - Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were commissioned by Jefferson to map and explore the Louisiana Purchase region. Beginning at St. Louis, Missouri, the expedition travelled up the Missouri River to the Great Divide, and then down the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. It produced extensive maps of the area and recorded many scientific discoveries, greatly facilitating later settlement of the region and travel to the Pacific coast.

Question 40

Pike, Major Long, their observations

Answer 40

Zebulon Pike explored (1805-1807) Minnesota and the Southwest, mapped the region, and spied on the Spanish whenever his exploration took him into their territory. (He was eventually captured by the Spanish, but the U.S. arranged for his release.) Major Long explored the middle of the Louisiana Purchase region (Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado) and concluded that it was a worthless “Great American Desert.”