Term
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Definition
| 1620 - The first agreement for self-government in America. It was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower and set up a government for the Plymouth colony. |
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William Bradford
A Pilgrim, the second governor of the Plymouth colony, 1621-1657. He developed private land ownership and helped colonists get out of debt. He helped the colony survive droughts, crop failures, and Indian attacks. |
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Term
| Pilgrims and Puritans contrasted |
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Definition
| The Pilgrims were separatists who believed that the Church of England could not be reformed. Separatist groups were illegal in England, so the Pilgrims fled to America and settled in Plymouth. The Puritans were non-separatists who wished to adopt reforms to purify the Church of England. They received a right to settle in the Massachusetts Bay area from the King of England. |
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Massachusetts Bay Colony
1629 - King Charles gave the Puritans a right to settle and govern a colony in the Massachusetts Bay area. The colony established political freedom and a representative government. |
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Definition
| Many Puritans emigrated from England to America in the 1630s and 1640s. During this time, the population of the Massachusetts Bay colony grew to ten times its earlier population. |
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Term
| John Winthrop (1588-1649) |
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Definition
| 1629 - He became the first governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony, and served in that capacity from 1630 through 1649. A Puritan with strong religious beliefs. He opposed total democracy, believing the colony was best governed by a small group of skillful leaders. He helped organize the New England Confederation in 1643 and served as its first president. |
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Term
| Separatists, non-separatists |
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Definition
| Non-separatists (which included the Puritans) believed that the Church of England could be purified through reforms. Separatists (which included the Pilgrims) believed that the Church of England could not be reformed, and so started their own congregations. |
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Term
| Contrast Puritan colonies with others |
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Definition
| Puritan colonies were self-governed, with each town having its own government which led the people in strict accordance with Puritan beliefs. Only those members of the congregation who had achieved grace and were full church members (called the "elect," or "saints") could vote and hold public office. Other colonies had different styles of government and were more open to different beliefs. |
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Definition
| She preached the idea that God communicated directly to individuals instead of through the church elders. She was forced to leave Massachusetts in 1637. Her followers (the Antinomianists) founded the colony of New Hampshire in 1639. |
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Definition
| He left the Massachusetts colony and purchased the land from a neighboring Indian tribe to found the colony of Rhode Island. Rhode Island was the only colony at that time to offer complete religious freedom. |
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Definition
| The Half-way Covenant applied to those members of the Puritan colonies who were the children of church members, but who hadn’t achieved grace themselves. The covenant allowed them to participate in some church affairs. |
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Term
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Definition
| Clergyman, one of the founders of Hartford. Called "the father of American democracy" because he said that people have a right to choose their magistrates |
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Term
| Fundamental Orders of Connecticut |
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Definition
| Set up a unified government for the towns of the Connecticut area (Windsor, Hartford, and Wethersfield). First constitution written in America. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1675 - A series of battles in New Hampshire between the colonists and the Wompanowogs, led by a chief known as King Philip. The war was started when the Massachusetts government tried to assert court jurisdiction over the local Indians. The colonists won with the help of the Mohawks, and this victory opened up additional Indian lands for expansion. |
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Definition
| 1686 - The British government combined the colonies of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Connecticut into a single province headed by a royal governor (Andros). The Dominion ended in 1692, when the colonists revolted and drove out Governor Andros. |
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Definition
| Governor of the Dominion of New England from 1686 until 1692, when the colonists rebelled and forced him to return to England. |
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Term
| Virginia: purpose, problems, failures, successes |
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Definition
| Virginia was formed by the Virginia Company as a profit-earning venture. Starvation was the major problem; about 90% of the colonists died the first year, many of the survivors left, and the company had trouble attracting new colonists. They offered private land ownership in the colony to attract settlers, but the Virginia Company eventually went bankrupt and the colony went to the crown. Virginia did not become a successful colony until the colonists started raising and exporting tobacco. |
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Term
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Definition
| Headrights were parcels of land consisting of about 50 acres which were given to colonists who brought indentured servants into America. They were used by the Virginia Company to attract more colonists. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1619 - The first African slaves in America arrive in the Virginia colony. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1619 - The Virginia House of Burgesses formed, the first legislative body in colonial America. Later other colonies would adopt houses of burgesses. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1676 - Nathaniel Bacon and other western Virginia settlers were angry at Virginia Governor Berkley for trying to appease the Doeg Indians after the Doegs attacked the western settlements. The frontiersmen formed an army, with Bacon as its leader, which defeated the Indians and then marched on Jamestown and burned the city. The rebellion ended suddenly when Bacon died of an illness. |
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Term
| Georgia: reasons, successes |
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Definition
| 1733 - Georgia was formed as a buffer between the Carolinas and Spanish-held Florida. It was a military-style colony, but also served as a haven for the poor, criminals, and persecuted Protestants. Created by James Oglethorpe He ran a tightly-disciplined, military-like colony. Slaves, alcohol, and Catholicism were forbidden in his colony. |
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Term
| Staple crops in the South |
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Definition
| Tobacco was grown in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. Rice was grown in South Carolina and Georgia. Indigo was grown in South Carolina. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1689 - When King James II was dethroned and replaced by King William of the Netherlands, the colonists of New York rebelled and made Jacob Leiser, a militia officer, governor of New York. Leisler was hanged for treason when royal authority was reinstated in 1691, but the representative assembly which he founded remained part of the government of New York. |
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Term
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Definition
| Credited with starting the Great Awakening, also a leader of the "New Lights." |
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Term
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Definition
| The "New Lights" were new religious movements formed during the Great Awakening and broke away from the congregational church in New England. The "Old Lights" were the established congregational church. |
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Term
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Definition
| Founded the colony of Maryland and offered religious freedom to all Christian colonists. He did so because he knew that members of his own religion (Catholicism) would be a minority in the colony. |
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Term
| Navigation Acts of 1650, 1660, 1663, and 1696 |
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Definition
| British regulations designed to protect British shipping from competition. Said that British colonies could only import goods if they were shipped on British-owned vessels and at least 3/4 of the crew of the ship were British. |
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Term
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Definition
| Zenger published articles critical of British governor William Cosby. He was taken to trial, but found not guilty. The trial set a precedent for freedom of the press in the colonies. |
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Term
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Definition
| The British controlled the colonies on the east coast, and the French held the land around the Mississippi and west of it. Both the British and the French laid claim to Canada and the Ohio Valley region. |
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Term
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Definition
| Part of the Seven Years’ War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The Algonquins, who feared British expansion into the Ohio Valley, allied with the French. The Mohawks also fought for the French while the rest of the Iroquois Nation allied with the British. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada, as well as India. Spain, which had allied with France, ceeded Florida to Britain, but received Louisana in return. |
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Term
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Definition
| Fort Duquesne became one of the principal French outposts in the northern Ohio Valley, and, in 1754 the French troops in Fort Dusquesne destroyed nearby British Fort Necessity, after Washington and the colonial army surrendered it to them. The British rebuilt Fort Necessity as Fort Pitt in 1758. |
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Term
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Definition
| Treaty between Britain, France, and Spain, which ended the Seven Years War (and the French and Indian War). France lost Canada, the land east of the Mississippi, some Caribbean islands and India to Britain. France also gave New Orleans and the land west of the Mississippi to Spain, to compensate it for ceeding Florida to the British. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1763 - An Indian uprising after the French and Indian War, led by an Ottowa chief named Pontiac. They opposed British expansion into the western Ohio Valley and began destroying British forts in the area. The attacks ended when Pontiac was killed. |
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Term
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Definition
| A proclamation from the British government which forbade British colonists from settling west of the Appalacian Mountains, and which required any settlers already living west of the mountains to move back east. |
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Definition
| May 30, 1765 - Patrick Henry’s speech which condemned the British government for its taxes and other policies. He proposed 7 "resolves" to show Virginia's resisitence to the British policies, 5 of which were adopted by the Virginia legislature. 8 other colonies followed suit and had adopted similar resolves by the end of 1765. |
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Term
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Definition
| 27 delegates from 9 colonies met from October 7-24, 1765, and drew up a list of declarations and petitions against the new taxes imposed on the colonies. |
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Term
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Definition
| Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies both internally and externally, and had absolute power over the colonial legislatures. |
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Term
| Passed at the same time that the Stamp Act was repealed, the Act declared that Parliament had the power to tax the colonies both internally and externally, and had absolute power over the colonial legislatures. |
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Definition
| A letter written in Boston and circulated through the colonies in February, 1768, which urged the colonies not to import goods taxed by the Townshend Acts. Boston, New York, and Philadelphia agreed to non-importation. It was followed by the Virginia Circular Letter in May, 1768. Parliament ordered all colonial legislatures which did not rescind the circular letters dissolved. |
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Term
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Definition
| British legislation passed as part of Prime Minister Grenville's revenue measures which required that all legal or official documents used in the colonies, such as wills, deeds and contracts, had to be written on special, stamped British paper. It was so unpopular in the colonies that it caused riots, and most of the stamped paper sent to the colonies from Britain was burned by angry mobs. Because of this opposition, and the decline in British imports caused by the non- importation movement, London merchants convinced Parliament to repeal the Stamp Act in 1766. |
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Term
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Definition
| A mob of Pennsylvania frontiersmen led by the Paxtons who massacred a group of non-hostile Indians. |
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Term
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Definition
| In June, 1772, the British customs ship Gaspée ran around off the colonial coast. When the British went ashore for help, colonials boarded the ship and burned it. They were sent to Britain for trial. Colonial outrage led to the widespread formation of Committees of Correspondence. |
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Term
| Committees of Correspondence |
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Definition
| These started as groups of private citizens in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York who, in 1763, began circulating information about opposition to British trade measures. The first government-organized committee appeared in Massachusetts in 1764. Other colonies created their own committtees in order to exchange information and organize protests to British trade regulations. The Committees became particularly active following the Gaspee Inciden |
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Term
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Definition
| Agreed to by delegates from Suffolk county, Massachusetts, and approved by the First Continental Congress on October 8, 1774. Nullified the Coercive Acts, closed royal courts, ordered taxes to be paid to colonial governments instead of the royal government, and prepared local militias. |
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Term
| Second Continental Congress |
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Definition
| It met in 1776 and drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence, which justified the Revolutionary War and declared that the colonies should be independent of Britain. |
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Term
| Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed’s Hill) |
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Definition
| At the beginning of the Revolutionary War, the British troops were based in Boston. The British army had begun to fortify the Dorchester Heights near Boston, and so the Continental Army fortified Breed’s Hill, north of Boston, to counter the British plan. British general Gage led two unsuccessful attempts to take this hill, before he finally seized it with the third assault. The British suffered heavy losses and lost any hope for a quick victory against the colonies. Although the battle centered around Breed’s Hill, it was mistakenly named for nearby Bunker Hill. |
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Term
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Definition
| On July 8, 1775, the colonies made a final offer of peace to Britain, agreeing to be loyal to the British government if it addressed their grievances (repealed the Coercive Acts, ended the taxation without representation policies). It was rejected by Parliament, which in December 1775 passed the American Prohibitory Act forbidding all further trade with the colonies. |
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Term
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Definition
| General Gage, stationed in Boston, was ordered by King George III to arrest Samuel Adams and John Hancock. The British marched on Lexington, where they believed the colonials had a cache of weapons. The colonial militias, warned beforehand by Paul Revere and William Dawes, attempeted to block the progress of the troops and were fired on by the British at Lexington. The British continued to Concord, where they believed Adams and Hancock were hiding, and they were again attacked by the colonial militia. As the British retreated to Boston, the colonials continued to shoot at them from behind cover on the sides of the road. This was the start of the Revolutionary War. |
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Term
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Definition
| Wife of John Adams. During the Revolutionary War, she wrote letters to her husband describing life on the homefront. She urged her husband to remember America’s women in the new government he was helping to create. |
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Term
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Definition
| He had been a Colonel in the Connecticut militia at the outbreak of the Revolution and soon became a General in the Continental Army. He won key victories for the colonies in the battles in upstate New York in 1777, and was instrumental in General Gates victory over the British at Saratoga. After becoming Commander of Philadelphia in 1778, he went heavily into debt, and in 1780, he was caught plotting to surrender the key Hudson River fortress of West Point to the British in exchange for a commission in the royal army. He is the most famous traitor in American history. |
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Term
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Definition
| This treaty ended the Revolutionary War, recognized the independence of the American colonies, and granted the colonies the territory from the southern border of Canada to the northern border of Florida, and from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River. |
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Term
| Articles of Confederation: powers, weaknesses, successes |
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Definition
| The Articles of Confederation delegated most of the powers (the power to tax, to regulate trade, and to draft troops) to the individual states, but left the federal government power over war, foreign policy, and issuing money. The Articles’ weakness was that they gave the federal government so little power that it couldn’t keep the country united. The Articles’ only major success was that they settled western land claims with the Northwest Ordinance. The Articles were abandoned for the Constitution. |
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Term
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Definition
| A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Provided for the orderly surveying and distribution of land belonging to the U.S. |
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Term
| . Northwest Ordinance, 1787 |
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Definition
| A major success of the Articles of Confederation. Set up the framework of a government for the Northwest territory. The Ordinance provided that the Territory would be divided into 3 to 5 states, outlawed slavery in the Territory, and set 60,000 as the minimum population for statehood. |
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Term
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Definition
| Occurred in the winter of 1786-7 under the Articles of Confederation. Poor, indebted landowners in Massachusetts blocked access to courts and prevented the government from arresting or repossessing the property of those in debt. The federal government was too weak to help Boston remove the rebels, a sign that the Articles of Confederation weren’t working effectively. |
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Term
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Definition
| His proposals for an effective government became the Virginia Plan, which was the basis for the Constitution. He was responsible for drafting most of the language of the Constitution."Father of the Constitution" |
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Term
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Definition
| At the Constitutional Convention, larger states wanted to follow the Virginia Plan, which based each state’s representation in Congress on state population. Smaller states wanted to follow the New Jersey Plan, which gave every state the same number of representatives. The convention compromised by creating the House and the Senate, and using both of the two separate plans as the method for electing members of each. |
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Term
| Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, Connecticut Plan |
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Definition
| The Virginia Plan called for a two-house Congress with each state’s representation based on state population. The New Jersey Plan called for a one-house Congress in which each state had equal representation. The Connecticut Plan called for a two-house Congress in which both types of representation would be applied, and is also known as the Compromise Plan. |
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Term
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Definition
| The North was given full federal protection of trade and commerce. The South was given permanent relief from export taxes and a guarantee that the importation of slaves would not be halted for at least 20 years, plus the national capitol was placed in the South. Slaves were also deemed to be counted as 3/5 of a person when determining the state population, thus giving the Southern states a greater number of representatives in the House. |
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Term
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Definition
| They opposed the ratification of the Constitution because it gave more power to the federal government and less to the states, and because it did not ensure individual rights. Many wanted to keep the Articles of Confederation. The Antifederalists were instrumental in obtaining passage of the Bill of Rights as a prerequisite to ratification of the Constitution in several states. After the ratification of the Constitution, the Antifederalists regrouped as the Democratic-Republican (or simply Republican) party. |
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Term
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Definition
| The Constitution had to be ratified (approved) by at least 9 of the 13 original states in order to be put into effect. |
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Term
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Definition
| A precursor to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. A dozen commissioners form New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Virginia met to discuss reform of interstate commerce regulations, to design a U.S. currency standard, and to find a way to repay the federal government’s debts to Revolutionary War veterans. Little was accomplished, except for the delegates to recommend that a further convention be held to discuss changes to the form of the federal government; the idea was endorsed by the Confederation Congress in February, 1878, which called for another convention to be held in May that year in Philadelphia. |
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Term
| The Federalist Papers, Jay, Hamilton, Madison |
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Definition
| This collection of essays by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, explained the importance of a strong central government. It was published to convince New York to ratify the Constitution. |
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Term
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Definition
| Part of Hamilton’s Plan, it would save the government’s surplus money until it was needed. |
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Term
| Hamilton’s Program: ideas, proposals, reasons for it |
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Definition
| Designed to pay off the U.S.’s war debts and stabilize the economy, he believed that the United States should become a leading international commercial power. His programs included the creation of the National Bank, the establishment of the U.S.’s credit rate, increased tariffs, and an excise tax on whiskey. Also, he insisted that the federal government assume debts incurred by the states during the war. |
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Term
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Definition
| Taxes placed on manufactured products. The excise tax on whiskey helped raise revenue for Hamilton’s program. |
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Term
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Definition
| In 1794, farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey, and several federal officers were killed in the riots caused by their attempts to serve arrest warrants on the offenders. In October, 1794, the army, led by Washington, put down the rebellion. The incident showed that the new government under the Constitution could react swiftly and effectively to such a problem, in contrast to the inability of the government under the Articles of Confederation to deal with Shay’s Rebellion. |
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Term
| Washington’s Farewell Address |
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Definition
| He warned against the dangers of political parties and foreign alliances. |
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Term
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Definition
| Created the federal court system, allowed the president to create federal courts and to appoint judges. |
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Term
| Federalists and Democratic-Republican |
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Definition
| The first two political parties. Many of the Democratic-Republicans had earlier been members of the Antifederalists, which had never organized into a formal political party. The leading Federalists were Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. The leading Democratic- Republicans were Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Fed= support Britain while Democratic-repubs = support France. |
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Term
| Federalists / Democratic-Republicans: Philosophies |
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Definition
Federalists / Democratic-Republicans: Philosophies
Federalists believed in a strong central government, a strong army, industry, and loose interpretation of the Constitution. Democratic-Republicans believed in a weak central government, state and individual rights, and strict interpretation of the Constitution. |
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Term
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Definition
| These consist of four laws passed by the Federalist Congress and signed by President Adams in 1798: the Naturalization Act, which increased the waiting period for an immigrant to become a citizen from 5 to 14 years; the Alien Act, which empowered the president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens; the Alien Enemy Act, which allowed for the arrest and deportation of citizens of countries at was with the US; and the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to publish defamatory statements about the federal government or its officials. The first 3 were enacted in response to the XYZ Affair, and were aimed at French and Irish immigrants, who were considered subversives. The Sedition Act was an attempt to stifle Democratic-Republican opposition, although only 25 people were ever arrested, and only 10 convicted, under the law. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which initiated the concept of "nullification" of federal laws were written in response to the Acts. |
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Term
| Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions |
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Definition
| Written anonymously by Jefferson and Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they declared that states could nullify federal laws that the states considered unconstitutional. |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| Jefferson’s election changed the direction of the government from Federalist to Democratic- Republican, so it was called a "revolution." |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1795 - Treaty between the U.S. and Spain which gave the U.S. the right to transport goods on the Mississippi river and to store goods in the Spanish port of New Orleans. |
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Term
| Treaty of Greenville, 1795 |
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
| War of 1812 (1812-1814) (Treaty of Ghent) |
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Definition
| A war between the U.S. and Great Britain caused by American outrage over the impressment of American sailors by the British, the British seizure of American ships, and British aid to the Indians attacking the Americans on the western frontier. Also, a war against Britain gave the U.S. an excuse to seize the British northwest posts and to annex Florida from Britain’s ally Spain, and possibly even to seize Canada from Britain. The War Hawks (young westerners led by Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun) argued for war in Congress. The war involved several sea battles and frontier skirmishes. U.S. troops led by Andrew Jackson seized Florida and at one point the British managed to invade and burn Washington, D.C. The Treaty of Ghent (December 1814) restored the status quo and required the U.S. to give back Florida. Two weeks later, Andrew Jackson’s troops defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, not knowing that a peace treaty had already been signed. The war strengthened American nationalism and encouraged the growth of industry. |
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Term
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Definition
| Proposed after the War of 1812, it included using federal money for internal improvements (roads, bridges, industrial improvements, etc.), enacting a protective tariff to foster the growth of American industries, and strengthening the national bank. |
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Term
| Bank war: its enemies and defenders |
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Definition
| During Jackson’s presidency, this was a struggle between those who wanted to keep the national bank in operation and those who wanted to abolish it. Jackson and states’ rights advocates opposed the national bank, which they felt imposed discriminatory credit restrictions on local banks, making it more difficult for farmers and small businessmen to obtain loans. The bank was defended by Nicholas Biddle and Henry Clay, the National Republicans, the wealthy, and larger merchants, who felt that local banks credit policies were irresponsible and would lead to a depression. |
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Term
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Definition
| Federalist control of courts and judges. 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| Jefferson tries to impeach Chase for Chase's criticism of Jefferson Administration. Impeachment failed. |
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Term
| . Louisiana Purchase: reasons, Jefferson, loose construction |
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
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Definition
| 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. |
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Term
| Lewis and Clark. Zebulon Pike |
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Definition
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.
Lewis and Clark- 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 |
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Term
| Chesapeake-Leopard Affair |
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Definition
| 1807 - The American ship Chesapeake refused to allow the British on the Leopard to board to look for deserters. In response, the Leopard fired on the Chesapeake. As a result of the incident, the U.S. expelled all British ships from its waters until Britain issued an apology. They surrendered the colony to the English on Sept. 8, 1664. |
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Term
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Definition
| This act issued by Jefferson forbade American trading ships from leaving the U.S. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. It was difficult to enforce because it was opposed by merchants and everyone else whose livelihood depended upon international trade. It also hurt the national economy, so it was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act. |
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Term
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Definition
| 1809 - Replaced the Embargo of 1807. Unlike the Embargo, which forbade American trade with all foreign nations, this act only forbade trade with France and Britain. It did not succeed in changing British or French policy towards neutral ships, so it was replaced by Macon’s Bill No. 2. |
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Term
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Definition
| Forbade trade with Britain and France, but offered to resume trade with whichever nation lifted its neutral trading restrictions first. France quickly changed its policies against neutral vessels, so the U.S. resumed trade with France, but not Britain. |
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Term
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Definition
| A Shawnee chief who, along with his brother, Tenskwatawa, a religious leader known as The Prophet, worked to unite the Northwestern Indian tribes. The league of tribes was defeated by an American army led by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. Tecumseh was killed fighting for the British during the War of 1812 at the Battle of the Thames in 1813. |
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| Western settlers who advocated war with Britain because they hoped to aquire Britain’s northwest posts (and also Florida or even Canada) and because they felt the British were aiding the Indians and encouraging them to attack the Americans on the frontier. In Congress, the War Hawks were Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun. |
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| Causes of the War of 1812 |
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Definition
| These included: British impressment of sailors, British seizure of neutral American trading ships, and the reasons given by the War Hawks (the British were inciting the Indians on the frontier to attack the Americans, and the war would allow the U.S. to seize the northwest posts, Florida, and possibly Canada). |
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| The Federalist party was mainly composed of New England merchants, who wanted good relations with Britain and free trade. New England merchants met at the Hartford Convention in protest of the war and the U.S. government’s restrictions on trade.The Hartford Convention turned public sentiment against the Federalists and led to the demise of the party. |
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| The Essex Junto was a group of extreme Federalists led by Aaron Burr who advocated New England’s secession from the U.S. |
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Term
| Treaty of Ghent, provisions |
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Definition
| Ended the War of 1812 and restored the status quo. For the most part, territory captured in the war was returned to the original owner. It also set up a commission to determine the disputed Canada/U.S. border. |
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| Second bank of the U.S., a reversal of Jeffersonian ideas |
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Definition
| As a Republican, Jefferson opposed the National Bank. The Second Bank of the U.S. was established in 1816 and was given more authority than the First Bank of the U.S. Bank loans were used to finance the American industrial revolution in the period after the War of 1812. |
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| A natural post-war depression caused by overproduction and the reduced demand for goods after the war. However, it was generally blamed on the National Bank. |
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| Spain gave up Florida to the U.S. and the U.S./Mexico border was set so that Texas and the American Southwest would be part of Mexico. |
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| 1823 - Declared that Europe should not interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere and that any attempt at interference by a European power would be seen as a threat to the U.S. It also declared that a New World colony which has gained independence may not be recolonized by Europe. (It was written at a time when many South American nations were gaining independence). |
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| A name for President Monroe’s two terms, a period of strong nationalism, economic growth, and territorial expansion. Since the Federalist party dissolved after the War of 1812, there was only one political party and no partisan conflicts. |
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Definition
| Admitted Missouri as a slave state and at the same time admitted Maine as a free state. Declared that all territory north of the 36°30" latitude would become free states, and all territory south of that latitude would become slave states. |
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| The program for building roads, canals, bridges, and railroads in and between the states. There was a dispute over whether the federal government should fund internal improvements, since it was not specifically given that power by the Constitution. |
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| National Road (also called Cumberland Road) |
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| The first highway built by the federal government. Constructed during 1825-1850, it stretched from Pennsylvania to Illinois. It was a major overland shipping route and an important connection between the North and the West. |
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| The charge make by Jacksonians in 1825 that Clay had supported John Quincy Adams in the House presidential vote in return for the office of Secretary of State. Clay knew he could not win, so he traded his votes for an office. |
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| Also called Tariff of 1828, it raised the tariff on imported manufactured goods. The tariff protected the North but harmed the South; South said that the tariff was economically discriminatory and unconstitutional because it violated state's rights. It passed because New England favored high tariffs. |
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| Jackson's presidency was the called the Age of the Common Man. He felt that government should be run by common people - a democracy based on self-sufficient middle class with ideas formed by liberal education and a free press. All white men could now vote, and the increased voting rights allowed Jackson to be elected. |
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| Jacksonian Democracy: characteristics |
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Definition
| The Jacksonian era (1829-1841) included many reforms: free public schools, more women's rights, better working conditions in factories, and the rise of the Abolition movement. In the election, Jackson was portrayed as a common man and his opponent, J.Q. Adams, was attacked for his aristocratic principles. Electors in the electorial college were also chosen by popular vote. Common man, nationalism, National Nominating Conventions. |
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Term
Worchester v. Georgia; Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
Worchester v. Georgia: |
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Definition
| The Supreme Court decided Georgia had no jurisdiction over Cherokee reservations. Georgia refused to enforce decision and President Jackson didn't support the Court. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: 1831 - The Supreme Court ruled that Indians weren't independent nations but dependent domestic nations which could be regulated by the federal government. From then until 1871, treaties were formalities with the terms dictated by the federal government. |
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| Jackson's Vp 'til things got rough due to Peggy Eaton affair and Bank problem |
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| Clay: Compromise Tariff of 1833 |
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Definition
| Henry Clay devised the Compromise Tariff of 1833 which gradually reduced the rates levied under the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832. It caused South Carolina to withdraw the ordinance nullifying the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832. Both protectionists and anti-protectionists accepted the compromise. |
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| 1863 - The Specie Circular, issued by President Jackson July 11, 1836, was meant to stop land speculation caused by states printing paper money without proper specie (gold or silver) backing it. The Circular required that the purchase of public lands be paid for in specie. It stopped the land speculation and the sale of public lands went down sharply. The panic of 1837 followed. |
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Term
| Charles River Bridge Decision |
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Definition
| said that a state could not make laws infringing on the charters of private organizations |
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| When Jackson was president, many state banks received government money that had been withdrawn from the Bank of the U.S. These banks issued paper money and financed wild speculation, especially in federal lands. Jackson issued the Specie Circular to force the payment for federal lands with gold or silver. Many state banks collapsed as a result. A panic ensued (1837). Bank of the U.S. failed, cotton prices fell, businesses went bankrupt, and there was widespread unemployment and distress. |
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| In 1841, Rhode Island was governed by a 1663 charter which said that only property holders and their eldest sons could vote (1/2 the adult male population). Thomas Dorr led a group of rebels who wrote a new constitution and elected him governor in 1842. The state militia was called in to stop the rebellion. Dorr was sentenced to life imprisonment, but the sentence was withdrawn. Dorr's Rebellion caused conservatives to realize the need for reform. A new constitution in 1843 gave almost all men the right to vote. |
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| A philosophy pioneered by Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1830's and 1840's, in which each person has direct communication with God and Nature, and there is no need for organized churches. It incorporated the ideas that mind goes beyond matter, intuition is valuable, that each soul is part of the Great Spirit, and each person is part of a reality where only the invisible is truly real. Promoted individualism, self-reliance, and freedom from social constraints, and emphasized emotions. |
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Term
| The Burned-Over District" |
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Definition
| Term applied to the region of western New York along the Erie Canal, and refers to the religious fervor of its inhabitants. In the 1800's, farmers there were susceptible to revivalist and tent rallies by the pentecostals (religious groups). |
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Term
| Dorothea Dix, treatment of the insane |
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Definition
| A reformer and pioneer in the movement to treat the insane as mentally ill, beginning in the 1820's, she was responsible for improving conditions in jails, poorhouses and insane asylums throughout the U.S. and Canada. She succeeded in persuading many states to assume responsibility for the care of the mentally ill. She served as the Superintendant of Nurses for the Union Army during the Civil War. |
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| A group of socio-religious perfectionists who lived in New York. Practiced polygamy, communal property, and communal raising of children |
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| A millennial group who believed in both Jesus and a mystic named Ann Lee. Since they were celibate and could only increase their numbers through recruitment and conversion, they eventually ceased to exist. |
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| Public education, Horace Mann |
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Definition
| Secretary of the newly formed Massachusetts Board of Education, he created a public school system in Massachusetts that became the model for the nation. Started the first American public schools, using European schools (Prussian military schools) as models. |
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| An anti-foreign feeling that arose in the 1840's and 1850's in response to the influx of Irish and German Catholics |
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Term
| Supreme Court: Marbury v. Madison |
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Definition
| 1803 - The case arose out of Jefferson’s refusal to deliver the commissions to the judges appointed by Adams’ Midnight Appointments. One of the appointees, Marbury, sued the Sect. of State, Madison, to obtain his commission. The Supreme Court held that Madison need not deliver the commissions because the Congressional act that had created the new judgships violated the judiciary provisions of the Constitution, and was therefore unconstitutional and void. This case established the Supreme Court's right to judicial review. Chief Justice John Marshall presided. |
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| Supreme Court: Fletcher v. Peck |
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Definition
| 1810 - A state had tried to revoke a land grant on the grounds that it had been obtained by corruption. The Court ruled that a state cannot arbitrarily interfere with a person’s property rights. Since the land grant wass a legal contract, it could not be repealed, even if corruption was involved. |
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| Supreme Court: Darmouth College v. Woodward |
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Definition
| 1819 - This decision declared private corporation charters to be contracts and immune form impairment by states' legislative action. It freed corporations from the states which created them. |
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| Supreme Court: McCulloch v. Maryland |
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Definition
| This decision upheld the power of Congress to charter a bank as a government agency, and denied the state the power to tax that agency. |
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Term
| supreme Court: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia |
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Definition
| Supreme Court refused to hear a suit filed by the Cherokee Nation against a Georgia law abolishing tribal legislature. Court said Indians were not foreign nations, and U.S. had broad powers over tribes but a responsibility for their welfare. |
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