Term
| Why was George Washington unable to overcome division within the new government? |
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Definition
| Despite his huge popularity among all segments of the American population. President Washington was not able to bridge the differences between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. These two men fought throughout Washington's presidency over their different visions for the future of the republic. Hamilton imagined an urban commercial nation with a strong central government; Jefferson championed a simple agrarian republic. |
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Term
| Why did many Americans oppose Alexander Hamilton's blueprint for national prosperity? |
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Definition
| Many citizens, especially farmers and former soldiers, resented that Hamilton's plan to fund state loan certificates at full value would reward the un-American actions of speculators by allowing them to make money without physical labor. They believed the idea to be un-American and un-republican. Many also complained that this plan rewarded states that were financially irresponsible in paying off their part of the national debt. Supporters of Jefferson rejected Hamilton's vision of the US as a commercial and manufacturing nation, they feared that his plan for a Bank of the United States and doctrine of implied powers would lead to the steady growth of governmental power, a tyrannical government. Americans were losing the unity of they once held under the Revolution. |
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Term
| How did foreign affairs affect domestic politics the 1790s? |
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Definition
* The French Revolution split American opinion and forced officials to identify themselves with either Britain or France. The Jeffersonians (Republicans): advocated states’ rights, strict interpretation, and friendship with France. The Federalists: urged a strong national government, central economic planning, closer ties with Britain, and maintenance of public order.
* The extremely unpopular Jay's Treaty with Britain provoked heated political debate between its Federalists supporters and Republican opponents.
* Disagreements over how to deal with French aggression and insults during the Quasi-War and the XYZ Affair drove a wedge between John Adams, who was against declaring a war, and the High Federalist who called for war and military expansion. This divide helped Jefferson win the election of 1800. |
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Term
| Why was it hard for Americans to accept political dissent as a part of political activity? |
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Definition
| In the 1790s, many Americans equated political dissent with disloyalty to the American government and they lamented the loss of unity that had tied them together during the struggle for independence. Moreover, because political dissent was seen as a synonym to disloyalty, they feared that partisan politics might lead to a conspiracy to overthrow the legitimately elected government. |
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Term
| Why were some Federalists willing to sacrifice political freedoms for party advantages? |
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Definition
| Many Federalists believed that the support of Jeffersonian Republicans for France had compromised American sovereignty. Hamilton and the High Federalists believed that a standing army was necessary to defend against invasion and to silence domestic dissent so that it could not split the republic apart. They rationalized that the sacrifice of political liberties entailed in the Alien and Sedition Acts were necessary to protect the Republic from corrupting foreign influences.This was especially important since they anticipated the onset of war with France. They used the rationale of national security to justify their pursuit of party power. |
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Term
| What did wealthy Americans fear about the newly established Constitution? |
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Definition
| The new Constitution transferred the sovereignty of the states to the people, many Americans feared that this overflow of democracy would lead to instability and that it should be contained in the educated, wealthy, upperclass to ensure the future of the republic. |
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Term
| What was the cause of the Whiskey Rebellion and who did Washington blame? |
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Definition
o Farmers in Western Pennsylvania protested a federal excise tax on distilled whiskey, which generated a good deal of revenue and the tax threatened to put them out of business.
* Washington blamed the Republican governor for not calming down the uprising. |
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Term
| What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 establish? |
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Definition
| It created a Supreme Court staffed by a chief justice and five associate justices, created 13 district courts that were authorized to review the decisions of the state court. |
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Term
| Why did the Tariff of 1789 cause so much debate? |
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Definition
| Because Northern shippers controlled the flow of imports into the South, since they now had to purchase products from the North → Southerners claimed the tariff discriminated against southern interest. |
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Term
| What was Alexander Hamilton's stand on how America should go about fulfilling its destiny? |
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Definition
He believed that farms and factories embedded within a complex financial network would reduce the nation’s reliance on foreign trade, through the setup of a banking and credit system.
o He feared democratic excess and believed that the survival of the republic lay with the wealthy people. → if they could be persuaded that their self-interest could be secured/advanced by the central government then they would work to strengthen it.
*Private greed would ensure public goods. |
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Term
| What was Thomas Jefferson's stand on how America should go about fulfilling its destiny? |
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Definition
He believed that the strength of the American economy was in its agricultural productivity, which could be expanded through the international market by exchanging raw materials for finer manufactures.
o He trusted the people, feared an uncontrolled government, “strict” interpretation of the Constitution and believed that the threat lay in people who placed the protection of property over the preservation of liberty. |
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Term
| What did Hamilton's Report on the Public credit reveal and what were some of his suggestions? |
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Definition
* It revealed the nation's debt: ~54 million dollars.
• The US promised to fund its foreign and domestic obligations at face value → current holders of loan certificates could exchange them for government bonds.
• He urged the federal government to assume responsibility for paying the remaining state debts.
* His plan reduced the state's power to shape the national government's economic policy.
* He believed that a fully funded national debt would prove to foreign powers that the United States was solvent. |
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Term
| What was Hamilton's plan for the Bank and how did he justify it? |
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Definition
o Hamilton proposed that the government charter a national bank → the Bank of the United States would own US bonds, so its financial stability would be tied to the strength of the federal government and facilitate complex commercial transactions.
o Hamilton justified the creation of a bank through the necessary and proper clause, doctrine of implied powers that the Constitution did not explicitly grant to the federal government → “Loose” interpretation. |
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Term
| What did Hamilton's Report on Manufacturers entail? |
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Definition
It suggested ways the federal government might stimulate manufacturing and aid the country in developing its own industry, as well as accelerate the growth of a balanced economy, through the implementation of protective tariffs and industrial bounties.
* This angered southern congressman. They saw tariffs and bounties as vehicles for enriching the northern manufactures in expense of the plantation owners. |
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Term
| What was America's foreign policy during the French Revolution? |
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Definition
| The United States declared neutrality when France declared war on Britain in 1793 → Europeans began to challenge the Americans’ position on shipping. |
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Term
| What did Jefferson believe America should do about impressment? What did Hamilton believe? |
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Definition
• Jefferson believed that nations desiring American goods should be forced to honor American neutrality → If the Royal Navy began to impress American sailors, then the US should award France special commercial advantages and vice versa.
* Hamilton → appease Britain. |
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Term
| What caused Washington to attempt to preserve peace with Britain? |
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Definition
| Britain’s refusal to abandon the Northwest Territory, coupled with Britain’s blockade of French ports and capturing American vessels in the French West Indies. |
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Term
| John Jay was sent to London to negotiate on America's behalf with Britain, what did Jay's Treaty entail? |
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Definition
| The British would abandon their frontier posts, would allow small ships to trade in the West Indies, but rejected to honor US’s neutral rights and refused to compensate for the ships seized in 1793 until Americans paid the debts contracted before the Revolution. → Would continue to search American vessels. |
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Term
| What was the relationship between Britain and the Indians? |
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Definition
| o British officers encouraged local Indian groups to attack American settlers and traders → Indians knew that the Americans intended to seize their land. |
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Term
| How was the Treaty of San Lorenzo (1795) established and how was it entailed? |
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Definition
o The Spanish assumed that Britain and the US had formed an alliance to strip of its North American possessions.
* Spain offered Pinckney (US rep) the opening of the Missy, right to deposit goods in New Orleans without paying duties, a secure southern boundary, and a promise to stay out of Indian affairs. |
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Term
| What did Washington warn against in his Farewell Address? |
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Definition
| • Warned against political factions and counseled the US to avoid permanent alliances with distant nations that had no real interest in American security. |
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Term
| What was the Quasi-War and how did it lead to the XYZ Affair? |
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Definition
• In 1797, French privateers began seizing American ships, neither side declared war. --> Quasi-War
* XYZ Affair: Adams dispatched a special commission to Paris in attempt to remove the sources of antagonism. They were instructed to obtain compensation for the ships French privateers had seized and release from the treaties of 1778. → In exchange, the commission offered France the same commercial privileges Jay’s Treaty granted to Britain. |
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Term
| What were did the Alien and Sedition Acts implement? |
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Definition
The acts authorized using federal courts and the powers of the powers of the presidency to silence the Republicans.
* The Alien Enemies Law: the resident could detain or deport citizens of nations with which the US was at war and who behaved in a manner he thought suspicious.
• The Alien Law: empowered the president to expel any foreigner from the US by executive order → limited to 2 years.
• The Naturalization Law: it established a 14-year probationary period before foreigners could apply for US citizenship.
o The Sedition Law: defined criticism of the US government as criminal libel, subjects could be fined or imprisoned → enforcement of the act to the federal courts. |
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Term
| In retaliation to the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were drawn up, what did they entail? |
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Definition
* Jefferson and Madison drew up the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions defended the right of individual state assemblies to interpret the constitutionality of federal law.
• Kentucky Resolution, Jefferson, stated that the states transferred certain explicit powers to the national government, but they retained full authority over all matters the Constitution did not specifically mention.
• Virginia Resolution, Madison, urged the states to defend the rights of the American people, but he resisted the notion that a single state legislature could overthrow federal law. |
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Term
| What was the Convention of Mortefontaine about? |
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Definition
| The French refused to compensate for the vessels during the Quasi-War, but declared the treaties of 1778 null and void. As well as, removed French restrictions on US Commerce. |
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Term
| Who were the midnight judges? |
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Definition
| Adams appointed as many Federalists as possible to the federal bench before his term was over. |
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