Terms to Know: 4Th 6 Weeks George Washington: Virginian
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Terms to Know: 4th 6 Weeks George Washington: Virginian. Federalist. America’s first president. Established a number of precedents for the office of the presidency while facing a number of challenges, including defining the authority of the central government, creating a stable economic system, building a military, maintaining national security and establishing a foreign policy. Cabinet: officials appointed by the president to act as an advisory committee. Alexander Hamilton: Appointed by Washington as the first Secretary of the Treasury. Developed a four part plan to establish the nation financially Hamilton’s Financial Plan: Four part plan developed by Hamilton to establish the nation economically. It involved the establishment of national credit by taking on and paying the debt of the states. It also called for the creation of a national banking system, imposing a tax on whiskey production and creating a protective tariff on imports to encourage domestic production. Political Parties: Two parties would emerge in American politics based on the differences of opinion of both Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson. The primary differences of the two parties were in their interpretation of the Constitution. Hamilton and the Federalist Party believed in a loose interpretation of the while Jefferson and the Republicans believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Democratic-Republicans: One of the first two American political parties, together with the Federalist Party. Founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Those two and James Monroe were the only Democratic-Republican presidents. Party disbanded in the 1820s, splintering into two factions, the Democratic Party and the Whig Party. Members of the Democratic-Republican Party believed that a strong federal government would weaken and not respect the rights of the states and the people. Federalists: One of the first two American political parties, together with the Democratic-Republican Party. Founded by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams. Met its demise soon after Hamilton was killed in a duel. Adams (and to some degree Washington) was the only Federalist President. Name came from the Federalist Papers and from the idea that the federal government should be supreme. Protective Tariff: A tax imposed to protect domestic producers from import competition. French Revolution: The revolution that began in 1789, overthrew the absolute monarchy of the Bourbons and the system of aristocratic privileges, and ended with Napoleon's overthrow of the Directory and seizure of power in 1799. Proclamation of Neutrality: The Neutrality Proclamation of 1793 was authorized by George Washington on April 22, 1793 and stated that the US would take no part in a war between two or more other powers, specifically France and Great Britain. The Neutrality Proclamation of 1793 also threatened legal proceedings against any American citizen giving assistance to any country at war. Whisky Rebellion: The first real test of the new United States Government's authority to enforce federal laws. In Western Pennsylvania, people used a lot of whiskey: both to use up extra corn and as money. The federal government passed a tax on whiskey in 1791. Farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax, saying it was like the Stamp Act all over again. Trouble brewed for a couple years until 1794, when farmers assaulted federal tax collectors. President George Washington called out the national militia to put down what came to be called the Whiskey Rebellion. Many people were arrested, but all were later either pardoned or found not guilty. Farewell Address: A statement that President George Washington published in a Philadelphia newspaper in 1796 to announce that he would not run for a third term and to give his views on foreign and domestic policy. Samuel Slater: Famous cotton mill builder. He was originally an English citizen who came to America after the Revolutionary War. He built his first mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in 1790. Other mills around New England soon followed. These mills featured of spinning machines that quickly turned cotton into textiles and fabrics. Such machines and mills were an important part of the Industrial Revolution. Factories: A building or group of buildings where products are made. The shift to factories lead to the decline of home made goods once all of the means of production were moved under one roof. Industrial Revolution: A period in American (and world) history in which society moved to a focus on machines, factories, and industry. Populations in northern America, especially, built large factories and large machines to do things people used to do by hand. This shift to factories also lead to increased urbanization and the growth of American cities. National Road: Also known as the Cumberland Road, the National Road was the first federal highway in the United States, and was built from Maryland to Ohio, and later extended into Indiana. The road helped many settlers head west as it provided a reliable route beyond the original states along the eastern seaboard. President Thomas Jefferson signed a bill authorizing the construction of the road in 1806, and construction began in 1811. The National Road was, along with the Erie Canal, one of the arteries that made westward expansion possible in the United States in the early 19th century. Thomas Jefferson: Third president of the United States, serving two terms. He was also vice-president under John Adams. He wrote the Declaration of Independence. He was a minister to France and later kept his country out of wars with England and France. Jefferson, along with James Madison, was a leader of the new Democratic-Republican Party. His politics brought him into conflict with Adams and Alexander Hamilton, who were the leaders of the new Federalist Party. Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase and sent Meriwether Lewis and James Clark on their famous visit to the Pacific Ocean. In his personal life, he was a successful inventor, inventing among other things a swivel chair and a wheel cipher, which could be used to send or read coded messages. He also had many interesting inventions at his home, Monticello. John Adams: Second president of the United States, serving one term. He was also vice-president for two terms under George Washington. Adams was a leader of the American Revolution (along with his cousin Samuel) and of the new Federalist Party, along with Alexander Hamilton. His politics brought him into conflict with his vice-president, Thomas Jefferson, who was a leader of the new Democratic-Republican Party. Adams's presidency was filled with foreign difficulties, including the XYZ Affair, which almost led to war with France. His son, John Quincy Adams, also served as president. Louisiana Purchase: Huge addition of land that doubled the size of the country. Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for the sum of $15 million (4 cents per acre). The size of the Territory was 828,000 square miles! Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored this vast territory from 1804 to 1806. Lewis and Clark: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set out from St. Louis in 1804 to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory. Along the way, they hired several guides, among them a Native American woman named Sacagawea, who led them the entire trip west to the Pacific Ocean and back again. Lewis & Clark observed other cultures, their customs, their food and clothing, their agriculture, and all sorts of other aspects of their society. In addition, the explorers discovered the existence of a large number of animal and plant species that Americans hadn't know about before. They returned to territorial America in 1806 and passed their findings on to all Americans. Marbury v. Madison: First decision by the Supreme Court to declare a law unconstitutional (1803). This was the first time the Supreme Court struck down a law because it was unconstitutional. It was the beginning of the practice of "judicial review." John Marshall: First important Chief Justice of the United States (beginning in 1801). He wrote many of the Supreme Court's first famous opinions, including Marbury v. Madison, McCulloch v. Ogden, and Gibbons v. Ogden. All of these opinions strengthened the power of the federal government. He served as Chief Justice until 1836. He had been a soldier in the Revolutionary War and had served with George Washington at Valley Forge. Embargo Act: Law passed by Congress and signed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. This law stopped all trade between America and any other country. The goal was to get Britain and France, who were fighting each other at the time, to stop restricting American trade. The Act backfired, and the American people suffered. The Act was ended in 1809. War of 1812: American victory over British forces in America and in Canada. Fighting both British and Native American troops in Canada, the U.S., and Florida, the Americans managed to win what some have called the "second war of independence," despite stunning defeats in the north (loss of Fort Detroit) and the symbolic burning of the White House, Capitol, and other government buildings (Battle of Washington). The war had its roots in the Native American conflicts in the Northwest Territory and the British encouragement of those conflicts, as well as the continued British interference with American shipping. The last official battle of the war, the Battle of Baltimore, convinced the British that they didn't have the troops to keep on fighting this war and fighting Napoleon, which they had been doing in Europe for most of the War of 1812 as well. They agreed to peace by signing the Treaty of Ghent. Ironically, commanders for neither side in the South heard of the treaty before the Battle of New Orleans, in January 1815. The American victory put an exclamation point on the overall war victory.