ABeka History 11 - Chapter 8 - Bold Terms
Terms
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- attorney general
- handles the legal affairs of the federal government
- postmaster general
- oversees post offices and post roads
- President's Cabinet
- includes the heads of the executive departments; meets with the President to discuss matters of administration
- Judiciary Act of 1789
- set up a federal court system as outlined in the Constitution
- Bank of the United States
- national bank chartered for 20 years in 1791; the government purchased only 20% of the stock and private individuals purchased the rest; operated by a board of directors elected by the stockholders.
- bank notes
- paper money payable on demand in gold and silver coin
- strict construction
- strict interpretation of the Constitution
- loose construction
- loose interpretation of the Constitution
- protective tariffs
- tariffs high enough to discourage the importation of certain products, thereby aiding the development of American manufacturing
- excise tax
- a tax on a product produced, sold, and consumed within the home country
- Whiskey Rebellion
- incident in which farmers of western Pennsylvania rose up in protest against the excise tax on whiskey in 1794
- Mint Act of 1792
- established a mint and provided for the coinage of gold, silver, and copper
- Federalists
- a powerful and influential group that backed Alexander Hamilton; stood for loose construction of the Constitution
- Democratic-Republicans
- those who opposed Hamilton's programs and rallied around Thomas Jefferson; stood for strict construction of the Constitution
- Bastille
- an old fort in Paris that fell to the French Revolutionaries in 1789
- Reign of Terror
- period of the French Revolution between 1793 and 1794 in which the guillotine reigned supreme, filling the streets of Paris with blood
- impressed
- forced; used to refer to the forced recruitment of sailors into the British Navy
- Jay Treaty (1796)
- agreement negotiated by John Jay; avoided war between England and the United States at a critical time in America's history as a republic
- Pinckney Treaty (1795)
- agreement negotiated by Charles Pinckney; settled the disputed boundaries between Spanish West Florida and the United States
- Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794)
- General Anthony Wayne and his forces decisively defeated the Indians near present-day Toledo, Ohio
- Farewell Address
- Washington's announcement of his retirement; one of the most famous addresses in American history
- XYZ Affair
- incident in which three French agents (X, Y and Z) suggested that the French government might be willing to negotiate with an American peace commission if certain outrageous demands were met first
- Directory
- a group that came to power in France after the Reign of Terror; refused to negotiate a reasonable agreement with the United States
- Alien and Sedition Acts
- series of acts pushed through Congress by the Federalists in 1798; consisted of the Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, the Alien Enemies Act, and the Sedition Act; provoked the first states' rights movement under the new Constitution
- Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
- resolutions issued in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts; foreboded a long national struggle over the issue of states' rights
- Twelfth Amendment (1804)
- requires each elector to specify one vote for President and one vote for Vice President
- Judiciary Act of 1801
- called for creation of 16 new federal judgeships and a number of new positions for marshals, clerks, and attorneys
- What was the nation's capital city in 1789?
- New York City
- Name the three executive departments created by Congress.
- Department of State, Department of the Treasury, and the War Department
- Name the three categories of debt in Alexander Hamilton's financial plan.
- foreign debt, domestic debt, and state debts
- What were the terms of the Jay Treaty?
- England agreed to: (1) abandon her forts in American territory, (2) submit to arbitration disputed boundaries and liability for damages done to American shippers, and (3) open certain ports in the British Empire to American ships. The United States, in turn, agreed to pay debts owed to British merchants.
- What was the name of the plantation home of George Washington?
- Mount Vernon
- Name the President and Vice President elected in 1796.
- John Adams became President, and Thomas Jefferson became Vice President
- Who were the American peace commissioners in the XYZ Affair?
- Charles C. Pinckney, John Marshall, and Elbridge Gerry
- Name four of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
- Naturalization Act, Alien Act, Alien Enemies Act, and Sedition Act
- Name the stipulations of the Twelfth Amendment.
- Each elector must specify one vote for President and one for Vice President
- What years were known as the Federalist Era?
- 1789-1800
- Why did Washington and his Cabinet place such a high priority on paying off the public debt?
- Without a sound financial policy, the new government could not hope to gain the respect of either its own citizens or foreign nations. The new federal government would have to prove its integrity and its ability to function by paying its debts.
- How did Alexander Hamilton help the nation prosper economically?
- Alexander Hamilton established a sound, three-part plan for payment of the national debt, proposed a national bank, devised protective tariffs and an excise tax, and created a coinage system. The successful launching of the new government under the Constitution can largely be attributed to Alexander Hamilton's careful and far-reaching plans. Under his guidance, the nation's credit was firmly established, and the government's financial needs were met. The United States, though almost bankrupt a few years before, was on its way to becoming the most prosperous nation in the world.
- Compare and contrast the Federalists with the Democratic-Republicans. Explain how the views of each party were needed in America's early republic.
- The Federalists believed in a powerful central government. They maintained that government should represent the common man, but is best run by those with expertise. The Federalists included large landholders, merchants, manufacturers, bankers, lawyers, and those who held government bonds. Because they wished to expand the powers of the federal government, the Federalists stood for loose construction of the Constitution.
- How did the French Revolution differ from America's War for Independence?
- The French people had intended to follow America's example, but they lacked the heritage of Biblical Christianity that guided the American patriots and enabled them to establish a successful republican government. As a result, the revolution, intended to liberate men, lost all respect for mankind and became nothing more than a riotous, bloody struggle for power. Rather than fighting for the rights of others, men murdered and plundered their fellow citizens for personal gain and revenge.
- What legacy did the Federalists leave the new nation?
- The Federalists launched the great Constitutional republic, set the nation on a sound financial basis, established a central government with enough power to hold the Union intact, protected the infant nation from foreign wars, and oversaw the project of relocating the nation's capital in Washington.
- What parts of the Alien and Sedition Acts seemed necessary to protect American interests? Explain. How were the Alien and Sedition Acts used as a political tool?
- The portions of the acts that dealt with removing dangerous aliens and making it a crime to instigate a riot or insurrection were reasonable, especially in the light of the danger that those coming from Europe could carry over the ideas of the French Revolution with them. However, the portion of the Sedition Act that outlawed "false, scandalous, and malicious" statements against the government was aimed directly at the Republicans, and the other acts were also foolishly enforced as political tools by the Federalists, a practice which directly violated America's democratic principles.