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301. Citizen Gent
Edmond Charles Gent. 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 Gent after Gent began recruiting men and arming ships in U.S. ports. However, Washington later relented and allowed Gent U.S. citizenship upon learning that the new French government planned to arrest Gent. TERM 2
302. Neutrality Proclamation
DEFINITION 2
Washingtons 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.
TERM 3
303. XYZ Affair,
Talleyrand
DEFINITION 3 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. Talleyrands 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. TERM 4
304. Undeclared naval war with
France
DEFINITION 4 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. TERM 5
305. Convention of 1800
DEFINITION 5
A conference between the U.S. and France which ended the
naval hostilities.
306. British seizure of American ships
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.
TERM 7
307. "Rule of 1756"
DEFINITION 7
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
Britains seizure of neutral American ships during the war
between Britain and France in the early 1800s.
TERM 8
308. Northwest posts
DEFINITION 8
British fur-trading posts in the Northwest territory. Their
presence in the U.S. led to continued British-American
conflicts.
TERM 9
309. Jays Treaty
DEFINITION 9 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. TERM 10
310. Washingtons Farewell Address
DEFINITION 10
He warned against the dangers of political parties and foreign
alliances.
316. Barbary pirates
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. TERM 17
317. Rutgers v. Waddington,
DEFINITION 17 In 1783, the New York State Legislature passed the Trespass Act, which allowed land owners whose property had been occupied by the British during the Revolution to sue for damages. Rutgers sued in the Mayors Court over the seizure of her brewery, and the Mayor, James Duane, declared the Act void because it conflicted with a provision of the Treaty of Paris. It was the first time a U.S. court had declared a law unconstitutional, and was an important precedent for the later U.S. Supreme Court decision in Marbury v. Madison. TERM 18
318. Trevett v. Weeden, 1786-
DEFINITION 18
Occurred under the Articles of Confederation, when each
state had a different type of currency. Acts passed by the
Rhode Island Legislature imposed heavy fines on those who
refused to accept the states depreciated currency at face
value. Weeden was acquitted on the grounds that the acts
were unconstitutional.
TERM 19
319. Bayard v. Singleton
DEFINITION 19
1787 - First court decision in which a law was found
unconstitutional based on a written constitution.
TERM 20
320. Supreme Court: Chisholm v. Georgia
DEFINITION 20
The heirs of Alexander Chisholm (a citizen of South Carolina)
sued the state of Georgia. The Supreme Court upheld the
right of citizens of one state to sue another state, and
decided against Georgia.
321. Supreme Court: Ware v. Hylton, 1796
A treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain required that all
debts owed by the U.S. to Britain had to be paid in full.
However, a Virginia statute said that American debts to
Britain could be paid in depreciated currency. The Supreme
Court upheld the treaty, proving that federal laws take
precedence over state laws.
TERM 22
322. War of 1812 (1812-1814)
DEFINITION 22 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 Britains 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 Jacksons 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. TERM 23
323. Clays American System
DEFINITION 23
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.
TERM 24
324. Was Jacksonianism an attack on
privilege?
DEFINITION 24
To some extent, it was. Jackson opposed monopolies and the
privileged class of society; he attacked the national bank for
this reason. He advocated increased popular participation in
government and greater opportunity for the common man.
TERM 25
325. Bank war: its enemies and defenders
DEFINITION 25 During Jacksons 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.
331. President
Jefferson
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.
TERM 32
332. Vice-President Burr
DEFINITION 32 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 Hamiltons 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. TERM 33
333. Sec. of Treasury Gallatin
DEFINITION 33 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. TERM 34
334. Jeffersons Inaugural Address, "We are all
Federalists, we are all Republicans"
DEFINITION 34
Jefferson (a Republican) declared that he wanted to keep the
nation unified and avoid partisan conflicts.
TERM 35
335. Federalist control of courts and judges,
midnight judges
DEFINITION 35 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.
336. Justice Samuel Chase
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 acquited by the Senate, and the impeachment failed. (This is the only attempt in history to impeach a U.S. Supreme Court Justice.) TERM 37
337. Tripolitan War (1801-1805)
DEFINITION 37
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.
TERM 38
338. Treaty of Sam Ildefonso
DEFINITION 38
1800 - In this treaty, Spain gave the Louisiana territory back
to France (France had lost it to Spain in the Seven Years
War).
TERM 39
339. Louisiana Purchase: reasons, Jefferson,
loose construction
DEFINITION 39 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. TERM 40
340. Toussaint LOverture
DEFINITION 40
1803 - Led a slave rebellion which took control of Haiti, the
most important island of Frances 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.
346. Berlin Decree (1806), Milan Decree
These decrees issued by Napoleon dealt with shipping and
led to the War of 1812. The Berlin Decree initiated the
Continental System, which closed European ports to ships
which had docked in Britain. The Milan Decree authorized
French ships to seize neutral shipping vessels trying to trade
at British ports.
TERM 47
347. Polly case, Essex case
DEFINITION 47
These dealt with the impressment of sailors.
TERM 48
348. Orders-in-council
DEFINITION 48
British laws which led to the War of 1812. Orders-in-council
passed in 1807 permitted the impressment of sailors and
forbade neutral ships from visiting ports from which Britain
was excluded unless they first went to Britain and traded for
British goods.
TERM 49
349. Impressment
DEFINITION 49
British seamen often deserted to join the American merchant
marines. The British would board American vessels in order
to retrieve the deserters, and often seized any sailor who
could not prove that he was an American citizen and not
British.
TERM 50
350. Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
DEFINITION 50
1807 - The American shipChesapeakerefused to allow the
British on theLeopardto board to look for deserters. In
response, theLeopardfired on theChesapeake. 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.
