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| 375224645 | Alexander Hamilton | A charismatic New Yorker who had an elitist view towards government and eventually became a key force in the Federalist Party. Saved the failed convention of 1786 in Annapolis, Maryland. Penned Federalist Papers | |
| 375224646 | James Madison | A student of government, this man made significant contributions to the Constitution and thus has been named "the Father of the Constitution." work extended beyond the writing of the Constitution as he was also the penman of many of the Federalist Papers, documents that urged the states to ratify the new Constitution and provide for a stronger central government. | |
| 375224647 | Gouveneur Morris | A key contributing figure in the creation of the Constitution. This highly educated man is often credited with coming up with the Preamble to the Constitution. Although he was born in New York, he represented Pennsylvania at the Constitutional Convention in 1787 and came to serve as an important figure in advocating being citizens of a union rather than citizens of specific states | |
| 375224648 | Thomas Jefferson | A free-minded Virginian who played a key role during the Revolution as the writer of the Declaration of Independence. He supported a true democracy and was thus hesitant to grant power to a central authority. Notably, he and other radicals who espoused similar beliefs were not present at the Constitutional Convention because they were serving as diplomats abroad and therefore could not influence the adoption of a Constitution that essentially established a strong federal government. | |
| 375224649 | Primogeniture | a medieval inheritance law in which all of a father's property would be given to the eldest son. Thus, the younger sons as well as the daughters would receive no part of the family fortune and would thus have to carve out their own niches in society. | |
| 375224650 | Checks and Balances | An Enlightenment idea first associated with the separation of powers espoused by Montesquieu. Essentially, the government would be divided into branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. Separation of Powers | |
| 375224651 | Mobocracy | The idea that mob rule had become the dominant way of governance. This was largely the case in the time leading up to the Revolution as the then colonists were able to rally together to overthrow the British authorities. | |
| 375224652 | States' Rights | A concept first developed under the Articles of Confederation that granted enormous power to the state governments. After their experiences under the despotic British crown and Parliament, the American people were hesitant to give authority to a central government. | |
| 375224653 | Popular Sovereignty | The concept of sovereignty as came to be defined by the beliefs of the federalists. While the antifederalists held that sovereignty of the people was only represented in the legislative, the federalists came to argue that was represented in all branches of the government, the executive, legislative, and judicial. | |
| 375224654 | Republican Motherhood | Following along with the "civic virtue" aspect of republicanism, came to characterize the work of most women to contribute to the overall democracy. An effective democracy required educated citizens who would then be able to make the best decisions for their governance. As the primary caretakers of young children up until the time when they became independent and entered into the world as significant contributors in society, women played an important rule in carrying out such education. Therefore, their teaching children good morals and political competence among other things became essential and this eventually allowed women to expand into the teaching industry. | |
| 375224655 | Ratification | The process of putting into effect the Constitution. Delaware was the first to ratify the Constitution and was quickly followed by the large state of Pennsylvania. Other states ratified the Constitution before the important decision of Massachusetts was passed as the sixth state to ratify the Constitution after stiff opposition from antifederalists such as Samuel Adams. | |
| 375224656 | Constitutional Convention | met at Philadelphia on May 25, 1787. The convention had been called for by Alexander Hamilton among others after the previous convention at Annapolis, Maryland in 1786 had failed to produce any notable results, largely because few of the states actually attended | |
| 375224657 | Society of Cincinnati | an elitist organization that was the brainchild of Henry Knox and counted Alexander Hamilton among its notable constituents. The organization was originally founded to keep the ideals and fellowships of Revolutionary War veterans alive and running in the emerging society. | |
| 375224658 | Great Compromise | The compromise that perhaps saved the Constitution and established what was then considered the most important branch of the government, the legislative. The compromise established the House of Representatives with representation based on population to appease the larger states, and the Senate, in which each state would have two votes according to the principle espoused by the smaller states. | |
| 375224659 | Articles of Confederation | the first constitution of the United States, it had notable deficiencies as a result of American hesitancy to place too much power in the hands of a central authority after what they had experienced under the British crown and Parliament. | |
| 375224660 | Electoral College | A body established by the Constitution to elect the president indirectly as opposed to directly by the people. The concept was that the larger states would have an advantage in the first round when votes were based on the total number of senators and representatives in Congress | |
| 375224661 | Land Ordinance | a set of laws passed under the Articles of Confederation that established that the lands in the Old Northwest would be sold to help pay off the national debt. The vast area would be surveyed and sold in small parcels with each square mile being divided into thirty-six sections. | |
| 375224662 | 3/5ths compromise | A compromise reached primarily between the Northern states and the Southern states over the matter of counting slaves when it came to representation. Naturally, the South would support such a cause and the North would oppose it because it provided no benefit to the North while providing additional influence for the South. | |
| 375224663 | Northwest Ordinance | provided for the steps to become recognized states in the Union. Although initially only applied to the Old Northwest, the concepts first established by this ordinance became the standard as more states were formed and the nation grew. | |
| 375224664 | Antifederalists | the group of people who came to oppose ratification of the Constitution, largely because it provided for a stronger central government. These individuals were mainly advocates of states' rights and small farmers and debtors who feared that a central government would force them to repay their debts in full and implement further oppressions. They also felt that the natural rights of man were being jeopardized and called for a Bill of Rights | |
| 375224665 | Shay's Rebellion | an insurrection led by Revolutionary War veteran and farmer The rebellion came about as a result of a series of foreclosures and tax delinquencies that left many farmers without a livelihood. In this situation, the farmers rose up and demanded that the state, Massachusetts, issue paper money, lighten taxes, and suspend property takeovers. Massachusetts authorities responded by creating a mercenary army but the rebellion clearly showed the need of a federal government that would be able of handling such uprisings. | |
| 375224666 | Federalists | the group of people who came to support the ratification of the Constitution, largely because of its provisions for a stronger central government. Such individuals often hailed from the wealthier classes and thus had certain aristocratic biases. | |
| 375224667 | Virginia Plan | Large state plan | |
| 375224668 | New Jersey Plan | Small state plan | |
| 375224669 | US Constitution | The oldest living document still in use today, it has served as the framework for American government since its inception in 1787. Delegates met at Philadelphia and came up with several compromises, most notably the Great Compromise on the matter of the legislature, the three-fifths compromise, and the establishment of an executive elected by an Electoral College, that eventually resulted in a stronger federal government | |
| 375224670 | Federalist Papers/The Federalists | this set of influential documents was penned by James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton. | |
| 375224671 | Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom | A document that was passed under the watch of Thomas Jefferson and his supporters. The document was the culmination of the struggle for the separation of church and state. As republicanism and the concept of equality took root in America, many saw religion and specifically any churches, of which there were many at the time, as possibly being unfair to certain groups if the government were closely tied tot hat religion. | |
| 375224672 | John Adams | The vice president under George Washington, he later served as the second President of the United States. Compared to Washington, he was quite unfit to be leader as he cared little for his popularity with the people. By this time, he was getting rather old at sixty-two and was even known as "His Rotundity." | |
| 375224673 | Henry Knox | Serving as the Secretary of War under George Washington, he was the chief artillery officer under Washington during the Revolutionary war. | |
| 375224674 | John Jay | One of the penman of the Federalist papers, he would serve as an important diplomat for much of the early stages of America's development. Under the provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1789, became the first chief justice of the United States. | |
| 375224675 | Citizen Edmond Genet | A young representative from the French republic who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1793. He acted in an unrestrained way in trying to take advantage of the existing Franco-American alliance to gain supplies and forces for the French revolutionary cause back in Europe. | |
| 375224676 | Talleyrand | French foreign minister whom envoys sent by President Adams hoped to meet and negotiate with. The minister was known for his craftiness and as the envoys went to meet with him, mysterious middlemen, known only as X, Y, and Z approached the envoys and demanded an unneutral loan of 32 million florins, plus a bribe of $250,000 | |
| 375224677 | Implied powers | the concept that the federal government had certain powers that were not explicitly stated in the Constitution. This idea fell under loose construction and was used by Alexander Hamilton when he argued for the establishment of the Bank of the United States. | |
| 375224678 | Excise Tax | a tax placed on a few domestic items, passed by Congress in response to Hamilton's call for increased revenue to pay off the national debt and establish good credit. | |
| 375224679 | Protective Tariffs | a tax placed on imported goods so as to protect a nation's infant industries. Hamilton used protective tariffs in his economic plan to allow America's developing industries a chance to compete with the already established industries of European countries such as Britain | |
| 375224680 | Compact Theory | A theory popular among English political philosophers that when applied to America by Jefferson and Madison essentially went like this: The thirteen states had entered into a contract with the federal government and the federal government had broken the contract with the Alien and Sedition Acts.Thus, the states had the right to nullify laws that they deemed unconstitutional. | |
| 375224681 | Nullifcation | The idea that went along with the compact theory, which when applied to America by Jefferson and Madison essentially went like this: The thirteen states had entered into a compact with the federal government and the federal government had broken the compact with the Alien and Sedition Acts, any acts deemed unconstitutional | |
| 375224682 | Impressment | the British practice of capturing American sailors, both military and commercial, and forcing them into service aboard British ships. | |
| 375224683 | Bank of the United States | An institution proposed by Hamilton under his economic plan that would serve as a regulator of federal funds and safe-holder of surplus monies from the Treasury. The bank would be able to stimulate business by printing paper money and would be useful to the financial system in many ways. | |
| 375224684 | Jay's Treaty | most notably the promise of evacuation of the military posts in the Old Northwest and the payment of damages for the recent seizures of American ships. | |
| 375224685 | Neutrality Proclamation | a document issued by Washington in 1793, shortly after the outbreak of war between Britain and France as a result of the French Revolution. The document warned American citizens to be impartial to both sides and was the predecessor of isolationist policies in the future. Washington acted with the intention of trying to establish a strong foundation for the new nation before becoming embroiled in foreign affairs among other things. | |
| 375224686 | Whiskey Rebellion | The farmers and distillers erected whiskey poles similar to the liberty poles and demanded "Liberty and No excise." Furthermore, they tarred and feathered revenue officers and brought collections to a halt. In response, Washington assembled an army from the militia of all states and crushed the uprising easily. Showed government's strength. | |
| 375224687 | Ninth Amendment | addresses the rights of people that are not explicitly stated within the Constitution. In other words, it suggests that there are other natural rights that may not be explicitly stated within the Bill of Rights or the Constitution itself but nonetheless are reserved to the people and should be respected by the government. Madison says that "specifying certain rights 'shall not be construed to deny or disparage other retained by the people.'" | |
| 375224688 | Tenth Amendment | Amendment addresses the rights of states that are not explicitly stated within the Constitution. Madison writes that all rights not explicitly delegated to the federal government or prohibited to the states would go "to the States respectively, or to the people." Such an amendment was key for states' rights supporters who had a strong voice within antifederalist groups. As such the blank Amendment for states' rights was a shrewd move on the part of Madison as in unified the states even more, even though the tide was shifted slightly back in the antifederalist direction with this concession. | |
| 375224689 | Pinckey's Treaty | , which was signed in 1795, Spain granted the Americans most of their demands, including free navigation of the Mississippi, which was crucial to the economic success of the frontier regions, and the large disputed territory north of Florida. | |
| 375224690 | Alien and Sedition Acts | a series of acts passed by the Federalist majority in Congress that limited Jeffersonian influence by violating certain basic rights, including freedom of speech and press. The Acts targeted immigrants, who most often identified with the Democratic-Republicans. | |
| 375224691 | Battle of Fallen Timbers | A battle between the Miami Confederacy led by Little Turtle and the United States Army, which was headed by General "Mad Anthony" Wayne. Though the Confederacy had originally been backed by the British, when the Americans began to gain the upper hand, the British abandoned the Indians, leaving the Confederacy to fend for themselves. | |
| 375224692 | Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions | a series of propositions penned by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson respectively. These resolutions were based on the compact theory and stated that the thirteen states had entered into a compact with the federal government and the Alien and Sedition Acts were a violation of this compact. Therefore, the states had the right to nullify the laws that they deemed were unconstitutional. States' Rights. | |
| 375224693 | Democratic-Republicans | The party that was headed by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison and opposed the beliefs held by Alexander Hamilton and his followers. They were essentially the antifederalists with a different name. | |
| 375224694 | Judiciary Act of 1789 | An act passed by the first Congress that established the judicial branch of the United States. The act created the Supreme Court, as well as federal district and circuit courts. Furthermore, the Judiciary Act established the office of attorney general. The Supreme Court would be the ultimate judicial power in the land and would consist of a chief justice and five associates | |
| 375224695 | Treaty of Greenville | A treaty between the Indians of the Miami Confederacy and the United States. Signed in August 1795 after the American victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, the treaty gave the United States control of the Old Northwest, including modern-day Ohio and Indiana. In exchange, the confederacy would receive a lump-sum payment of $20,000 and $9,000 annually. Furthermore, the Indians could still hunt on the lands they had ceded and informally perhaps, they had the recognition of sovereign status. | |
| 375224696 | XYZ Affair | an occurrence under the presidency of John Adams. As a result of Jay's Treaty, France had become angry with the Americans, citing the treaty as a violation of their earlier pact during the Revolutionary War. Looking to avoid war with France, Adams sent three envoys to meet with the French foreign minister Talleyrand. The minister was known for his craftiness and as the envoys went to meet with him | |
| 375224697 | Miami Confederacy | an alliance off eight Indian nations who terrorized Americans invading their lands and were led by Little Turtle, the chief of the Miamis. The confederacy took the Ohio River to be the border between the Americans and themselves and took action when that border was crossed. In 1790 and 1791, forces under Little Turtle defeated armies led by General Josiah Harmar and Arthur St. Clair, inflicting humiliating defeats and casualties on American forces. |
