| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Patrick Henry (1736-1799) | One of the main opponents of the Constitution, he worked against its ratification in Virginia. |
| The Federalist Papers, Jay, Hamilton, Madison | This collection of essays by John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison, explained the importance of a strong central government. It was published to convince New York to ratify the Constitution. |
| "The Federalist, # 10" | This essay from the Federalist Papers proposed setting up a republic to solve the problems of a large democracy (anarchy, rise of factions which disregard public good). |
| Bill of Rights adopted, 1791 | The first ten amendments to the Constitution, which guarantee basic individual rights. |
| President George Washington | He established many of the presidential traditions, including limiting a president's tenure to two terms. He was against political parties and strove for political balance in government by appointing political adversaries to government positions. |
| Vice-president John Adams | A Federalist, he had little say in Washington�s administration. |
| Sec. of the Treasury Hamilton | A leading Federalist, he supported industry and strong central government. He created the National Bank and managed to pay off the U.S.�s early debts through tariffs and the excise tax on whiskey. |
| Sec. of State Jefferson | A leading Democratic-Republican, he opposed Hamilton�s ideas. Washington tended to side with Hamilton, so Jefferson resigned. |
| National debt, state debt, foreign debt | The U.S.�s national debt included domestic debt owed to soldiers and others who had not yet been paid for their Revolutionary War services, plus foreign debt to other countries which had helped the U.S. The federal government also assumed all the debts incurred by the states during the war. Hamilton�s program paid off these debts. |
| Excise taxes | Taxes placed on manufactured products. The excise tax on whiskey helped raise revenue for Hamilton�s program. |
| Implied powers, elastic clause, necessary and proper clause | Section 8 of Article I contains a long list of powers specifically granted to Congress, and ends with the statement that Congress shall also have the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the forfegoing powers." These unspecified powers are known as Congress' "implied" powers. There has long been a debate as to how much power this clause grants to Congress, which is sometimes referred to as the "elastic" clause because it can be "stretched" to include almost any other power that Congress might try to assert. |
| Whiskey Rebellion | In 1794, farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey, and several federal officers were killed in the riots caused by their attempts to serve arrest warrants on the offenders. In October, 1794, the army, led by Washington, put down the rebellion. The incident showed that the new government under the Constitution could react swiftly and effectively to such a problem, in contrast to the inability of the government under the Articles of Confederation to deal with Shay�s Rebellion. |
| Washington's Farewell Address | He warned against the dangers of political parties and foreign alliances. |
| Election of 1796: President Adams, Vice-president Jefferson | The first true election (when Washington ran, there was never any question that he would be elected). Adams was a Federalist, but Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican. |
| Federalists and Democratic-Republicans | The first two political parties. Many of the Democratic-Republicans had earlier been members of the Antifederalists, which had never organized into a formal political party. |
| Federalists / Democratic-Republicans: Philosophies | Federalists believed in a strong central government, a strong army, industry, and loose interpretation of the Constitution. Democratic-Republicans believed in a weak central government, state and individual rights, and strict interpretation of the Constitution. |
| Alien and Sedition Acts | These consist of four laws passed by the Federalist Congress and signed by President Adams in 1798: the Naturalization Act, which increased the waiting period for an immigrant to become a citizen from 5 to 14 years; the Alien Act, which empowered the president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens; the Alien Enemy Act, which allowed for the arrest and deportation of citizens of countries at was with the US; and the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to publish defamatory statements about the federal government or its officials. The first 3 were enacted in response to the XYZ Affair, and were aimed at French and Irish immigrants, who were considered subversives. The Sedition Act was an attempt to stifle Democratic-Republican opposition, although only 25 people were ever arrested, and only 10 convicted, under the law. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, which initiated the concept of "nullification" of federal laws were written in response to the Acts. |
| Election of 1800, tie, Jefferson and Burr | The two Democratic-Republicans Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr defeated Federalist John Adams, but tied with each other. The final decision went the House of Representatives, where there was another tie. After a long series of ties in the House, Jefferson was finally chosen as president. Burr became vice-president. This led to the 12th Amendment, which requires the president and vice-president of the same party to run on the same ticket. |
| 12th Amendment | Brought about by the Jefferson/Burr tie, stated that presidential and vice-presidential nominees would run on the same party ticket. Before that time, all of the candidates ran against each other, with the winner becoming president and second-place becoming vice-president. |
| Second Great Awakening | A series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans. |
| French Revolution | The second great democratic revolution, taking place in the 1790s, after the American Revolution had been proven to be a success. The U.S. did nothing to aid either side. The French people overthrew the king and his government, and then instituted a series of unsuccessful democratic governments until Napoleon took over as dictator in 1799. |
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