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59 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
Who was elected the first president and on what date did he become president. Who was vice president
George Washington; April 30, 1789; John Adams
What are precedents
Traditions that are established
What precedent was extablished with regard to what the President would be called?
Mr. President
What five departments did Congress set up in the executive branch of the government. What did they do?
The State Department (relations with other nations); The Treasury Department (financial matters); The War Department (nations defense); attorney general (government's legal affairs); office of the postmaster (postal service)
Who lead the departments that Congress set up?
Thomas Jeffereson -Sec of State
Alexander Hamilton - secretary of treasury
Henry Knox - Secretary of War
Edmund Randolf - Attorney General
What were the Department Head that Congress set up called
The Cabinet
Can the president fire cabinet members without the senate's approval. What was the significance.
yes. This established the presidents power over the executive branch and separated the president from the legislative branch.
What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 say
Congress established a federal court system with 13 district courts and three circuit courts to serve the nation. State courts remained but the federal courts would have the power to reverse state decisions.
What court has the ultimate decision making power? Who was the first leader?
Supreme Court; John Jay
Who was Benjamin Banneker
A self taught African American who was appointed by Thomas Jefferson to survey the land for the new national captial at Washington DC.
Why was the Bill of Rights enacted? What was it? When were they enacted?
To ensure that people had guarantees of personal liberty and to protect against a too powerful national government.
10 ammendments to the constitution added in 1791.
What did the Bill of Rights protect?>
Freedom of speech, rights of persons accuased of crimes including trial by jury, rights of states and individuals by saying that rights not specifically given to the federal government are reserved to the States or to the people.
What did Washington concentrate on?
Foreigh affairs and military matters
What is the national debt? Was it a problem?
The amount the nation's govenment owed. Yes, the amount was growing.
What was Hamilton's Plan to fix the national debt?
the new govenment should pay off the debts owned by the Confederation govenment to other countries and to American citizens. He thought this would give the states a strong interest in the success of the national government.
What are bonds?
paper notes promising to repay the money in a certain length of time.
What are speculators
People who risk money in order to make a larger profit
Why were people opposed to Hamilton's Plan to pay back individual Americans?
People who had bought the bonds had sold them to speculators for less then their original value. It was thought that the speculators would get rich at the cost of others. In addition, the Southerns states had accumulated less debt than the North and therefore felt they would have a greater burden of the pay back.
What was the compromise on Hamilton's plan?
The new capital would be in the South (Washington DC). In return, the Southerners would support paying off the national debt.
What is unconstitutional
Something inconsistent with the constitution
Why did Madison and Jefferson oppose the idea of a national bank. What happened?
They thought it was unconstitutional and would benefit the wealthy. Hamilton argued that while the constitution didn't say Congress could create a national bank, it didn't say it couldn't. In the end, the president agreed with Hamilton.
What is a tariff
a tax on imports
How did Hamilton propose to protect American made products.
To impose a tariff on foreign made products
Did Hamilton propose taxes on other things
Yes including whiskey
What are the three things that Hamilton proposed to create a stable system and strengthen the economy
1. Pay off the national debt
2. Create a national bank
3. Imposing a tariff on imports
4. Introducing national taxes
Was Jefferson in favor of Hamilton's Plan for a National bank, tariff and national taxes?
Where the farmers in favor of the national taxes?
No, they didn't want to pay taxes on whiskey that was made from left over corn.
What was the Whiskey rebellion?
In 1794, an armed protest against the whiskey tax. The government used force to crush the rebellion, letting the farmers know that if they protested something that they needed to do so peacefully through constitutional means.
What caused the struggle over the West?
The Native Americans agreed to treaties as a way of trying to lessen the influence of the British and Spanish. The American settlers ignored them and continued to move into Western lands promised to Native Americans.
What did Washington do to deal with the struggle in the west?
Sentan army under General Aurthur St. Clair to resore order in the NW territories. They were badly beaten in 1791 by Little Turtle.
What alliance was thought to enable Americans to defeat the combined forces of the British, Spanish and Native Americans? What happened?
with the french. In 1794, in an effort for the British to try to protect their fur trade, they urged the Native Americans to destroy American settlements W of the Apalachians.
What was the Battle of Fallen Timbers?
In August 1794, General ANthony Wayne's army defeated Chief Blue Jacket and crushed the hope ot keeping their land.
What is the Treaty of Greenville
In the Treaty of Greenville, the Native Americans agreed to surrender most of the land in present day Ohio.
What is neutrality
Not taking sides
Did Americans favor the French Revolution?
Some did because it reminded them of the American Revolution. Others didn't because it was bloody and disregarded personal liberties.
Who did Hamilton, Adams and Jefferson side with when France went to war with Britain?
British, British and French
Who was Edmond Genet
A Frenchman who came to the US in 1793 to recruit American volunteers to attach British ships.
What was the Proclamation of Neutrality?
Prohibited American citizens from fighting in the war and barred French and British warships from American ports.
What is impressment?
When the British stopped American merchant ships and forced their crews into the British navy.
what was Jay's Treaty?
The British agreed to withdraw from American soil, pay damages for ships they had seized, and alow some American ships to trade with British colonies in the Carabean.
What was the impact of Jay's Treaty on Spain?
Spain realized that the US and Great Britain could work together agains the Spanish Empire in N America
What was Pickney's Treaty?
In 1795, the treaty gave the Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River and the right to trade at New Orleans.
What is partisan
favoring one side of an issue over another
What caused the creation of political parties
Different philosphies of government, conflicting interpretation of the Constitution, differnt economic and regional interests, disagreement over foreign affairs
What was the effectof political parties.
Federalists and Democratic-Republicans propose different solutions, the two parties nominate candidates, political parties becomes a way of American life
What are the Federalists
Someone who supported ratification of teh Constitution and the policies of Washington's administration. They stood for strong federal government. Favored banking and shipping interests. Strong support in the Northeast and wealthy southerners. Jeffereson was a Federalist.
Who were the Republicans or the Democratic Republicans?
The wanted to liit government's power because they thought it would endanger people's liberties. They supported the French and condemned the Pro British policies. They appealed to small farmers and urgan workers.
What are implied powers
Powers that were not expressly forbidden by the constitution. This was the arguement used for the National bank by Hamilton and opposed by Jefferson.
What are other differences in the parties
Federalists believed in a representative governent in which elected officials ruled in the people's name, emphasized manufacturing, had a loose interpretation of the constutution and allied with Britain.
What are caucuses
Meetings held in advance of an election by the politial parties where the leaders chose their parties candidates for an election.
Who did the Federalists nominate? The Republicans?
John Adams; Jefferson. Adams won so Jeffereson became Vice President.
Who was Charles de Telleyrand
In order to avoid war with France, in 1797, Adams sent a delegation to Paris. de Talleyrand refused to meet with the delegation and demanded a bribe. Adams was furious and referred to the French deleges as XYZ and referred to the incident as the XYZ Affair
When was the Navy Department established
What are aliens
Immigrants living in the country that aren't citizens
What was the Alien and Sedition Acts
laws to protect the national security passed in 1798
What is sedition
Activities aimed at weaking the government
What were the Virginia and Kentucky Resoulutions
Claimed that the Alien and Sedition Acts could not be put into action because they were unconsitutional.
What is nullify
To overturn
What is the principle of states rights
Limiting the fedral government power to those that are clerly assigned to it by the consitution