History exam #2

Shay's Rebellion

the post-Revolutionary clash between New England farmers and merchants that tested the precarious institutions of the new republic, threatened to plunge the "disunited states" into a civil war.and the creation of the Constitution of the United States in Philadelphia.

Northwest Ordinance

Land agreement of 1787 that created the Northwest Territory, enabling the United States to expand into the Great Lakes area. States created from the Northwest Territory included Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Virginia and New Jersey Plans

The Virginia Plan made outlines of what would be the U.S. Constitution. The New Jersey Plan created the branches of government.

Anti Federalists

One of party opposed to a federative government; - applied particularly to the party which opposed the adoption of the constitution of the United States.

Federalists

A U.S. political party founded in 1787 to advocate the establishment of a strong federal government and the adoption by the states of the Constitution. The party gained prominence in the 1790s under the leadership of Alexander Hamilton.

James Madison

4th President of the United States; member of the Continental Congress and rapporteur at the Constitutional Convention in 1776; helped frame the Bill of Rights (1751-1836)

Alexander Hamilton

- United States statesman and leader of the Federalists; as the first Secretary of the Treasury he establish a federal bank; was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr (1755-1804)

Articles of Confederation

a document which was supposed to established a "firm league of friendship" between the 13 states during the Revolutionary War. Although designed to create some unity, the government established by it was too weak to accomplish very much and the results were disasterous. Thus, the Articles of Confederation were replaced by the Constitution

Constitution

The fundamental law of the state, containing the principles upon which the government is founded and regulating the divisions of the sovereign powers, directing to what persons each of these powers is to be confided and the manner it is to be exercise

three-fiths compromise

a clause to allow a slave to be counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation in the Congress. It was proposed in July 1787 during the drafting of the U.S. Constitution at the Constitutional Convention. It was negated by the Thirteenth Amendment

George Washington

1st President of the United States; commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution (1732-1799

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, added in 1791 to protect certain rights of citizens.

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic scandal that almost caused another war, this one between the United States and France. France was, at the time, at war with Great Britain. A treaty between Britain and the U.S. failed to guarantee France the right to ship with the U.S. France sent to the United States three diplomats, thereafter named X, Y, and Z, with outrageous demands. The result was undeclared war between the two countries.

Alien and Sedation Acts

Four laws of Congress that restricted the rights of groups of people. The Naturalization Act increased from 5 to 14 the number of years a non-American had to be living in America before he or she could become an American citizen. The Alien Act allowed the President to force non-Americans he thought dangerous to leave the country. The Alien Deportation Act allowed for the arrest and deportation of any non-American during wartime. The Sedition Act made it a crime to do "any false, scandalous and malicious writing." This resulted in the jailing of 25 newspaper editors, most of them Democratic-Republicans. This was during the presidency of John Adams, a Federalist. The response to these acts was marked. Kentucky and Virginia passed resolutions opposing these acts.

Kentucky and Virgina Resolutions

Measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky as a protest against the Alien and Sedition Acts. Drafted by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (though their role went unknown for 25 years), the resolutions protested limitations on civil liberties and declared the right of states to decide on the constitutionality of federal legislation. Though their authors applied the resolutions to the specific issues of the day, Southern states later used the measures to support the theories of nullification and secession.

Whiskey Rebellion

First real test of the new United States Government's authority to enforce federal laws. In Western Pennsylvania, people used a lot of whiskey: both to use up extra corn and as money. The federal government passed a tax on whiskey in 1791. Farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax, saying it was like the Stamp Act all over again. Trouble brewed for a couple years until 1794, when farmers assaulted federal tax collectors. President George Washington called out the national militia to put down what came to be called the Whiskey Rebellion. Many people were arrested, but all were later either pardoned or found not guilty