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american revolution
The war that gave birth to a new nation in North America marked a turning point in world history, as for the first time a colony wrested independence from its imperial master. Preceded by more than 10 years of intense political turmoil, the American Revolution lasted for nearly another 10 years and ranged across all of the 13 rebelling colonies and into parts of Canada. The eventual American victory over formidable odds became a symbol of the fight for freedom the world over. -
election of 1796
The "defect" in the electoral process that potentially allowed a candidate for vice president to become president and vice versa was again an issue in the election of 1796. The result was a government headed by a president and vice president who represented two opposing political factions. -
George Washington: Farewell Address (1796)
President George Washington presented this farewell address, an excerpt of which is presented here, to the American people on September 17, 1796, shortly before he finished his second term of office. -
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
A series of four laws championed by the Federalists in the U.S. Congress and President John Adams, the Alien and Sedition Acts made it more difficult for immigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship, enacted stricter laws against immigrants that increased the risk of deportation, and limited the rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of the press for U.S. citizens under the guise of preparing the United States for its entry into the Napoleonic Wars against France. Democratic-Republicans maintained t -
election of 1800
Political scientists have identified at least five presidential elections as critical, or realigning elections. They were the elections of 1800, 1828, 1860, 1896, and 1932. Such elections are characterized by greater than usual voter interest, and they result in permanent voting readjustments that often last a generation or more. The election of 1800 was particularly important because it was the first election in which power was peacefully transferred from one national political party to another -
embargo
A political cartoon lampoons the "cursed Ograbme" (embargo spelled backwards). The Embargo Act of 1807 eliminated U.S. trade with other nations, with the intent of forcing England and France to respect the neutral trading rights of the United States. The act was repealed in 1809, as it had failed to end either action by England or France, but instead caused a disruption of the U.S. economy and the revitalization of Federalist protest against the Republicans. -
war of 1812
A political cartoon lampoons the "cursed Ograbme" (embargo spelled backwards). The Embargo Act of 1807 eliminated U.S. trade with other nations, with the intent of forcing England and France to respect the neutral trading rights of the United States. The act was repealed in 1809, as it had failed to end either action by England or France, but instead caused a disruption of the U.S. economy and the revitalization of Federalist protest against the Republicans. -
era of good feeling
The Era of Good Feeling is a term that refers to the decade between the end of the War of 1812 and the election of John Quincy Adams as president. The Era of Good Feeling is associated with James Monroe's two terms as president, when the two-party political system virtually disappeared. Americans shared a new sense of pride and nationalism, as well as the widespread belief in the manifest destiny of the United States to occupy the continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Fueled by the Industr
