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George Washington elected
The Constitution left it up to the states to decide who would elect the presidident at this point (representative system). Washington recieved a unanimous vote, 69, even though he was reluctant to run because he feared it would be dishonorable. John Adams was selected as his vice president. -
Creation of first national bank
Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury appointed by George Washington, created the first national bank for economic practices such as manipulation of interest rates and subsidies for american companies. -
Whiskey Rebellion
A tax on whiskey was created in an attempt to raise funds to help cover the debt from the Revolutionary War. Farmers on the western frontier rebelled but the dispute was settled with diplomacy in the end, before the 13,000 man militia arrived to settle the dispute by force. The tax reamined hard to enfore, however. -
Jay's Treaty
This treaty between Britain and the colonies resolved major issues that hadn't been fixed with the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The British removed remaining troops, the Canadian border and dispute over wartime debts were settled with arbitration and trade agreements were reached. -
Pickney's treaty
This treaty with Spain affirmed borders between America and Spanish colonies, established a friendly relationship, and gave us navigation rights on the Mississippi river. -
John Adams Elected
After two frusterating terms as Vice Presidnet, Adams defeated Jefferson in the Presidential race and became head of the executive branch. -
XYZ affair
During the administration of Adams, this diplomatic disagreement with France led to an undeclared war, which was mostly a battle between navies, called the Quasi War. The French agents that the US was negotiating with were referred to as X,Y and Z to keep their identities secret. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
These acts to enforce national security, passed under president John Adams, were intended to help the Federalist party grow. The Alien acts allowed the government to imprison any immigrants or nationalized citizens over age 14 that were considered a threat. The Sedition acts made it illegal to say anything that criticized the national government. The acts were allowed to expire under Jefferson. -
Thomas Jefferson Elected
After a series of ties between Jefferson and Burr, Jefferson finally earned a majority of votes in the House of Representatives and was declared the next presidnet. -
Marbury v.Madison
John Adams appointed William Maybury as the Justice of the Peace, but the Secretary of State, James Madison, would not deliver the commision papers. They took the issue to court to force Madison to deliver the papers and ruled that his refusal to do so was unconstitutional, however they also ruled that by the Judiciary Act of 1789 they did not have the authority to hear the case, since it extended beyond the original jurisdiction. It also established the principle of judicial review. -
Louisanna Purchase
Jefferson bought Louisianna from France for $27 million dollars, which averages 3 cents per acre. He bought it from Napoleon, who needed money to support his war efforts in Europe -
Embargo Act
Jefferson passed this act that banned american exports in order to force Britain and France to respect American rights. America wanted to remain neutral during the Napoleonic wars and trade with both sides, however the european powers tried to force americans to join their navies and trade exclusively with them. The Embargo act was passed to punish them for disrepcting American rights. -
Election of James Madison
Republican James Madison won the 1808 election against Charles Pinckney by a landslide because of waning federalist support due to the Embargo Act. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
Governor William Henry Harrison led a force of 1,000 men agaisnt the Confederacy of Indians that were opposing westward expansion. The defeat was a definite setback for the Indians, and they never fully recovered. -
Burning of DC
This was an attack by the British in the War of 1812. After being defeated at the Battle of Bladensburg, a British force led by Major General Robert Ross set fire to many public buildings, including the White House and Capitol Building in DC. -
Hartford Convention
Federalist meetings in Hartford, Conneticut to complain about the war of 1812 and problems with the power of the federal government. No major decisions were reached because there were a decent amount of moderates in attendance to balance out the extremists. Mostly just complaining. -
Treaty of Ghent
Ended the War of 1812 between America and Britain. -
Battle of New Orleans
This was the final major battle of the war of 1812. Andrew Jackson prevented the British from taking New Orleans, which would have been a strategic end to the war. -
Election of Monroe
Madison defeated Rufus King and ushered in the "Era of Good Feelings", since his term seemed peaceful after Jefferson and Madison's intense pairing. -
Adams Onis Treaty
This treaty settled a territory dispute between America and Spain by giving Florida to the U.S. and defining the border between Spanish colonies and America in the west. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
Maryland tried to pass a law to tax money that was in the federal bank located in Maryland. The court ruled that this was unconstitutional because the federal government has the power to pass any laws that they think necessary for the good of the people and the states may not pass any laws that overrule federal ones. -
Missouri Compromise
When Missouri wanted admission to the union as a slave state, unrest occured because it would upset the balance of free and slave states. To resolve this, Maine was also admitted as a free state and an imaginary line was drawn acorss the Louisianna territory to determine whether future states were slave or free. (North of line=free, south of line=slave) -
Monroe Doctrine
Doctrine that stated that any attempts to colonize in the Americas would be viewed as an act of aggression towards the United States and would require military intervention. -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
This case decided that the power of Congress to regulate trade ( (Commerce clause) also applied to the right to regulate navigation. -
Election of John Quincy Adams
This competitive election was between four candidates, none recieved the majority. Thereofre, the House of Representatives got to decide. Henry Clay was the Speaker of the House and, not able to elect himself, threw his support behind Adams who was selected. In return Adams appointed Clay Secretary of State.
