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Election of George Washington
First president, he set examples for future generations of presidents. He wanted to stay neutral in all foreign affairs. He also warned against the forming of political parties because he thought it would split the country. -
Bill of Rights added to the Constitution
The Bill of Rights was added to the Constitution because many people thought that without it their rights would be ignored. People said that without a Bill of Rights they wouldn’t ratify the Constitution. They became known as the first 10 Amendments, a change or something added to the Constitution. -
Beginning of Federalist Party
Alexander Hamilton was the leader of the Federalists. The federalist party was started as Congress passed a lot of Hamilton’s programs. During the passing of programs, both people organized their own groups for their supporters. -
Beginning of Democratic-Republican Party
Democratic-Republicans were supporters of Jefferson. They started organizing during the passing of many of Hamilton’s programs. Eventually, the two parties were formed into Democratic-Republicans and Federalists. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Americans got mad about the heavy taxes on whiskey and started to rebel. As a result they started boycotting, which is refusing to buy a certain item, until they lowered the tariffs. Washington laid a strong hand down and showed that the government would not put up with rebellions. -
Election of John Adams
He was the second president. During his presidency France started seizing American ships. He sent three diplomats, John Marshall; Charles Pickney and Elbridge Gerry, to talk with Talleyrand, the leader of France, who wanted millions for himself and for France. The diplomats and Adam disagreed to this. He passed the Sedition Act which violated the first amendment of the Constitution in order. His presidency set the important precedent of power being passed peacefully from one party to another. -
Alien Act
The XYZ affair happened because France kept seizing our ships. We sent 3 diplomats to meet the French. Instead of coming to meet us himself the kind sent 3 men, X, Y, and Z. The French said they wouldn’t stop and give us our ships back unless we payed a bribe. We said no that it was unfair and made us look weak. -
Sedition Act
It guarded against critical publishes against the government whether it be verbally or in writing. Adams passed this for his own benefit so people wouldn’t publish rude comments about him and cause others to vote against him. Many people were against this, and when Jefferson became President, he nullified this law. -
Electon of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson, democratic republican, was running against John Adams, a federalist, for president. In the end, Jefferson won with popular vote. The election showed a smooth switch in parties, going from a federalist President, to a democratic republican. -
John Marshall Appointed
Marshall was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He established the principle of Judicial Review and said that the Supreme Court had the power to set aside laws when they were unconstitutional and reverse decisions of state courts. These three principles became the foundation of the federal union. -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury sued Madison for not giving him papers to become a judge in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court’s decision set an important precedent. It helped establish judicial review, which is the Supreme Court having the power to decide whether a law is constitutional and to stop any unconstitutional laws. The decision also helped give more power to the Supreme Court. -
Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana was not originally what we set out to buy. We wanted to buy New Orleans for shipping and trading purposes, but at the time France was at war and decided they needed money. So they made us an offer to give us all of Louisiana for $15 million. This gave us more land and made it easier for trade because we didn’t have to worry about going into France’s territory. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Thomas Jefferson, president at the time, sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition to explore. They explored the uncharted west and were also instructed to find a water way to the pacific. They created maps and they drew and talked about new plants life. This expedition helped us have a better understanding of what was to the west. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo act was an act passed by Congress and signed by Jefferson that muted trade between American and any other countries. It was put in place because France and Britian were fighting and that was causing a restriction America’s trade. The Act ended up hurting America greatly and was repealed. -
Election of James Madison
He was the fourth president. Originally he didn't want war but declared war on Great Britain in 1812 after they had blockaded our ports and impressed our sailors. While Madison was out rallying troops the White House was left open to attack and burned down. -
Non- Intercourse Act
Jefferson agreed to the Embargo Act failing. Congress then replaced it with a milder act, the Non-Intercourse Act. This allowed Americans to carry on trade with all foreign countries expect Britain and France. -
War of 1812
The war of 1812 was perhaps one of the most important wars; but is also considered the forgotten war. Britain tried to gain control over America again. They became very close as they started trying to gain control over the north, south, east and west. Many people started thinking it was over and Britain would gain control, but an American hero named Andrew Jackson saved us. After a long drawn out battle on the coast Jackson saved us all and the British gave up. This war finally showed Britain th -
Battle of New Orleans
Jefferson wanted complete control over the Mississippi River, and the only reason to have that was to gain control over New Orleans. British soldier gave many shootings, but only 7 Americans died. In the end, over 2,000 British soldiers fell, and we bought New Orleans from France. -
Election of James Monroe
James Monroe held his presidency during the “era of good feelings”, a peace time after the War of 1812. He remained old fashioned and was cheered to by huge crowds as he was visiting Boston. When he ran for his second term, no one objected him. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was created to keep the number of slave and free states equal, along with the number of northern and southern states. It stated that Missouri would be a slave state and Maine would be separate from Massachusetts as a free state. All in all, it avoided a threat to national unity. -
Monroe Doctrine
This document was written during the Era of Good-Feeling during Monroe’s presidency. The Monroe Doctrine was a doctrine that said America was free and that no European countries could make any settlements in America. It also stated that if European countries wanted to mess with South America, they were messing with North America too. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
The plaintiff Aaron Ogden had a license from the state of New York saying that he could operate steamboats. Thomas Gibbons, without a license, decided to start running his own steamboat company. Ogden then was sued by Gibbons. It formed interstate commerce, which is a state only being able to regulate trade within its own borders. This helped nation economy by making it easier for the government to regulate trade. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
James McCulloch sued the state of Maryland, arguing whether or not the federal government has the power to create institutions such as the Bank of the United States. It started because Maryland was imposing taxes on banks, in Maryland, that were not chartered by the state. This case showed that the Constitution is the supreme law of the land. -
Election of 1824
The election of 1812 was considered “the corrupt bargain”. This election had 4 people running in it; John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, and William Crawford. When Clay and Crawford got knocked out Adams made a deal with Clay that if he became president he would make him secretary of state. So Clay threw all of his support for Adams, thus making it an unfair election. -
Election of Andrew Jackson
He was our seventh president. Jackson was known for the “Common Man”. He used the Spoils System, and usually met with unofficial advisers or the press in his kitchen. This became known as the “Kitchen Cabinet”. -
Beginning of Democratic Party(Jacksonian Democracy)
In 1834 followers of Adams became known as Whigs, while followers of Jackson became known as Democrats. Supporters of Andrew Jackson, consisted of frontier farmers and factory farmers. This and the Whigs helped establish more democratic ways to choose candidates for President. -
Indian Removal Act
Andrew Jackson, after just a year in office, pushed for the Indian Removal Act. It basically made all the Indians move to the west of the Mississippi. Some Indians like the Seminoles refused to move, so they handcuffed them and soldiers marched them all the way to the Mississippi. -
Worcester v. Georgia
It started when Georgia passed a law declaring that all Indians in the state must be governed by the state’s laws. Chief Justice John Marshall claimed that this law was unconstitutional towards the Native Americans’ rights, and that the Constitution protected those rights. Jackson did not agree with the Court’s decision and chose to defend the states’ rights, even though he backed federal power in the Nullification Crisis. -
Closing of the U.S. Bank
The Bank of the United States had a majority of power by being able to control the loans made by state banks. They’d sometimes limit the amount a bank could loan and this effected farmers and merchants who needed money to buy land. Jackson thought this was undemocratic and when the bank’s charter came up for renewal in 1836 he vetoed the Bank bill. The bank closing ended up causing an economic crisis.
