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Election of George Washington
Election of 1789; John Adams was elected to be the vice president under Washington. Washington was sworn in on April 30, 1789. As president, he set many precedents for the country (cabinet, Whiskey Rebellion, etc.), and people say that without George Washington’s presidency, the U.S. would not have survived as an independent nation. He also served two terms. -
Bill of Rights added to the Constitution
The Bill of Rights was added to the U.S. Constitution on December 15, 1791. After the Constitutional Convention, many of the delegates felt that the Constitution failed to secure some specific, basic rights and liberties. Federalists, however, thought adding a Bill of Rights was unnecessary because the federal government only had certain and limited powers, and therefore could not interfere with the rights of the people. Despite some objections, the federalists supported it for fear of one of th -
Beginning of the Federalist Party
The Federalist Party was first formed in 1787 when Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote "The Federalist Papers". The documents served to encouraged Americans to support the U.S. Constitution and a strong national government in general. Alexander Hamilton played a great role in the Federalist Party, and could be said to be their "leader". Federalists opposed Jefferson, a Republican. The Federalist Party began to decline after Hamilton's death and during John Adams' presidency. -
Whiskey Rebellion
In 1791, excise tax was imposed on Whiskey by the federal government. Farmers continued rioting in river towns protesting against tax on whiskey. On August 7, 1794, Washington issued a proclamation ordering everyone to get back into their homes. In the end, a dozen or so men were arrested, but then later went to court and got let out by Washington. -
Election of John adams
Election of 1796; John Adams (Federalist) was running against Thomas Jefferson (Republican) and Thomas Pinckney (who became popular after Pinckney’s Treaty). At the end, Adams received 71 votes, Jefferson had 68 votes, and Pinckney had 59. It was the first election after George Washington’s presidency, and the first election in which there was actually competition. -
XYZ Affair
Occurred from 1797-1798 during John Adams presidency; After America signed Jay’s Treaty with Great Britain during the French Revolution, France started seizing American ships because they thought the treaty interfered with French trade. John Adams sent over Pinckney to talk with the Charles Talleyrand, the French minister, but Talleyrand refused to see him. Adams then sent three men, Elbridge Gerry, John Marshall, and Charles Pinckney, over to France. However, Talleyrand, the French minister, re -
The Alien Act
Passed on June 25, 1798; While America was receiving a war threat from France, Congress, which was made up mainly of federalists, passed this act, along with others, to strengthen the federal government and to “defeat” the Republicans and their leader, Thomas Jefferson. The Alien Act gave the president the power to deport foreigners, or aliens, that he felt were “dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States.” -
Sedition Act
The Alien and Sedition Act consisted of four acts that were passed by the Federal Congress while America was getting ready for their war with France. The laws were designed to silence and weaken the democratic-Republican. -
Election of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was elected to be the third president of the United States.The election was between Jefferson and Burr (Republican) and Adams (Federalist). By the end of January, Jefferson and Burr both had 73 votes, and Adams came in third place with a total of 65 votes. -
John Marshall Appointed
John Marshall was appointed as the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by President John Adams in early 1801. He worked many important cases, such as Marbury v. Madison. In the Marbury v. Madison case, the Supreme Court voided an act of Congress for the first time. Marshall served in the court from 1801-1835. -
Marbury v. Madison
February 24, 1803; On his last night of presidency, John Adams appointed John Marshall as a Supreme Court judge. Because the Republicans thought the Federalists were trying to control the courts and strengthen the national government, Jefferson ordered James Madison not to send his appointment papers. Marbury took the predicament to court and sued Madison. Chief Justice John Marshall said that Marbury should have been given his appointment. This was the first case that the concept of "judicial r -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson bought 828,000 sq. miles of land west of the Mississippi from France for $15 million, doubling the U.S.’s size. The treaty stating this was signed on April 30, 1803. Jefferson wasn’t sure if he, as president, had the power to purchase land, as it was not specifically listed in the Constitution, but he purchased it anyway. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
After Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchase, he sent out Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore and chart out a route to the Atlantic Ocean. Lewis and Clark started out from Camp Wood in St. Louis during the summer of 1804. Throughout their journey, they kept journals recording their discoveries and observations. They also met up with a Native American mother, Sacagawea, who acted as a guide for them. Their findings helped America gain knowledge about the land west of the Mississippi Ri -
The Embargo Act
President Thomas Jefferson knew that the Non-Intercourse Act was not successful. As a result, in December of 1807 the Congress passed the Embargo Act that forbids the American ships from leaving to a foreign port. Protesting against the Embargo Act kept going until Jefferson found out that the Non-INtercourse Act was successful, and so that became the new Act. -
Election of James Madison
James Madison was the fourth president of the United States, and is know as one of the “founding father” of the United States of America. Madison was one of the main men that created the US constitution and later became known as the “father of the US Constitution”. He was a Democratic-Republican candidate who, once he became US President, lead the country to the War of 1812 against Great Britain. -
Non-Intercourse Act
The Non-Intercourse Act was between the United States, Great Britain, and France. It was a law that the United States Congress passed in 1809 to ban all commerce between Americans and the nations of Great Britain and France. The act was supposed to replace the Embargo Act of 1807. -
War of 1812
For almost two and a half years Americans fought against the British and native nations. The British attempted to restrict US trade. That caused the United States to suffer more from costly defeats than anything. Many people in the United States celebrated the War of 1812 because they called it “a second chance of independence”. -
Election of James Monroe
Member of Continental Congress, United States Senator, Minister to France, Governor of Virginia, Minister to France and England,Secretary of State, and Secretary of War. In 1825, he became the fifth president of the United States. His nicknames were "The Last Cocked Hat" and "Era-of-Good-Feeling President". He was also a Democratic-Republican. -
Monroe Doctrine
December 2, 1823; President James Monroe created the Monroe Doctrine when France and Britain were at war with Spain, fighting over the Spanish colonies in present day Latin America. The doctrine acted basically as a warning to Europe to stay out of the Western Hemisphere. Later, the Monroe Doctrine would be invoked in regards to other foreign affairs. -
Beginning of the Democratic-Republican Party
The Beginning of the Democratic-Republican Party had a strong central government. The Democratic-republicans believed in protecting the interests of working classes. The election of 1824, when John Adams became the President of the United States, he also was a Republican which changed the Democratic-Republican point of view. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Gibbons v. Ogden was an argument that was over who New York would let us the Houston River for trading their goods. They wanted to know who could operate their steamboats on the river without breaking the law. Finding that they have been running into these kinds of problems a lot, with who and who couldn’t put their steamboats on the river. They had to listen to the Congressional power and that lead to Ogden winning the argument between them. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
In 1816 the Congress established a second national bank that would help control the state banks. In 1818, the state of Maryland approved the second national bank, but not soon after James W. McCulloch refused to pay the taxes imposed by the state. So Maryland filed a suit against McCulloch,the Supreme Court decided on implying the power of the Constitution.. The conclusion of the suit ended up siding with McCulloch (the federal government).
