APUSH Chapter 10

"Loose interpretation"

(How Hamilton responded to Jeffersons argument regarding the bank of the U.S.) Hamilton boldly invoked the clause of the Constitution that stipulates that Congress may pass any laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers vested in the various government agencies . The government was explicitly empowered to collect taxes and regulate trade. In carrying out these basic functions, Hamilton argued, a national bank would be not only "proper" but "necessary." By inference or implication—that is, by virtue of "implied powers"—Congress would be fully justified in establishing the Bank of the United States.

Hamiltonians

- pro-strong nat. gov. - anto-French rev. (when it got violent esp.) - made Sedition and Alien laws (took advantage of fear of French rebels) - "loose" interpretation of Const. - pro-National Bank

Alien Laws

Acts passed by a Federalist Congress raising the residency requirement for citizenship to fourteen years and granting the president the power to deport dangerous foreigners in times of peace and to deport or imprison them in time of hostilities. This was an arbitrary grant of executive power contrary to American tradition and to the spirit of the Constitution, even though the stringent acts were never enforced.

French Foreign Minister Talleyrand

Adams's envoys, reaching Paris in 1797, hoped to meet with him, the crafty French foreign minister. They were secretly approached by three go-betweens, later referred to as X, Y, and Z in the published dispatches. The French spokesmen, among other concessions, demanded an unneutral loan of 32 million florins, plus what amounted to a bribe of $250,000, for the privilege of merely talking with him. He realized that to fight the United States would merely add one more foe to his enemy roster and bring Britain and the U.S closer together. He therefore let it be known, through roundabout channels, that if the Americans would send a new minister, he would be received with proper respect.

Bill of Rights

Adopted by the necessary number of states (2/3) in 1791, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, popularly known as this, safeguard some of the most precious American principles. Among these are protections for freedom of religion, speech, and the press; the right to bear arms and to be tried by a jury; and the right to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. This also prohibits cruel and unusual punishments and arbitrary government seizure of private property.

Convention of 1800

Agreement to formally dissolve the United States' treaty with France, originally signed during the Revolutionary War. The difficulties posed by America's peacetime alliance with France contributed to Americans' longstanding opposition to entangling alliances with foreign powers. As a kind of alimony the United States agreed to pay the damage claims of American shippers.

"Compact theory"

Both Jefferson and Madison stressed this, a theory popular among English political philosophers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As applied to America by the Jeffersonians, this concept meant that the thirteen sovereign states, in creating the federal government, had entered into a "compact," or contract, regarding its jurisdiction. The national government was consequently the agent or creation of the states. Since water can rise no higher than its source, the individual states were the final judges of whether their agent had broken the "compact" by overstepping the authority originally granted. Invoking this logic, Jefferson's Kentucky resolutions concluded that the federal regime had exceeded its constitutional powers and that with regard to the Alien and Sedition Acts, "nullification"—a refusal to accept them—was the "rightful remedy."

Constitutional Amendments

Changes made to the constitution.

Navy Department

Deals with overseas affairs. Created in preparation for war with France after the XYZ affair.

Battle of Fallen Timbers

Decisive battle between the Miami confederacy and the U.S. Army. British forces refused to shelter the routed Indians, forcing the latter to attain a peace settlement with the United States.

XYZ Affair

Diplomatic conflict between France and the United States when American envoys to France were asked to pay a hefty bribe for the privilege of meeting with the French foreign minister. Many in the U.S. called for war against France, while American sailors and privateers waged an undeclared war against French merchants in the Caribbean.

Sedition Act

Enacted by the Federalist Congress in an effort to clamp down on Jeffersonian opposition, the law made anyone convicted of defaming government officials or interfering with government policies liable to imprisonment and a heavy fine. The act drew heavy criticism from Republicans, who let the act expire in 1801. Was a direct slap at two priceless freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution by the Bill of Rights—freedom of speech and freedom of the press (First Amendment).

Pinckney's Treaty

Fearing that the treaty foreshadowed an Anglo-American alliance, Spain moved hastily to strike a deal with the United States. This treaty of 1795 with Spain granted the Americans virtually everything they demanded, including free navigation of the Mississippi, the right of deposit (warehouse rights) at New Orleans, and the large disputed territory of western Florida.

Whiskey Rebellion

Flared up in southwestern Pennsylvania in 1794, sharply challenged the new national government. Hamilton's high excise tax bore harshly on these homespun pioneer folk. They regarded it not as a tax on a frivolous luxury but as a burden on an economic necessity and a medium of exchange. Even preachers of the gospel were paid in "Old Monongahela rye." Rye and corn crops distilled into alcohol were more cheaply transported to eastern markets than bales of grain. Defiant distillers finally erected whiskey poles, similar to the liberty poles of anti-stamp tax days in 1765, and raised the cry "Liberty and No Excise." Boldly tarring and feathering revenue officers, they brought collections to a halt. Washington alarmed by what he called these "self-created societies." With the hearty encouragement of Hamilton, he summoned the militias of several states. When the army of thirteen thousand reached the hills of western Pennsylvania, they found no insurrection. The "Whiskey Boys" were overawed, dispersed, or captured. Washington, pardoned the two convicted culprits.

General Anthony Wayne

General "Mad Anthony" routed the Miamis at the Battle of Fallen Timbers , the British refused to shelter Indians fleeing from the battle. Abandoned when it counted by their red-coated friends, the Indians soon offered him the Treaty of Greenville.

Cabinet

George Washington established this during his presidency. The Constitution does not mention this; it merely provides that the president "may require" written opinions of the heads of the executive-branch departments. But this system proved so slow and complicated, and involved so much homework, that there meetings gradually evolved in the Washington administration. At first only three full-fledged department heads served under the president: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, and Secretary of War Henry Knox.

Farewell Address

George Washington's address at the end of his presidency, warning against "permanent alliances" with other nations. Washington did not oppose all alliances, but believed that the young, fledgling nation should forge alliances only on a temporary basis, in extraordinary circumstances.

"High Federalists"

Hamilton headed this war faction of the Federalist party after resigning from the treasury.

Bank of the United States

Hamilton proposed this. He took the Bank of England as his model. Specifically, he proposed a powerful private institution, of which the government would be the major stockholder and in which the federal Treasury would deposit its surplus monies. The central government not only would have a convenient strongbox, but federal funds would stimulate business by remaining in circulation. The bank would also print urgently needed paper money and thus provide a sound and stable national currency, badly needed since the days when the Continental dollar was "not worth a Continental." The proposed bank would indeed be useful. But was it constitutional? created by Congress in 1791, was chartered for twenty years. Located in Philadelphia, it was to have a capital of $10 million, one-fifth of it owned by the federal government. Stock was thrown open to public sale.

Napoleon Bonaparte

He was was ambitious, and referred to a "little Corporal." He had recently seized dictoral power in France. He was eager to free his hands to the American squabble so that he might continue to redraw the map of Europe and perhaps create a New World empire in Louisiana.

French Revolution

In its early stages, the upheaval was surprisingly peaceful, involving as it did a successful attempt to impose constitutional shackles on Louis XVI. The American people, loving liberty cheered. They were flattered to think that the outburst in France was but the second chapter of their own glorious Revolution, as to some extent it was. In 1792, France declared war on hostile Austria. Powerful ideals and powerful armies alike were on the march. Late in that year, the electrifying news reached America that French citizen armies had hurled back the invading foreigners and that France had proclaimed itself a republic.

Neutrality Proclamation

Issued by George Washington, it proclaimed America's formal neutrality in the escalating conflict between England and France, a statement that enraged pro-French Jeffersonians.

Virginia Resolution

James Madison drafted a similar but less extreme statement compared to Jeffersons, which was adopted by the legislature of ________ in 1798. Argued that states were the final arbiters of whether the federal government overstepped its boundaries and could therefore nullify, or refuse to accept, national legislation they deemed unconstitutional.

"Strict interpretation"

Jefferson argued vehemently against the bank of the U.S. There was, he insisted, no specific authorization in the Constitution for such a financial octopus. He was convinced that all powers not specifically granted to the central government were reserved to the states, as provided in the about-to-be-ratified Bill of Rights. He therefore concluded that the states, not Congress, had the power to charter banks. Believing that the Constitution should be interpreted "literally".

Jay's Treaty

Negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay in an effort to avoid war with Britain, the treaty included a British promise to evacuate outposts on U.S. soil and pay damages for seized American vessels, in exchange for which Jay bound the United States to repay pre-Revolutionary war debts and to abide by Britain's restrictive trading policies toward France.

John Jay

New Yorker, Madison's collaborator on The Federalist papers and one of the young Republic's most seasoned diplomats, became the first chief justice of the United States. Agreed a treaty with Britain.

Franco-American Alliance of 1778

Ominously, this was still on the books. By its own terms, it was to last "forever." It bound the United States to help the French defend their West Indies against future foes, and the booming British fleets were certain to attack these strategic islands. Many Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans favored honoring the alliance. Aflame with the liberal ideals of the French Revolution, red-blooded Jeffersonians were eager to enter the conflict against Britain, the recent foe, at the side of France, the recent friend. America owed France its freedom, they argued, and now was the time to pay the debt of gratitude. But President George Washington, levelheaded as usual, was not swayed by the clamor of the crowd. Backed by Hamilton, he believed that war had to be avoided at all costs

Jeffersonians

One of the nations first political parties, led by Thomas Jefferson and stemming from the anti-federalists, emerged around 1792, gradually became today's Democratic party. They were pro-French, liberal, and mostly made up of the middle class. They favored a weak central government, and strong states' rights.

John Marshall

One of the three appointed men of the diplomatic commission, (whose purpose was to avoid war with France and speak to Talleyrand.) Future chief justice. He thought the terms were intolerable. Him and they other envoys on the commission gagged at paying a quarter of a million dollars just to talk with Talleyrand, without any assurances of a settlement. He refused to pay and when he returned to New York he was hailed as a conquering hero for his steadfastness.

Judiciary Act of 1789

Organized the federal legal system, establishing the Supreme Court, federal district and circuit courts, and the office of the attorney general.

Democratic-Republicans

Political party led by Thomas Jefferson; it feared centralized political power, supported states' rights, opposed Hamilton's financial plan, supported ties with France, and believed in strict interpretation of the Constitution.

Citizen Edmond Genet

Representative of the French Republic, he had landed at Charleston, South Carolina. With unrestrained zeal he undertook to fit out privateers and otherwise take advantage of the existing Franco-American alliance. He foolishly came to believe that the Neutrality Proclamation did not reflect the true wishes of the American people, and he consequently embarked upon unneutral activity not authorized by the French alliance—including the recruitment of armies to invade Spanish Florida and Louisiana, as well as British Canada. Even Madison and Jefferson were soon disillusioned by his conduct. After he threatened to appeal over the head of "Old Washington" to the sovereign voters, the president demanded his withdrawal, and the Frenchman was replaced by a less impulsive emissary.

Kentucky Resolution

Resentful Jeffersonians naturally refused to take the Alien and Sedition Acts lying down. Jefferson himself feared that if the Federalists managed to choke free speech and free press, they would then wipe out other precious constitutional guarantees. His own fledgling political party might even be stamped out of existence. If this had happened, the country might have slid into a dangerous one-party dictatorship. To combat this Jefferson secretly penned a series of resolutions. Argued that states were the final arbiters of whether the federal government overstepped its boundaries and could therefore nullify, or refuse to accept, national legislation they deemed unconstitutional.

Alexander Hamilton

Secretary of the Treasury A financial wizard, he set out immediately to correct the economic vexations that had crippled the Articles of Confederation. His plan was to shape the fiscal policies of the administration in such a way as to favor the wealthier groups. They, in turn, would gratefully lend the government monetary and political support. The new federal regime would thrive, the propertied classes would fatten, and prosperity would trickle down to the masses. The youthful financier's first objective was to bolster the national credit. Without public confidence in the government, he could not secure the funds with which to float his risky schemes. He therefore boldly urged Congress to "fund" the entire national debt "at par" and to assume completely the debts incurred by the states during the recent war. Urged Congress to assume the debts of the states, totaling some $21.5 million. "Father of the National Debt" proposed a bank of the United States

Tariff

Tax levied on imports. Traditionally, manufacturers support these as protective and revenue-raising measures, while agricultural interests, dependent on world markets, oppose high tariffs. The first law, imposing a low tariff of about 8 percent on the value of dutiable imports, was speedily passed by the first Congress in 1789, even before Hamilton was sworn in. Revenue was by far the main goal, but the measure was also designed to erect a low protective wall around infant industries.

Excise Tax

Tax on goods produced domestically. In particular the 1791 tax on whiskey, was a highly controversial component of Alexander Hamilton's financial program. The new levy of seven cents a gallon was borne chiefly by the distillers who lived in the backcountry, where the wretched roads forced the farmer to reduce (and liquefy) bulky bushels of grain to horseback proportions. Whiskey flowed so freely on the frontier in the form of distilled liquor that it was used for money.

Treaty of Greenville

The confederacy gave up vast tracts of the Old Northwest, including most of present-day Indiana and Ohio. In exchange the Indians received a lump-sum payment of $20,000, an annual annuity of $9,000, the right to hunt the lands they had ceded, and, most important, what they hoped was recognition of their sovereign status. Although the treaty codified an unequal relationship, the Indians felt that it put some limits on the ability of the United States to decide the fate of Indian peoples.

Funding at Par

The federal government would pay off its debts at face value, plus accumulated interest—a then-enormous total of more than $54 million. So many people believed the infant Treasury incapable of meeting those obligations that government bonds had depreciated to ten or fifteen cents on the dollar. Yet speculators held fistfuls of them, and when Congress passed Hamilton's measure in 1790, they grabbed for more. Some of them galloped into rural areas ahead of the news, buying for a song the depreciated paper holdings of farmers, war veterans, and widows.

Reign of Terror

The guillotine was set up, the king was beheaded in 1793, the church was attacked, and this had begun. Ten-month period of brutal repression when some 40,000 individuals were executed as enemies of the French Revolution. Back in America, God-fearing Federalist aristocrats withdrew their already lukewarm support once this commenced. Sober-minded Jeffersonians regretted the bloodshed. But they felt, with Jefferson, that one could not expect to be carried from "despotism to liberty in a feather bed" and that a few thousand aristocratic heads were a cheap price to pay for human freedom.

Federalists

They believed in a strong central government, a strong army, industry, and loose interpretation of the Constitution. Their programs were the National Bank and taxes to support the growth of industry.

Assumption

Transfer of debt from one party to another. In order to strengthen the union, the federal government assumed states' Revolutionary War debts in 1790, thereby tying the interests of wealthy lenders with those of the national government. States burdened with heavy debts, like Massachusetts, were delighted by Hamilton's proposal. States with small debts, like Virginia, were less charmed. Virginia did not want the state debts _________, but it did want the forthcoming federal district —now the District of Columbia—to be located on the Potomac River. It would thus gain in commerce and prestige. Hamilton persuaded a reluctant Jefferson, to line up enough votes in Congress for this. In return, Virginia would have the federal district on the Potomac. The bargain was carried through in 1790.

Thomas Jefferson

Under the executive branch of the new constitution, he was the Secretary of State. When Alexander Hamilton wanted to create a new national bank, he adamantly spoke against it. He felt it would violate states rights by causing a huge competitor for the state banks, then causing a federal monopoly. His argument was that since the Constitution did not say Congress could create a bank they should not be given that power. This is the philosophy of strict construction. His beliefs led to the creation of the political party, Democratic Republicans.

John Adams

With most of his support in New England, squeezed through by the narrow margin of 71 votes to 68 in the Electoral College becoming the second president of the U.S. He impressed observers as a man of stern principles who did his duty with stubborn devotion. Although learned and upright, he was a tactless and prickly intellectual aristocrat, with no appeal to the masses and with no desire to cultivate any. Many citizens regarded him with "respectful irritation." He had stepped into Washington's shoes, which no successor could hope to fill. In addition, Adams was hated by Hamilton. Deserves immense credit for his belated push for peace with France when opposed by Hamiltonians. Also smoothed the path for the peaceful purchase of Louisiana three years later.

United States Marine Corps

reestablished in preparation for war with France after the XYZ affair. (originally created in 1775, it had been disbanded at the end of the Revolutionary War).