Chapter 6

excise tax

Excise taxes are taxes paid when purchases are made on a specific good, such as gasoline. Excise taxes are often included in the price of the product. There are also excise taxes on activities, such as on wagering or on highway usage by trucks.

Pinckney's Treaty

Pinckney's Treaty, known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795 and established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain.

Alien and Sedition Acts

A series of laws known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote.

Sacajawea

A young Native American woman who guided Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their expedition to explore territory gained through the Louisiana Purchase. (See Lewis and Clark expedition.) Note: Her portrait is stamped on the golden dollar.

Battle of New Orleans

American victory in a battle that never had to happen. American forces under General Andrew Jackson defeated British forces on January 8, 1815, several weeks after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which had officially ended the war.

blockade

An act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving.

embargo

An official ban on trade or other commercial activity with a particular country

Bank of the United States

Bank of the United States, name for two national banks established by the U.S. Congress to serve as government fiscal agents and as depositories for federal funds; the first bank was in existence from 1791 to 1811 and the second from 1816 to 1836.

John Jay

December 23] 1745 - May 17, 1829) was an American statesman, Patriot, diplomat, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and first Chief Justice of the United States (1789-95). Jay was born into a wealthy family of merchants and government officials in New York City.

Democratic-Republicans

Definition of Democratic-Republican. : of or relating to a major American political party of the early 19th century favoring a strict interpretation of the Constitution to restrict the powers of the federal government and emphasizing states' rights.

Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark expedition definition. A journey made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, to explore the American Northwest, newly purchased from France, and some territories beyond.

Marbury v. Madison

Marbury versus Madison definition. A case decided by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Marshall in 1803. The Court declared unanimously that a certain law passed by Congress should not be enforced, because the law was opposed to the Constitution.

John Marshall

Marshall, John definition. A public official of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Marshall served as chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835.

Alexander Hamilton

Noun. 1. Alexander Hamilton - United States statesman and leader of the Federalists; as the first Secretary of the Treasury he establish a federal bank; was mortally wounded in a duel with Aaron Burr (1755-1804) Hamilton. Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection.

nullification

Nullification, in United States constitutional history, is a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional. The theory of nullification has never been legally upheld by federal courts.

protective tariff

Protective tariffs are tariffs that are enacted with the aim of protecting a domestic industry. Tariffs are also imposed in order to raise government revenue, or to reduce an undesirable activity (sin tax).

Tecumseh

Shawnee Indian chief; also Tecumtha. His plan to organize a military confederacy of tribes to resist US encroachment was thwarted by the defeat of his brother, Tenskwatawa (c.1768-1834) (also called the Prophet), at Tippecanoe 1811.

Judiciary Act of 1789

The Judiciary Act of 1789 established the lower federal courts. Under Article III, Section 1, of the U.S. Constitution, "The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.

Judiciary Act of 1801

The Midnight Judges Act (also known as the Judiciary Act of 1801; 2 Stat. 89, or the Midnight Appointments) represented an effort to solve an issue in the U.S. Supreme Court during the early 19th century.

Treaty of Ghent

The Treaty of Ghent (8 Stat. 218), signed on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom.

XYZ Affair

The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War. U.S. and French negotiators restored peace with the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine.

Louisiana Purchase

The purchase by the United States from France of the huge Louisiana Territory in 1803. President Thomas Jefferson ordered the purchase negotiations, fearing that the French, then led by Napoleon, wanted to establish an empire in North America

cabinet

a body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government.

war hawk

a person who clamors for war; especially : a jingoistic American favoring war with Britain around 1812.

armistice

an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting for a certain time; a truce.

midnight judges

midnight judges. A few weeks before his term as president was over, John Adams signed into law the Judiciary Act of 1801, which reorganized the federal court system. The "midnight judges" were selected by President John Adams, who signed appointments up until midnight on his last day in office.

sectionalism

restriction of interest to a narrow sphere; undue concern with local interests or petty distinctions at the expense of general well-being.

judicial review

review by the US Supreme Court of the constitutional validity of a legislative act.

impressment

the act of seizing for public use or of impressing into public service.

neutrality

the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; impartiality.

two-party system

two-party system is a party system where two major political parties dominate politics within a government. One of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referred to as the majority or governing party while the other is the minority or opposition party.