1754 - 1800 (Rebellion, Revolution, and Nation)

Question 1

Adam Smith

Answer 1

• 1723 - 1790
• Adam Smith was a Scottish moral philosopher and pioneer of political economy.
• His “An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of Wealth of Nations” helped establish modern economic theory.
• Smith offered a vision of a free market in which he argued that rational self-interest and competition can create economic prosperity.
• These ideas promote the potential of the individual and contradict mercantilism.
• International, religious, and political thinking in the period helped English colonists form a distinctly American worldview.

Question 2

Albany Plan

Answer 2

• 1754
• During the French and Indian War, delegates of seven colonies met in New York to discuss plans for collective defense.
• The Pennsylvanian delegate, Benjamin Franklin, proposed a plan for an intercolonial government, but the plan was rejected by the colonial legislatures as demanding too great a surrender of power.
• Even though the other colonies showed no support for Franklin’s plan, it was an important precedent for the concept of uniting in the face of a common enemy.
• The growth of English colonization impinged on French and American Indian relations, causing conflicts for both English colonist and native tribes.

Question 3

Impact of the French and Indian War on British Colonial Policy

Answer 3

• Beginning in 1763
• After the French and Indian War, Britain set out to solve its large national debt.
• It created a series of acts that raised taxes on American goods, leading to rebellious activities in the colonies.
• Acts included the Sugar Act (1763), Stamp Act (1765), Quartering Act (1765), and Declaratory Act (1766).
• The Sugar Act taxed goods imported to America such as wine, cloth, coffee, and silk.
• The Stamp Act raised revenue to support British soldiers protecting the colonies.
• The Declaratory Act reaffirmed Britain’s power to tax and make laws for the colonists.
• The Quartering Act forced residents to house British troops.
• Great Britain’s increased focus on the economies and governance of the colonies – an effort to resolve its debt after the French and Indian War – would eventually lead to revolution.

Question 4

Benjamin Franklin

Answer 4

• 1706 - 1790
• Benjamin Franklin was a colonial writer, scientist, diplomat, printer, and philosopher.
• He published the Pennsylvania Gazette and Wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac.
• Franklin served in the Second Continental Congress and was a drafter and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• A movement for American independence came from both colonial leadership and the masses who demanded greater rights and liberties as well as the opportunity for self-governance.

Question 5

Proclamation of 1763

Answer 5

• 1763
• The Proclamation of 1763 was a result of Pontiac’s Rebellion, an American Indian uprising against the British for their mistreatment.
• It forbade white settlement west of the Appalachians to reduce friction between American Indians and settlers.
• It stated that American Indians owned the land on which they were residing.
• Outraged colonists believed that the successful outcome of the French and Indian War should have allowed them to settle in the Ohio Valley.
• Following the French and Indian War, hostilities continued between colonists and American Indians over trade and land rights.

Question 6

March of the Paxton Boys

Answer 6

• January 1764
• The middle colonies grew significantly through immigration in the eighteenth century.
• The largest group was the Scots-Irish: Scottish and English Protestants from Northern Ireland.
• A vigilante group of Scots-Irish farmers, the Paxton Boys, organized raids against American Indians; they were furled by resentment over the French and Indian War and Pontiac’s Rebellion.
• One such raid on Conestoga Indians resulted in twenty deaths.
• About 250 Paxton Boys went to Philadelphia to present their grievances to the state legislature. They felt bitterness against the Quaker leadership for its lenient policy toward American Indians.
• After the French and Indian War and into the post-revolutionary era, colonist migration resulted in the blending of the cultures of whites and American Indians but also created competition over resources and land.

Question 7

Methods of Colonial Resistance

Answer 7

• 1760s - 1770s
• British colonist reacted first with restrained and respectful petitions against the empire, suggesting “taxation without representation is tyranny.”
• Colonial governments organized “committees of correspondence” to share their view of British actions with neighboring colonies and with foreign governments; this was the start of political organization among the colonies.
• Colonial merchants then boycotted British goods (nonimportation).
• Colonists finally turned to violence; crowds took action against customs officials and against merchants who violated the boycotts.
• Great Britain’s increased focus on the economies and governance of the colonies – an effort to resolve its debt after the French and Indian War – would eventually lead to revolution.

Question 8

Stamp Act Congress

Answer 8

• October 1765
• Delegates of seven colonies met in New York to discuss their objections to the Stamp Act and their other concerns with British policies.
• The Stamp Act Congress adopted the Declaration of Rights and Grievances, which states that freeborn Englishmen could not be taxed without their consent.
• During this period, colonists began to unite and organize around a series of actual and perceived threats that British policies posed.
• “No taxation without representation” became a rallying cry.
• A movement for American independence came from both colonial leadership and the masses who demanded greater rights and liberties as well as the opportunity for self-governance.

Question 9

Spanish Missions In California

Answer 9

• Beginning in 1769
• Spanish Franciscan Catholics organized a series of missions in New Spain (present-day California) to spread Christianity among local American Indians.
• Catholic priest Junipero Serra was one of its most important figures.
• Missions were both religious and military communities and helped Spain maintain a presence along its borderlands.
• Spanish missionaries tended to exploit American Indian labor – sometimes brutally – and disease decimated these native populations.
• Spanish missions drew Spanish soldiers and settlers to present-day California, encouraging intermingling with American Indians.

Question 10

Virtual Representation

Answer 10

• 1770s
• Virtual representation is the English principle stating that the members of Parliament represented all of Britain and the British Empire, even though members were only elected by a small number of constituents.
• British Prime Minister George Grenville responded to the colonial demand for “no taxation without representation” by claimed that Parliament represented those who were being taxed.
• A movement for American independence came from both colonial leadership and the masses who demanded greater rights and liberties as well as the opportunity for self-governance.

Question 11

Boston Massacre

Answer 11

• March 5, 1770
• The Boston Massacre occurred amid ongoing friction between the British and colonists, who resented the “standing army” in Boston and disliked tax measures such as the Townshend Acts.
• A mob of colonist surrounded British sentries, threatened them verbally, and threw objects at them.
• The British soldiers killed five Bostonians, including Ciprus Attucks, an American patriot and former slave.
• Future president John Adams provided the legal defense for the soldiers.
• Even though the British soldiers acted more or less in self-defense, anti-royal leaders used the massacre to spur action in the colonies.
• Growing tensions between Great Britain and its colonies over economic and political liberties drove American colonists to revolution and war.

Question 12

Tea Act, Boston Tea Party, and Intolerable Acts

Answer 12

• 1773
• The Tea Act was a concession that allowed the British East India Company to ship tea directly to America and sell it at a bargain.
• Because the cheap tea undercut the costs of local merchants, colonists opposed these shipments; they turned back ships, left shipments to rot, and held ships in port.
• The Tea Act led to the Boston Tea Party in December of 1773, where citizens, dressed as American Indians, destroyed tea on the British ships.
• The British responded by imposing the Intolerable Acts (“Coercive Acts”), a series of actions that closed the Port of Boston to trade, increased the power of Massachusetts’ royal governor, and allowed royal officials accused of crimes to be tried elsewhere.
• Growing tensions between Great Britain and its colonies over economic and political liberties drove American colonists to revolution and war.

Question 13

First Continental Congress

Answer 13

• September - October 1774
• The first Continental Congress was a meeting in Philadelphia of colonial representatives to denounce the Intolerable Acts and to petition the British Parliament.
• A few radical members discussed breaking from England.
• The First Continental Congress created the Continental Association and forbade the importation and use of British goods,
• It agreed to convene a Second Continental Congress in May 1775.
• A movement for American independence came from both colonial leadership and the masses who demanded greater rights and liberties as well as the opportunity for self-governance.

Question 14

Battles of Concord and Lexington

Answer 14

• April 1775
• British General Gage suspected that a stockpile of colonial weaponry was housed in Concord.
• Paul Revere, William Dawes, and others detected movement by British troops toward Concord; they warned the militia and gathered Minutemen at Lexington.
• Militia and Royal infantry skirmished in Lexington.
• When the British moved on to Concord, they were confronted by a larger group of militia and were forced to retreat.
• The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson described the opening conflict of the American Revolutionary War as the “shot heard round the world.”
• The colonies were successful in their revolution for several reason, including their leadership, dedication to their new nation, and European alliances.

Question 15

Second Continental Congress

Answer 15

• May 1775 - March 1781
• The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of colonial representatives in Philadelphia over which John Hancock presided.
• The group was torn between declaring independence and remaining under British power.
• Moderates forced the adoption of the Olive Branch Petition, a letter to King George III appealing one final time for a resolution to all disputes; the king refused to receive it.
• The Congress sent George Washington to command the army around Boston.
• American ports were opened in defiance of the Navigation Acts.
• The Congress would go on to write and adopt the Declaration of Independence.
• A movement for American independence came from both colonial leadership and the masses who demanded greater rights and liberties as well as the opportunity for self-governance.

Question 16

George Washington’s Leadership in the American Revolution

Answer 16

• 1775 - 1781
• George Washington was named Commander-in-Chief of Continental Forces in June 1775 by the Second Continental Congress.
• He compelled the British to evacuate Boston in March 1776.
• Washington defeated the British at Trenton, New Jersey after crossing the Delaware on December 25, 1776.
• He survived the tough winter at Valley Forge (1777 - 1778); Washington strengthened his troops during the winter and gained tremendous respect among the men.
• British general Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Washington on October 19, 1781.
• The colonies were successful in their revolution for several reason, including their leadership, dedication to their new nation, and European alliances.

Question 17

Common Sense

Answer 17

• January 1776
• Common Sense, a pamphlet published by Thomas Paine, called for immediate independence from Britain.
• It was sold throughout the colonies, gained popularity, and engaged average colonists in the political debate over the future of their government.
• Common Sense helped improve support for independence in the Continental Congress.
• Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence exemplified Enlightenment thinking and a desire for self-rule, concepts that drove the colonists’ search for the proper government for their new nation.

Question 18

Declaration of Independence

Answer 18

• Adopted July 4, 1776
• The Declaration of Independence is a document stating the political ideas that justified America’s separation from Britain.
• Even though the body of the document lists grievances against Britain, Enlightenment thinking and John Locke’s work shaped the Declaration’s key concepts.
• It asserts that “all men are created equal” and “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,” and that people have the right “to alter or to abolish” a government that violates their natural rights.
• Thomas Jefferson and his committee drafted the document for the Continental Congress.
• The Declaration has shaped democratic practices in the United States and beyond to modern times.
• Common Sense and the Declaration of Independence exemplified Enlightenment thinking and a desire for self-rule, concepts that drove the colonists’ search for the proper government for their new nation.

Question 19

Battlet, of Saratoga

Answer 19

• 1777
• The Battle of Saratoga was an American Revolution battle fought in northern New York.
• The British planned to end the revolution by splitting the colonies along the Hudson River, but they failed to mobilize properly.
• The British ended up surrendering, allowing the first great American victory.
• The colonies were successful in their revolution for several reason, including their leadership, dedication to their new nation, and European alliances.

Question 20

State Constitutions

Answer 20

• 1778
• By 1778, ten states had drawn up constitutions, and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island had updated their charters.
• All thirteen constitutions and charters reflected the republican idea that government rests on the consent of the governed.
• Most of them emphasized smaller governing units to avoid the tyranny of a distant power.
• Some created forms of direct democracy that gave power to a lower legislative house; this body was supposed to be most responsive to the people and require frequent election.
• States often included lists of individual liberties that government was not to abridge; these measures influenced the drafting of the Articles of Confederation.
• The Articles of Confederation demonstrated the loyalty many Americans felt toward their states, their suspicion of a powerful federal government, and the balance of liberty and order.

Question 21

Articles of Confederation

Answer 21

• Ratified in 1781
• The Articles of Confederation was the framework for an American national government in which states were given the most power.
• It permitted the federal government to make war, offer treaties, and create new states.
• There was no federal power to levy taxes, raise troops, or regulate commerce.
• Congressional revision of the articles created a weak national government.
• The Articles of Confederation demonstrated the loyalty many Americans felt toward their states, their suspicion of a powerful federal government, and the balance of liberty and order.

Question 22

Western Land Cessions

Answer 22

• 1781 - 1787; Georgia in 1802
• The original thirteen states ceded their western land claims to the new federal government.
• The states that lacked western land claims feared that states with claims could grow in size, skewing representation in the federal government.
• Before signing the United States Constitution, these states demanded that those with claims cede the land.
• Ordinances in 1784 and 1785 and the Northwest Ordinance (1787) organized the ceded areas in preparation for statehood.
• New States were organized and admitted to the Union.
• The policy strengthened the ties of the Western farmers to the central government.
• American expansion and immigration westward brought new territories under the country’s governance but also created challenges for those already living in and controlling these lands.

Question 23

Treaty of Paris, 1783

Answer 23

• 1783
• The Treaty of Paris was the peace settlement that ended the Revolutionary War.
• Ben Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay represented the United States.
• Britain recognized the United States’ independence and outlines its borders.
• The United States received all lands east of the Mississippi River, north of Florida, and south of the Great Lakes.
• The United States agreed that Loyalists (those who had supported Britain) were not to be persecuted.
• European nations still maintained a presence west of the Mississippi, in Canada, and in Florida.
• The United States though now independent, had difficulty enforcing defensive and economic strategies as European nations, including the French and Spanish, continued to occupy North American territories.

Question 24

Land Ordinance of 1785; Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Answer 24

• 1786; 1787
• The Land Ordinance was an act of Congress that sold western lands to settle this territory and to earn revenue for the federal government.
• The Land Ordinance organized the distribution of land into townships and set aside a section in each for public education.
• The Northwest Ordinance described how the land north of the Ohio River should be divided and set a precedent for how states could join the Union.
• The Northwest Ordinance held that states would be admitted to the Union when the number of free inhabitants reached 60,000; slavery and involuntary servitude were not allowed in these states.
• The Northwest Ordinance was a successful accomplishment by a federal government that some had seen as ineffective. It encouraged orderly settlement of western lands but increased conflict with American Indians and impacted issues that led to the Civil War.

Question 25

Shays’ Rebellion

Answer 25

• 1786 - 1787
• As more Americans moved inland to settle, tensions grew between elite property owners and farmers.
• During a period of economic depression, Daniel Shays led a group of farmers to stop the courts from seizing land and enacting debt collection.
• After several weeks, the governor and legislature took action, calling up an army to suppress the rebellion.
• The rebellion motivated political leaders to strengthen the federal government with an entirely new framework, something that would go beyond the Articles of Confederation: the Constitution.
• American expansion and immigration westward brought new territories under the country’s governance but also created challenges for those already living in and controlling these lands.

Question 26

Constitution of the Unites States

Answer 26

• Signed September 17, 1787 and ratified June 21, 1788
• The U.S. Constitution was drafted at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787.
• It includes a preamble and seven articles.
• It created a stronger federal government.
• The Bill of Rights constitutes the first ten amendments, and it protects individual rights and freedoms.
• The Constitution of the United States represents a set of compromises that aimed to balance liberty and order, states’ rights, and the power of the national government.

Question 27

Virginia Plan, New Jersey Plan, and the Great Compromise

Answer 27

• July 1787
• The Virginia Plan called for a bicameral legislature based on a state’s population.
• The New Jersey Plan called for a unicameral legislature with equal representation for states.
• The Constitution united the plans with the Great Compromise, which met the demands of both small and large states for fair representation.
• The Great Compromise established a bicameral system: the House of Representatives based on population while the Senate had equal representation.
• It included the Three-Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as three-fifths of a person for purposes of apportioning representation.
• Bypassing the issue of slavery set up a future conflict between the states.
• The Constitution of the United States represents a set of compromises that aimed to balance liberty and order, states’ rights, and the power of the national government.

Question 28

Federalists

Answer 28

• 1788
• Federalists were Americans who advocated centralized power and constitutional ratification.
• They used the Federalist papers to demonstrate how the Constitution was designed to prevent the abuse of power.
• Supporters of the Federalist platforms included Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, John Jay, and Northeastern business groups.
• Federalists believed that the government was given all powers that were not expressly denied to it by the Constitution (they had a “loose interpretation” of the Constitution).
• American democracy encouraged debate over the roles of the federal government and the rights and liberties of its citizens, leading to the developments of organizations and political parties to represent and promote these concerns.

Question 29

Anti-Federalists

Answer 29

• 1780s - 1790s
• Anti-Federalists were those against the adoption of the Constitution; they were suspicious of political actions that would limit freedom and of a centralized government that would rule at a distance.
• George Mason, Patrick Henry, and George Clinton were Anti-Federalists.
• Many of the Anti-Federalists would come to oppose the policies of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists.
• The Jeffersonian Republican Party absorbed many of the Anti-Federalists after the Constitution was adopted.
• American democracy encouraged debate over the roles of the federal government and the rights and liberties of its citizens, leading to the developments of organizations and political parties to represent and promote these concerns.

Question 30

Republican Motherhood

Answer 30

• Gained prominence in the 1700s
• Ideals of the American Revolution inspired writers to challenge traditional gender roles.
• Women’s participation in the revolution created a sense of egalitarianism.
• Republican Motherhood as an idea was based on Enlightenment thinking; John Locke had also challenged the traditional notions of the female role.
• Republican Motherhood did not suggest political equality with men; it only claimed a role for women in civic life, such as raising the next generation of republican leaders.
• Women’s roles in civic life grew, influenced by the Enlightenment and their involvement in the Revolutionary War.

Question 31

American Response to the French Revolution

Answer 31

• Beginning in 1789
• French revolutionaries found inspiration in the American model of government and the Enlightenment ideas that influenced America’s revolution.
• In the early stages of the French Revolution, France’s national legislature fought against the absolute power of King Louis XVI, and many Americans supported this movement.
• In 1793, the revolution turned into a wave of violence in which thousands of suspected enemies of the movement were killed; Americans grew divided in their support.
• The Federalist Party tended to be more critical of the French Revolution, while Jeffersonian Republicans tended to be more supportive, at least in its early stages.
• The new American nation worked to define its role in international affairs based on concerns and conflicts at home and abroad.

Question 32

George Washington

Answer 32

• 1789 - 1797
• George Washington was the first president of the United States.
• He served two terms.
• His leadership set the precedent for a strong presidency with control of foreign policy and the power to veto Congress’s legislation.
• Washington declared the Proclamation of Neutrality in April 1793, keeping the United States neutral in the European wars.
• His Farewell Address in 1796 cautioned against entangling alliances, recommended isolationism, and warned of political party factions.
• The election and actions of U.S. presidents reflect the major issues concerning the federal government, the country’s stance in the world, political parties, and the American people.

Question 33

Judiciary Act of 1789

Answer 33

• 1789
• The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for a Supreme Court with a chief justice and five associates.
• It established the office of the attorney general.
• It created federal district courts and circuit courts.
• Many early Supreme Court rulings expanded the power of the federal government and affirmed the Court’s role in interpreting the Constitution.

Question 34

Revolutions in the Atlantic World

Answer 34

• 1791 (Haiti) and 1808 (Latin America)
• The Haitian Revolution broke out in the French colony of Saint Domigue, a sugar-producing slave society.
• Revolution took place in phases: white colonists resisting French rule, mixed-race planters rebelling against their second-class status, and slaves rebelling against slavery.
• Haiti established its independence in 1804 as the first black republic in the Americas.
• Several Spanish colonies in Latin America decided to break free of their ruling powers.
• Atlantic revolutions reflected the ideas, politics, and economic interest that inspired the American Revolution.

Question 35

Bill of Rights

Answer 35

• Ratified in 1791
• One of the first acts of Congress was to pass the Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments to the Constitution.
• Much of the language, written by James Madison, comes from state constitutions.
• The First through Fourth Amendments establish the basic rights of the people.
• The Fifth though Eight Amendments define the rights of the accused in the legal system.
• The Ninth and Tenth Amendments review the rights and powers of the government.
• The Bill of Rights did not include the right to vote, leaving it to the states to determine, the country would decide that voting required constitutional protection.
• The Constitution of the United States represents a set of compromises that aimed to balance liberty and order, states’ rights, and the power of the national government.

Question 36

Elastic Clause and the Tenth Amendement

Answer 36

• Ratified in 1791
• The Tenth Amendment restricts the federal government to those powers delegated to it by the Constitution and gives all other powers to the states, or the people.
• Article I, Section 8 grants the federal government the power to make all laws “which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers.”
• The framers of the constitution included this clause to give the federal government the flexibility to deal with the country’s changing needs.
• This contradiction leaves open an issue that has influenced events throughout American history: whether the federal government or the states have the right to exercise powers not expressly delegated to the federal government.
• The Constitution of the United States represents a set of compromises that aimed to balance liberty and order, states’ rights, and the power of the national government.

Question 37

Alexander Hamilton’s Financial Plan

Answer 37

• 1757 - 1804
• Alexander Hamilton was the first secretary of the treasury.
• He proposed the federal assumption of state debts, the establishment of a national bank, and the federal stimulation of industry through excise taxes and tariffs.
• Opponents, including Thomas Jefferson, saw his programs as aiding a small, elite group at the expense of the average citizen.
• Hamilton died from wounds sustained in a pistol duel with Aaron Burr, Jefferson’s Vice President.
• As the United States’ economy grew larger, people developed differing opinions about how active the federal government should be in managing the economy.

Question 38

Jeffersonian Republicans (Democratic-Republicans)

Answer 38

• 1792 - 1860
• The Jeffersonian Republican Party absorbed the Anti-Federalists.
• Proponents included Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
• They favored states’ rights and power in the hands of average citizens and were supported by Southern agriculture and frontiersmen.
• They believed that the federal government was denied all powers that were not expressly given to it by the Constitution (a “strict interpretation” of the document).
• The supported the French Revolution’s ideals, but they were against the Revolution’s bloody radicalism.
• American democracy encouraged debate over the roles of the federal government and the rights and liberties of its citizens, leading to the developments of organizations and political parties to represent and promote these concerns.

Question 39

Proclamation of Neutrality

Answer 39

• 1793
• George Washington chose to stay neutral in conflicts between Great Britain and France.
• He issued the Neutrality Act and advocated for America to avoid permanent alliances with foreign powers.
• Washington wanted to keep the new nation out of ongoing disputes when it was still finding its way.
• Isolationists throughout American history have used Washington’s words to argue against going to war.
• Despite American efforts in the 1790s and early 1800s to stay neutral in international affairs, the Unites States became involved in foreign conflicts, intensifying ongoing debates between the Federalist and Jeffersonian Republican Parties.

Question 40

Eli Whitney

Answer 40

• 1765 - 1825
• Eli Whitney was an inventor and manufacturer.
• He developed the cotton gin in 1793, revolutionizing the cotton industry and increasing the demand for slaves.
• He established the first factory to assemble muskets with interchangeable, standardized parts.
• His innovations led to an “American system” of manufacturing in which those laborers with less skill could use tools and templates to make identical parts; also, the manufacture and assembly of parts could be done separately.
• In the first part of the 1800s, cotton became the South’s most prominent and profitable staple crops, encouraging the growth of slavery and supplying raw material for Northern and international manufacturers.

Question 41

Jay’s Treaty

Answer 41

• 1794
• Jay’s Treaty was an attempt to settle the conflict between the Unites States ans England over commerce, navigation, and violations of the 1783 Treaty of Paris.
• It was negotiated by the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Jay.
• It provided for the eventual evacuation by the British of their posts in the Northwest, but it allowed them to continue their fur trade.
• It allowed for the establishment of commissions to settle United States-Canadian border disputes and U.S.-British losses during the Revolutionary War.
• The generous terms to Britain upset Americans because these were promises that had been made and not fulfilled in the Treaty of Paris.
• The United States though now independent, had difficulty enforcing defensive and economic strategies as European nations, including the French and Spanish, continued to occupy North American territories.

Question 42

Whiskey Rebellion

Answer 42

1794

• Western Whiskey farmers refused to pay the taxes on which Alexander Hamilton based his revenue program.
• A group of farmers menaced the tax collectors, and the federal government responded with a federalized militia.
• George Washington and Alexander Hamilton rode out to Pennsylvania themselves to emphasize their commitment.
• The strong response established federal authority, unlike the response to Shays’ Rebellion, which did not benefit from an effective centralized government.
• As the United States’ economy grew larger, people developed differing opinions about how active the federal government should be in managing the economy.

Question 43

Battle of Fallen Timbers

Answer 43

-1794
President Washington wanted to take control of the region north of the Ohio River from American Indian forces.
-He doubled the U.S. troops in Ohio and appointed General Anthony Wayne to lead.
-In the Battle of Fallen Timbers, superior American firepower defeated the American Indians.
-American Indians gave up most of Ohio in the Treaty of Grenville.
-The treaty didn’t hold, as settler eventually pushed farther into Ohio and Indiana.
-After the French and Indian War and into the post-revolutionary era, colonist migration resulted in the blending of the cultures of whites and American Indians but also created competition over resources and land.

Question 44

Pinckney Treaty

Answer 44

• 1795
• Signed by the United States and Spain, the Pinckney Treaty gave the U.S. free navigation of the Mississippi River and the disputed area north of Florida (present-day Mississippi and Alabama).
• Western farmers received the “right of deposit” in New Orleans, enabling them to use the port for their goods and making it easier for them to transport their goods to the east.
• The United States would late complete the Louisiana Purchase, which would cement this right of deposit.
• These measures helped bolster the Unites States against Great Britain’s ongoing presence in North America.
• The United States though now independent, had difficulty enforcing defensive and economic strategies as European nations, including the French and Spanish, continued to occupy North American territories.

Question 45

Early American Literature and Art

Answer 45

-1600s - 1700s
-Early writings promoted the benefits of colonization to both Europeans and to the colonies themselves; authors included John Smith and William Penn.
-Religious issues and the Great Awakening provided material for written works by John Winthrop, Edward Winslow, Roger Williams, Jonathan Edwards, and George Whitefield.
-The political issues of revolution influenced writing in the mid-1700s, including works by Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Paine.
-Postwar writings such as the Federalist papers explored the system of American values and governmental structure.
Art copied European styles but featured portraits of important Americans; famous artists included John Trumbull, Charles Peale, Benjamin West, and John Copley.
-Literature and art of the period reflected the United States’ movement toward a national American culture.

Question 46

John Adams

Answer 46

• John Adams was the second president of the United States.
• He was the first vice president.
• Adams was a diplomat and signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• He led the country through the XYZ Affair, the Alien and Sedition Acts, and the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
• He kept the nation from war during his tenure a president.
• The election and actions of U.S. presidents reflect the major issues concerning the federal government, the country’s stance in the world, political parties, and the American people.

Question 47

XYZ Affaur

Answer 47

-1798
-The United States wanted an end to French harassment of American shipping.
To settle the issue, French representatives demanded a bribe from the Unites States just to open negotiations with French Minister Talleyrand.
-The United States refused the bribe and suspended trade with the French.
-This led to the creation of the American Navy.
-Despite American efforts in the 1790s and early 1800s to stay neutral in international affairs, the Unites States became involved in foreign conflicts, intensifying ongoing debates between the Federalist and Jeffersonian Republican Parties.

Question 48

-Alien and Sedition Acts

Answer 48

• 1798 - 1799
• The Alien and Sedition Acts were legislation enacted by the Federalists to reduce foreign influences and increase their power.
• They established new hurdles to citizenship.
• They broadened power to quiet print media critics and Jeffersonian Republican opponents.
• They tested the strength of the First Amendment and limited the freedom of the press.
• The Federalists gained a reputation as being a less democratic group, quickening their demise as political organization.
• Early legislative activity in Congress demonstrated the ongoing debate over economic and foreign issues and the role of centralized government.

Question 49

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Answer 49

-1798 - 1799
-The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were a response by Jeffersonian Republicans to the Alien and Sedition Acts.
-They included text written by Jefferson and by Madison.
-They suggested that the federal government had no right to exercise powers not specifically delegated to it.
The resolutions represented a future argument that would be used when secession and Civil War threatened the country.
-They called into question the paradox of the Elastic Clause and the Tenth Amendment.
-Early legislative activity in Congress demonstrated the ongoing debate over economic and foreign issues and the role of centralized government.