THE CONSTITUTION & BILL OF RIGHTS
This document replaced the Articles of Confederation and created a stronger federal government beginning in 1787.
What is the U.S. Constitution?
This Revolutionary War hero was unanimously elected the first president of the United States in 1789.
Who was George Washington?
This man became the second president and led the Federalist Party during growing conflict with France.
Who was John Adams?
Jefferson purchased this enormous territory from France in 1803, roughly doubling the size of the United States.
What was the Louisiana Purchase?
This Shawnee leader tried to unite Native nations against American expansion before being killed at the Battle of the Thames.
Who was Tecumseh?
These first ten amendments to the Constitution protected individual liberties and helped answer Anti-Federalist fears of centralized power.
What is the Bill of Rights?
Washington created this group of department heads to advise the president, including Hamilton, Jefferson, and Knox.
What is the Cabinet?
In this diplomatic scandal, French agents demanded bribes from American representatives, fueling demands for war with France.
What was the XYZ Affair?
These two explorers led the Corps of Discovery from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean.
Who were Meriwether Lewis and William Clark?
After this 1813 naval victory, Oliver Hazard Perry famously reported, “We have met the enemy and they are ours.”
What was the Battle of Lake Erie?
This amendment protects freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition.
What is the First Amendment?
This 1794 uprising by western Pennsylvania farmers tested whether the new federal government could enforce its laws.
What was the Whiskey Rebellion?
These controversial 1798 laws targeted immigrants and criminalized some criticism of the federal government.
What were the Alien and Sedition Acts?
This Shoshone woman assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition during its journey west.
Who was Sacagawea?
British troops burned the Capitol and President’s Mansion after crushing American militia at this humiliating 1814 battle nicknamed the “Bladensburg Races.”
What was the Battle of Bladensburg?
This future president introduced the amendments that became the Bill of Rights after initially doubting that such a list was necessary.
Who was James Madison?
Hamilton supported a broad interpretation of federal power known by this term, while Jefferson preferred a much narrower reading of the Constitution.
What is loose construction?
This Supreme Court case established judicial review, giving the Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional.
What was Marbury v. Madison?
This British practice of seizing sailors from American ships and forcing them into the Royal Navy became one of the major causes of the War of 1812.
What was impressment?
Francis Scott Key watched the British bombardment of this Baltimore fort and was inspired to write the poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
What was Fort McHenry?
This amendment reserves powers not given to the federal government to the states or the people.
What is the Tenth Amendment?
In his Farewell Address, Washington warned Americans against the “baneful effects” of this force, even though Hamilton and Jefferson had already created rival political camps.
What is the spirit of party—or political parties?
Another term for the election of 1800, which produced the first peaceful transfer of presidential power between rival American political parties.
What was the Revolution of 1800?
Jefferson tried to avoid war by passing this 1807 law that halted most American overseas trade—but instead badly damaged the American economy.
What was the Embargo Act?
Andrew Jackson won this overwhelming victory in January 1815 after the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed, because news of peace had not yet reached the armies.
What was the Battle of New Orleans?