Sparks of Revolution
Following Pontiac's Rebellion in 1763, King George III issued this royal decree banning colonial settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains.
What is the Proclamation Line of 1763?
This 1786 uprising of armed Massachusetts farmers shutting down courts proved that the national government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak.
What is "Shay's Rebellion"?
Alexander Hamilton used the "Elastic Clause" (implied powers) to create this financial institution, while Thomas Jefferson argued it violated the 10th Amendment.
What is the Bank of the United States (or National Bank)?
Completed in 1825, this 363-mile New York waterway dropped shipping costs from $100 to $5 a ton, linking Midwestern farms directly to NYC.
What is the Erie Canal?
Andrew Jackson won the presidency as the champion of the "Common Man" after states dropped this requirement for voting in the 1820s.
What is property ownership?
This Enlightenment philosopher argued that all people have "Natural Rights" to Life, Liberty, and Property, and that government rests on the "Consent of the Governed."
Who is John Locke?
To resolve the argument between large and small states, this compromise created a two-house Congress: the House (by population) and the Senate (2 votes per state).
What is the Great Compromise (or Connecticut Compromise)?
In his 1796 Farewell Address, George Washington gave two major warnings: avoid permanent foreign alliances and avoid these domestic political groups
What are political parties?
Eli Whitney invented this machine expecting it to reduce labor, but it actually made cotton wildly profitable and expanded chattel slavery across the Deep South.
What is the cotton gin?
Critics drew cartoons calling Andrew Jackson "King Andrew the First" because he frequently used this constitutional power to strike down bills like the Bank charter.
What is the Presidential Veto?
Thomas Paine wrote this famous 1776 pamphlet using simple, fiery logic to convince everyday colonists to fight for a republic and total independence.
What is "Common Sense"?
Anti-Federalists refused to ratify the Constitution until Federalists promised to add this explicit list of 10 individual protections.
What is the Bill of Rights?
Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of Judicial Review—allowing the Supreme Court to declare laws unconstitutional—in this 1803 case.
What is Marbury v. Madison?
Hostility toward massive Irish and German Catholic immigration in the 1840s created "Nativism" and led to the creation of this secret political party.
What is the Know-Nothing Party (or American Party)?
Andrew Jackson ignored Chief Justice John Marshall's ruling in Worcester v. Georgia, leading directly to this forced, deadly march of the Cherokee Nation.
What is the Trail of Tears (or Indian Removal)?
Known as THE military turning point of the Revolutionary War, this 1777 American victory convinced France to form an official military alliance with the United States.
What is the Battle of Saratoga?
In Federalist No. 10, James Madison argued that a large, extended republic was actually the best defense against these dangerous political groups.
What are factions?
Thomas Jefferson's victory over John Adams in 1800 was called a "Revolution" because power transferred peacefully between these for the first time in history.
What are opposing political parties?
This New England factory setup hired young farm girls, housed them in company dormitories, and helped launch America's early industrial workforce.
What is the Lowell Mill System?
Led by Henry Clay, this new political party formed in the 1830s specifically to oppose Andrew Jackson's expansion of executive power.
What is the Whig Party?
Ben Franklin helped negotiate this 1783 treaty, which officially ended the war and drew the new U.S. western border all the way to this major river.
What is the Treaty of Paris 1783 (and the Mississippi River)?
The single big success under the Articles of Confederation, this 1787 law set up a system for admitting new western states and banned slavery in the Old Northwest.
What is the Northwest Ordinance of 1787?
Written by Jefferson and Madison in 1798 to fight the Alien and Sedition Acts, these documents introduced the idea that states could "nullify" unconstitutional federal laws.
What are the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions?
The Market Revolution tied the country together: the North focused on manufacturing and the South on cotton, while the West focused on this.
What is commercial agriculture / food farming (grain & livestock)?
Jackson rewarded his loyal political supporters and friends with government jobs regardless of qualification, a practice known as this system.
What is the Spoils System (or Patronage)?