Early Presidents &
Executive Power
Executive Power
George Washington established an executive precedent by surrounding himself with this advisory body of department heads.
What is the Cabinet?
Demonstrating unprecedented presidential power, Andrew Jackson issued 12 of these during his administration—more than all six previous presidents combined.
What are presidential vetoes?
Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793, this labor-saving device exponentially boosted cotton production and entrenched plantation slavery in the South.
What is the cotton gin?
This 19th-century ideology expressed the belief that the United States was divinely ordained to expand across the North American continent.
What is Manifest Destiny?
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, this best-selling novel humanized the horrors of slavery and turned abolition into a moral crusade for the North.
What is Uncle Tom's Cabin?
This 1803 Supreme Court case cemented the federal judiciary as a co-equal branch of government by establishing the principle of judicial review.
What is Marbury v. Madison?
Andrew Jackson's supporters used this term to describe the Election of 1824 after Henry Clay threw his House support to John Quincy Adams in exchange for becoming Secretary of State.
What is the "Corrupt Bargain"?
Often called the "Victorian Internet," this device allowed news and command orders to travel rapidly along railroad lines at the speed of electricity.
What is the telegraph?
Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803 for this total dollar amount, doubling the physical footprint of the U.S.
What is $15 million?
Proposed by Stephen Douglas in 1854, this act repealed the Missouri Compromise line by placing the decision of slavery in new territories up to popular sovereignty.
What is the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
In his 1796 Farewell Address, George Washington issued key warnings to the nation against permanent foreign alliances and these hyper-partisan groups.
What are political factions (or political parties)?
Signed into law in 1830, this federal statute led to the forced displacement of over 60,000 Native Americans from the Southeast.
What is the Indian Removal Act?
Opened in 1825, this vital infrastructure project linked Western agricultural production directly with Northern factories and Eastern markets.
What is the Erie Canal?
Signed in 1848, this treaty ended the Mexican-American War, requiring Mexico to cede 55% of its territory to the United States.
What is the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo?
Chief Justice Roger Taney delivered this 1857 ruling declaring that Black people were not citizens and Congress had no power to ban slavery in territories.
What is Dred Scott v. Sandford?
During John Adams's presidency, French agents demanded a $250,000 bribe and a $12 million loan, sparking this foreign policy scandal.
What is the XYZ Affair?
Andrew Jackson effectively destroyed the Second Bank of the United States by ordering federal funds to be moved into these state-chartered banks.
What are "Pet Banks"?
Developed by Robert Fulton, this technological breakthrough enabled easy two-way traffic on major U.S. river systems like the Mississippi.
What is the steamboat?
President James K. Polk negotiated with Great Britain in 1846 to establish the U.S. northern border in Oregon along this line of latitude.
What is the 49th parallel?
In 1859, this radical abolitionist launched an unsuccessful raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, aiming to trigger an armed slave revolt.
Who is John Brown?
Issued in 1823, this foreign policy declaration stated that the Western Hemisphere was officially closed to future European colonization.
What is the Monroe Doctrine?
During the 1832 Nullification Crisis over protective tariffs, Jackson asked Congress to pass this bill so he could use military force to enforce federal law in South Carolina.
What is the Force Bill?
This soft lead bullet with a hollow base expanded upon firing to grip barrel rifling, causing severe injury rates and accurate fire up to 500 yards.
What is the Minié ball?
In 1853, President Franklin Pierce authorized this land purchase from Mexico to secure flat land for a southern transcontinental railroad line.
What is the Gadsden Purchase?
The most polarizing component of the Compromise of 1850, this federal law required citizens to assist in returning escaped slaves and denied suspects a jury trial.
What is the Fugitive Slave Act?