Gloria Chan

10/5/11
APUSH-12 Guiding Questions
American Pageant, Chapter 10: Launching the New Ship of State, 1789-1800

Guiding Questions

1. Describe the problems that faced the United States as the new government was
created in 1789.

2. What was George Washington like as a political leader? What practices did he
institute as the nations first president?

3. Describe the strategies and motivations of Alexander Hamiltons plans for the
financial policies of the new government.

4. Why did Hamilton and Jefferson battle over the Bank of the United States?
(Are there still echoes of this conflict right now, 2009?)

5. Around what issues did the nascent political parties form? Describe the views of
the Federalists (Hamiltonians) and the Democratic-Republicans (Jeffersonians.)

6. Explain Washingtons reasons for advocating neutrality as a general policy.

7. What was John Adams like as the nations second president?

8. How did the United States nearly get into a war with France?

9. What were the issues, pro and con, that surrounded the Alien Act and the
Sedition Act? (Usually called the Alien and Sedition Acts.)

10. What are the implications of nullification in a federal system of government?
Discuss the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions and the Civil War.


People, Events, and Terms
The Cabinet: advisors to the president
Amendment IX: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. The naming of certain
rights in the Constitution does not take away from the people rights that are not named
Amendment X: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
at par: at face value; $1=$1
Father of the National Debt: Alexander Hamilton, because of assumption
The Whiskey Rebellion: Rebellion against the excise tax on Whiskey, which was an easier
way to package/transport their product instead of corn.
strict construction: Strict construction requires a judge to apply the text only as it is
written. Making decisions based on just the text and not interpretations of it.
political faction or political party?: faction: a grouping of individuals, such as a political
party, a trade union, or other group with a political purpose; party: a political organization
that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own
candidates and trying to seat them in political office
the Neutrality Proclamation of 1793: Issued by George Washington, it proclaimed
Americas formal neutrality in the escalating conflict between England and France, a
statement that enraged pro-French Jeffersonians
New Orleans: Americans had right of deposit here, people sent goods here to put them on
ships. Changed hands from Spain to France, and then France to America when Thomas
Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase.
Mad Anthony Wayne: General at Battle of Fallen Timbers
impressment of sailors: forced enlistment; kidnapped American sailors and forced them
onto the British ships.
Jays Treaty of 1794: The British promised to evacuate the chain of posts on U.S. soil.
Britain consented to pay damages for the recent seizures of American ships. But the
British stopped short of pledging anything about future maritime seizures and
impressments or about supplying arms to Indians. And they forced Jay to give ground by
binding the United States to pay the debts still owed to British merchants on pre-
Revolutionary accounts.
Pinckneys Treaty of 1795: resulted from Jays Treaty; with Spain; granted the Americans
virtually everything they demanded, including free navigation of the Mississippi and the
large disputed territory north of Florida.
John Jay: the first chief justice of the United States, diplomat, writer on Federalist Papers
John Marshall: chief justice, appointed to the Supreme Court by Adams, cousin
of Thomas Jefferson, lifelong Federalist because of Valley Forge
The XYZ Affair: 1797, Diplomatic conflict between France and the United States when
American envoys to France were asked to pay a hefty bribe for the privilege of meeting
with the French foreign
The Alien and Sedition Acts: Alien Laws, 1798: Acts passed by a Federalist Congress
raising the residency requirement for citizenship to fourteen years and granting the
president the power to deport dangerous foreigners in times of peace. Sedition Act: 1798,
Enacted by the Federalist Congress in an effort to clamp down on Jeffersonian
opposition, the law made anyone convicted of defaming government officials or
interfering with government policies liable to imprisonment and a heavy fine. The act
drew heavy criticism from Republicans, who let the act expire in 1801.
nullification: Virginia and Kentucky resolutions Alien and Sedition Acts are null
because they exceeded their constitutional powers
the loyal opposition: of two parties, loyal opposition was the party out of power;
ensures that politics never drifts too far out of kilter with the wishes of the people
The French Revolution: 1789-1799


the Administration:


Federalist: (Hamiltonian) favored a strong central government, more elitist
Democratic-Republican: (Jeffersonian) favored the rights of the state, the educated
common man