#separator:tab
#html:false
#tags column:4
Articles of Confederation First national plan of government (1781); it gave Congress little power us-early-republic
Shays' Rebellion (1786-87) Farmers in Massachusetts protested debts and taxes, showing the need for a stronger government us-early-republic
Northwest Ordinance (1787) Law for organizing new states north of the Ohio River and banning slavery there us-early-republic
Constitutional Convention (1787) Philadelphia meeting that wrote the US Constitution us-early-republic
James Madison Called the Father of the Constitution; fourth president us-early-republic
Great Compromise Deal creating a Senate with equal votes and a House based on population us-early-republic
Three-Fifths Compromise Counted three-fifths of enslaved people toward a state's population for representation us-early-republic
Federalists Supporters of the new Constitution and a strong national government us-early-republic
Anti-Federalists Opponents of the Constitution who feared a too-powerful government us-early-republic
Federalist Papers Essays by Hamilton, Madison and Jay urging states to ratify the Constitution us-early-republic
Bill of Rights First ten amendments, added in 1791 us-early-republic
Ratification Formal approval; nine states had to approve the Constitution us-early-republic
George Washington First president, serving 1789 to 1797 us-early-republic
Cabinet Group of top advisers to the president us-early-republic
Alexander Hamilton First Secretary of the Treasury; wanted a national bank and a strong economy us-early-republic
Thomas Jefferson First Secretary of State and third president us-early-republic
National bank Hamilton's plan for a bank to hold government money and print a stable currency us-early-republic
Whiskey Rebellion (1794) Western Pennsylvania farmers protested a tax on whiskey; Washington sent troops us-early-republic
Washington's Farewell Address Warned against political parties and entangling alliances with other nations us-early-republic
Judiciary Act of 1789 Created the federal court system us-early-republic
Political parties Federalists (Hamilton) and Democratic-Republicans (Jefferson) formed in the 1790s us-early-republic
John Adams Second president, 1797 to 1801 us-early-republic
XYZ Affair (1797) French agents demanded bribes from American diplomats, angering the public us-early-republic
Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) Laws that limited immigrants' rights and criticism of the government us-early-republic
Election of 1800 Jefferson defeated Adams in a vote that moved power peacefully between parties us-early-republic
Marbury v. Madison (1803) Supreme Court case that set up judicial review us-early-republic
Judicial review The courts' power to decide that a law goes against the Constitution us-early-republic
John Marshall Chief Justice who made the Supreme Court a strong branch us-early-republic
Louisiana Purchase (1803) Jefferson bought land from France that doubled the size of the US us-early-republic
Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804-1806 trip to explore the Louisiana Purchase and reach the Pacific us-early-republic
Sacagawea Shoshone woman who guided and helped the Lewis and Clark expedition us-early-republic
Corps of Discovery Name for the Lewis and Clark exploring group us-early-republic
Zebulon Pike Army explorer who led an expedition in the Southwest and Rockies us-early-republic
Embargo Act (1807) Jefferson's ban on American trade with other countries us-early-republic
Impressment British practice of taking sailors off American ships to serve in its navy us-early-republic
War Hawks Young Congress members who pushed for war with Britain in 1812 us-early-republic
War of 1812 War between the US and Britain, 1812 to 1815 us-early-republic
Tecumseh Shawnee leader who built a Native alliance to resist settlers' expansion us-early-republic
Battle of Tippecanoe (1811) William Henry Harrison defeated Tecumseh's followers in Indiana us-early-republic
USS Constitution Warship nicknamed Old Ironsides for its strong hull us-early-republic
Burning of Washington (1814) British troops set fire to the Capitol and White House us-early-republic
Francis Scott Key Wrote the words of The Star-Spangled Banner while watching Fort McHenry in 1814 us-early-republic
Fort McHenry Baltimore fort that withstood British bombardment in 1814 us-early-republic
Dolley Madison First lady who saved a portrait of Washington when the White House burned us-early-republic
Treaty of Ghent (1814) Treaty that ended the War of 1812 us-early-republic
Battle of New Orleans (1815) Andrew Jackson's victory, fought after the treaty was signed us-early-republic
Era of Good Feelings Period around 1817-1825 of national pride and one dominant party us-early-republic
James Monroe Fifth president, 1817 to 1825 us-early-republic
Monroe Doctrine (1823) Warned European powers not to colonize the Americas us-early-republic
Missouri Compromise (1820) Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state; set a line for slavery's spread us-early-republic
Erie Canal (1825) Canal linking the Hudson River to Lake Erie, speeding trade us-early-republic
Eli Whitney Invented the cotton gin in 1793 us-early-republic
Cotton gin Machine that quickly cleaned cotton seeds, which increased demand for enslaved labor us-early-republic
Industrial Revolution begins Early American factories, like Slater's mill in 1790, began making cloth us-early-republic
Lowell mills Massachusetts textile factories that employed young women us-early-republic
Steamboat Robert Fulton's Clermont made steam travel practical in 1807 us-early-republic
Market revolution Growth of roads, canals and factories that tied farms to markets us-early-republic
Andrew Jackson Seventh president, 1829 to 1837; champion of the 'common man' us-early-republic
Jacksonian democracy Expansion of voting rights to most white men, regardless of wealth us-early-republic
Spoils system Giving government jobs to loyal supporters us-early-republic
Indian Removal Act (1830) Law that led to forcing Native nations from southeastern lands us-early-republic
Trail of Tears Forced march of the Cherokee and other nations to Indian Territory in the 1830s us-early-republic
Worcester v. Georgia (1832) Supreme Court said states could not rule Cherokee land; Jackson did not enforce it us-early-republic
Nullification Crisis South Carolina tried to cancel a federal tariff in 1832 us-early-republic
John C. Calhoun South Carolinian who defended states' power to nullify federal laws us-early-republic
Second Great Awakening Religious revival of the early 1800s that inspired reform movements us-early-republic
Abolitionist A person who wanted to end slavery us-early-republic
Frederick Douglass Escaped from slavery and became a famed writer, speaker and abolitionist us-early-republic
William Lloyd Garrison Boston editor who published The Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper us-early-republic
Seneca Falls Convention (1848) First women's rights convention, in New York us-early-republic
Underground Railroad Secret network of people helping enslaved people reach freedom us-early-republic
Harriet Tubman Escaped slavery and guided many others to freedom on the Underground Railroad us-early-republic
Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831) Virginia uprising by enslaved people led by Nat Turner us-early-republic
Horace Mann Reformer who promoted free public schools us-early-republic
Dorothea Dix Reformer who worked to improve care for people with mental illness us-early-republic
Sequoyah Created the Cherokee writing system in the 1820s us-early-republic