Chapter

11 Key Terms/People to Know

KEY TERMS
Revolution of 1800: Electoral victory of Democratic Republicans over the Federalists, who lost
their Congressional majority and the presidency. The peaceful transfer of power between rival
parties solidified faith in America's political system.
Patronage: Practice of rewarding political support with special favors, often in the form of public
office. Upon assuming office, Thomas Jefferson dismissed few Federalist employees, leaving scant
openings to fill with political appointees.
Judiciary Act 1801: Passed by the departing Federalist Congress, it created sixteen new federal
judgeships ensuring a Federalist hold on the judiciary.
Midnight Judges: Federal justices appointed by John Adams during the last days of his presidency.
Their positions were revoked when the newly-elected Republican Congress repealed the Judiciary
Act.
Marbury v. Madison: Supreme Court case that established the principle of "judicial review"the
idea that the Supreme Court had the final authority to determine constitutionality.
Tripolitan War: Four-year conflict between the American Navy and the North-African nation of
Tripoli over piracy in the Mediterranean. Jefferson, a staunch noninterventionist, reluctantly
deployed American forces, eventually securing a peace treaty with Tripoli.
Louisiana Purchase: Acquisition of Louisiana territory from France. The purchase more than
doubled the territory of the United States, opening vast tracts for settlement.
Corps of Discovery: Team of adventurers, led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, sent by
Thomas Jefferson to explore Louisiana Territory and find a water route to the Pacific. Louis and
Clark brought back detailed accounts of the West's flora, fauna and native populations, and their
voyage demonstrated the viability of overland travel to the west.
Orders in Council: Edicts issued by the British Crown closing French-owned European ports to
foreign shipping. The French responded by ordering the seizure of all vessels entering British ports,
thereby cutting off American merchants from trade with both parties.
Impressment: Act of forcibly drafting an individual into military service, employed by the British
navy against American seamen in times of war against France, 1793-1815. Impressment was a
continual source of conflict between Britain and the United States in the early national period.
Chesapeake affair: Conflict between Britain and the United States that precipitated the 1807
embargo. The conflict developed when a British ship, in search of deserters, fired on the American
Chesapeake off the coast of Virginia.
Embargo Act: Enacted in response to British and French mistreatment of American merchants, the
Act banned the export of all goods from the United States to any foreign port. The embargo placed
great strains on the American economy while only marginally affecting its European targets, and
was therefore repealed in 1809.
Non-Intercourse Act: Passed alongside the repeal of the Embargo Act, it reopened trade with all
but the two belligerent nations, Britain and France. The Act continued Jefferson's policy of
economic coercion, still with little effect.
Macons Bill No.2: Aimed at resuming peaceful trade with Britain and France, the act stipulated
that if either Britain or France repealed its trade restrictions, the United States would reinstate the
embargo against the nonrepealing nation
War Hawks: Democratic-Republican Congressmen who pressed James Madison to declare war on
Britain. Largely drawn from the South and West, the war hawks resented British constraints on
American trade and accused the British of supporting Indian attacks against American settlements
on the frontier.
Battle of Tippecanoe: Resulted in the defeat of Shawnee chief Tenskwatawa, "the Prophet" at the
hands William Henry Harrison in the Indiana wilderness. After the battle, the Prophet's brother,
Tecumseh, forged an alliance with the British against the United States.
PEOPLE TO KNOW
Thomas Jefferson: chief drafter of the Declaration of Independence; made the Louisiana Purchase
in 1803 and sent out the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore it (1743-1826); third president of
the US
Sally Hemings: a slave owned by Thomas Jefferson, who, according to some, was the mother of
some of Thomas Jefferson's children
Albert Gallatin: He was Jefferson's secretary. Jefferson and Gallatin believed that to pay the
interest on debt, there would have to be taxes.
John Marshall: as chief justice of the Supreme Court he established the principles of United States
constitutional law (1755-1835)
Samuel Chase: supreme court justice of whom the Democratic-Republican Congress tried to
remove in retaliation of the John Marshall's decision regarding Marbury; was not removed due to
a lack of votes in the Senate.
Napoleon Bonaparte: Overthrew French Directory in 1799 and became emperor of the French in
1804.
Robert R. Livingston: along with James Monroe, negotiated in Paris for the Louisiana land area;
signed a treaty on April 30, 1803 ceding Louisiana to the United States for $15 million
Touissaint LOverture: was an important leader of the Hatian Revolution and the first leader of a
free Haiti. In a long struggle again the institution of slavery, he led the blacks to victory over the
whites and free coloreds and secured native control over the colony in 1797, calling himself a
dictator.
Meriwether Lewis: United States explorer and soldier who lead led an expedition from St. Louis to
the mouth of the Columbia River (1774-1809)
William Clark: United States explorer who (with Meriwether Lewis) led an expedition from St.
Louis to the mouth of the Columbia River
Aaron Burr: served as the 3rd Vice President of the United States. Member of the Republicans and
President of the Senate during his Vice Presidency. He was defamed by the press
James Madison: 4th President of the United States; member of the Continental Congress and
rapporteur at the Constitutional Convention in 1776; helped frame the Bill of Rights (1751-1836)
Teumseh: a famous chief of the Shawnee who tried to unite Indian tribes against the increasing
white settlement (1768-1813)
Tenskatawa the prophet: the Prophet; inspired a religious revival that spread through many
tribes and united them; killed by Harrison at battle of Tippecanoe.