Unit 4: Period 4: 1800–1848

Revolution of 1800

The election in which Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic-Republicans defeated John Adams’s Federalists, proving a peaceful transfer of power between rival parties.

Electoral College tie of 1800

A flaw in the original Electoral College system produced a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, forcing the Federalist-led House to choose the president after 35 ballots.

12th Amendment (1804)

Constitutional amendment requiring separate Electoral College votes for president and vice president to prevent ties like the one in 1800.

Midnight appointments

Last-minute judicial and government appointments made by John Adams in his final days, attempting to keep Federalist influence in office.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Supreme Court case arising from a midnight appointment; it established the Court’s power to strike down unconstitutional laws while denying Marbury his commission remedy.

Judicial review

The doctrine (not explicitly written in the Constitution) that the Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional, established by Marbury v. Madison.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

U.S. purchase of Louisiana from France that doubled the nation’s size and raised constitutional questions about federal power to acquire territory.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Jefferson-sponsored exploration of the Louisiana Territory that gathered information, encouraged westward migration, and highlighted foreign (British/French) presence in the region.

Impressment

British practice of seizing sailors (claiming they were British deserters) that angered Americans and helped push the U.S. toward war.

Embargo Act (1807)

Jefferson’s law halting American imports and exports to pressure Britain and France to respect U.S. neutral rights; it caused major economic harm and increased smuggling.

War Hawks

Pro-war members of Congress (often from the South and West) who pushed for the War of 1812 to defend national honor, protect settlers, and pursue expansion (including desires to take Canada).

War of 1812

Conflict declared under Madison in 1812, driven by maritime rights issues (including impressment), frontier conflict, and British support for Native resistance.

Treaty of Ghent

Treaty that ended the War of 1812 with no major territorial changes.

Battle of New Orleans

Major U.S. victory fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed; it became a powerful symbol of national pride and boosted nationalism.

Hartford Convention (1814–1815)

Meeting where New England Federalists complained about the war and trade restrictions; it made the party seem unpatriotic and accelerated Federalist collapse.

Era of Good Feelings

Post–War of 1812 period under Monroe marked by one-party dominance (Democratic-Republicans) but masked growing economic and sectional tensions.

American System

Nationalist economic program promoted by leaders like Henry Clay: protective tariffs, a national bank, and federal support for internal improvements.

Panic of 1819

Severe economic downturn that challenged postwar optimism and exposed instability in the developing market economy.

Adams–Onís Treaty (1819)

Treaty negotiated by John Quincy Adams that acquired Florida from Spain and helped define U.S. borders.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

U.S. warning against new European colonization or interference in the Americas; more a declaration of principle than an immediately enforceable policy.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Agreement admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while banning slavery north of 36°30′ in the Louisiana Territory (except Missouri).

John Marshall (Marshall Court)

Chief Justice (1801–1835) whose Court consistently strengthened national authority through broad constitutional interpretation.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Marshall Court case upholding Congress’s power to create a national bank (implied powers) and ruling that states cannot tax federal institutions.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Constitutional clause used to justify implied powers of Congress; central to the Court’s reasoning in McCulloch v. Maryland.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

Case that expanded federal power over interstate commerce by striking down a state steamboat monopoly that conflicted with federal licensing.

Worcester v. Georgia (1832)

Supreme Court ruling that Georgia law had no force within Cherokee territory and that only the federal government could deal with Native nations; enforcement was politically weak.

Market Revolution

Transformation (c. 1800–1848) toward a more interconnected, commercial economy driven by transportation/communication advances and increased production for sale.

Erie Canal (1825)

Canal linking the Great Lakes to New York City via the Hudson River, sharply reducing shipping costs and helping New York become a leading commercial center.

Telegraph (1844)

Communication technology (associated with Samuel Morse) that enabled near-instant long-distance information flow, supporting national market coordination.

Lowell system

Factory labor system using young unmarried women housed in company boardinghouses in New England textile mills; it sparked early protests over wages and conditions.

Cotton gin (1793)

Eli Whitney’s invention that greatly increased cotton processing efficiency, fueling the cotton boom and expansion of slavery.

Internal slave trade

Forced relocation and sale of enslaved people within the U.S., especially from the Upper South to the expanding Deep South plantation frontier.

Election of 1824

Four-way contest in which Andrew Jackson won the most popular and electoral votes but no majority, sending the decision to the House of Representatives.

Corrupt bargain

Charge by Jackson supporters that Henry Clay backed John Quincy Adams in the House election of 1824 in exchange for Adams appointing Clay as secretary of state.

Spoils system (patronage)

Jackson’s practice of replacing government officials with political supporters, justified as “rotation in office” but criticized as cronyism.

Tariff of Abominations (1828)

High protective tariff that angered many southerners who believed it favored northern industry at southern expense.

Nullification Crisis

South Carolina’s attempt to nullify the tariff, prompting Jackson to defend federal supremacy and raising constitutional arguments later echoed in secession debates.

Bank War

Jackson’s political fight against the Second Bank of the United States, including vetoing its recharter and attacking concentrated financial power as undemocratic.

Indian Removal Act (1830)

Law authorizing the removal of Native peoples west of the Mississippi through treaties often obtained coercively, reflecting the limits of Jacksonian “democracy.”

Trail of Tears

Late-1830s forced relocation of the Cherokee to present-day Oklahoma in which thousands died from disease, exposure, starvation, and exhaustion.

Second Great Awakening

Religious revival movement emphasizing emotional conversion and moral improvement that helped energize antebellum reform movements.

Temperance movement

Largest reform movement of the era, aiming to reduce alcohol consumption to protect households and promote discipline/productivity in a wage-labor economy.

American Colonization Society (1816)

Organization promoting resettlement of free Black people to Africa (Liberia); supported by many whites but rejected by many Black activists as denying their American identity.

The Liberator (1831)

Abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison calling for immediate emancipation.

Frederick Douglass

Formerly enslaved Black abolitionist whose speeches and writings exposed slavery’s brutality and highlighted the contradiction between American ideals and slavery.

Nat Turner’s rebellion (1831)

Virginia slave uprising that killed about 60 white people and led to harsh retaliation and stricter slave codes, intensifying sectional fear and control.

Gag rule

1830s House rule tabling antislavery petitions without discussion, illustrating how slavery shaped free-speech conflicts and congressional politics.

Manifest Destiny

Belief that U.S. continental expansion was justified and inevitable, used to promote expansion but opposed by many for moral and political reasons.

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Proposal to ban slavery in territory taken from Mexico; it failed but revealed the explosive sectional conflict over slavery’s expansion.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

Treaty ending the Mexican-American War in which Mexico ceded a vast region (including California and much of the Southwest) to the United States, intensifying the slavery expansion crisis.