Unit Three – The Early Republic (1787-1824)

  1. Why can it be said that the first Congress served almost as a continuation of the Constitutional Convention?
  2. What were the provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1789?
  3. Why did Alexander Hamilton push for the federal assumption of state debts?
  4. What arguments did Hamilton make to support the creation of a national banking system?
  5. Identify the two types of taxes that Hamilton proposed.
  6. What arguments did Hamilton make for the federal government assuming state debts "at par?" What was the position taken by his opposition on this issue?
  7. How was the assumption issued resolved?
  8. Why did small farmers oppose Hamilton's broad economic program?
  9. What were the reasons for the Whiskey Rebellion? Who was it aimed at particularly?
  10. How did Washington's reaction to the Whiskey Rebellion underscore the difference between the Constitution and the Articles of Confederation?
  11. How did the government under the Constitution guarantee that people on the frontier would be loyal to it? What was the impact on Native Americans?
  12. How and where in the Constitution are Native Indians mentioned? What constitutional issues emerged regarding Native Americans?
  13. What diplomatic problems did the French Revolution and the war that followed pose for the United States? How did Washington and Congress deal with this problem?
  14. Identify somed of the challenges to American neutrality.
  15. What were the circumstances that sent John Jay to England? What were the results of his mission? How did Jay's Treaty affect American relations with Spain?
  16. Why was John Adams selected as the Federalist candidate in 1796?
  17. What circumstances led to an administration with a Federalist president and a Republican vice president?
  18. What caused the "quasi-war" with France during the Adams administration? What was the result of this struggle?
  19. How did the Federalists attempt to silence those who opposed the undeclared war, and what groups did these attempts most affect?
  20. Why weren't the Alien and Sedition Acts declared unconstitutional?
  21. What gave rise to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions? What attitude toward the nature of the federal government did these Resolutions reveal?
  22. What were the key issues in the 1800 presidential election? Why was it called one of the dirtiest presidential campaigns in U. S. history?
  23. Even though it looked like Jefferson had won the 1800 Presidential election outright, what complications emerged that endangered the Republican victory?
  24. How did the Judiciary Act of 1801, passed by a lame duck Federalist Congress, create future problems for Jefferson and the Republicans?
  25. Why is it called the "Revolution of 1800?"
  26. Identify the elements that made up the "Jeffersonian vision" of America. Why didn't the America they envisioned actually pan out?
  27. Why was education "central to the Republican vision of America?"
  28. What effect did Republican ideology have on education in the United States?
  29. What was the status of female education in the early 19c? of Native Indian education?
  30. What was the nature of higher education in early 19cAmerica? Why was this education very limited in its scope?
  31. Explain the "cultural independence" that Jeffersonian Americans sought. What means of expression did this "independence" find?
  32. What were the obstacles faced by Americans who aspired to create a more elevated national literary life? What efforts were made to overcome these obstacles?
  33. What sort of works by American authors were most influential? Why?
  34. How did the American Revolution affect traditional forms of religious practice? What challenges to religious traditionalism arose during this period?
  35. What caused the Second Great Awakening?
  36. Why were the Methodists, the Baptists, and the Presbyterians so successful on the frontier?
  37. What was the "message" and the impact of the Second Great Awakening? What impact did it have on women? on African Americans? on Native Americans?
  38. Explain the reasons for the initial American ambivalence toward British industrialism. What technological advances helped change this attitude?
  39. What role did Eli Whitney play in America's Industrial Revolution? What impact did his inventions have on the South? on the North?
  40. How could a nation solve its problem of having only small markets?
  41. What effect did America's transportation system have on industrialization?
  42. What were the characteristics of American population growth and expansion in the years between 1790 and 1800?
  43. How did Jefferson reduce the size of the federal government?
  44. Why did the United States go to war with the Barbary Pirates? How was this conflict resolved?
  45. What was the gist of the constitutional issues over judicial review? How was it resolved?
  46. Why did the Republicans want to impeach Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase? What was the larger issue illustrated by this move?
  47. How did Jefferson naively assert a very pro-French policy early on in his administration? What incidents made him change course?
  48. What were the terms of the Louisiana Purchase treaty?
  49. Why did the purchase of the LouisianaTerritory from France put Jefferson in a quandry?
  50. What were the goals of the Essex Junto? Why didn't Alexander Hamilton support them?
  51. Why did Aaron Burr hate Alexander Hamilton so much? What was the "Burr Conspiracy?" What was the larger issue at stake here for the nation?
  52. Why did the United States feel that its neutrality rights were being violated by Britain and France in 1805-1807?
  53. What was the impact of the Chesapeake-Leopard Incident on Anglo-American relations?
  54. How economically and politically effective was the Embargo Act?
  55. What problem was solved/not solved by the Non-Intercourse Act? by Macon's Bill #2?
  56. What role did Tenskwatawn [the "Prophet"] play in Native American resistance to further American westward expansion in the early 19c?
  57. What was Tecumseh's agenda? Was it achieved?Why did the United States feel that is neutrality rights were being violated by Britain and France in 1805-1807?
  58. Who were the "War Hawks?"
  59. What were the successes and failures of the American military in the first year of the war?
  60. How was Andrew Jackson already making a military name for himself in the first years of the war?
  61. What were the causes/effects of the British invasion of 1814?
  62. What effect did the Battle of New Orleans have on the war? on Andrew Jackson's career?
  63. Why did New England oppose the War of 1812?
  64. What effect did the Hartford Convention have on Federalist policy?
  65. List the provision of the Treaty of Ghent?
  66. Identify the effects of the War of 1812 on Natives Americans.
  67. Was the War of 1812 "America's Second War for Independence?"
  68. What role did Andrew Jackson play in the annexation of Florida?
  69. Why did the United States want to annex Florida? How did the Adams-Onis negotiations resolve the issue?
  70. Why was the period of Monroe's presidency called the "Era of Good Feeling?"
  71. What were the causes of the Panic of 1819? What political and economic issues did the Panic raise?
  72. What was the purpose of the Tallmadge Amendment introduced in the House in 1819?
  73. What were the major elements of disagreement in the debate over the admission of Missouri into the Union?
  74. What were the provisions of the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
  75. How was this "compromise" not a long-term solution to the problem of slavery in the Western territories? What other problems did it create for the future?
  76. What was the net effect of the opinions delivered by the Marshall Court? How did these opinions reflect John Marshall's philosophy of government?
  77. How were the nationalist inclinations of the Marshall Court visible in its decisions concerning the legal status of Indian tribes within the United States?
  78. Why did the United States come down on the side of the revolutionaries in Latin America as they fought for their independence from France and Spain?
  79. Why was the caucus system viewed with such disdain before the election of 1824?
  80. Who were the candidates in the 1824 presidential election? What "problem" arose during this election? How was it resolved? How did the election of 1824 signal the end of the "Era of Good Feelings?"