History of the Americas Questions
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Failed proposal to prohibit the importation of slaves into Missouri territory and pave the way for gradual emancipation. Southerners vehemently opposed the amendment, which they perceived as a threat to the sectional balance between North and South.
Supreme Court Case that strengthened federal authority and upheld the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States by establishing that the state of Maryland did not have power to tax the bank.
First protective tariff in American History, created primarily to shield New England manufacturers from the inflow of British goods after the war of 1812
Federalist Supreme Court Justice who drew the ire of Jeffersonian Republicans for his biting criticism of Republican policies.
Case that reinforced federal supremacy by establishing the right of the Supreme Court to review decisions of state supreme courts in questions involving the powers of the federal government.
Convention of major European powers to redraw the boundaries of continental Europe after the defeat of Napoleonic France.
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.
American soldier and explorer who led the famous expedition through Louisiana Territory from 1804 to 1806.
Convention of Federalists from five New England states who opposed the War of 1812 and resented the strength of Southern and Western interests in Congress and in the White House.
Military governor of Louisiana Territory who conspired with Aaron Burr to separate from the U.S. and ally with Spanish-controlled areas of the Americas
Exclusive, hereditary organization of former officers in the Continental Army. Many resented the pretentiousness of the order, viewing it as a vestige of pre-Revolutionary traditions.
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.
Author of the Declaration of Independence, ambassador to France, and second President of the United States.
Explorer who joined Lewis in leading the expedition
Signed by Britain and the United States, it established strict limits on naval armaments in the Great Lakes, a first step in the full demilitarization of the U.S.-Canadian border, completed in the 1870s.
Ended the War of 1812 in a virtual draw, restoring prewar borders but failing to address any of the grievances that first brought America into the war.
Enacted in response to British and French mistreatment of American merchants, THIS banned the export of goods from the US to any foreign port. It devastated the US economy. Considered the biggest mistake of Jefferson's presidency.
French emperor who waged a series of wars against his neighbors on the European Continent from 1800 until his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 until his death in 1835
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.