Deck 9: The Early Republic 1789-1824

Question 1

The chapter introduction tells the story of the controversial whiskey tax of 1791 to make the point that

A) most Americans at this time did not think that the new government under the Constitution would last.
B) there were underlying uncertainties about whether the new government could really unite such a diverse people.
C) such displays of violence were the most acceptable manner of influencing public opinion in the new country.
D) Federalists supported the Constitution, but Republicans opposed it.

Answer 1

there were underlying uncertainties about whether the new government could really unite such a diverse people.

Question 2

Divisions between which of the following Americans in the late 1700s help explain how they felt about the Constitution and what party they were more likely to identify with?

A) semisubsistence farmers, and those tied to a commercial economy
B) mainstream religious groups, and those professing dissenting faiths
C) northern and southern states and territories
D) eastern states and western territories

Answer 2

semisubsistence farmers, and those tied to a commercial economy

Question 3

Which of the following was NOT one of the goals of Alexander Hamilton's financial proposals?

A) stimulate the essentially virtuous nature of ordinary citizens, who could take advantage of new economic opportunities
B) stimulate commerce and manufacturing through the power and positive actions of the national government
C) win the loyalty of the wealthy to the national government
D) make the U.S. as a whole independent of European control by strengthening it economically

Answer 3

stimulate the essentially virtuous nature of ordinary citizens, who could take advantage of new economic opportunities

Question 4

After organizing the government, the First Congress turned its attention to Alexander Hamilton's economic proposals and enacted all of them EXCEPT

A) a tariff.
B) a national bank.
C) a provision that the judiciary should decide the constitutionality of regulating the economy.
D) a procedure whereby the national government could pay off both its own debt and the combined debt of the states.

Question 5

Which of the following encouraged the rise of political parties?

A) the overwhelming desire of the American public for such institutions
B) campaigns by revolutionary leaders in favor of parties
C) requirements set forth by the Constitution
D) favorable social conditions, like broad suffrage and high literacy rates

Question 6

Which of these contributed to the emergence of true popular political parties in the U.S.?

A) Because of widespread property ownership, the nation had a broad suffrage.
B) Politicians had to offer a program attractive to a broad voter public.
C) Political parties became the means by which a large electorate made its feelings known.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 7

How did foreign policy issues accelerate the emergence of political parties in the U.S.?

A) The French schemed to set up a friendly faction within the U.S. government.
B) Divided over whether France represented republicanism or anarchy, the two sides came to suspect the worst intentions of the other and organized parties against each other.
C) Pinckney's Treaty so blatantly met the interests of the commercial areas against the interests of the semisubsistence sector that the leaders of agrarian America rallied around the treaty fight and founded a party.
D) With both sides violating American neutral rights, the party that exploited American anger and fought for American rights was able to win the election of 1800.

Question 8

Washington's Farewell Address

A) warned against the dangers of a powerful military.
B) warned against the dangers of political parties.
C) supported the political ideology of Jefferson and Madison.
D) called on Americans to assume responsibility for active world leadership.

Question 9

In dealing with French insults and violations of American rights, President John Adams

A) declared an official naval war on the high seas.
B) called for war.
C) resisted calls for war, but conducted an unofficial naval war on the high seas.
D) passed the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Question 10

In the XYZ Affair,

A) England agreed to abandon the forts in the Northwest.
B) French officials demanded a bribe to open negotiations with the United States.
C) Adams broke with his party and sent a new peace commission to France.
D) the United States agreed to end the unofficial naval war with France.

Question 11

Which of the following does NOT accurately state a principle that Jefferson espoused?

A) People may be trusted to make political choices based on correct principles.
B) Radical change is periodically necessary to make sure that equality and democracy continue to be extended to all men and women of all races and faiths.
C) Human reason is the powerful tool that will unlock the secrets of nature and improve human society.
D) The life of the independent farmer in a free market is an economically preferable and morally superior social condition.

Question 12

Jefferson believed that city life

A) was morally inferior to rural living.
B) was necessary for intellectual stimulation.
C) was the key to "the pursuit of happiness."
D) promoted equality.

Question 13

When he entered office, Jefferson's initial policy proposals sought to

A) counter British and Spanish threats to national security.
B) establish control over the judiciary.
C) slash federal spending and the national debt.
D) repeal Hamilton's bank and tariff acts.

Question 14

One of the results of the presidential election of 1800 is that it

A) convinced both Federalists and Republicans that a two-party system was preferable.
B) was won with no opposition candidate.
C) brought Washington to office for a third term.
D) brought the Republicans to office.

Question 15

How did political festivals help democratize the conduct of politics?

A) by providing prime occasions for the local party leaders to speak
B) by educating the electorate
C) by building camaraderie through the singing of patriotic songs
D) by inviting everyone

Question 16

How did African Americans react to being excluded from political festivals and public jubilees?

A) They organized their own celebrations.
B) They protested to attract media attention.
C) They adopted an attitude of indifference to politics.
D) They self-published poetry, slave narratives, and pamphlets.

Question 17

Which president was the first to be inaugurated in Washington,D. C.?

A) John Adams
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) James Madison
D) James Monroe

Question 18

Which of the following made it possible for the United States to acquire the Louisiana Purchase?

A) War was looming in Europe.
B) Napoleon had lost interest in Louisiana.
C) The French needed the money.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 19

What larger social pattern helps explain the clashes between whites and Indians on the Ohio frontier and, more specifically, their resort to both religious renewal movements and abusive consumption of increased quantities of alcohol?

A) Neither tribal villages nor backcountry villages felt any cultural or economic need for the other.
B) Traditional cultural systems were breaking down, creating great cultural stress.
C) Birth rates in both groups were rising sharply, imposing great pressures on the land.
D) Both groups had abandoned their religious roots and rejected calls to return to traditional beliefs.

Question 20

Tenskwatawa (the Prophet) _______, while his brother Tecumseh _______.

A) allied with Great Britain during the War of 1812; tried unsuccessfully to follow the path of assimilation
B) led a religious revival among western tribes; led a military alliance among western tribes
C) encouraged his fellow Indians to adapt carefully and selectively to what whites had to offer; rejected all contact with whites and sought a return to traditional ways
D) had his greatest following among tribes of the upper Midwest; won widespread support among the southern tribes

Question 21

According to the doctrine established in the landmark Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison, the

A) high court could rule on the constitutionality of federal laws.
B) high court could compel public officials to perform their duties.
C) executive branch must defer to the rulings of the legislative branch.
D) judicial branch should defer to the wishes of the legislative branch.

Question 22

The Louisiana Purchase was significant because it

A) ruined America's diplomatic ties with France.
B) doubled the country's size.
C) was the first territory acquisition by treaty done pursuant to the Constitution.
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 23

The second wave of settlers into frontier areas were typically

A) backwoods families.
B) young easterners who married and started families.
C) semisubsistence independent landowners.
D) squatters who engaged in commercial agriculture.

Question 24

The influential leaders of the younger Republicans, known as the "War Hawks,"

A) came mostly from New England shipping states.
B) were nationalistic and aggressive expansionists.
C) opposed any federal economic development program.
D) became the majority in Congress after the 1810 elections.

Question 25

The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812,

A) was signed two weeks before the Battle of New Orleans.
B) resolved the issue of impressment.
C) gave the United States title to the Louisiana territory.
D) established neutrality rights.

Question 26

The War of 1812

A) demonstrated how well-prepared Americans were to fight on land.
B) ended in a treaty that granted generous concessions to the U.S.
C) produced no significant American victories.
D) made Andrew Jackson an overnight hero.

Question 27

Under the terms of the Missouri Compromise, Missouri entered the Union as a slave state and ________ entered as a free state.

A) Michigan
B) Oregon
C) Maine
D) Arkansas

Question 28

________ was the man who took the lead in organizing the Republican Party opposition.

Question 29

Thomas Jefferson was succeeded by the experienced _______, who had served as Jefferson's secretary of state.

Question 30

What social and economic groups in American society tended to support the Federalist Party? Why did each do so? Why did commercial groups generally support the Federalists?

Question 31

What is semisubsistence farming? Describe and discuss it in terms of both its economic and social aspects. What attitude did most semisubsistence farmers take toward government?

Question 32

List three ways Hamilton's program strengthened the federal government. How did each of these specifically strengthen the government? Which do you think was the most important, and why?

Question 33

Name three events that contributed to worsening relations between the United States and France in the 1790s. How did each event strain relations between the two countries?

Question 34

How did events during the administration of John Adams weaken the Federalist Party? Why did these events hurt the party?

Question 35

Why did the election of 1800 mark a milestone in the history of the United States? Describe the election, its outcome, and its significance.

Question 36

What were the most important causes of the Federalist Party's ultimate defeat?

Question 37

How did Federalists and Republicans differ on economic issues? Were economic issues the most important factors in the emergence of political parties in the 1790s?

Question 38

Thomas Jefferson commented, "If I could not go to heaven but with a party, I would not go at all."Yet political parties did develop during the 1790s. Why were Federalists and Republicans suspicious of parties?

Question 39

Give several examples of political violence in the 1790s. How was this behavior different from what we expect in politics today?

Question 40

Discuss the major differences between the principles of the Federalists and the Republicans. How was each difference reflected in disputes over specific policies in the 1790s? Of the differences you note, which do you think was the most important, and why?

Question 41

How did political divisions in the early Republic follow social divisions? Why was this the case?

Question 42

In what ways did the Federalists and Republicans look back to the Revolution in their ideologies? In what ways did they look ahead to the nineteenth century?