APUSH Study Guide 8

A weak Confederacy and the Constitution, 1776-1790

Themes/Constructs:
The federal Constitution represented a moderately conservative reaction against the
democratilizing effects of the Revolution and the Articles of Confederation.
The American Revolution was not a radical transformation like the French or Russian
revolutions, but it produced political innovations and some social change in the direction of
greater equality and democracy.
The American Revolution did not overturn the social order, but it did produce substantial
changes in social customs, political institutions, and ideas about society and government.
Among the changes were the separation of church and state in some places, the abolition of
slavery in the North, written political constitutions, and a shift in political power from the
eastern seaboard toward the frontier.
The first weak government, the Articles of Confederation, was unable to exercise real
authority, although it did successfully deal with the western lands issue. The Confederations
weakness in handling foreign policy, commerce and the Shays Rebellion spurred the
movement to alter the Articles. Instead of revising the Articles, the well-off delegates to the
Constitutional Convention created a charter for a whole new government. In a series of
compromises, the convention produced a plan that provided for a vigorous central
government, a strong executive, the protection for property, while still upholding republican
principles and states rights.
The Federalists met strong opposition from Anti-Federalists, especially in Virginia and New
York, but through effective organization and argument, they succeeded in getting the
Constitution ratified. By establishing the new national government, the Federalists checked
the Revolutionary values of the popular republican government.
Terms/names/topics:
Society of Cincinnati
Primogeniture
Separation of church and state
Congregational church Anglican church Protestant Episcopal church
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
Abigail Adams Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman
civic virtue
republican motherhood
State capitals moved westward
Roger Morris
Articles of Confederation
Western land issues
Mutiny of the Pennsylvania troops, 1783
Land Ordinance of 1785
Lord Sheffield

Allen brothers of Vermont

North African pirates
Shays Rebellion
Annapolis Convention, 1786
Alexander Hamilton
James Madison
Dey of Algiers
Gouverneur Morris
New Jersey (small-state) Plan
Benjamin Franklin
Great Compromise
Electoral College
Three-Fifths Compromise
Slave-trade compromise
Federalists Anti-Federalists
Ratification of Pennsylvania
Ratification of New Hampshire
Ratification of Virginia
Ratification of New York
John Jay
The Federalist
Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study:
1. What evidence is there for the assertion that the basic principles of the Constitution
were firmly grounded in the political and religious experience of Americas colonial
and revolutionary periods? (FRQ, 1984)
2. From 1781 to 1789, the Articles of Confederation provided the United States with an
effective government. Using the documents and your knowledge of the period,
evaluate this statement. (DBQ, 1985, Mr. D has the documents)
3. Analyze the degree to which the Articles of Confederation provided the United States
with an effective form of government with respect to any TWO of the following:
(FRQ, 1996)
Foreign relations
Economic conditions
Western lands

APUSH Study Guide 9

Testing our new Government, 1789-1800
Themes/Constructs:
Led by Washington and Hamilton, the first administration under the Constitution overcame various difficulties
and firmly established the political and economic foundations of the new federal government.
The cabinet debate over Hamiltons financial measures expanded into a wider political conflict between
Hamiltonian Federalists and Republicans.
The French Revolution created a severe ideological and political division over foreign policy between
Federalists and Republicans. The foreign policy crisis coincided with domestic political divisions that
culminated in the bitter election of 1800, but in the end power passed peacefully from Federalists to
Republicans.
The fledgling government faced considerable difficulties and skepticism about its durability, especially since
traditional political theory had held that large scale republics were bound to fail. But President Washington
brought credibility to the new government, while his cabinet, led by Alexander Hamilton, strengthened its
political and economic foundations.
The governments first achievements were the Bill of Rights and Hamiltons financial system. Through
effective leadership, Hamilton carried out his program of funding the national debt, assuming the state debts,
imposing customs and excise taxes, and establishing a Bank of the United States.
The bank was the most controversial part of Hamiltons program because it raised basic constitutional issues.
Opposition to the bank from Jefferson and his followers reflected more fundamental political disagreements
about republicanism, economics, federal power, and foreign policy. As the French Revolution evolved from
moderation to radicalism, it intensified the ideological divisions between the pro-French Jeffersonians and the
pro-British Hamiltonians.
Washingtons Neutrality Proclamation angered Republicans, who wanted America to aid Revolutionary France.
Washingtons policy was sorely tested by the British, who routinely violated American neutrality. In order to
avoid war, Washington enforced the conciliatory Jays Treaty, further outraging the Republicans and France.
After the humiliating XYZ Affair, the United States came to the brink of war with France, but Adams sacrificed
popularity and divided his party by negotiating peace. These foreign policy disagreements embittered domestic
politics: Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts, to which Jefferson and Madison responded with the
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions.
Terms/names/topics:
George Washington
Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox
Bill of Rights
Judiciary Act 1789
National Debt issues
State debt issues
District of Columbia
Tariff of 1789
Excise tax
Bank of the United States
strict construction of the Constitution
loose construction of the Constitution necessary and proper implied powers
Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
States Rights
Two-party system
National Political Parties
Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans
Hamiltonian Federalists

French Revolution
Louis XVI
Reign of Terror
Franco-American alliance of 1778
Neutrality Proclamation (1793)
Isolationist traditions
Northern frontier posts
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Treaty of Greenville (1795)
Impressments
Jays Treaty (1794)
two-term tradition
Washingtons Farewell Address
John Adams
Jefferson as vice president 12th Amendment
High Federalists
XYZ Affair
Talleyrand
Department of the Navy/United States Marine Corps
American privateers and men-of-war
War-hawk faction
Napoleon Bonaparte
Convention of 1800
Path to Louisiana Purchase
Alien Acts
Sedition Acts
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study:
1.

The debate over the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798 revealed bitter controversies on a number of issues.
Discuss the issues involved and explain why these controversies developed. (DBQ, 1977Mr. D has
the documents)

2.

Between 1783 and 1800 the new government of the United States faced the same political, economic,
and constitutional issues that troubled the British governments relations with the colonies prior to
Revolution. Assess the validity of this generalization. (FRQ, 1980)

3.

The Bill of Rights did not come from a desire to protect the liberties in the American Revolution, but
rather from a fear of the powers of the new federal government. Assess the validity of this statement.
(FRQ, 1991)

4.

Evaluate the relative importance of domestic and foreign affairs in shaping American politics in the
1790s. (FRQ, 1994)

5.

Analyze the extent to which the American Revolution represented a radical alteration in American
political ideas and institutions. Confine your answer to the period 1775-1800. (FRQ, 1997)

APUSH Study Guide 10

Successes and Failures of Jeffersonian Democracy, 1800-1812
Themes/Constructs:
Jeffersons effective, pragmatic policies strengthened the principles of two-party republican
government, even though the Jeffersonian revolution caused sharp partisan battles between
Federalists and Republicans over particular issues.
Despite his intentions, Jefferson became deeply entangled in the foreign policy conflicts of
the Napoleonic era, leading to the highly unpopular embargo
James Madison fell into an international trap, set by Napoleon, which Jefferson had avoided.
Western War Hawks enthusiasm for a war with Britain was matched by New Englanders
hostility.
The ideological conflicts of the early Republic culminated in the bitter election of 1800
between Adams and Jefferson. The fierce rhetoric of the campaign, the peaceful Revolution
of 1800 demonstrated that the infant Republic could transfer power from one part to
another. The election of 1800 also signaled the permanent decline of the conservative
Federalist Party, which proved unable to adjust to the democratic future of American politics.
Jefferson, the political theorist, came to Washington determined to implement his Republican
principles of limited and frugal government, strict construction, and antimilitarist foreign
policy. But Jefferson, the practical politician had to compromise many of these goals,
thereby moderating the Republican-Federalist ideological conflict.
The sharpest political conflicts occurred over the judiciary, where John Marshall worked
effectively to enshrine the principles of judicial review and a strong federal government.
Against his will, Jefferson also enhanced federal power through his war against the Barbary
pirates and, especially, his dramatic purchase of Louisiana from Napoleon. The Louisiana
Purchase was Jeffersons greatest success, increasing national unity and cementing the
Republican Partys future to the West.
Nevertheless, Jefferson became increasingly entangled in the great European conflict
between Napoleon France and Britain, which violated both American freedom of trade and
freedom of the seas. Jefferson attempted to avoid war through the embargo policy, which
prevented war but stirred great political hostility, especially in New England.
Jeffersons successor, James Madison, soon fell into Napoleons trap, and western War
Hawks stirred the United States into a divisive war with Britain in 1812. The nation went to
war totally unprepared, bitterly divided, and devoid of any coherent strategy.
Terms/names/topics:
John Adams jackasses
We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists
New naturalization law of 1802
Albert Gallatin

deathbed Judiciary Act (1801)

midnight judges
Chief Justice John Marshall
Marbury v. Madison (1803)
Samuel Chase
North African Barbary States
Peace Treaty of Tripoli (1805)
James Monroe James R. Livingston
Toussaint LOuverture Yellow Fever
Damn sugar, damn coffee, damn colonies!
Ceding of Louisiana
Meriwether Lewis William Clark Sacajawea
Zebulon Pike
Burr/Hamilton duel
Burrs treason trial
Battle of Trafalgar
Horatio Lord Nelson
Battle of Austerlitz
Impressments
U.S.S Chesapeake
Embargo Act (1807)
Non-Intercourse Act (March 1809)
Macons Bill No. 2
War Hawks
Henry Clay
Tecumseh and the Prophet
William Henry Harrison
Tippecanoe (1811)
Battle of the Thames (1813)
Andrew Jackson
Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)
Declaration of War June 1812
Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study:
1. With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually
characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad
constructionism of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the
two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison? In writing
your answer, use the documents and your knowledge of the period, 1801-1817.
(DBQ, 1998Mr. D has the documents)

APUSH Study Guide 11

The Real War for Independence and the Rise in Nationalism, 1812-1824
Themes/Constructs:
American effort in the War of 1812 was plagued by poor strategy, political divisions, and
increasingly aggressive British power. Nevertheless, the United States escaped with a
stalemated peace settlement, and soon turned its isolationist back to the Atlantic European
world.
The aftermath of the War of 1812 produced a strong surge of American nationalism that was
reflected in economics, law and foreign policy. The rising nationalistic spirit and sense of
unity was, however, threatened by the first sectional dispute over slavery.
Americans began the War of 1812 with high hopes of conquering Canada. But their strategy
and efforts were badly flawed, and before long British and Canadian forces had thrown the
U.S. on the defensive. The Americans fared somewhat better in the naval warfare, but by
1814, the British had burned Washington and were threatening New Orleans. The Treaty of
Ghent ended the war in a stalemate that solved none of the original issues. But Americans
counted the war as a success and increasingly turned away from European affairs and toward
isolationism
Despite some secessionist talk by New Englanders at the Hartford Convention, the ironic
outcome of the divisive war was a strong surge of American nationalism and unity. Political
conflict virtually disappeared during the Era of Good Feelings under President Madison.
A fervent new nationalism appeared in diverse areas of culture, economics and foreign
policy.
The Era of Good Feelings was soon threatened by the Panic of 1819, caused largely by
excessive land speculation and unstable banks. An even more serious threat came from the
first major sectional dispute over slavery, which postponed by, but not really resolved, the
Missouri Compromise (1820).
Under Chief Justice John Marshall, the Supreme Court further enhanced its role as the
major force upholding a powerful national government and conservative defense of property
rights. Marshalls rulings partially checked the general movement towards states rights and
popular democracy.
Nationalism also led to a more assertive American foreign policy. Andrew Jacksons military
adventures in Spanish Florida resulted in the cessions of that territory to the U.S. American
fears of European intervention in Latin America encouraged Monroe and J.Q. Adams to lay
down the Monroe Doctrine.
Terms/names/topics:
Oliver Hazard Perry
Battle of Lake Erie
General Harrison
Battle of the Thames (1813)
Burning of Washington
Fort McHenry
Francis Scott Key
Gen. Andrew Jackson
Battle of New Orleans

Treaty of Ghent
Hartford Convention
Rush-Bagot agreement (1817)
Nationalism
Washington Irving
James Fenimore Cooper
Tariff of 1815
Henry Clay
The American System
Era of Good Feelings
Erie Canal
James Monroe
Panic of 1819
wildcat banks
Cumberland Road
Ohio fever
Land Act (1820)
Tallmadge Amendment
peculiar institution
Missouri Compromise (1820)
36o 30
John Marshall
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) the power to tax involves the power to destroy
Cohens v. Virginia (1821) right of the Supreme Court to review decision of state Sup. Courts
Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Congressional control of interstate commerce
Fletcher v. Peck (1810) Constitution forbids state law impairing contracts
Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) Protection of contracts against state encroachments
Daniel Webster
John Quincy AdamsSecretary of State
Treaty of 1818 49th Parallel
Jackson and Florida
Florida Purchase Treaty (1819)
Monroe Doctrine (1823)
Russo-American Treaty (1824)
54o 40
Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study:
1. The Era of Good Feelings (1816-1824) marked the appearance of issues that
transformed American politics in the next twenty years. Assess the validity of this
generalization. (FRQ, 1975)
2. Early United States foreign policy was primarily a defensive reaction to perceived or
actual threats from Europe. Assess the validity of this generalization with references
to United States foreign policy on TWO major issues during the period from 1789 to
1825. (FRQ, 1983)
3. With respect to the federal Constitution, the Jeffersonian Republicans are usually
characterized as strict constructionists who were opposed to the broad
constructionism of the Federalists. To what extent was this characterization of the
two parties accurate during the presidencies of Jefferson and Madison? In answering
your question, use the documents and your knowledge of the period 1801-1817.
(DBQ, 1998Mr. D has the documents)
APUSH Study Guide 12

Rise of Democracy for the Masses, 1824-1840

Historians view:
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., from The Age of Jackson (1945)
During the Bank War, laboring men began slowly to turn to Jackson as their leader, and his
party as their party. This conversion of the working classes to the hard-money policy
injected new strength and determination into the hard-money party. From it would come
the impetus to carry through the second stage in the national struggle of Jacksonian
democracy.
Lee Benson, from The Concept of Jacksonian Democracy: New York as a Test Case (1961)
Jacksonian democracy as a product of ethnic and cultural conflict.
A composition portrait of their [Whigs and Democrats] social and economic backgrounds
reveals striking similarities. Their most significant difference is that several Democratic
leaders claimed Dutch or German ancestry, while the Whigs invariable claimed British
ancestry (mostly by way of New England).
Themes/Constructs:
The election to the presidency of the frontier aristocrat and common persons hero, Andrew
Jackson signaled the end of the older elitist political leadership represented by John Quincy
Adams. A new spirit of mass democracy and popular involvement swept through American
society, bringing new energy as well as conflict and corruption to public life.
Jackson successfully mobilized the techniques of the New Democracy and presidential power
to win a series of dramatic political battles against his enemies. But by the late 1830s, his
Whig opponents had learned to use the same popular political weapons against the
Democrats, signaling the emergence of the second American party system.
Amidst the whirl of democratic politics, issues of tariffs, financial instability, Indian policy,
and possible expansion in Texas indicated that difficult sectional and economic problems
were festering beneath the surface and not being very successfully addressed.
Beginning in the 1820s, a powerful movement celebrating the common person and
promoting the New Democracy transformed the earlier elitist character of American
politics. The controversial election, also known as the corrupt bargain, of the Yankee
sophisticate John Quincy Adams in 1824 angered the followers of Andrew Jackson.
Jacksons sweeping presidential victory in 1828 represented the political triumph of the New
Democracy, including the spoils-rich political machines that thrived in the new environment.
Jacksons simple, popular ideas and rough-hewn style reinforced the growing belief that any
ordinary person could hold political office. The Tariff of Abominations and the nullification
crisis with South Carolina revealed a growing sectionalism and anxiety about slavery that ran
up against Jacksons fierce nationalism.

Jackson exercised the powers of the presidency against his opponent, particularly Calhoun
and Clay. He made the Bank of the United States a symbol of evil financial power and killed
it after a bitter political fight. Destroying the bank reinforced Jacksons hostility to
concentrated and elite-dominated financial power, but also let the United States without any
effective financial system.
Jacksons presidency also focused on issues of westward expansion. Pursuing paths of
civilization, Native Americans of the Southeast engaged in extensive agricultural and
educational development. But pressure from white settlers and from state governments
proved overwhelming, and Jackson finally supported the forced removal of all southern
Indians to Oklahoma along the Trail of Tears.
In Texas, American settlers successfully rebelled against Mexico and declared their
independence. Jackson recognized the Texas Republic, but, because of the slavery
controversy, he refused its application for annexation to the United States.
Jacksons political foes soon formed themselves into the Whig Party, but in 1836 they lost to
his handpicked successor, Martin Van Buren. Jacksons ill-considered economic policies
came to undermine the unfortunate Van Buren, as the country plunged into a serious
depression following the Panic of 1837. The Whigs used these economic troubles and the
political hoopla of the new mass democratic process to elect their own hero in 1840,
following the path of making a western aristocrat into a democratic symbol.
The Whig victory signaled the emergence of a new two-party system, in which the two
parties genuine philosophical differences and somewhat different constituencies proved less
important than their widespread popularity and shared roots in the new American democratic
spirit.
Terms/names/topics:
Mass Democracythe new two-party system
Corrupt Bargain (1824)
12th Amendment
J.Q. Adams administration
Andrew Jackson1828
Andrew JacksonPresident
Spoils system
Tricky Tariff Tariff of Abominations
Denmark Vessey (1822)
Tariff of 1832
Compromise Bill (1832) Compromise Tariff (1833) Force Bill
Trial of Tears
Five Civilized Tribes
John Marshall
Bank War
McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)impact on Bank War?
Biddles Panic
pet banks Specie Circular
Whigsbirth of

Election of 1836
Martin Van Buren
Panic of 1837causes, results Whig policy, Van Burens policy
Texas and Mexico
Lone Star Rebellion
log cabin and hard-cider Election of 1840
New two-party systemsimilarities, platforms, leaders
Past APUSH essay questions from this area of study:
1. The decision of the Jackson administration to remove the Cherokee Indians to lands
west of the Mississippi River in the 1830s was more a reformation of national policy
that had been in effect since the 1790s than a change of policy.
Assess the validity of this generalization with reference to the moral, political,
constitutional, and practical concerns that shaped national Indian policy between
1789 and the mid-1830s. (DBQ, 1980Mr. D has the documents)
2. Jacksonian Democrats viewed themselves as the guardians of the United States
Constitution, political democracy, individual liberty, and equality of economic
opportunity. In light of the following documents and your knowledge of the 1820s
and 1830s to what extent do you agree with Jacksonians view of themselves? (DBQ,
1990Mr. D has the documents)
3. Analyze the extent to which TWO of the following influenced the development of
democracy between 1820 and 1840. (FRQ, 1996)
Jacksonian economic policy
Changes in electoral politics
Second Great Awakening
Westward Movement
4. How did TWO of the following contribute to the reemergence of a two party system
in the period 1820 to 1840? (FRQ, 1999)
Major political personalities
States Rights
Economic issues
5. The Jackson period (1824-1848) has been celebrated as the era of the common
man. To what extent did the period live up to its characterization? Consider TWO
of the following in your response. (FRQ 2001)
Economic development
Politics
Reform movements