Week of October 26 Chapter 10, 11 Warm Ups

MONDAY’S VOCABULARY

Funding at par: Hamilton proposed that the federal government would pay off its debt at face value, plus accumulated interest.

Customs: Customs is the authority (agent) in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods in and out of a country. A customs duty is a tariff or tax on the import of or export of goods

Excise tax: An internal tax imposed on the production, sale, or consumption of a commodity or the use of a service within a country: excises on tobacco, liquor, and long-distance telephone calls.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

   

Which of the following most appropriately characterizes the violence exhibited in such episodes as Bacon’s Rebellion, the Boston Tea Party, Shay’s Rebellion, and the Whiskey Rebellion?

(A) Most violence occurred in urban areas

(B) Most violence produced no deaths

(C) The level of violence subsided after the American Revolution.

(D) Violence was directed at “outsiders” or representatives of distant authority.

(E) Most violence occurred because of the intervention of foreign powers in American internal affairs

ANSWER: (D) Violence was directed at “outsiders” or representatives of distant authority.

In all the rebellions, violence was directed at representatives of government authority who, because of class or position, were “outsiders” who seemed distant from and uninterested in the concerns of the common people. Most rebellions occurred outside of urban areas and involved loss of life. In Bacon’s Rebellion, in 1676, tension existed between tidewater aristocrats and poorer, politically underrepresented frontiersmen. In Boston, colonists protested the Tea Act of 1773 passed by England in an attempt to bail out the East India Company. Violence did not subside after the American Revolution. In Shays’ Rebellion, in 1786, rebel farmers attempted to postpone or end mortgage foreclosures on their land. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 involved farmers in western PA who resented the excise tax passed by the government. These rebellions did not involve the intervention of foreign powers in American internal affairs.

TUESDAY’S VOCABULARY

impress To force people or property into public service without choice, conscript.

assimilation The merging of diverse cultures or peoples into one

nullification In American politics, the assertion that a state may legally invalidate a federal act deemed inconsistent with its rights or sovereignty

QUESTION OF THE DAY

   

Which of the following most accurately describes the attitude of the Founding Fathers toward political parties?

(A) Parties are vehicles of ambition and selfish interest that threaten the existence of republican government.

(B) Parties are engines of democracy that provide citizens with a voice in government.

(C) Parties are necessary evils in any republic.

(D) In a large republic, parties are the best means of creating effective coalitions of interest groups.

(E) A two-party system is essential to a stable republic.

ANSWER: (A) Parties are vehicles of ambition and selfish interest that threaten the existence of republican government.

The Founding Fathers condemned parties as factions that would endanger national unity. They viewed them not as aids to the cause of democracy, but rather as divisive and unnecessary. The system of government designed by the Constitution allows for participation by individuals through representatives; political parties are not mentioned. Political parties were thought to represent the selfish and ambitious interest of groups determined to have their way even at the expense of the general welfare, threatening the existence of republican government.

WEDNESDAY’S VOCABULARY

agrarian: Relating to agricultural or rural matters

mutinous: Unruly; turbulent and uncontrollable

distilled: To separate or extract the essential elements of; as to obtain by or as by distillation: to distill whiskey from mash of corn

QUESTION OF THE DAY

    The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions took the position that

(A) Only the US Supreme Court had the power to restrict freedom of speech and press

(B) The authority of state governments included the power to decide whether or not an act of Congress was constitutional

(C) Only fiscal measures initiated by state legislatures could be acted on by Congress

(D) Congress was responsible for maintaining the vitality of a “loyal opposition” political party

(E) The “supremacy clause” of the Constitution applied only to foreign affairs

ANSWER: (B) The authority of state governments included the power to decide whether or not an act of Congress was constitutional

The Kentucky and VA resolutions were written by Jefferson and Madison in 1798 and 1799 as a response to the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798. Jefferson and Madison took the struggle against the acts to state legislatures that were not dominated by Federalists. The Kentucky legislature passed Jefferson’s resolution which declared the acts to be “unauthoritative, void, and of no force.” The resolutions became the theoretical basis for subsequent “states’ rights” interpretations of the Constitution. The extent of the powers of the federal government was uncertain at the end of the 1790s.

THURSDAY’S VOCABULARY

mudslinging: An attempt to destroy someone's reputation by smear or smear campaign

sedition: Conduct or language inciting rebellion against the authority of a state; insurrection

patronage: the support or encouragement of a patron, as for an institution or cause. The power to distribute or appoint people to governmental or political positions.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

    The election of 1800 has been referred to as constituting “another revolution” because

(A) the House of Representatives decided the election

(B) a Supreme Court decision was required to dislodge the Federalists

(C) voter turnout increased dramatically

(D) the party in power stepped down after losing the election

(E) force was required to get John Adams to leave the White House.

ANSWER: (D) the party in power stepped down after losing the election

In Jefferson’s 1801 inaugural address, he called the recent election the “revolution of 1800” because it was a bloodless transfer of power from the Federalists, who had attacked the Republicans for nearly a decade over their differences on many issues. Adams stepped down without a fight, showing that governments elected by the people could be changed by the people, even in times of bitter partisan conflict, according to the peaceful procedures established by the Constitution. The election had decided the winning party with a narrow edge in the electoral college, but the electors gave Jefferson and Burr (Jefferson’ running mate) equal votes for the office of president. The House of Representatives intervened to determine whether Jefferson or Burr would be president, but that was unrelated to the notion of a revolution.

FRIDAY’S VOCABULARY

• precedent: Convention or custom arising from long practice; an act or instance that may be used as an example in dealing with subsequent similar instances. In law: a judicial decision that may be used as a standard in subsequent similar cases.

• judicial review: the right of the courts to judge the constitutionality of laws passed by Congress and the state legislatures. This power is implicit within the federal constitution and was first practiced by the Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison in 1803.

•impressment: forcible, unwilling draft into military service. The British navy forced American merchant sailors into service in the years preceding the War of 1812, greatly increasing tensions between the two nations.

QUESTION OF THE DAY

   

"Life of George Washington--The farmer" by Junius Brutus Stearns  (1853)

A major reason why Thomas Jefferson was interested in purchasing Louisiana from France was that he

(A) wanted to establish a precedent for the expansion of presidential authority

(B) wanted an area beyond the Mississippi River to which eastern Native Americans could be moved

(C) had learned from Lewis and Clark of the untapped mineral resources in western areas

(D) hoped to cement a Franco-American alliance against the British

(E) Hoped to preserve an agricultural society by making abundant lands available to future generations.

ANSWER: (E) Hoped to preserve an agricultural society by making abundant lands available to future generations.

Jefferson foresaw a nation of yeoman farmers (as opposed to Hamilton’s vision of an industrial society) and favored the expansion of American agriculture across the Mississippi River. Removal of eastern Native Americans would be done on a large scale by Andrew Jackson and his successors in the 1930s and 1940s. The Lewis and Clark expeditions occurred after Jefferson had purchased the Louisiana Purchase. The Franco-American Alliance was ended by the Convention of 1800 when President John Adams successfully ended the quasi-war with France.