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Showing results 41 – 50 of 163

Glossary Term – Event

Election of 1800

In 1800, the nation again had a choice between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Adams had lost support through his attempt to remain neutral in the French-British conflict and through the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts. His own Federalist Party was split, and Adams came in third. Jefferson and his running mate Aaron Burr each received the same number of electoral votes. Under the Constitution, the election was then thrown into the Federalist-controlled House of Representatives. After six days and thirty-six ballots, the House of...

Glossary Term – Event

Twelfth Amendment

The Twelfth Amendment was ratified, altering procedures for the election of the president and vice president. It required separate balloting in the Electoral College for each office to prevent complications like those that arose in the elections of 1796 and 1800.

Glossary Term – Event

Alien and Sedition Acts

Four Alien and Sedition Acts were passed in 1798. The Naturalization Act increased the waiting period for citizenship. The Alien Act gave the president the power to arrest and deport aliens. The Alien Enemy Act allowed the government to arrest and deport citizens of countries at war with the United States. The Sedition Act stifled opposition to the government and promised to punish those who would “defame [the government and members of the government], or bring either into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against either the hatred of the...

Glossary Term – Event

Battle of Fallen Timbers

General Anthony Wayne defeated American Indians, including warriors of the Miami, Delaware, and Shawnee tribes, at the battle of Fallen Timbers, opening the Ohio country to white settlement.

Glossary Term – Event

Cotton gin patented

Eli Whitney obtained a patent for the cotton gin.

Glossary Term – Event

Fries’ Rebellion

In 1798, President John Adams signed a bill to levy the first direct federal tax on private property. John Fries of Pennsylvania used the popular discontent over the tax to encourage armed resistance to federal tax assessors and collectors. When government officers came to measure houses to calculate the “window tax,” armed companies of citizens imprisoned them. General William McPherson was put in command of federal troops to enforce the revenue laws, and Fries was arrested and charged with high treason. On May 21, 1800, Adams pardoned...

Glossary Term – Event

Gabriel’s Rebellion

Gabriel, a slave owned by tobacco planter Thomas Prosser, plotted a major slave revolt in Virginia, but the rebellion was thwarted by bad weather and informants. Gabriel and many of his co-conspirators were executed, while others were sold.

Glossary Term – Event

John Adams elected president

The election of 1796 was the first in which voters chose between competing political parties. It was also the first test of whether the nation could transfer power through a contested election. The Federalists nominated Vice President John Adams as their presidential candidate, and the Republicans selected Thomas Jefferson. The Republicans condemned Adams as “the champion of rank, titles, and hereditary distinctions.” The Federalists claimed that Jefferson was intent on undermining religion and morality. John Adams won the election despite...

Glossary Term – Event

Pickney’s Treaty

Pinckney’s Treaty was signed. The treaty between the United States and Spain defined land boundaries and allowed the US to transport goods on the Mississippi and through the port of New Orleans.

Glossary Term – Event

Treaty of Greenville

American Indians from several tribes signed the Treaty of Greenville, ceding lands in the Ohio Valley to the United States in exchange for the federal government’s protection of remaining tribal lands from further white incursion.