Deck 7: The Federalist Era

Question 1

Congress initially set the number of Supreme Court justices at nine.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Conflicts with Britain and France in the 1790s created a spirit of national unity.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Almost without exception, Americans praised Jay's Treaty.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Bill of Rights consisted of the first ten amendments to the Constitution.

Question 5

In early 1789, the new Congress gathered in the national capital, which was:

A) Philadelphia
B) New York City
C) Boston
D) Washington, D.C.
E) Baltimore

Question 6

In his inaugural address, President Washington emphasized:

A) his economic plans
B) party politics
C) national unity
D) relations with Britain
E) his cabinet selections

Question 7

Thomas Jefferson's supporters were called "Republicans."

Question 8

Most Americans supported the French Revolution, even in its violent phase known as the Reign of Terror.

Question 9

George Washington was appointed president without any kind of election process.

Question 10

On the issue of the assumption of state debts, James Madison agreed with Alexander Hamilton.

Question 11

The first Supreme Court:

A) had nine members
B) was picked by Congress
C) was led by chief justice John Adams
D) required its justices to serve on circuit courts as well
E) limited its justices to six-year terms

Question 12

The partisan divisions of the 1790s ended the friendship of Adams and Jefferson for an extended period.

Question 13

The Bill of Rights did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) safeguard freedoms such as press, speech, and assembly
B) appease some initial critics of the Constitution
C) constitute the first ten amendments to the Constitution
D) protect against "cruel and unusual" punishment
E) settle all questions about federal versus state authority

Question 14

By 1790, America:

A) had fewer than a million people
B) reached from the Atlantic to the Appalachians
C) remained a predominantly rural society
D) was free of significant regional differences
E) was confident of success under its new constitution

Question 15

The slogan "Millions for defense but not one cent for tribute" is associated with the XYZ affair.

Question 16

Alexander Hamilton believed the U.S. economy should remain predominantly agricultural.

Question 17

Washington's first presidential veto was on Hamilton's bill for a national bank.

Question 18

According to Alexander Hamilton, the United States needed a national bank to provide a stable currency and to assure capital for development.

Question 19

Thomas Jefferson was elected the third president of the United States.

Question 20

Jay's Treaty barely passed the U.S. Senate.

Question 21

Thomas Jefferson was all of the following EXCEPT:

A) an aristocrat from Virginia
B) skilled and educated in a wide range of subjects
C) Washington's Secretary of State
D) an admirer of small farmers
E) a staunch advocate of urbanization

Question 22

The national bank proposed by Hamilton:

A) would be totally owned by the federal government
B) had unanimous support in Congress
C) was specifically authorized by the Constitution
D) would provide a stable national currency
E) was ultimately opposed by President Washington

Question 23

Washington's secretary of state was:

A) John Hancock
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) James Madison
D) Edmund Randolph
E) John Adams

Question 24

In foreign affairs, Americans became deeply divided in the 1790s over:

A) the French Revolution
B) relations with Spain
C) the rise of Napoléon
D) Britain's interference with the slave trade
E) European colonization in Africa and Asia

Question 25

Madison and Jefferson objected to the national bank primarily because:

A) they believed in a strict interpretation of the Constitution
B) they felt it was not powerful enough to meet the nation's financial needs
C) it would cost the government too much money
D) it would be located in New York rather than Virginia
E) too many of Hamilton's friends had acquired bank stock

Question 26

The party led by Madison and Jefferson that opposed Hamilton was the:

A) Republicans
B) Anti-Federalists
C) Unionists
D) Federalists
E) Constitutionalists

Question 27

In his debate with Jefferson over the national bank's constitutionality, Hamilton:

A) emphasized states rights
B) strictly interpreted the Constitution
C) used the doctrine of implied powers
D) emphasized the Tenth Amendment
E) had Madison's support

Question 28

Hamilton's plan to fund the national debt at its full face value would most benefit:

A) farmers
B) military veterans
C) speculators
D) Congressmen
E) Southerners

Question 29

When Britain and France went to war in 1793, the United States:

A) supported Britain because of its conservative government
B) supported France because of the Franco-American alliance
C) expressed neutrality, warning Americans not to aid either side
D) allied with other nations to oppose both Britain and France
E) sharply increased its military spending

Question 30

By the mid-1790s, Americans became incensed with the British over:

A) Britain's support for the French Revolution
B) British seizure of American merchant vessels
C) high British taxes on American imports
D) Britain's refusal to recognize American independence
E) the British engaging in war with France

Question 31

One key element of Hamilton's program to encourage manufacturing was his proposal for:

A) a cut-off of trade with Britain
B) high protective tariffs
C) government-owned factories
D) importation of cheap foreign labor
E) government colleges for industrial education

Question 32

Neutrality in the conflict between England and France attracted Americans because:

A) of the fear that the war might spill over into the United States
B) of our commitment to supporting Spain
C) of a lucrative trade with both sides
D) of our post-Revolution pacifist nature
E) we expected England to win and did not want to provoke it into another war

Question 33

The Tonnage Act of 1789:

A) placed higher tonnage duties on foreign vessels
B) singled out the British for especially punitive treatment
C) treated all vessels entering American ports equally
D) became the chief source of revenue for the federal government
E) lowered prices Americans would pay for imports

Question 34

Edmond Genet:

A) came to the United States to escape the revolutionary excesses of the French Revolution
B) encouraged Americans to attack Spanish territory on the frontier
C) quickly won the sympathy of Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists
D) was deeply involved in the XYZ affair
E) became a leading member of the Republican Party

Question 35

The emergence of political parties:

A) was anticipated by the writers of the Constitution
B) was strongly encouraged by President Washington
C) resulted from a division between monarchists and republicans
D) brought the United States to the brink of civil war
E) reflected basic philosophical differences between Jefferson and Hamilton

Question 36

Madison decided to support Hamilton's debt proposals in return for an agreement to:

A) give more money to the original bondholders
B) make the states pay their own debts
C) cut taxes
D) limit future federal spending
E) relocate the nation capital southward

Question 37

The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution:

A) protected the right to bear arms
B) guaranteed certain civil rights for African Americans
C) guaranteed free speech and the right of assembly
D) prohibited the national government from interfering in the religious beliefs or practices of any citizen
E) said that powers not specifically given to the national government remained with the states or the people

Question 38

In regard to state debts, Hamilton proposed that:

A) they be canceled
B) the federal government take them over
C) they be paid off by an income tax
D) creditors get back only half their money
E) the British be forced to pay them

Question 39

Alexander Hamilton's basic vision of America was to make it:

A) a vibrant capitalist power
B) a democratic model for the world
C) a mighty empire like ancient Rome
D) committed to limited government and social equality
E) an example of racial tolerance and diversity

Question 40

In regard to religion, the Constitution:

A) makes the United States a Christian nation
B) reflects the atheism of the Founding Fathers
C) prohibits the states from having official churches
D) expresses hostility toward religion
E) prevents Congress from establishing an official religion

Question 41

Under President Adams, a war between the United States and France:

A) was an undeclared naval conflict
B) was ended by the XYZ affair
C) halted partisan divisions
D) ended in American victory
E) led to French attacks on the U.S. coast

Question 42

The attitude of the Federalists toward western land sales was produced by their desire to:

A) get the West settled as quickly as possible
B) collect more revenue so that tariffs could be reduced
C) protect their political base in the East
D) protect the interests of settlers over those of wealthy speculators
E) increase the size of the national debt

Question 43

The Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions:

A) wiped out the Alien and Sedition Acts
B) got their authors arrested
C) supported strong federal authority in wartime
D) were drafted by Jefferson and Madison
E) called for negotiations to end the war with France

Question 44

Pinckney's Treaty resulted in:

A) American ownership of the Mississippi River
B) expulsion of the Indians from the Southwest
C) American trade access to Spanish New Orleans
D) Spain's withdrawal from Florida
E) the right of Americans to settle in Texas

Question 45

The Whiskey Rebellion resulted in:

A) the repeal of the federal liquor tax
B) declining support for the Republicans
C) mass executions of the captured rebels
D) the sending of a massive army to western Pennsylvania
E) diminished respect for federal authority

Question 46

The Alien Act of 1798:

A) shut off immigration to the United States
B) banned noncitizens from holding public office
C) led to a crackdown on Republican journalists
D) was aimed especially at French and Irish Republicans
E) was inspired by public anger over the Jay's Treaty terms

Question 47

In regard to land policy, Hamilton and the Federalists:

A) wanted to reserve western lands for Indians
B) favored high land prices that would slow western settlement
C) believed land should be free for anyone promising to farm it
D) proposed that settlement be banned west of the Appalachians
E) believed a lottery should determine who could buy western land

Question 48

Opposition to Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey was strongest among:

A) merchants
B) Federalists
C) veterans
D) frontier farmers
E) churchgoers

Question 49

The Sedition Act was aimed primarily at:

A) foreign immigrants
B) anti-war Federalists
C) Republican newspaper editors
D) French spies
E) draft evaders

Question 50

As a result of Jay's Treaty:

A) the United States and Britain became military allies
B) the border with Canada was adjusted in favor of America
C) all American trade with the British West Indies was legalized
D) duties on most items imported from Britain were cut in half
E) the British agreed to evacuate their northwest posts by 1796

Question 51

The Treaty of Greenville was an agreement between the United States and:

A) Britain
B) France
C) Spain
D) Indians on the northwest frontier
E) Canada

Question 52

All of the following were liabilities for Adams when he ran for reelection EXCEPT:

A) his pursuit of peace with France
B) Hamilton's questions about his fitness for office
C) disapproval of the Alien and Sedition Acts
D) evidence he enriched himself in office
E) suggestions that he was a monarchist

Question 53

Jay's Treaty:

A) shut American merchants out of the West Indies
B) ended a war with the British
C) was most strongly opposed in New England
D) infuriated Republicans for its concessions to the British
E) forced Hamilton's resignation from the cabinet

Question 54

The politician involved in partisan attacks on John Adams while he served as Adams's vice president was:

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) John Jay
D) James Madison
E) Aaron Burr

Question 55

The 1796 presidential election:

A) was the nation's first partisan election
B) was free of personal attacks
C) resulted in a landslide win for John Adams
D) showed Washington's loss of popularity
E) was a total loss for Thomas Jefferson

Question 56

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions argued that:

A) states could decide if laws were unconstitutional
B) taxes imposed by Congress were unconstitutional
C) immigrants should be expelled from the country if they were not loyal to the American cause
D) the "freedom of speech" clause in the Bill of Rights did not apply to purely political rhetoric
E) new Western states should be admitted as quickly as possible

Question 57

Daniel Boone led settlers into:

A) Ohio
B) Indiana
C) Arkansas
D) Alabama
E) Kentucky

Question 58

The preferred crop of pioneers on the Wilderness Road was:

A) corn
B) cotton
C) tobacco
D) wheat
E) potatoes

Question 59

By 1790, the Indians

A) remained a powerful threat to western settlement
B) had become U.S. citizens
C) were largely eradicated
D) had signed away most of their lands by treaty
E) had united into a powerful western confederacy

Question 60

Washington's farewell address:

A) praised the emerging party system
B) urged greater involvement in Europe
C) was soon forgotten since Washington was a poor speaker
D) was pessimistic about the nation's future
E) opposed permanent alliances

Question 61

In the election of 1800:

A) Jefferson campaigned around the country
B) Jefferson was attacked as an atheist and a radical
C) Federalists enthusiastically united behind Adams
D) the parties agreed on the major issues
E) Hamilton intrigued to get Burr elected

Question 62

Discuss the issue of debt that the early American government had to face. What were the various suggestions on how to deal with it, and what role did Alexander Hamilton play in this discussion?

Question 63

Describe the conflict between the United States and France in the late 1790s. How did the conflict end? What was the effect of the conflict on domestic policy?

Question 64

Examine George Washington's motives in declaring that the United States would remain neutral in the conflict between England and France.

Question 65

Compare the arguments of Jefferson and Hamilton on the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States.

Question 66

The Judiciary Act of 1801:

A) created three new positions on the Supreme Court
B) was the first act passed by the Republicans
C) allowed federal judges to be impeached under the Sedition Act
D) was the legacy of the Federalists as they left office
E) was vetoed by President Jefferson

Question 67

What were the major points of the Federalists' foreign policy? What factors influenced that policy?

Question 68

Compare and contrast the lives of Jefferson and Hamilton and examine how their experiences might have affected their individual philosophies.

Question 69

Assess Alexander Hamilton's contributions to establishing national economic policy.

Question 70

Discuss George Washington's structuring of the executive branch and evaluate his selection of cabinet members.

Question 71

Just before he left office, Adams:

A) repealed Hamilton's tax policies
B) questioned the fair outcome of the election
C) appointed John Marshall chief justice
D) destroyed his official records
E) renewed his friendship with Jefferson

Question 72

Examine the argument that the Alien and Sedition Acts destroyed John Adams' presidency.

Question 73

Describe the presidency of John Adams. Be sure to include both the domestic and foreign issues that confronted his administration and how he succeeded in dealing with these issues.

Question 74

Jefferson's election in 1800:

A) continued the Federalist domination of the U.S. government
B) had to be settled by the House of Representatives
C) was assured when Aaron Burr agreed to withdraw as a candidate for president
D) was assured when George Washington announced his support of Jefferson just three weeks before the election
E) ended party divisions

Question 75

Examine the Whiskey Rebellion with an eye on the issue of whether or not it was a serious threat to the life of the young nation.

Question 76

Examine the importance of the Bill of Rights regarding the establishment of trust and law between the new nation and its citizens.

Question 77

What was George Washington's greatest achievement as president? What was his worst failure? Overall, was his administration a success for the nation? Was it a success for the Federalists?

Question 78

The election of 1800 did all of the following EXCEPT:

A) elevate Jefferson to the presidency
B) mark the first time an opposition party came to power
C) show the emergence of a more democratic politics
D) bring slaveholding Republicans into power
E) cause Federalist rioting in the streets of the capital

Question 79

Examine Hamilton and Jefferson's competing visions of America's destiny.

Question 80

Trace the development of political parties during Washington's administration and describe their basic philosophies.