All Categories
History of the Americas
Explore questions in the History of the Americas category that you can ask Sparky!
- what type of tax was a highly controversial component of Alexander Hamilton's financial program?
- From 1778 to 1788, who involved himself with international diplomacy, serving as minister to France, Britain, and the Netherlands. After serving as Washington's vice president, he was elected president in his own right in 1796. _________ administration suffered from Federalist infighting, international turmoil, and domestic uproar over the Alien and Sedition Acts, all of which contributed to his defeat in the election of 1800.
- American revolutionary, statesman, and second president of the United States. One of the more radical patriots on the eve of the Revolution, Massachusetts-born Adams helped guide the Continental Congress toward a declaration of independence from Britain.
- Revolutionary War soldier and commander in chief of the U.S. Army from 1792 to 1796, he secured the Treaty of Greenville after soundly defeating the Miami Confederacy at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
- King of France from 1774 to 1792; he and Queen Marie Antoinette were beheaded during the French Revolution.
- Representative of the French Republic who in 1793 tried to recruit Americans to invade Spanish and British territories.
- Leading American revolutionary and diplomat who negotiated the Treaty of Paris and, later, the much criticized John Jay Treaty of 1794, which averted war with Britain but failed to address key American grievances.
- Miami Indian chief whose warriors routed American forces in 1790 and 1791 along the Ohio frontier. In 1794, Little Turtle and his braves were defeated by General Anthony Wayne at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, after which they were forced to cede vast tracts of the Old Northwest under the Treaty of Greenville.
- French foreign minister whose attempts to solicit bribes from American envoys in the infamous XYZ Affair prompted widespread calls for war with France.
- George Washington's address at the end of his presidency, warning against "permanent alliances" with other nations. Washington did not oppose all alliances but believed that the young, fledgling nation should forge alliances only on a temporary basis, in extraordinary circumstances.
- Diplomatic conflict when American envoys to France were asked to pay a hefty bribe for the privilege of meeting with the French foreign minister. Many in the United States called for war against France, while American sailors and privateers waged an undeclared war against French merchants in the Caribbean.
- Signed with Spain which, fearing an Anglo-American alliance, granted Americans free navigation of the Mississippi and the disputed territory of Florida.
- Undeclared naval conflict between the United States and its former allies, the French. Diplomatic tension led to mutual attacks on shipping, and between French and American naval vessels. Both sides sought peace, and the Convention of 1800 ended the brief conflict.
- Agreement to formally dissolve the United States' treaty with France, originally signed during the Revolutionary War. The difficulties posed by America's peacetime alliance with France contributed to Americans' long-standing opposition to entangling alliances with foreign powers.
- Revolutionary War soldier and first Treasury secretary of the United States. A fierce proponent of a strong national government, Hamilton attended the Philadelphia convention and convincingly argued for the Constitution's ratification in The Federalist. As Treasury secretary, he advocated the assumption of state debts to bolster the nation's credit and the establishment of a national bank to print sound currency and boost commerce. Hamilton died from a gunshot wound suffered during a duel with then-Vice President Aaron Burr.
- who was the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions drafted by? and for what legislatures?
- Negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay in an effort to avoid war with Britain, the treaty included a British promise to evacuate outposts on U.S. soil and pay damages for seized American vessels, in exchange for which Jay bound the United States to repay pre-Revolutionary war debts and to abide by Britain's restrictive trading policies toward France.
- Ten-month period of brutal repression when some forty thousand individuals were executed as enemies of the French Revolution. While many Jeffersonians maintained their faith in the French Republic, Federalists withdrew their already lukewarm support once the Reign of Terror commenced.
- Enacted by the Federalist Congress in an effort to clamp down on Jeffersonian opposition, the law made anyone convicted of defaming government officials or interfering with government policies liable to imprisonment and a heavy fine. The act drew heavy criticism from Republicans, who let the act expire in 1801.
- Popular uprising of whiskey distillers in southwestern Pennsylvania in opposition to an excise tax on whiskey. In a show of strength and resolve by the new central government, Washington put down the rebellion with militia drawn from several states.