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Election of Washington
George Washington was quite the unique president: he was the only president to be unanimously elected by the Electoral College, he did not try to run for the position, and he essentially created the cabinet. -
Creation of the 1st National Bank
The Bank of the United States, an controversial idea pushed by Hamilton and located in Philadelphia, was finally created by Congress in 1791 and was supported by stock. -
Jay's Treaty
In 1794, John Jay attempted to negotiate with the British and was successful only in getting them to remove their troops and pay damages for recent ship seizures but failed in the big departments: stopping the seizures, as well as stopping the supply of weapons to the Indians. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Instigated by Hamilton’s congressionally-passed whiskey tax in 1791, whiskey distillers in southwestern Pennsylvania revolted—and started to spread the rebellion—but were put down by 13,000 militia troops in a show of new central government power by Washington (who was prodded by Hamilton after negotiations failed). -
Pinckney's Treaty
After Jay’s Treaty with Britain, the Spanish, nearing their empire’s end and fearing power of the British, hurried to make a treaty with the United States as well and essentially gave up their powers that the Americans wanted: use of the Mississippi (specifically the port of New Orleans) and part of western Florida. -
Election of Adams
Though it was hard to fill Washington’s shoes and the next leader would inherit many problems, the run for president was a very competitive one with John Adams (Federalist) barely beating Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) in the Electoral College in 1796 and becoming president in 1797. -
XYZ Affair
The French were upset with the U.S. because of Jay’s Treaty, so after conflict began, Adams sent envoys to negotiate, but the French demanded a large sum of money to simply talk about a settlement, not even for a guarantee. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were both passed by Federalists; the Alien Acts dissuaded immigrants as it heightened citizenship requirements (though they were not very enforced), and the Sedition Acts were highly questioned in Constitutionality (though not unpopular among citizens) by punishing people for speaking of political leaders in negative ways. -
Election of Jefferson
1800, when Vice President Thomas Jefferson was elected over President Adams, is seen as the end of the Federalist Party, as Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican, and was considered revolutionary. -
Marbury v. Madison
When Marbury was trying to sue Madison, Chief Justice Marshall named it unconstitutional and solidified the principle of “judicial review,” clearly establishing who had the final say about a constitutionality question: the Supreme Court. -
Louisiana Purchase
France had gotten the trans-Mississippi/Louisiana region from Spain in 1800 which took away Americans' rights to New Orleans, but Jefferson sent 2 envoys to negotiate for land and nearly doubled the size of the United States for $15 million. -
Embargo Act
In late 1807, Jefferson managed to get Congress to pass the Embargo Act, cutting off all American exports to the fighting European powers in an attempt to settle conflict without war; however, this hurt Americans much more than European countries and was repealed on March 1, 1809. -
Election of Madison
After 2 terms, Jefferson gladly left office and supported Virginian James Madison who took oath in 1809 in the midst of much European conflict. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa were prophetic Indians instilling a dream of an Indian confederacy in the time of pioneer settlers, but the Battle of Tippecanoe was a stepping stone in discrediting their purpose. -
Burning of DC
During the War of 1812, a British force landed in the Chesapeake and set fire to many public buildings; however, as Americans held their ground, the British still could not manage to capture the city. -
Hartford Convention
From December 15, 1814 to January 5, 1815, a small secret meeting was held in Hartford, Connecticut with representation from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Vermont to discuss grievances (while some extremists suggested succession, they actually ended up making rather reasonable requests, such as compensation for lost trade). -
Treaty of Ghent
This treaty was seen as an armistice to the War of 1812 (between Americans and British) as basically just a draw, not a win for either side in the least. -
Battle of New Orleans
This was the final major battle of the War of 1812 that lasted from December 24, 1814 to January 8, 1814, though the treaty had already been signed (they didn’t know yet), and the Americans won against odds (the British made their mistakes), giving them a huge pride boost. -
Election of Monroe
Though Monroe was not exactly the conventional president, he was nominated by Republicans and won the election by a landslide, knocking out the Federalist Party, taking office in 1817. -
Adams-Onís Treaty
Also called the Florida Purchase Treaty, Spain gave up Florida and some other uncertain territories to the United States after the U.S. exerted their power in a series of battles and demanded these large grants. -
McCullouch v. Maryland
This case occurred over Maryland’s state government trying to tax the National Bank, and it improved federal over state authority when it would not give Maryland the power to tax a federal organization. -
Missouri Compromise
There had been a disagreement over the land from the Louisiana Purchase as to whether it was open to slavery or not, but the Missouri Compromise let Missouri and south of it be open to slavery so long as the territories north of Missouri’s southern border were not open to slavery. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine, influenced by Adams, was a message to European powers that they could not colonize or intervene in the hemisphere anymore (besides their already present powers), though it honestly did not have much power. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Another case ruling in favor of federal authority, Gibbons v. Ogden was about New York trying to regulate trade between states in the waters, but they were denied this power as only federal governments can regulate interstate trade. -
Election of John Quincy Adams
Though John Quincy Adams had success as the Secretary of State, he was one of the least successful presidents and was the first “minority president” as less than one-third of the population actually voted for him—he was not exactly the most presidential character.
