Download AP US History - LiviaCAPNotebook

Livia Chan
AP US History
Chapter 6 Questions
October 8, 2010
1) What is Federalism and how is the Constitution designed to make it work with regard to state
sovereignty, centralization of powers, and balance of powers?
The Constitution was designed to make federalism (system of government where the state and
federal powers are divided) work. Neither the federal nor the state government was completely
sovereign; Americans had the ultimate power. Many people feared the creation of a tyrannical
government, much like that of Britain, so the Constitution gave Congress a limited amount of power
while giving most important powers to the states. The American government was separated into three
branches: the legislative, judicial, and executive. The system of checks and balances allowed each
branch the power to limit the powers of another, therefore making sure no branch of government had
more control. The new system of government allowed the national government to have more power,
thus being able to stop the tyranny of the people, like Shay’s Rebellion.
2) What was Alexander Hamilton’s political philosophy and what were recommendations and plans as
Secretary of Treasury (use p. 168, 169 AND 170)?
Alexander Hamilton believed the government should be in the hands of an elite ruling class. As
Secretary of Treasury, Hamilton created an economic plan for the U.S., known as the Hamilton
Program. He wanted to replace old bonds with interest paying ones and have the federal government
take on the debt of the states. As a result, the wealthy and the states would want to make sure the
government would survive. Hamilton’s most controversial idea was to create a national bank. The
national bank would act as a stable center to the few banks in the system. The national bank would be
responsible for providing loans, collect taxes, deposit federal funds, and keep up with the prices of the
bonds. In order to raise the money to pay off the new debts, Hamilton recommended passing an excise
tax on alcohol for distillers and a tariff on imports, to not only make revenue but also to decrease
competition for American industries.
3) Describe the demographics of the Founding Fathers and the major differences in opinion and
perspective that they embodied.
The Founding Fathers consisted of mainly middle-aged, well-educated, elite white men. They
were all strong political leaders who were involved in the Revolution. The Founding Fathers were all
Atheist or Christian. Each Founding Father was a delegate from a different state and wanted the best for
their state. The opinions of the Founding Fathers were greatly divided between their feelings of
centralization of powers. Although most of the men wanted a stronger national government, some
feared there would be a tyrannical government that would take away the people’s rights, just as the
British had. The Founding Fathers had originally met to revise the Articles of Confederation but ended
up creating an entirely new Constitution.
4) How did the new American government deal with securing the frontier and Native Americans?
The new American government dealt with frontier people by intimidating them and recognizing
them as states. During the Whiskey Rebellion, Washington organized a militia of 15,000 and won the
allegiance of the rebels by intimidating them. The new government gained the loyalties of other frontier
people by accepting them into the Union as states. The position of Native Americans in the United
States remained questionable. The Constitution allowed natives not to be taxed and recognized the
existence of their tribes, but they were not considered foreign nations or citizens. The most troublesome
disagreements between Americans and natives were involved with land. Native Americans were given
some rule over their own lands but western expansion threatened their rights to their own land.
5) What did Jay’s Treaty and Pinckney’s Treaty show about the new American government?
Jay’s Treaty and Pinckney’s Treaty showed that the American government was trying to develop
foreign relations. Jay’s Treaty in 1794 established undisputed American sovereignty over entire
Northwest and produced satisfactory commercial relationship with Britain but did not extract enough
promises from Britain and was disliked by many Americans. Pinckney’s Treaty in the following year
was very beneficial to the United States and was established in part because Spain was afraid of an
alliance between the U.S. and Britain. The treaty allowed Americans to travel the Mississippi and
deposit goods at New Orleans. The 31st parallel was set to form a border between Florida and the U.S.
and Spain was required to prevent Indians from Florida from attacking U.S.
6) What were the results of the XYZ affair? How did the XYZ Affair lead to the Alien and Sedition Acts
and how did the Alien and Sedition Acts lead to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions? What did all of
this show about America at the time?
The XYZ affair created increased conflict between Federalists and Republicans. The XYZ affair
led to the Quasi War in which France canceled the agreement of 1778 and made new commercial
arrangements. After the XYZ affair, Federalists had gained more power in Congress and created the
Alien and Sedition Acts in order to punish the Republicans. The Alien Act created new obstacles in the
way of foreigners becoming U.S. citizens and strengthened the president’s power for dealing with
aliens. The new act discouraged immigration and encouraged foreigners to leave. The Sedition Act
directly targeted the Republicans by allowing the government to prosecute anyone who opposed the
government in any way. Federalists used the Sedition Act as an excuse to convict ten Republican
newspaper editors who had criticized Federalists. As a result, Republicans drafted the Virginia (by
Jefferson) and Kentucky (by Madison) Resolutions. The resolutions stated states could nullify laws if
they felt the government exceeded its powers. Republicans succeeded in elevating conflict with
Federalists and created a politically divided nation.
7) How did the Election of 1800 test the stability of the American political process and why are its
results labeled the “Revolution of 1800”?
The Election of 1800 helped the Republicans dominate American politics. In the election,
candidates Aaron Burr and Thomas Jefferson were involved in a tie. For the first time, Congress was
required to vote in order to determine who became President. The Federalist Congress at the time
decided Burr was untrustworthy and majority voted for Jefferson. Republicans believed their victory of
Jefferson as President would change the nation and in fact, after the election of 1800, there was never to
be another Federalist President.