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The Barbary Wars were a series of conflicts fought with various North African principalities, chiefly Algiers and Tripoli. Jefferson initiated an American offensive in 1801 after tribute demands from the Muslim suzerains grew outlandish. Fighting ensued for several years, and never reached a conclusive endpoint.
The Battle of Bunker Hill, fought June 17, 1775, was a violent triumph for the British over rebellious colonials at Charlestown, Massachusetts. Despite their success, the British were unable to take control of the port of Boston, and the Revolutionary War suddenly became more than a brief flare-up confined to the Atlantic seaboard.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first conflicts of the Revolutionary War, fought April 19, 1775 just to the northwest of Boston. A surprise triumph for rebel colonials led to increased confidence in the cause of secession, providing a renewed sense of purpose at the Second Continental Congress, which began in Philadelphia a few weeks later.
The Berlin Decree, issued by Napoleon on November 21, 1806, established a blockade of all British ports. However, in the initial months of this system, the shipping interests of neutral nations such as the United States were left alone, allowing the American economy to prosper and sparking the resentment of Parliament. Tensions between the three nations bubbled over one year later, when France, Britain and the United States passed strong trade measures–the Milan Decree, the Orders in Council, and the Embargo Act, respectively–in quick succession.
Bloody Kansas was the term given to the widespread violent conflict that arose in the Kansas Territory during the 1850s as a result of Stephen Douglas' principle of popular sovereignty, established via the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.
The Boston Port Act, one of the so-called Intolerable Acts passed by Parliament in 1774, resolved to close the Port of Boston until the East India Company was compensated for tea destroyed during the Boston Tea Party. It was met with stiff opposition throughout the colonies.
The Civil War, fought between 1861 and 1865, was a battle to determine the fate of slavery and union in America. Under the stern leadership of Abraham Lincoln, union was eventually preserved, and slavery was abolished per the Thirteenth Amendment. (See the Civil War SparkNote)
The First Continental Congress was held at Philadelphia in 1774. An attempt to bring cohesion to colonial dissent, it was followed by the more radical Second Continental Congress, which began the following year.
The Second Continental Congress was held at Philadelphia in 1775-76, and took a radical turn upon the news of conflict between British and colonial forces at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Eventually, the Second Continental Congress culminated in a Declaration of Independence and the establishment of a sovereign national government.
The Declaration of Independence, initiated by a call to national sovereignty by Richard Henry Lee, was drafted by Jefferson in June of 1776. Approved after a lengthy debate by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, the Declaration was later signed by President John Hancock and fifty-five other delegates to the congress. (See the Declaration of Independence SparkNote)
The Embargo Act, passed December 22, 1807, forbade all import/export trade between the United States and foreign nations. It was a stronger re-formulation of the existing Non-Importation Act, and was passed in response to the Berlin and Milan Decrees of Napoleon and Parliament's Orders in Council. Because it was essentially unenforceable, the Embargo Act was an out-and-out failure from both an economic and political standpoint, and was repealed upon the inauguration of James Madison on March 4, 1809.
The English Civil War, fought from 1642 to 1648, was a battle between royalist supporters and a radical wing of Parliament under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. Ultimately, the sitting monarch, King Charles I, was deposed and beheaded, and Cromwell ruled over the newly established Commonwealth for nearly a decade. The monarchy was restored in 1660, but Parliament had permanently strengthened its role within the English government.
The French Revolution was a major political reorganization that began in 1789 with the storming of the Bastille and the rise of the Third Estate, the mass of common people who had been oppressed for centuries under the authoritarian rule of an absolute monarchy. The sitting monarch, Louis XVI, was deposed, imprisoned and eventually beheaded in the political chaos known as the Reign of Terror that eventually led to the rise of Napoleon as an emperor every bit as powerful as the monarchs who had come before him. ( See the French Revolution SparkNote)
The Glorious Revolution occurred in 1688, when King William III and Queen Mary II usurped the English throne from King James II. In exchange for this turnabout, King William III agreed to function as a limited monarch, further increasing the growing power of Parliament.
The Intolerable Acts were so-called by the rebellious colonials who reacted harshly against a series of measures passed by Parliament in 1774 as a response to the Boston Tea Party, including the Boston Port Act and the Quebec Act.
The Louisiana Purchase, accomplished in 1803, was a sale of the Louisiana Territory from France to the United States for a sum of $15 million. Although the Louisiana Purchase raised several thorny issues of constitutional interpretation, it was ultimately approved by Congress, thus initiating the rapid growth of an American Empire in the Western Hemisphere.
The Marbury v. Madison decision, issued by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall on March 3, 1803, overturned the Judiciary Act of 1789. In so doing, the decision established the principal of judicial review, greatly expanding the role of the judiciary within the federal government structure.
The Milan Decree, formally issued in December 1807, was the result of a long- standing promise by Napoleon to enforce the content of his Berlin Decree. This aggressive foreign policy led to the corresponding passage of the Orders in Council by Britain and the Embargo Act by the United States.
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was engineered by Henry Clay. It allowed for the entry of Missouri to the Union as a slave state, largely in exchange for the creation of a demarcation line categorically prohibiting the extension slavery north of Missouri's southern border. This legislation was later repealed by Stephen Douglas s Kansas-Nebraska Act and Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney's Dred Scott decision.
The Monroe Doctrine, published during President Monroe's second administration on December 2, 1823, called for an end to European intervention in the Western Hemisphere. It was largely the brainchild of then-Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. Although virtually unenforceable at the time it was issued, the United States later continued to expand its imperial domain in the Western Hemisphere with perceived justification via the Monroe Doctrine.
The Non-Importation Act had its foundations in the colonial protests that occurred in reaction to the Stamp Act and Townshend Acts. During Jefferson's second administration, a Non-Importation Act was proposed and passed but immediately suspended. Eventually, the Embargo Act filled its function, only to be repealed upon the inauguration of James Madison. At this point, a Non-Intercourse Act directed toward Britain and France was passed. Eventually, these tensions over trade boiled over into the War of 1812.
The Orders in Council, passed in November of 1807, functioned as Parliament's response to Napoleon's Berlin Decree. As a countermeasure to the French blockade of British ports, the British resolved to blockade French ports, and to hold American shipping interests to the same degree of surveillance that British ships suffered under the watch of the French. This usurpation of American sovereignty led to the issue of the Embargo Act, and laid another portion of hostile foundation creating the conditions for the War of 1812.
The Panic of 1819 was a financial catastrophe brought about by injudicious budgeting in the midst of the War of 1812. It was the first of several major panics that hobbled the volatile American economy in the nineteenth century.
The Quebec Act of 1774, classed as one of the Intolerable Acts by the American colonials who reacted against it, extended the borders of the Quebec territory well into the Great Lakes region. This land, which was also simultaneously claimed by the Commonwealths of Massachusetts and Virginia as well as several native tribes, was the focus of intermittent fighting throughout the Revolutionary War, eventually reverting to the control of the newly- established United States.
The Revolutionary War was fought between 1775 and 1782, beginning with the first shots fired at the Battles of Lexington and Concord and ending with Lord Cornwallis' surrender to George Washington at Yorktown, Virginia. In the initial fighting, British forces overwhelmed the inexperienced and undermanned colonial rebels. However, significant military assistance from French forces on land and at sea eventually helped ensure an American victory.
Various secessionist plots sprung up during Jefferson's presidential administrations. Two regions proved especially vulnerable: the newly-acquired Louisiana Territory, which was briefly captivated by the master plan of Aaron Burr, and New England, which under lingering Federalist influence formed a rebellious faction known as the Essex Junto in objection to the woefully ineffective Embargo Act. Later, during the War of 1812, the idea of secession briefly resurfaced in New England. Ultimately, none of the plots amounted to a serious threat.
The Seven Years War was fought between 1755 and 1763, and involved a complicated web of alliances and adversaries in European and American theaters. The fighting that occurred in the American theater is often referred to as the French and Indian War. The big winners in the event were the British and the Prussians, who increased their claims in North America and Northern Europe, respectively. As a result of the 1763 Treaty of Paris that ended the war, the Floridas passed from Spanish to British control. As compensation, the French transferred control of the Louisiana Territory to Spain.
The Stamp Act was passed in 1765 by Parliament in an attempt to raise revenue for the flagging British economy. Via this measure, a taxed stamp was required on various documents and printed materials traded in the colonies. It was met with fierce opposition, and repealed in the following year.
The Tea Act was the lone Townshend Act to remain in place after Lord North repealed the several others in 1770. By continuing to levy a tax on tea, Parliament symbolically indicated its continuing authority over the American colonies while at the same time attempting to revive the fortunes of the floundering East India Company. Such manipulation was met with fervent hostility, and led indirectly to the start of the Revolutionary War.
The Townshend Acts were passed by Parliament in 1767, shortly after the repeal of the Stamp Act. The Townshend Acts placed duties on several import/export goods, including glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea.
The First Virginia Convention was held in 1774 as a nominating prelude to the First Continental Congress, held at Philadelphia later that same year. Held in Williamsburg, the First Virginia Convention was the occasion at which Jefferson published his Summary View on the Rights of British America.
The Second Virginia Convention was held in 1775 as a nominating prelude to the Second Continental Congress. Moved from Williamsburg inland to Richmond, this convention was more radical in character than the First Virginia Convention, and served as a fitting political capstone to the tense period leading up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain over control of international commerce on the high seas. After a lengthy campaign, the United States emerged victorious, producing in the process a new set of war heroes including Andrew Jackson and Winfield Scott.
The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising in protest of taxes imposed under the financial regime of Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton. The rebellion was summarily squashed by troops sent in under orders from President Washington.
The XYZ Affair was an aborted bribery scheme involving France and the United States, in which French minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand suggested to American ministers Elbridge Gerry, John Marshall and Charles Pinckney that an exorbitant tribute sum be paid in advance of diplomatic negotiations between the two nations. The resulting political flap, which caused significant turmoil for the administration of President John Adams, resulted in the passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.
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