Chapter 7: The Early Republic, 1800–1815
CORE OBJECTIVES
1. Summarize the major domestic political developments that took place during Thomas
TRUE/FALSE
1. At his inauguration in 1801, Thomas Jefferson sought to promote “republican simplicity”
by not wearing fancy clothes or hosting elegant parties while in the White House.
2. Marbury v. Madison was sparked by one of President Adams’s “midnight appointments.”
3. Once in office, Jefferson set out to dismantle Hamilton’s Federalist economic program.
4. During Thomas Jefferson’s presidency, the national debt grew much larger.
5. The purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 raised constitutional issues as to whether
President Jefferson had the authority to buy land from a foreign nation.
6. Thomas Jefferson signed an act outlawing the foreign slave trade as of 1808.
7. During the early 1800s, the British were more likely than the French to respect American
shipping rights.
8. To avoid going to war with Great Britain, President Jefferson supported an embargo that
banned U.S. trade with foreign nations.
9. Although James Madison was the “Father of the Constitution” and an effective legislator in
the House of Representatives, he was a weak and indecisive president.
10. Tecumseh was a Shawnee leader who supported the United States in the War of 1812.
11. Most “war hawks” were New England Federalists.
12. The most humiliating experience of the War of 1812 for the United States was the British
capture and burning of Washington, D.C.
13. William Henry Harrison was the American hero at the Battle of New Orleans.
14. The Battle of New Orleans was meaningless because it was fought after the war had
officially ended.
15. The Federalist party was badly hurt by its involvement in the Hartford Convention.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Which statement describes Thomas Jefferson as president?
a. Jefferson portrayed himself as the “common man” president.
b. Jefferson was a contradiction: a rich and educated Republican.
c. Jefferson endeavored to make the presidency a more “elegant” office.
d. Jefferson was bipartisan and willing to work with the opposition party.
e. Jefferson championed equality for all Americans so he freed his slaves once elected.
2. To Thomas Jefferson, “republican simplicity” meant
a. simplicity and frugality in government.
b. bipartisanship.
c. rejection of all “federalist” policies.
d. conducting himself in a more elegant manner than his predecessors.
e. living in a boarding house in Washington, D.C. rather than the White House.
3. During Jefferson’s administration, the percentage of eligible white male voters
a. decreased somewhat.
b. decreased markedly.
c. increased somewhat.
d. increased markedly.
e. stayed the same.
4. During Jefferson’s administration, politics in the United States became
a. more democratic.
b. less democratic.
c. more relevant.
d. less relevant.
e. more efficient.
5. In the case of Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court established the precedent known as
a. separation of powers.
b. original jurisdiction.
c. habeas corpus.
d. judicial review.
e. jury nullification.
6. One way President Jefferson sought to reduce the federal deficit when he took office was to
a. increase taxes on the wealthy.
b. slash the military budget in half.
c. decrease aid to foreign nations.
d. increase tariffs on British imports.
e. cut benefits to the infirm and elderly.
7. During his first administration, Thomas Jefferson did which of the following?
a. Increased the size of the military budget and encouraged western expansion
b. Reduced federal government bureaucracy and restored more power to the states
c. Increased the whiskey tax and hired more federal tax collectors
d. Abolished the national bank
e. Dismantled Hamilton’s economic programs to restore economic growth
8. Which of the following was true of Jefferson’s purchase of the Louisiana Territory?
a. It doubled the size of the United States and caused a constitutional dilemma.
b. It cost the United States $10 million and France’s loyalty.
c. It pleased all Americans, Federalists and Republicans alike.
d. It had been American negotiators’ intention all along.
e. It hurt Americans living in Tennessee and Kentucky.
9. Which of the following statements about the Lewis and Clark expedition is correct?
a. It began without Congress’s approval because only New England Federalists supported
it.
b. It made Jefferson far less popular in the southern and western United States.
c. It provided vital information about the plants, animals, and geography of the Louisiana
Territory.
d. It delayed the United States’ acquisition of the Oregon Country as it was preserved as
Native American territory.
e. It was unsuccessful due to violent encounters with Native American tribes like that of
Sacagawea.
10. While vice president of the United States, __________ killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel,
was charged with murder, then fled to South Carolina.
a. Samuel Adams
b. Charles Pinckney
c. Aaron Burr
d. John C. Calhoun
e. Elihu Root
11. Which of the following was one of the causes of divisions in the Republican Party?
a. The Federalists made up the overwhelming majority of the new Congress.
b. The Old Republicans increasingly began to compromise with the Federalists.
c. The Old Republicans became known for regularly stretching the “implied powers” of
the Constitution.
d. Jeffersonian Republicans had become radically conservative, consistently defending
states’ rights.
e. Jeffersonian Republicans were willing to compromise states’ rights, such as to maintain
federal tariffs on imports.
12. What was the Burr Conspiracy?
a. A duel between Aaron Burr and Henry Clay that severely weakened the Republican
party
b. Aaron Burr’s plot to declare part of the Louisiana Territory an independent republic
c. Secret meetings of plantation owners to keep the international slave trade in place
d. A political scheme that led to the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment
e. A plan designed by Republicans to declare the national bank unconstitutional
13. From 1801 to 1805 the United States was at war with
a. France.
b. England.
c. France and England.
d. France and Spain.
e. Tripoli.
14. What action did the British navy take during Jefferson’s second term?
a. It interfered with American vessels primarily from the French and Spanish West Indies.
b. It made war on France and Canada.
c. It blockaded any and all American cargo ships.
d. It allied with the United States to fight the Barbary pirates.
e. It acknowledged American neutrality.
15. The British habit of detaining American ships, capturing sailors, and forcing them into the
British navy was known as
a. impressment.
b. peaceful coercion.
c. search and seizure.
d. enlistment and recruiting.
e. kidnapping.
16. During Thomas Jefferson’s tenure as president, how many American seamen were seized
and compelled into service by the British navy?
a. Fewer than 1,000
b. 2,000
c. 3,000
d. More than 6,000
e. 12,000
17. How did President Jefferson respond to the Leopard-Chesapeake incident?
a. He declared war on the British.
b. He banned trade with Britain, Canada, and the British West Indies.
c. He was outraged, but remained cautious.
d. He reinforced American neutrality.
e. He banned all foreign powers from trading with the United States.
18. The Embargo Act of 1807 was intended to force Great Britain and France to stop violating
U.S. rights, but instead it
a. caused both nations to declare war on the United States.
b. encouraged the Netherlands to begin violating U. S. rights as well.
c. led to the first acts of aggression that eventually became the War of 1812.
d. devastated the U.S. economy.
e. encouraged Canada to support Britain and France.
19. As a result of his handling of foreign relations, Thomas Jefferson