Partisan Politics

Review Questions

What was the primary issue of Adams’s presidency?

  1. war with Spain
  2. relations with the native population
  3. infighting within the Federalist Party
  4. relations with France

Hint:

D

Which of the following events is not an example of partisan acrimony?

  1. the jailing of Matthew Lyon
  2. the XYZ affair
  3. the Marbury v. Madison case
  4. the Hamilton-Burr duel

Hint:

B

What was the importance of the Louisiana Purchase?

  1. It gave the United States control of the port of New Orleans for trade.
  2. It opened up the possibility of quick trade routes to Asia.
  3. It gave the United States political leverage against the Spanish.
  4. It provided Napoleon with an impetus to restore France’s empire.

Hint:

A

How did U.S. relations with France influence events at the end of the eighteenth century?

Hint:

Relations with France were strongly tied to political events in the United States. Whereas the Federalists had roundly condemned the French revolutionaries for their excesses, the Democratic-Republicans applauded the rallying cries of liberty and equality. Relations with the French also led the Federalists to pass the Alien and Sedition Acts during the Adams administration, which many saw as a violation of the First Amendment.

Why do historians refer to the election of Thomas Jefferson as the Revolution of 1800?

Hint:

The election was considered a revolution because, for the first time in American history, political power passed from one party to another. Jefferson’s presidency was a departure from the Federalist administrations of Washington and Adams, who had favored the commercial class and urban centers of the country. The Democratic-Republican vision increased states’ rights and limited the power of the federal government, lowering taxes and slashing the military, which Adams had built up.