Key Terms

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, which guarantee individual rights

Citizen Genêt affair

the controversy over the French representative who tried to involve the United States in France’s war against Great Britain

Democratic-Republicans

advocates of limited government who were troubled by the expansive domestic policies of Washington’s administration and opposed the Federalists

impressment

the practice of capturing sailors and forcing them into military service

letters of marque

French warrants allowing ships and their crews to engage in piracy

Louisiana Purchase

the U.S. purchase of the large territory of Louisiana from France in 1803

Marbury v. Madison

the landmark 1803 case establishing the Supreme Court’s powers of judicial review, specifically the power to review and possibly nullify actions of Congress and the president

Revolution of 1800

the peaceful transfer of power from the Federalists to the Democratic-Republicans with the election of 1800

the Terror

a period during the French Revolution characterized by extreme violence and the execution of numerous enemies of the revolutionary government, from 1793 through 1794

XYZ affair

the French attempt to extract a bribe from the United States during the Quasi-War of 1798–1800