Chapter 11: The Triumphs and Travails of Jeffersonian Democracy, 1800-1812

patronage - "Denied the power to dispense patronage, the Democratic-Republicans could not build loyal political following."

writ - A formal legal document ordering or prohibiting some act. "...His Jeffersonian arrivals...would hardly enforce a writ to deliver commission...."

tribunal - A court of justice of the place where it renders judgment. "...the black-robed tribunal of the Supreme Court had the last word on the question of constitutionality."

impeachment - "Jefferson urged the impeachment of an arrogant and tart-tongued Supreme Court justice...."

pacifist - Characterized by principle opposition to all war and belief in non interventionist, the pacifist...."

frigate - A fast, heavily armed warship, usually with two decks and high rigging. "The money could have been much more wisely invested in a few frigates of the Constitution class."

cede - To yield or grant something, often upon request or under pressure. (Anything ceded is a cession.) "Napoleon Bonaparte included the king of Spain to cede to France...the immense trans-Mississippi region...."

precedent - In law and government, a decision or action that establishes a sanctioned rule for determining similar cases in the future."...the transfer established a precedent that was to be followed repeatedly...."

sectionalist - Person devoted to the cause of a particular section of the country, as opposed to the nation as a whole. "Once-proud Federalists, now mere sectionalist, sank even lower in public esteem..."

conscription - Compulsory enrollment of men and women into the armed forces. "Impressments...were crude from conscription...."

broadside - The simultaneous firing of all guns on one side of a ship. "The British warship there upon fired three devastating broadside...."

embargo - A government order prohibiting commerce in or out of a port. "...enacting the embargo was like cutting off one's toes to cure one's corns."