Our Early Presidens:Washington, Adams, and Jefferson

Mrs. Bermudez

The First Three…

1. George Washington 1789-17972. John Adams 1797-18013. Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809

George Washington- #1 Elected as our first president of the United States He was a great leader and well respected hero of the

American Revolution Americans felt he had a strong character, was honest,

and full of patriotism. Perfect role model for new nation

Important People that helped Washington… Vice President- John Adams Secretary of Treasury- Alexander Hamilton Secretary of State- Thomas Jefferson Secretary of War- Henry Knox Attorney General- Edmund Randolph First Lady/Wife- Martha Washington

Quick Check #1

Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury?

Alexander Hamilton

Events from Washington’s Presidency… 1789- Congress passes the Judiciary Act

Creates the Supreme Court Creates a federal court system for nation

with three levels Washington makes John Jay the first

Supreme Court Chief Justice (head judge)

WE ARE NOT INVOLVED…

1793- The French Revolution begins (similar to the American Revolution)

French want our help…What to do??? 1793- Proclamation of Neutrality issued by

Washington Told the world that the United States would NOT

take sides with countries at war Washington thought this would be safe for such a

young country

Washington says goodbye…

Washington decides NOT to run for a third term, he says he is a President, not a King

1796/1797- Washington’s Farewell Address- He warns the United States against..

1. Foreign Entanglements- STAY NEUTRAL and out of foreign problems

2. Political Parties- STAY UNITED, don’t get split apart

Lasting effects of Washington’s Presidency…

PRECEDENTS- an action or a decision that serves as an example for later generations

Big precedents set by Washington:1. Created a Cabinet of Advisors… every

president after him does this too

2. Only serves 2 terms as president…”I am not a king, only a president. The people are the country’s true leaders”

Second President- John Adams Ran for the Federalist Party and wins a

narrow victory over Jefferson Thomas Jefferson is elected as his vice

president even though he is from a different political party, the Democratic-Republicans

Many saw him as hard working, honest, and intelligent.

XYZ Affair… (nothing to do with pants)

1798- French officials (aka X,Y, and Z) tried to bribe our American diplomats on a peace seeking mission.

Adams feared war might break out over this incident Adams does create a large navy and army but is

able to avoid war over this insult

XYZ Affair… (nothing to do with pants)

What country asked the United States for money in return for a treaty and alliance?

FRANCE!

Alien and Sedition Acts… not from Mars or Venus

In response to the incident with France and a possible war

Congress passed this law in 1798 that said1. President could remove any foreign resident

for “treasonous behavior”2. Made it illegal for citizens to “write, print,

utter, or publish” any false or hostile words against the government or its politics

3. Citizens could not plot against any government actions

Discussion: What is wrong with the Alien and Sedition Acts?

Do you think they are fair?

Wait a minute!!! Keep thinking …

How does the Alien and Sedition Acts violate the Bill of Rights?

Election of 1800- Big Issues… Adams runs for re-election, Jefferson, Burr,

and Pinckney run against him. Jefferson and Burr won 73 electoral votes each

while Adams won 65 and Pinckney won 64. TIE FOR PRESIDENT…WHAT TO DO???

How do we handle this??? There was nothing in the Constitution about

what to do… So they sent the issue to the House of

Representatives for a vote which resulted in another tie…and for 30 more times after that!!

Finally, so many people refused to vote overall and Jefferson ended up winning

Because of this the 12th amendment was passed in 1803 creating a separate ballot for President and Vice President to avoid ties

Third President- Thomas Jefferson

Jefferson was a Democratic- Republican Party Candidate…believes in less government control over issues

Wanted the people to be in charge

Wanted to be fair

Important people for Jefferson…

Secretary of State- James Madison

Chief Justice of Supreme Court- John Marshall

Rival- Alexander Hamilton

1803- Marbury vs. Madison

VERY IMPORTANT CASE!!! Established Judicial Review… gave the

Supreme court its power of declaring laws unconstitutional.

What Happens… Marbury sues Madison saying that Madison illegally stopped

Marbury from getting his job as a federal judge as was his right under the Judicial Act of 1789

The court rules that the Judicial Act was WRONG and did not follow the Constitution therefore it was invalid or illegal

This is the FIRST time the supreme court has done this

1803- Louisiana Purchase- Land anyone???

France needs money to fight a war and offers to sell us some land

This DOUBLES the size of the United States and gives us the control of the Mississippi and Port of New Orleans for trade

Jefferson is able to purchase the land owned by France at the price of $15 million dollars

This is called the LOUSIANA PURCHASE

Some fun facts…

What cost $15,000,000 million in 1803 would now cost $204,768,579.15 in 2009.

It came down to less than 3 CENTS and ACRE!!!!

An acre is about ¾ of a football field… imagine all that land for less than 3 CENTS!!!