1789-1800

The New Nation Takes Form

First President of the United States of America

George Washington elected unanimously by the Electoral College in February 1789

Precedents Set by Washington

The Cabinet (Advisors)His Title (President of the United States)Projected honesty over ambitionEncouraged pomp and ceremony to engender

respect for the office of the presidency

First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

Washington chose John Jay to lead the Supreme Court.

Passage of the Bill of Rights

James Madison took wording for the Bill of Rights from some bills of rights of the states.

Of twelve, ten were ratified by the states

The Right to Vote

The Bill of Rights does not contain a provision for the right to vote.

The Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 addresses the right to vote

Republican Motherhood Essayist Judith Sargent Murray

A term used by historians to describe the social environment of the 1790s that cast women’s education in the best interest of the republic. If women were educated, they would then ensure the education of their children, thus making better citizens.

Women’s narrow roles

The Treasury

Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, developed a three-part economic plan.

Controversies abounded.

Report on Public Credit, by Alexander Hamilton

January 1790 argued debt should be

funded—but not repaid immediately—at full value;

there would still be a public debt, but it would be secure, giving its holders a financial stake in the new government;

goal was to make the country creditworthy, not debt free.

Controversy

Funding the full debt was controversial because speculators had bought up debt certificates;

Hamilton also caused controversy because he proposed to add to the federal debt another $25 million in assumed state debts;

states who had already paid their debts believed this plan was unfair;

the plan would consolidate federal power over the states.

Compromise

Congressman James Madison objected to putting profits in the pockets of speculators and opposed Hamilton’s plan;

Thomas Jefferson arranged a compromise between Madison and Hamilton;

Madison would restrain his opposition to the debt plan, and in turn, Hamilton pledged to back efforts to locate the nation’s new capital city in the South, along the banks of the Potomac River.

Jefferson’s compromise

A National Bank

Hamilton proposed a national Bank of the United States, modeled on European central banks, as a private corporation that worked primarily for the public good;

the federal government would hold 20 percent of the bank’s stock, making the bank the government’s fiscal agent;

the other 80 percent of capital would come from private investors;

Madison feared that the bank would allow a few rich bankers to have undue influence over the economy;

he tried and failed to block the plan.

The Whiskey Tax

Hamilton’s plans required taxation to pay the interest on the national debt;

he convinced Congress to pass a 25 percent excise tax on whiskey;

the tax would be paid by farmers when they brought their grain to the distillery, then passed on to individual whiskey consumers in the form of higher prices.

Tax evasion Tax was unpopular with grain

farmers in the west and whiskey drinkers everywhere;

in 1791, farmers in Kentucky and in the western parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas complained to Congress about the tax;

simple evasion of the law was the most common response;

crowds also threatened to tar and feather federal tax collectors;

Standing up to Civil Disorder

The New Government Flexes Its Muscles—While some, including Thomas Jefferson, believed the government had gone too far, the Whiskey Rebellion presented an opportunity for the new federal government to flex its muscles and stand up to civil disorder.

Treaty of New York

George Washington signed the Treaty of New York, which gave the Creek Nation control over tribal lands in Georgia and Alabama and guaranteed them federal protection against white settlers.

Promises unkept

Although promising to keep white settlers out of Indian territory, land speculation and the push of population growth took over Indian lands

President Washington said in 1796, “I believe scarcely any thing short of a Chinese Wall, or line of Troops will restrain Land Jobbers, and the encroachment of Settlers, upon Indian Territory.”

Federalists vs. Republicans

Election of 1796Washington struggled to appear to be above

party politics; in his farewell address, he stressed the need to maintain a “unity of government,” reflecting a unified body politic;

leading contenders for Washington’s position, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, agreed in theory, but contests split along pro-British versus pro-French lines.

Thomas JeffersonRepublicans

John AdamsFederalists

Election of 1796

The Results

Under the Constitution, each member of the electoral college could cast two votes for any two candidates, but on only one ballot;

the top vote-getter became president, and the next highest became vice president;

Adams won and became president; Jefferson finished second and became vice president.

Electoral College Amendment

The 12th amendment corrected the process, to separate votes of the electoral college for the president and for the vice-president

Political Polarization

The French RevolutionThe Haitian RevolutionThe Jay Treaty

Britain vs. France

The Federalists supported Britain and commercial interests

The Republicans were for liberty in France and worried that the Federalists were monarchical

Adams Presidency

A presidency in crisisFrance abandoned a previous (1778) treaty,

and interfered in shippingBribery Attempt in the XYZ AffairHeightened animosity between the

Federalists and the Republicans

Sedition Act

In 1798, Congress passed the Sedition Act, which made conspiracy and revolt illegal and penalized speaking or writing anything that defamed the president or Congress.

Alien Acts

Congress passed two Alien Acts; the first extended the waiting period for an alien to achieve citizenship from five to fourteen years and required aliens to register with the federal government;

the second empowered the president in a time of war to deport or imprison without trial any foreigner suspected of being dangerous;

targeted the French, both potential French immigrants and the French already living in America.

Opposition

Republicans argued the acts were in conflict with the Bill of Rights, but they did not have the votes to revoke the acts; federal judiciary dominated by Federalists as well.

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions—Jefferson and Madison pressed their opposition at the state level; resolutions argued that state legislatures had the right to judge the constitutionality of federal laws or even nullify them;

had little effect on the Alien and Sedition Acts, but the idea of a state’s right to nullify federal law did not disappear.

Peace Plan

Adams refused to declare war on France as extreme Federalists had wished;

he appointed new negotiators, and in 1800, the negotiations led to a treaty proclaiming friendship between the two nations;

Federalists were not pleased, and Adams lost the support of his own party;

1800 Election

election of 1800 openly organized along party lines.

John Adams loses the elecitonThomas Jefferson wins the election with

Aaron Burr as Vice President