Chapter 6 Section 1
WASHINGTON BECOMES PRESIDENT
The Inside Story
He had hoped to return to a quiet life of farming
and he was short of money
2. The excitement about the new republic; admiration
for the great general; realization that Washington’s
taking office was a historic event
1.
Washington taking the Oath of Office
Organizing the Government
First Amendment Rights
 Freedom of Speech
 Freedom of Press
 Freedom of Religion
 Right to assemble
peacefully
 Right to petition
Judiciary Act of 1789
 Established federal
district courts
 Established circuit
courts of appeal
 Developed the
Supreme Court
structure of six justices
First meeting US Supreme Court in 1790. From left,
William Cushing, Chief Justice John Jay, John
Blair, & James Wilson. They did not hear a case
until 1792.
Executive Departments
War Department – to handle military affairs
Treasury Department – to handle the nation’s finances
State Department – to handle foreign relations
* Washington added the Attorney General to handle
legal affairs
Cabinet:
-group of advisors to the president that heads the
executive branch of government
Who held the following positions?
Secretary of State – Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of Treasury - Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of War –
Henry Knox
Attorney General Edmund Randolph
Settling the Nation’s Debt
I.
Secretary of the Treasury –
Alexander Hamilton
A. Problem – the new
government owed money to
foreign nations, private leaders,
and even to former soldiers –
over $77 million!
B. Hamilton thought – the
secret to a stable government
was a wealthy aristocratic class
Minute with Alexander Hamilton
C. Hamilton’s Economic Plan
1. He wanted – the federal government to take on all
debt from the Revolutionary War
a. including the debts of both the states and
national government
b. to do this he had to find a way to bring the
government income, or revenue
Hamilton v. Jefferson
C. Hamilton’s Economic Plan (con’t)
2. Ideas were controversial
a. The government – had sold bonds to merchants,
farmers, army officers, soldiers – promising to pay
them back in a certain number of years
b. Hard times after the war – the government could
not pay them back yet, so people sold the bonds for
less to speculators for quick cash
Examples of a bond
C. Hamilton’s Economic Plan (con’t)
c. Speculators – since they paid much less than the
bond was worth they were hoping the bonds would
regain their value
d. Hamilton’s plan – pay the face value of the bond
to the speculator who held them
1. Speculators would make a profit
2. Original owners would lose money
3. People thought this was unfair
D. Imposing New Taxes
The new Constitution – gave Congress the power to
impose taxes
2. To this point – most income came from the sale of
land in the West
3. Hamilton’s proposal
a. Tariff – tax on imported goods – Congress
passed the Tariff Act of 1789
b. Excise Tax – tax on the production or sale of a
certain product – 1791 one was placed on liquor,
sugar, snuff, and carriages – this was very
unpopular
1.
4. Plan to pay off state debt also
controversial
a. Northern states – had greater debt
than southern states
b. If the national government
assumed states’ debts – southern
state taxes would pay off other state
debts – Jefferson did not like it
E. Compromise leads to a new capital
Hamilton – had to change Jefferson’s mind and
win over James Madison who lead the opposition
in Congress
2. The compromise over dinner
a. 1790 – the nation’s capital moved from New
York to Philadelphia
b. Many Virginians – wanted the capital in the
south
1.
E. Compromise leads to a new capital (con’t)
c.
The three men agreed – the capital would be the
new Federal City in the south by 1800
E. Compromise leads to a new capital (con’t)
d. Washington – was pleased – the compromise
allowed him to choose an area on the Potomac
River between Virginia and Maryland near his
Mount Vernon home
e. March 1791 – Washington choose a French
engineer, Pierre Charles L’Enfant to plan the
capital’s layout
E. Compromise leads to a new capital (con’t)
f.
Jefferson’s suggestion – he named Benjamin
Banneker, an African American mathematician,
as a member of the planning commission
E. Compromise leads to a new capital (con’t)
g. Plan
1. Grand and elegant
2. Wide boulevards radiating out from the Capital
like spokes of a wheel
3. Washington – liked it, Jefferson did not (he
thought it should be simpler)
4. L’Enfant dismissed – but much of his plan was
still followed
The New Capital Plan
On January 24, 1791, President George Washington announced
the Congressionally designated permanent location of the national
capital, a diamond-shaped ten-mile tract at the confluence of the
Potomac and Eastern Branch Rivers.
Washington D.C. Today
Balloon view of Washington D.C.
Debating a National Bank
What was the debate over the national bank?
- between the Federalists and Republicans over
how much power the central government should
have
2. What type of constitutional constructionist would
use the phrase “whatever is necessary and proper”
in determining government action?
- loose constructionist
1.
Debating a National Bank
3. Explain the difference between strict and loose
constructionists when interpreting the
Constitution.
- Strict Constructionist – believe the
government can do only those things stated within
the Constitution
- Loose Constructionist – believe the
government can take reasonable actions not
directly stated in the Constitution, as long as the
actions are not specifically prohibited
Debating a National Bank
4. Looking at your agenda, give me an example from
it using the terms strict and loose constructionist.
Debating a National Bank
5. Why was Jefferson unenthusiastic about the final
form of the Constitution?
- He believed it gave too much power to central
government; he wanted small central government,
with more power reserved for the states.
6. Why did Washington sign the bank bill?
- He did not want to use the presidential veto;
Hamilton also persuaded him to sign and he
supported Hamilton and chartered the bank for 20
years.
Debating a National Bank
7. Define: Bank of the United States – a national
bank chartered by Congress in 1791 to provide
security for the United States economy
First Political Parties Form
8. How did the first political parties form?
- differences over ratification of the Constitution;
also a clash between supporters and opponents of a
strong central government
The Whiskey Rebellion
A. Farmers and settlers – in the woods and mountains
of the western frontier resented the wealth and
power of people in the east
B. 1794 – farmers in western Pennsylvania objected
violently to Hamilton’s excise tax on whiskey
C. Their livelihoods depended on turning their
surplus grain into rye whiskey
1. Whiskey was – easier to transport
2. Also – could be sold for more money