Post Revolutionary America
Impact of Revolution
External
Internal
• French Revolution
• Abolition
movements
• End of the Church
of England
• Social law
• Federalists v.
Anti-Federalists
• Presidential role
• Checks/Balances
• Funding
• Land
Federalists, Anti-Federalists, and Ratification
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
New Issues
• Ideas of the Constitution-what are they?
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•
•
•
•
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Articles of Confederation-fix or new?
Central v. decentralized government
Democracy v. Republic
National v. State Government
Individual rights
Tyranny
Viewpoints
Federalists
• “Nationalists”
• Supporters of
Constitution
• Strong central gov’t
• Washington, Madison
• Well funded, well
organized, used print
• Excessive democracy=a
problem
Anti-Federalists
• Opposed ratification
• Strong state gov’t
• Supported farmers
• Sam Adams, Patrick Henry
• Too much government
power=tyranny
• Worried about tax
• No protection of individual
rights
Ratification Process
4/9 states immediately approve (small)
PA: dragged Anti-Feds to vote
MA: torn over taxation
By spring they had 9 to ratify; states still
on the fence about accepting
• VA accepts on a 89-79 vote
• NY=most divided; Hamilton & Fed. Papers
• NC and RI are the last to accept
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•
•
•
Federalist Papers
• James Madison, A
Hamilton, John Jay
• 85 anonymous letters
• 2 reasons to support:
– Strong government to
protect US in foreign
affairs
– Keeps local interest
groups from
dominating
Executive Office
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•
•
•
•
Most feared by Antifederalists
How should it be run?
By who?
What qualifications?
What if the President is no good?
• Hamilton answers with Federalist Papers
Constitution Accepted, Bill of
Rights Approved…
WHEN DOES
REVOLUTION END?
Washington, Adams, Jefferson
FEDERALIST ERA 1789-1801
George Washington: Military
• 1754-1783
• Grave, aloof, dignified
• Well-equipped;
discipline and
personal example
• Kept his army on the
field
• Respected civil liberty
over martial law
Washington: President
• Founding Father
• Privately feared weak
central government
• Federalist
• Bare outline of duties
• Chose his own cabinet
• Set precedents 1st
term, clouded 2nd
term
Washington: Cabinet
• Cabinet: board of
advisors
• Desired to work
WITH the
Legislature, not
against it
• Secretary of State:
Jefferson
• Treasury: Hamilton
Presidential Affairs
Domestic Affairs
• Inaugural Address
• 1st Cabinet
• Court System: Judiciary
Act 1789
• Debt/1st National Bank
• Whiskey Rebellion
• Political Parties
Foreign Affairs
• French Revolution
• British tensions
– Jay’s Treaty
• NEUTRALITY
• Navy protection
• Native Americans
– Treaty of Greenville
• Spain
– Pinkney’s Treaty
PRECEDENT (n)
An event or action
that is regarded
as an example or
guide to be
considered in
subsequent
similar
circumstances
Domestic Affairs
• Judiciary Act 1789
– Article III of Const.
– "judicial power of the
United States, shall be
vested in one supreme
Court, and such
inferior Courts“
– Est. Supreme Court
– Amendment 4 & 8
– Federal v. State courts
• 1st National Bank
Domestic/Foreign debts
Rampant inflation
State “IOU’s”=worthless
Hamilton: Pay off state
debts with security bonds
– 1st Bank modeled off Eng
– Paper money currency
– Tariffs, Mercantilist
policies, subsidies
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–
–
–
Opponents
Whiskey Rebellion
• 1791: first federal
tax on domestic
product
• PA 1794: Farmers
revolt; medium of
exchange
• How should the
president respond?
Washington Sets Precedent
• Sends peace
negotiators to talk
with demonstrators
• Backs PA governor to
collect tax
• Sends 13,000 Militia
men to enforce
• National Government
can suppress
resistance to its laws
Pop Quiz!
Explain the significance of each precedence
set by President Washington:
1. Inaugural Address/Appearance
2. Judiciary Act of 1789
3. Cabinet
4. National Bank
5. Whiskey Rebellion
Foreign Affairs: France
• After the French
help the Americans,
they too have a
revolution
• Similar ideas,
different outcomes
• Background on
French Revolution…
• ~65,000 soldiers
and sailors died in
the American
Revolutionary War
• ~40,000 French
citizens died during
Reign of Terror
• +Napoleonic Wars=
easily over
1,000,000 people
died in the French
Revolution
Relations with Europe
• The French Revolution starts shortly after
GW becomes President
• Radicals in France kill the King and
Queen, declare a revolution and declare
war on British/Spanish monarchs
• US trades with all countries
• GW tries to maintain peace by declaring
the US is, “Friendly and Impartial to both
countries”- Neutrality
Genet Affair
• Edward Charles Genet
• Sent by French to negotiate with US
• Genet to encourages privateering of
British ships
• Congress debates on what to do with himGenet ignores government policies
• Negotiate a way to send him home, power
changes in France keeps him in US
• British navy starts
seizing neutral
ships headed to
French ports
• Rumors; Native
American attacks
• GW sends John
Jay to Great
Britain to create a
treaty and prevent
a war
Jay’s Treaty
• New nation is not ready for a war again
• Great Britain still seizes US ships headed to
France
• Great Britain will not reimburse US
merchants who lost care to GB
• US gets “most favored nation” status in
trade with Great Britain
• US gets rid of some of the British soldiers
still in the Northwest Territory and opens
ports
Reaction to Jay’s Treaty
• Senators think this treaty is awful, US
gives up more than it gets
• Senators still agree to sign this bill into law
so they can avoid a war with Great Britain,
try to keep it quiet (10 to 20 vote)
• The American people find out about this
treaty and are very unhappy, especially the
Republicans (Jefferson)
Pinckney’s Treaty
• Thomas Pinckney from South Carolina
• Spain joins France and Great Britain in
war but Spain wants to keep peace with
the US
• Spain approaches the US about making a
treaty-NEUTRALITY (seeing a pattern?)
• Spain gives US access to Mississippi River
and New Orleans, helping to soothe
Western farmers
• Native American chief Little Turtle
forms Western Confederation of
Native American groups
• Little Turtle beats US troops in two
embarrassing losses (1790-1791)
• Washington sends massive amounts
of troops, finally defeats Little Turtle
(1794) at Battle of Fallen Timbers
Greenville Treaty
• 12 of the Native American groups
from the Confederation sign the
Greenville Treaty with the US
• Native Americans agree to give
up their land for $10,000
annually from the federal
government
• Settlers now feel safer to settle
here
Washington’s Farewell Address
• Washington wrote a letter, addressed to
the people of the United States,
announcing he would not run again
• Two main ideas
– Stay away from Political Parties
– Don’t get involved in the politics of other
nations
Goodbye George
Election of 1796
• Federalist Candidate: John Adams
• Republican Candidate: Thomas Jefferson
• Electoral College-How do you decide?
• John Adams Wins!!
• Problems?
Who is John Adams?
Federalist party member
Delegate from Mass. for CC
European diplomat
Vice President to Washington
Married to Abigail Adams-intellectual
woman who fought for women’s right
• Son=6th President JQA
• Vigorous foreign policy
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•
•
Quasi War with France
• French are upset by Jay’s Treaty, start
seizing US ships headed to Great Britain
• Federalists call for war with France
• John Marshall, Charles Pinckney, and
Elbridge Gerry go to France to negotiate in
1797
• They run into French Agents X, Y, an Z
XYZ Affair
• French Secret Agents
(called X, Y, and Z) tell
the US they must pay a
bribe/loan before
negotiations can begin
• Quasi-War with France
1798
• Only war fought
completely on the sea
Quasi War
• Convention of
1800: QuasiWar ends in
1800
• US gives up
claims for
reparations
• France
releases US
from Treaty of
1778
Alien and Sedition Acts
• The Quasi War causes domestic conflict
• Federalists got US involved in the Quasi
War; "MILLIONS FOR DEFENSE, BUT
NOT ONE CENT FOR TRIBUTE"
• Republicans upset-TJ
• John Adams resents the statements
Republican newspapers make about him
• Pass 4 laws dealing with foreign policy
Alien and Sedition Act
1. Naturalization:
Immigrants must wait 14
years to become citizens
(they usually voted
Republican)
2. Alien Friends Act:
Any immigrant could be
deported without trial if
deemed “dangerous to
the peace” to the United
States
3. Alien Enemies Act:
Same as Friends Act except
for males 14+ years from a
hostile nation during a time
of war
4.Sedition Act (tried to
keep people from inciting
rebellion) it is a federal
crime to publish anything
“false, scandalous, or
malicious” about gov’t
Is this Constitutional????
WHY OR WHY NOT?
VA and KY say NO!
• Response to Alien and Sedition Act: the
Rep. controlled legislatures of VA and KY
protest
• Both states argue the A&S Act to be
UNCONSTITUTIONAL
• Madison with Virginia: public should
oppose, universal alarm
• Jefferson with Kentucky: states should be
able to nullify unconstitutional fed. laws
Nullification
• Nullify:
make of no
use or value;
cancel out;
invalidate
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
• Virginia Resolutions argue
interposition— States can place
themselves between the people and the
federal government to stop an illegal
action of the government
• Kentucky Resolutions argue
nullification— States can declare an
unconstitutional federal law to by invalid
End Result?
• Alien and Sedition Acts cause the election
of Jefferson as next President
• Alien FRIENDS act expires 1801, Sedition
Act expires 1800
• Alien ENEMY act is kept…used during
WWII for Japanese Internment camps
• Adams retires to his home; Jeffersonian
era begins