Washington and the Capital City
Washington Becomes President
• April 30, 1789, in New York City.
• Electoral college unanimous vote
• Vice President John Adams
• Department of State Thomas Jefferson
• Department of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton
• Strengthened the federal government
Liberty vs. Order in the 1790s
• Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s tariff and taxation plan for paying off the nation’s debt
reminded many Americans of Britain’s treatment of the colonies. It taxed many goods… and
whisky.
• At Hamilton’s suggestion, Congress created the Bank of the United States.
• Loose construction (interpretation of the Constitution) is believing the government could do
anything that the Constitution did not say it could not do. Hamilton preferred a loose
construction.
• Strict construction (interpretation of the Constitution) is believing that the government should
not do anything—such as start a national bank—that the Constitution did not specifically say it
could do. Jefferson resigned at the end of 1793. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson preferred
a strict construction.
• In 1794, President Washington sent an army to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to put down the
Whiskey Rebellion, a protest against the tax on whiskey.
• Political party --is a group of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to
control government policy and programs.
• Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans were the first political parties in the United States.
The Presidency of John Adams
The XYZ Affair
• Jay’s Treaty- expanded trade between
Britain and the United States
• The French were angry & began seizing
American ships in French harbors. In
response, Adams sent diplomats to
France.
• French agents, identified only as X, Y,
and Z, demanded a bribe before the
Americans could see the French foreign
minister. The Americans refused to pay
and returned home.
• By 1798, France and the United States
were firing on and seizing each other’s
ships in an undeclared war.
The Alien and Sedition Acts
• Taking advantage of the crisis,
Federalists pushed the Alien and
Sedition Acts through Congress.
• The Sedition Act of 1798 made it
unlawful to criticize government
officials unless all charges could be
proven. The Federalists used this act
to silence Republican opposition.
• To defy federal power, Virginia and
Kentucky passed resolutions that
made it possible for them to nullify
any federal law they determined to
be unconstitutional.
The Election of 1800
• Growing tensions between Federalists and Jeffersonian
Republicans
• Jeffersonians accused Adams of being a monarchist.
• Federalists called Jefferson a godless man who would lead the
nation into chaos.
• John Adams had angered many of his supporters while he was in
office. Unable to quiet his critics, Adams failed to win reelection.
• Technically a tie happened between Jefferson/Burr… 12th
amendment has entered the game!
• Thomas Jefferson won the 1800 election, a clear leader of those
who preferred local government to national government.
Jefferson Takes Office
Jefferson won approval by reducing taxes and reducing the size of the federal government.
Marbury v. Madison
The Supreme Court declared part
of the Judiciary Act of 1789 to be
unconstitutional
In doing so, the Court established
the power of judicial review — the
power of federal courts to review
state laws and state court decisions
to determine if they are in keeping
with the federal Constitution.
Louisiana Purchase
-1803 bought the French Territory
-It doubled the size of the US
-Promoted westward expansion
-Lewis & Clark
Embargo Act of 1807
To punish Britain and France for harassing
American trading ships, Congress passed
the act, outlawing almost all trade with
foreign countries. An embargo is a
restriction on trade.
The War of 1812
• In the early 1800s, the power of Native Americans was greatly
reduced. Many Americans believed the British encouraged and
armed the Native Americas in their resistance to American
settlement of the West.
• In June 1812, President James Madison asked Congress to declare
war against the British, and the War of 1812 began.
• War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December
24, 1814
Post war issues
• In 1816, Republican James Monroe was elected the fifth
President during a time of growth and prosperity.
• In 1819, the nation experienced its first depression, or severe
economic downturn.
• In 1820, the Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri to the
Union as a slave state, while Maine became a free (nonslave)
state, keeping the balance in the Senate between slave and free
states.
• Before the compromise, there was 11 free and 10 slave states