Issues Facing
the New
Government
George Washington’s Presidency
1789 - 1797
 No political party
affiliation
 Won 100% of
electoral vote in both
elections
 Established precedent
of only serving 2
terms as president

Alexander Hamilton

Washington’s
Treasury
Secretary
Federalist Party
 Wanted to build a
financially strong and
independent US,
especially for
American industry
and businesses

Thomas Jefferson

Washington’s
Secretary of
State
DemocraticRepublican Party
 Wanted to protect
states’ rights, USFrench relations
 Resigned in 1793

Henry Knox

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
Washington’s
Secretary of War
Famous hero of the
Revolutionary War
Ft. Knox (in Kentucky) is
named after him:
(Remember: Forts are
used in WAR)
Supposedly died from
swallowing a chicken
bone
Edmund Randolph

Washington’s
Attorney General

Later became Secretary
of State after Jefferson’s
resignation, but then had
to resign himself in 1795,
due to scandal; he had
been advising the French
government on how to
deal with Pres.
Washington, potentially
an act of treason
Judiciary Act of 1789
Established the
Federal Court system
 Made the Supreme
Court the highest
court in the U.S.
 President George
Washington
appointed John Jay as
the 1st Chief Justice

John Jay

First Chief
Justice (1789-95)

Federalist
Sent to England in 1794-5
to negotiate Jay’s Treaty
(more on that in a later
lesson)
Resigned from the court
in 1795 to become
governor of New York


Hamilton’s Economic Plan




Most states had many
debts left over from the
Revolution
Hamilton wanted the US
to assume the states’
individual debts
US would pay these debts
by taxing whiskey and
imported goods
Hamilton also wanted to
establish a national bank
Constitutional opposition to
Hamilton’s Plan


Thomas Jefferson argued
government did not have
the constitutional power
to create a bank (a strict
interpretation of the
Constitution)
Hamilton argued that the
“necessary and proper”
clause allowed the
government to do what
was necessary to perform
its functions (loose
interpretation)
Southern opposition to
Hamilton’s Plan



Taxes on imported goods
would hurt southern
farmers
Many southern states had
already paid their war
debts
South agreed to support
Hamilton’s plan only after
North agreed to move the
capital from New York
City to the Potomac River
(Washington DC)
Frontier opposition to
Hamilton’s Plan
Didn’t like tax on
whiskey because that
was how many
frontiersmen made
their living
 This opposition led to
the Whiskey Rebellion
of 1794

Whiskey Rebellion
Pennsylvania farmers
refused to pay
whiskey tax and took
up arms
 Pres. Washington
responded by leading
the US Army in
putting down the
rebellion
 Federal government
demonstrated it could
enforce its laws

Federalists vs.
Democratic-Republicans


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

Federalists
Led by Alexander Hamilton
Favored strong national
government
Favored large landowners
and merchants
Favored tariffs and
government regulations that
supported business
Loose interpretationists
More popular in the North
Pro-business
Favored neutrality in the
war between Britain and
France
Democratic-Republicans
Led by Thomas Jefferson
 Favored strong state
governments
 Favored small farmers
 Favored a “laissez-faire”
approach where
government did not
regulate the economy
 Strict interpretationists
 More popular in the South
 Pro-farmers
 Favored France in their
war against Britain


Washington’s Farewell Address




1796
US should stay neutral
and avoid “foreign
entanglements”
Good government is
based on religion and
morality
Political parties are
divisive and dangerous to
national unity
John Adams’ Presidency
1797 – 1801
 Federalist
 Had been
Washington’s VicePresident
 Beat out Jefferson in
1796 election by only
3 electoral votes, but
lost to Jefferson in
1800 election

Alien Acts of 1798
Allowed government
to arrest and deport
foreigners deemed
“untrustworthy”
 Prevented poor
immigrants (who
tended to vote
DemocraticRepublican) from
voting

Sedition Act of 1798


Limited free speech by
making it illegal to
publish "false,
scandalous, and malicious
writing" against the
government or its officials
Used to silence critics,
who were usually from
the other party:
Democratic-Republicans
The Virginia and Kentucky
Resolutions


Written in response to
the Alien and Sedition
Acts by Jefferson and
James Madison
Claimed that states do
not have to obey or
enforce federal laws that
they believe to be
unconstitutional – they
can “nullify” the law: the
Doctrine of Nullification
Election of 1800
Presidential election was
won by DemocraticRepublicans, but it was a
tie between Jefferson and
Aaron Burr
 Federalists had to choose
which Dem.-Rep. to
support; Hamilton
decided to support
Jefferson over Burr
 Sometimes called the
“Peaceful Revolution”

Burr-Hamilton Duel
July 1804
 Vice-President Burr
challenged Hamilton
to a duel in which
Burr shot and killed
Hamilton
 Burr was charged
with murder, but
acquitted and finished
his term as VP

The Midnight Judges
Adams appointed a bunch
of Federalist judges to life
terms just before leaving
office
 Jefferson ordered his Sec.
of State James Madison
to withhold their
commissions, preventing
them from taking office
 These denied judges sued
in federal court

John Marshall




Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court (18011835)
A Federalist
Longest serving Chief
Justice in US History
Established the Supreme
Court’s authority to
interpret constitutionality
of laws
Marbury v. Madison



Court found that, while the
judges had a right to be
seated, the Supreme Court did
not have jurisdiction in the
case
Declared the Judiciary Act of
1789, which had given the
Court jurisdiction, to be in
conflict with the Constitution
and therefore unconstitutional
Established precedent of
judicial review – the Supreme
Court decides whether laws
violate the Constitution
Thomas Jefferson’s Presidency
1801 – 1809
 DemocraticRepublican
 Both he and John
Adams died on July 4,
1826 – 50 years to
the day after signing
the Declaration of
Independence!

The Louisiana Purchase
 US
acquired 828,800 square miles
for a total purchase price of
$23,213,568
 About $0.03 per acre!
 Napoleon’s France needed the $$$
 Begins US policy of pursuing
economic prosperity through
territorial expansion
The Decline of the Federalists


Federalists opposed the
War of 1812 (a war
with Britain), and
staged a formal protest
in 1814
Unfortunately, they
protested just as news
arrived that the US had
won the war, causing
them to lose popularity
and fade from the
political scene.