Challenges to the
New Government
Chapter 9
Section 2
9-2 Objectives
 You will:
 1. Explain why Washington wanted to
secure the Trans- Appalachian West
 2. Analyze the causes and outcome of
The Battle of Fallen Timbers
9-2 Objectives
 You will:
 3. Identify the reasons for the Whiskey
Rebellion.
 4. Explain how Washington maintained
U.S. neutrality
Issues Faced by
Washington as President
 1. Problems in the West

competing claims on the land
 2. Native American resistance to
white settlements in the Northwest
Territory
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Issues Faced by
Washington as President
 3. The Whiskey Rebellion
 4. French Revolution

Reign of Terror
AGREEMENTS
 Treaty of Greenville
 Jay’s Treaty
 Pinckney Treaty
 Neutrality Proclamation
Problems in the West
 Washington faces problems in the TransAppalachian West
 (land between the Appalachian Mnt. &
Mississippi River)
Problems in the West
 The source of the trouble was competing
claims on the land
 At one time Spain, England, Native Americans,
& the United States claimed the land
 Spain claimed Florida & the port of New
Orleans
Problems in the West
 For American western settlers the port
of New Orleans was key to trade
Spanish threats to close the port of New
Orleans was taken very seriously by
the American settlers
Problems in the West
 Spain caused trouble between the
settlers & Native Americans in the
Southeast
 Strongest resistance by NA to white
settlement was in the Northwest Territory
Problems in the West
 Native Americans in the NW Territory
hoped to join together to form an
Independent NA nation
The British (in the Ohio R. Valley)
supported the Native Americans.
muskets & gunpowder provided by British
Problems in the West
Settlers pour into Northwest Territory in
1790s
 Newcomers ignored treaties U.S. signed
with Indians of that region
Problems in the West
 Natives respond by attacking settlers
 Settlers strike back / some time against
wrong group
Problems in the West
 1790 Miamis led
by Little Turtle
joined other tribes
& drive settlers out
of area
Problems in the West
 George Washington believed the NW
territory was critical to U.S. security
 Washington sent troops headed by
General Arthur St. Clair into the Ohio
Valley
 Native Americans
defeat Gen. St. Clair
 Washington then
appoints General
(Mad
Anthony) Wayne
1794 Gen. Wayne defeats NA led by Blue
Jacket at Battle of Fallen Timbers
 1795 Miamis & 11 other tribes sign Treaty
of Greenville NA give up land
that later becomes southern Ohio
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Conflict arose over the government’s
tax on whiskey
 Backcountry farmers resisted the tax
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Crops such as corn wheat & rye were
more easily carried to market in liquid
form
 Horse could carry 2 bushels of rye or 2
barrels of whiskey
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Two barrels = 24 bushels
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Farmers used whiskey as money to get
the supplies they needed
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Summer of 1794
 Farmers in western Pennsylvania
stage a The Whiskey Rebellion against
the tax
The Whiskey Rebellion
Beat up a tax collector (Neville) coated him
with tar & feathers
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Farmers threatened an armed attack on
Pittsburgh
 Washington was prepared to crush the
rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion
 October 1794
 General William Henry Lee along w/
Hamilton led 13,000 troops into Western
Pa
 The Rebels fled
OLIVER MILLER
HOMESTEAD South Park
 Map of Whiskey Rebellion site
The Whiskey Rebellion
 Washington had showed that the
government had the power & the will to
enforce its laws
French Revolution
 July 14,1789
 attack on French prison “The Bastille”
starts French Revolution
 Many Americans felt the U.S. should
support Lafayette a leading French
reformer
Reign of Terror
 1793 – Louis XVI is beheaded & family
 during the Reign of Terror tens of
thousands of French citizens were
executed
 The violence divides opinions in U.S.
Neutrality Proclamation
 Nobles in Europe fear spread of
revolution
 Britain, Austria, Prussia, the Netherlands,
& Spain sent armies to overpower
revolutionaries
 Threatens to draw U.S. into the war
Neutrality Proclamation
 President Washington issues the
Neutrality Proclamation
 it stated that the U.S. would not
support either side in the war
 said no Americans could help either side
Neutrality Proclamation
 British began seizing the cargos of U.S.
ships carrying goods from French West
Indies
Neutrality Proclamation
 Washington sends
John Jay for talks on
seizing ships
 Also to persuade
Britain to give up
forts on the
Northwest frontier
Neutrality Proclamation
 Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay
to England for talks about seizures of
U.S. ships
 Jay also hoped to persuade the British to
give up the forts on the Northwest frontier
Neutrality Proclamation
 After the Battle of Fallen Timber the
British agreed to leave the Ohio Valley by
1796
 British signed Jay’s Treaty


British agreed to pay for damage to
ships they seized
Neutrality Proclamation
 Jay’s Treaty was unpopular because it
did not open British West Indies trade to
Americans

Pinckney Treaty
 Thomas Pinckney
 Reduced tensions on
the frontier
 Spain gave U.S.
rights to travel
freely on the
Mississippi River
Pinckney Treaty
 Gave Americans the right to store goods
at the port of New Orleans w/o paying
customs duties
 Spain accepted the 31st parallel as the
northern border of Florida & southern
Boundary of the U.S.
Farewell Address
 1796 Washington announced he would
retire in his Farewell Address
 urged U.S. to avoid becoming
involved in European affairs to stay
neutral
 also said to avoid political parties
What 4 critical decisions did
President Washington
make?
 Decision/Results
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
Explain Treaties
 Treaty of Greenville
 Jay’s Treaty
 Pinckney Treaty
 Neutrality Proclamation