The American Promise – Lecture Notes
Chapter 9 - The New Nation Takes Form, 1789-1800
I. The Search for Stability (Slide 2) Page 241
A. Washington Inaugurates the Government Page 242
1. Washington’s Election—Washington was elected unanimously in February
1789; tallying of the votes in the electoral college was a mere formality; Adams
became vice president.
2. Establishing the Presidency—Washington calculated his moves once in office,
as he understood that his every step set a precedent and that a misstep could
harm the fragile new government; his genius in establishing the presidency lay in
his capacity for implanting his own reputation for integrity into the office itself;
Washington was not a brilliant thinker or congenial man, but he was “virtuous,”
meaning he took pains to elevate the public good over private interest and
projected honesty and honor over ambition; he remained aloof and dignified, and
he encouraged ceremony to create respect for the office.
3. The First Cabinet—Washington chose talented and experienced men to
preside over new offices; General Henry Knox led the Department of War;
Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton to lead the Department of the
Treasury; Thomas Jefferson was named head of the Department of State;
Edmund Randolph was the new attorney general; John Jay became the first
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
B. The Bill of Rights Page 243
1. A Condition of Ratifying the Constitution—Seven states had ratified the
Constitution on the condition that guarantees of individual liberties and limitations
to federal power be swiftly incorporated; became an important piece of business
for the First Congress.
2. Madison’s Language—Madison pulled much of his wording directly from
various state constitutions with bills of rights; the Bill of Rights enumerated
guarantees of freedom of speech, press, and religion; the right to petition and
assemble; the right to be free from unwarranted searches and seizures; and the
right to bear arms in support of a “well-regulated militia.”
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3. Ratifying the Bill of Rights—State ratification took two years, but there was no
serious doubt about the outcome; the states ratified ten of the original twelve
amendments.
4. A Key Omission—No one complained about the omission of the right to vote;
only much later was voting seen as a fundamental liberty requiring protection
from constitutional amendment.
C. The Republican Wife and Mother (Slide 3) Page 244
1. Redefining Virtue—Periodical articles in the 1790s by both male and female
writers reevaluated courtship, marriage, and motherhood in light of republican
ideals; affection, not duty, bound wives to their husbands; virtue of sexual
chastity enlarged in importance and became prized as a feminine quality;
essayists advised young women to use sexual virtue to increase public virtue in
men.
2. Republican Motherhood—Advocates for female education argued that
education would produce better mothers who in turn would produce better
citizens; historians call this concept republican motherhood; Benjamin Rush
advocated in favor of female education; Judith Sargent Murray favored education
that would remake women into self-confident, rational beings.
3. Politicizing Domesticity—Politics was still a masculine preserve, but women’s
domestic obligations were now infused with political meaning; still failed to alter
traditional gender relations.
II. Hamilton’s Economic Policies (Slide 4) Page 245
A. Agriculture, Transportation, and Banking
1. Agriculture—Increases in international grain prices led to increased agricultural
production for export trade; generated new jobs; Eli Whitney’s cotton gin
dramatically increased cotton production as well.
2. Road Building—The establishment of the U.S. Post Office in 1792 increased
road mileage sixfold; private companies also built toll roads; the number of
stagecoach companies increased; cut travel time in half in the northeast.
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3. Commercial Banking—Commercial banking also grew dramatically in the early
republic; the number of banks nationwide multiplied from three in 1790 to twentynine in 1800; the U.S. population also increased 35 percent.
B. The Public Debt and Taxes Page 247
1. The Report on Public Credit—The upturn in the economy suggested the
government might soon pay off its wartime debt; Hamilton had a different plan:
his Report on Public Credit, published January 1790, argued debt should be
funded—but not repaid immediately—at full value; there would still be a public
debt, but it would be secure, giving its holders a financial stake in the new
government; goal was to make the country creditworthy, not debt free.
2. Controversy—Funding the full debt was controversial because speculators had
bought up debt certificates; Hamilton also caused controversy because he
proposed to add to the federal debt another $25 million in assumed state debts;
states who had already paid their debts believed this plan was unfair; the plan
would consolidate federal power over the states.
3. Compromise—Congressman James Madison objected to putting profits in the
pockets of speculators and opposed Hamilton’s plan; Thomas Jefferson arranged
a compromise between Madison and Hamilton; Madison would restrain his
opposition to the debt plan; in turn, Hamilton pledged to back efforts to locate the
nation’s new capital city in the South, along the banks of the Potomac River.
C. The First Bank of the United States and the Report on Manufactures
(Slide 7)
Page 248
1. A National Bank—Hamilton proposed a national Bank of the United States,
modeled on European central banks, as a private corporation that worked
primarily for the public good; the federal government would hold 20 percent of the
bank’s stock, making the bank the government’s fiscal agent; the other 80
percent of capital would come from private investors; Madison feared that the
bank would allow a few rich bankers to have undue influence over the economy;
he tried and failed to block the plan.
2. Hamilton’s Report—Issued in December 1791; a proposal to encourage the
production of American-made goods; the federal government would grant
subsidies to manufacturers and impose moderate tariffs on those same products
from overseas; never approved or even voted on by Congress; Madison and
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Jefferson believed the “general welfare” clause of the Constitution did not include
public subsidies to private businesses.
D. The Whiskey Rebellion Page 250
1. The Whiskey Tax—Hamilton’s plans required taxation to pay the interest on
the national debt; he convinced Congress to pass a 25 percent excise tax on
whiskey; the tax would be paid by farmers when they brought their grain to the
distillery, then passed on to individual whiskey consumers in the form of higher
prices.
2. Criticism—Tax was unpopular with grain farmers in the west and whiskey
drinkers everywhere; in 1791, farmers in Kentucky and in the western parts of
Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas complained to Congress
about the tax; simple evasion of the law was the most common response; crowds
also threatened to tar and feather federal tax collectors; Hamilton tightened up
the prosecution of tax evaders.
3. Resistance in Western Pennsylvania—in western Pennsylvania, tax collector
John Neville refused to quit; he filed charges against seventy-five farmers and
distillers for tax evasion; at the end of July, seven thousand Pennsylvania
farmers planned a march—or perhaps an attack, some thought—on Pittsburgh;
Washington in response nationalized the Pennsylvania militia and set out, with
Hamilton at his side, at the head of thirteen thousand soldiers; the demonstration
had evaporated before the army arrived.
4. The New Government Flexes Its Muscles—While some, including Thomas
Jefferson, believed the government had gone too far, the Whiskey Rebellion
presented an opportunity for the new federal government to flex its muscles and
stand up to civil disorder.
III. Conflict on America’s Borders and Beyond (Slide 9) Page 251
A. Creeks in the Southwest
1. Negotiating with Georgia Creeks—Washington and his Secretary of War
Henry Knox wanted peace with Indians, partly out of a sense of fair play but also
over worries about the expense of warfare; they sent a delegation to Georgia to
negotiate with Creek chief Alexander McGillivray; offered McGillivray a guarantee
of extensive tribal lands and protection from white soldiers if they ceded disputed
land where settlers already lived; McGillivray sent them away.
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2. The Treaty of New York—A year later, Knox tried again; invited McGillivray to
New York to meet with the president himself; the resulting 1790 Treaty of New
York incorporated Knox’s original plan; never fully implemented.
3. Continued Conflict—In the end, the demographic imperative of explosive white
population growth, land-seeking settlers, and speculation meant that
confrontation with Natives was nearly inevitable.
B. Ohio Indians in the Northwest Page 253
1. U.S. Army Enters Western Ohio—A doubled American population greatly
intensified pressure for western land; the U.S. Army entered the western half of
Ohio, where white settlers did not dare to go; troops led by General Josiah
Harmar fell to defeat at the hands of Miami and Shawnee Indians; defeat spurred
efforts to clear Ohio for permanent American settlement.
2. Military Action—General Arthur St. Clair had pursued peaceful tactics in the
1780s; after Harmar’s defeat, he geared up for military action; Indians attacked
his forts on November 4, 1791; 55 percent of the Americans were dead or
wounded before noon; only three of the women escaped alive; Washington
doubled the U.S. military presence in Ohio and appointed new commander
General “Mad” Anthony Wayne; engaged in skirmishes with Shawnee, Delaware,
and Miami Indians throughout 1794; defeated the Indians at the battle of Fallen
Timbers.
3. Treaty of Greenville—Negotiated in 1795; Americans offered treaty goods
worth $25,000 and promised additional shipments every year; hoped to create
Indian dependence on American goods; in exchange, the Indians ceded most of
Ohio to the Americans; allowance of goods from Americans did not help Indians,
as much of it came in the form of liquor.
C. France and Britain (Slide 11) Page 255
1. The French Revolution and Pro-French Sentiment—The French Revolution
had raged since 1789; initial American reaction was positive; pro-French political
clubs sprang up; many American women exhibited solidarity with revolutionary
France by wearing pro-French headgear; many Americans opposed the
excesses of the revolution, however.
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2. War between France and Britain—French versus British loyalty became a
foreign policy debate in 1793, when Britain and France went to war; some
Americans wanted to repay France for its aid during the American Revolution,
while others were shaken by the report of the French Revolution’s excesses.
3. Neutrality Proclamation—Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation in
May 1793, which contained friendly assurances to both sides; American ships
continued to trade between the French West Indies and France; in late 1795 and
early 1794, the British captured American ships in response; Washington sent
John Jay to England to negotiate commercial relations in the British West Indies
and to secure compensation for American ships the British had seized; also
sought to get Britain to reimburse southern planters for the slaves lured away by
the British during the war; western settlers wanted the British to vacate the
frontier.
4. The Jay Treaty—The result of John Jay’s mission to England to negotiate
commercial relations and secure compensation for the seized American ships;
did not address the captured cargoes or lost slave property; allowed the British
eighteen months to withdraw from the frontier and granted them continued rights
in the fur trade; called for repayment with interest of the debts that some
American planters still owed to British firms dating back to the Revolutionary
War; in exchange, Jay secured limited trading rights in the West Indies and the
agreement that some issues would be decided later by arbitration commissions;
the treaty produced powerful opposition across the nation.
D. The Haitian Revolution Page 258
1. Race and power in Haiti—The Haitian Revolution was a complex event
involving many participants; some 30,000 whites dominated the island, running
plantations with the enslaved labor of close to half a million blacks; about 28,000
mixed-race people owned one-third of the island’s plantation and nearly a quarter
of the slave labor force; despite their economic status, they were barred from
political power.
2. The Revolution—The Haitian Revolution was inspired by the French
Revolution; first, white colonists challenged the white royalist government, then
mixed-race planters rebelled in 1791, then slaves rose up in 1793; slaves and
free blacks led by Toussaint L’Ouverture aligned with Spain and occupied the
northern regions of the island.
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3. American Reactions—White Americans followed the revolution with fascinated
horror; many black American slaves followed the news with amazement; the
revolution provoked the fear of race war in the minds of many white southern
Americans.
IV. Federalists and Republicans (Slide 15) Page 259
A. The Election of 1796
1. Party Politics—Washington struggled to appear to be above party politics; in
his farewell address, he stressed the need to maintain a “unity of government,”
reflecting a unified body politic; leading contenders for Washington’s position,
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, agreed in theory, but contests split along
pro-British versus pro-French lines.
2. Federalists and Republicans—The Federalists informally caucused and chose
Thomas Pinckney to run with Adams; the Republicans chose Aaron Burr to run
with Jefferson.
3. The Results—Under the Constitution, each member of the electoral college
could cast two votes for any two candidates, but on only one ballot; the top votegetter became president, and the next highest became vice president; Adams
won and became president; Jefferson finished second and became vice
president.
B. The XYZ Affair Page 261
1. Conflict with France—Adams’s presidency was in crisis from the start; France
retaliated for the British-friendly Jay Treaty by abandoning its 1778 alliance with
the United States; French privateers started detaining American ships carrying
British goods; Federalists started murmuring openly about war with France.
2. A Bribery Attempt—Adams dispatched a three-man commission to France in
the fall of 1797; commission met with three unnamed French agents, soon known
to the American public as X, Y, and Z; the commissioners said that $250,000 and
a $12 million loan to the French government would be the price of a peace treaty;
commissioners brought news of the bribery attempt to the president.
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3. The Quasi-War—Americans reacted to the XYZ affair with shock and anger;
the United States entered into its first undeclared war, called the Quasi-War; only
intensified tension between Federalists and Republicans; Republicans believed
Federalists wanted to raise the army to threaten domestic dissenters; Republican
newspapers heaped abuse on Adams; pro-French mobs roamed the streets of
Philadelphia, the capital; and Adams stocked weapons in his presidential
quarters; Federalists in Massachusetts burned issues of the state’s Republican
newspaper.
C. The Alien and Sedition Acts Page 262
1. The Sedition Act—Federalist leaders moved to muffle the opposition; in 1798,
Congress passed the Sedition Act, which made conspiracy and revolt illegal and
penalized speaking or writing anything that defamed the president or Congress.
2. The Alien Acts—Congress passed two Alien Acts; the first extended the
waiting period for an alien to achieve citizenship from five to fourteen years and
required aliens to register with the federal government; the second empowered
the president in a time of war to deport or imprison without trial any foreigner
suspected of being dangerous; targeted the French, both potential French
immigrants and the French already living in America.
3. Republican Opposition—Republicans argued the acts were in conflict with the
Bill of Rights, but they did not have the votes to revoke the acts; federal judiciary
dominated by Federalists as well.
4. The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions—Jefferson and Madison pressed their
opposition at the state level; each man drafted a set of resolutions condemning
the acts and had the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky present them to the
federal government in the fall of 1798; resolutions argued that state legislatures
had the right to judge the constitutionality of federal laws or even nullify them;
had little effect on the Alien and Sedition Acts, but the idea of a state’s right to
nullify federal law did not disappear.
5. One-Term Presidency—Adams refused to declare war on France as extreme
Federalists had wished; he appointed new negotiators, and in 1800, the
negotiations led to a treaty proclaiming friendship between the two nations;
Federalists were not pleased, and Adams lost the support of his own party;
election of 1800 openly organized along party lines.
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