The New Nation Takes Form
1789-1800
First President of the United States of America
 George Washington
elected unanimously by
the Electoral College in
February 1789
Precedents Set by Washington
 The Cabinet (Advisors)
 His Title (President of the United States)
 Projected honesty over ambition
 Encouraged pomp and ceremony to engender respect
for the office of the presidency
First Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
 Washington chose John
Jay to lead the Supreme
Court.
Passage of the Bill of Rights
 James Madison took
wording for the Bill of
Rights from some bills of
rights of the states.
 Of twelve, ten were
ratified by the states
The Right to Vote
 The Bill of Rights does not contain a provision for
the right to vote.
 The Fifteenth Amendment of 1870 addresses the
right to vote
Women’s narrow roles
Republican Motherhood
 A term used by historians
to describe the social
environment of the 1790s
that cast women’s
education in the best
interest of the republic. If
women were educated,
they would then ensure
the education of their
children, thus making
better citizens.
Essayist
Judith Sargent Murray
The Treasury
 Alexander Hamilton, the
first Secretary of the
Treasury, developed a
three-part economic
plan.
 Controversies abounded.
Report on Public Credit,
by Alexander Hamilton
 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.
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.
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, and 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.
Jefferson’s compromise
A National Bank
 Hamilton proposed a national Bank of the United States,
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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.
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.
Tax evasion
 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;
Standing up to Civil Disorder
 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.
Treaty of New York
 George Washington
signed the Treaty of New
York, which gave the
Creek Nation control
over tribal lands in
Georgia and Alabama
and guaranteed them
federal protection
against white settlers.
Promises unkept
 Although promising to keep white settlers out of
Indian territory, land speculation and the push of
population growth took over Indian lands
 President Washington said in 1796, “I believe
scarcely any thing short of a Chinese Wall, or line of
Troops will restrain Land Jobbers, and the
encroachment of Settlers, upon Indian Territory.”
Federalists vs. Republicans
 Election of 1796
 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.
Election of 1796
Thomas Jefferson
Republicans
John Adams
Federalists
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 vote-getter became president, and the next
highest became vice president;
 Adams won and became president; Jefferson
finished second and became vice president.
Electoral College Amendment
 The 12th amendment corrected the process, to
separate votes of the electoral college for the
president and for the vice-president
Political Polarization
 The French Revolution
 The Haitian Revolution
 The Jay Treaty
Britain vs. France
 The Federalists supported Britain and commercial
interests
 The Republicans were for liberty in France and
worried that the Federalists were monarchical
Adams Presidency
 A presidency in crisis
 France abandoned a previous (1778) treaty, and
interfered in shipping
 Bribery Attempt in the XYZ Affair
 Heightened animosity between the Federalists and
the Republicans
Sedition Act
 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.
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.
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.
 The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions—Jefferson
and Madison pressed their opposition at the state
level; 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.
Peace Plan
 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;
1800 Election
 election of 1800 openly organized along party
lines.
 John Adams loses the eleciton
 Thomas Jefferson wins the election with Aaron
Burr as Vice President