CHAPTER 7
Launching the New Republic, 1788-1800
1. Which points in Hamilton’s economic
program were most controversial and why?
2. What was the impact of the French
Revolution on American politics?
3. What principal issues divided Federalists and
Republicans in the election of 1800?
4. On what basis were some Americans denied
full equality by 1800?
Constitutional Government
Takes Shape, 1788-1796
Implementing Government
1789 – George Washington
becomes president; John
Adams becomes vice president
Although there technically weren’t any political parties yet – many consider
them both to be Federalists
Washington was inaugurated in the capital city
(from 1788-1790) of New York
Constitutional Government
Takes Shape, 1788-1796
The Federal Judiciary and the Bill of Rights
The Judiciary Act of 1789 set up the federal court system
In 1791, the Bill of Rights (First 10 Amendments)
were ratified
Hamilton’s Domestic
Policies, 1789-1794
Establishing the Nation’s Credit
Alexander Hamilton (Sec. of the Treasury) issued to Congress his
Reports on the Public Credit (1790)
National Debt = $54 million + $25 million debt owed from the states
His plan:
•
•
•
•
Pay off the $12 million of foreign debt ASAP
Keep the debt owed to Americans (to unite the wealthy to the government)
Pay off the interest to this debt with import taxes and an excise tax on whiskey
“Fund” this debt through bonds and Western land sales
• The poor (in need of money) already cashed in their bonds for less value
• The rich who kept theirs stood to gain – the rich get richer
• Assume the state debts (mostly already paid only by the South)
• This benefited the “irresponsibility” of the procrastinating North
•
To make this happen and appease the South, Hamilton agreed to move the
nation’s capital to the South (Philadelphia – then later to Washington D.C.)
Hamilton’s Domestic
Policies, 1789-1794
Creating a National Bank
Hamilton wanted to create a National Bank:
• Depository for federal tax revenue
• Loan $ to the government
• Issue national currency
• Regulate state-chartered banks
• Provide credit to expand our nation’s economy
Thomas Jefferson (Sec. of State) and James Madison (Congressman) disapproved…
• The rich would invest and gain interest – the rich getting richer
• The needy poor would take out loans and pay interest – the poor would pay the rich!
Jefferson and Madison argued to G. Washington that it was unconstitutional because the
Constitution didn’t say that a National Bank could be created = STRICT
INTERPRETATION
Hamilton argued that it was constitutional because the Constitution said that Congress can
enact all measures that are “necessary and proper” = LOOSE INTERPRETATION
Washington agreed with Hamilton, Congress barely passed the measure, and in 1791
Washington signed the bank bill for a 20-year charter
Hamilton’s Domestic
Policies, 1789-1794
Emerging Partisanship
Although there were no formal political parties… two distinct parties began to
emerge…
Federalists:
Republicans:
Rich
Poor
Northerners
Southerners
Easterners
Westerners
Pro-British
Pro-French
Hamilton, Washington, and Adams
Jefferson and Madison
1792 – Washington and Adams are reelected as president and vice president
Hamilton’s Domestic
Policies, 1789-1794
The Whiskey Rebellion
Hamilton’s excise tax on whiskey is becoming excessively burdensome on
western Pennsylvanian farmers who have to convert their grain to alcohol for
more efficient transportation.
1794 – Western Pennsylvanians have
had enough and revolt against U.S.
Marshalls serving court summons.
Washington gathers 13,000 militiamen
who quickly suppress the rebellion
The old ways of rebellion are over and
people must obey the new Constitution
The United States in a
Wider World, 1789-1796
Spanish Power in Western North America
More of the same for Spain… missions, trading, forts,
and wiping out the Native Americans with disease
The United States in a
Wider World, 1789-1796
Challenging American Expansion, 1789-1792
The area between the Appalachian Mountains and
the Mississippi River were wanted by the Indians,
the Spanish, the Americans, and the
British (who couldn’t just let it go)
To help their claims, America added Vermont
(not in the West), Kentucky, and Tennessee
as states
The United States in a
Wider World, 1789-1796
France and Factional Politics, 1793
1789:
•
•
•
•
The French Revolution broke out…
Americans were split on their support
After the French declared war on Spain and Britain,
the South and West wanted a French victory to
hopefully get the Spanish and British to stop
inspiring the Indian resistance in the West
The Northeastern merchants
supported Britain and her
money (via trade)
French ambassador Genet got
some Americans to fight with
the French
In 1793, Washington issued a
statement of U.S. neutrality
The United States in a
Wider World, 1789-1796
Diplomacy and War, 1793-1796
The British didn’t like America’s “friendliness” to
the French, so they began seizing our ships,
impressing our crewmen, and inciting the Ohio
Valley Indians
“Mad Anthony” Wayne won the Battle of Fallen
Timbers which led to the Treaty of Greenville
opening up the Ohio Valley for U.S. settlement
The United States in a
Wider World, 1789-1796
Diplomacy and War, 1793-1796
Jay’s Treaty (1795): Got the British to abandon their American
forts (weren’t they supposed to after the Revolution?)
… but, it didn’t mention British impressment
of our seamen
Pinckney’s Treaty (1796):
Settled the northern border of Spanish
Florida and Spain opened up the Mississippi
River (and New Orleans) to the Americans
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
Ideological Confrontation, 1793-1794
The Federalists were suspicious of the people having too much power
(democracy) due to events like the French Revolution and the Whiskey
Rebellion
Hamilton
Washington
Adams
The Jefferson Republicans trusted the people, but feared having the
government run by just a few elite individuals
Jefferson
Madison
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
The Republican Party, 1794-1796
Newspapers grew in circulation and printed much political mudslinging
Washington decided not to run in 1796 and gave his farewell address…
• Political parties are bad for the U.S.
• Stay out of foreign entanglements (European politics)
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
The Election of 1796
With a 71-68 majority in electoral
Votes, John Adams (Federalist)
becomes our second president
With the second-most electoral votes,
Thomas Jefferson (Republican)
becomes our second vice president
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
The French Crisis, 1798-1799
In response to the British-friendly Jay’s Treaty, the French began seizing
American ships. This eventually led to what becomes known as the…
XYZ Affair
This caused Adams to arm our ships and build up our military as we fought an
undeclared Quasi-War against France.
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
The Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798
The Federalist Congress passed these acts in 1798 for our protection…
Mainly they were used to weaken and/or silence the Republican party
The Sedition Act was to expire in 1801 (in case the Feds lost the 1800 election)
Virginia and Kentucky (anonymously
supported by Madison and Jefferson)
wanted nothing to do with these acts!
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
The Alien and Sedition Acts, 1798
A summary of John Adams’ presidency
Parties and Politics, 1793-1800
The Election of 1800
Noteworthy election because…
• First time political parties have played a major role
• First time we had a major power shift in the executive branch
• We didn’t collapse as a nation into a civil war
• There was a tie
Economic and Social Change
Producing for Markets
After the Revolutionary War, Americans began to produce goods for sale
(market economy) rather than just for themselves (subsistence)
Most would work from home instead of “going to work”, sometimes referred
to as the putting-out system
Economic and Social Change
White Women in the Republic
After the Revolutionary War, the roles for white women didn’t advance too
much…
• Got to pick their husbands or use pregnancy to force the issue
• Granted more divorces
• Had fewer kids
The concept of
Republican
Motherhood avowed
that white women
should be
educated… but only
to raise their
children as virtuous
little citizens
Economic and Social Change
Land and Culture: Native Americans
Native Americans had it bad…
• Land was often taken/stolen from them
• Disease and fighting killed off huge portions of their tribes
• U.S. government tried to “civilize” them
• Many became addicted to alcohol
• Their culture was slowly being destroyed
Economic and Social Change
African-American Struggles
The advancements made by blacks after the Declaration of Independence were
short-lived as life worsened (politically, economically, and socially) for all blacks
Whites were anxious after the successful
Haitian slave revolution and the attempted
revolution in Richmond, VA (Gabriel’s
Rebellion) in 1800
There were a few “successes” such as
Benjamin Banneker and the creation of
The AME church
1793 – Eli Whitney’s cotton gin makes
slavery a profitable investment in the South