Chapter 8 Summary - The Federalist Era
Section One - The First President
President Washington
● Precedent - a model or action for others to follow
● The “Precedent President” - George Washington took the oath of office on April 30,
1789 to become the “President President” - everything he did would become a model for
others
● John Adams - becomes the the nation’s first Vice-President
● Washington knew the eyes of the country were on his every action so he was very
careful
● Precedents by Washington
○ Creation of first Cabinet (Advisers to the President)
■ State Department (foreign affairs) - Thomas Jefferson
■ Treasury Department (financial matters) - Alexander Hamilton
■ War Department (now called Defense Department) - Henry Knox
■ Attorney General (Legal affairs) - Edmund Randolph
○ Set up the federal court system
○ Decided on “Mr. President” as a title
○ Decided to wear “regular” suit as opposed to military outfit or regal robes
○ No Presidents ever set foot in Senate because they made Washington wait once
○ Two term presidency (only broken by Franklin D. Roosevelt- 1932 - 1945)
Judiciary Act of 1789
● Sets up the nations Federal Courts
● Three levels ○ district courts
○ circuit courts (courts of appeals)
○ Supreme Court
● John Jay - becomes the first Chief Justice for the U.S. Supreme Court
Bill of Rights
● U.S. citizens fear a strong central (federal) government
● Bill of Rights - the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, they lie out the rights of
individual citizens and were ratified in December of 1791
● Antifederalists - required the Bill of Rights to be promised before ratifying the
Constitution
The New Country’s Economy
● President George Washington was focused on foreign affairs and military matters
● Washington left most of the economic issues of the U.S. to 34 year old Secretary of the
Treasury, Alexander Hamilton of NY.
● National Debt - the total amount of money the country owes. Hamilton sought to get
rid of the national debt of the U.S. in order to make the U.S. look trustworthy to foreign
countries
Hamilton’s Plan to Pay Off the National Debt
● Hamilton wanted to pay off any debts created by the Articles of Confederation
government, including any debts owed by individual states
● Hamilton wanted to pay off debts to both foreign countries and individual citizens in the
U.S. in the form of government bonds (promises to pay or I.O.Us)
● Credit - the amount of trust others have in a country’s ability to pay off their debts
● Hamilton sought to credit good credit for the U.S.
Opposition to Hamilton’s Plan
● Many people who had these government bonds had sold them to speculators, many of
whom happened to be Hamilton’s banking friends
● Speculator - a person to makes a risky investment in hopes of making a huge return on
that investment
● Many of the middle and lower class people had sold these bonds at half of their value or
less to speculators
● Hamilton wanted to pay them off a face value making speculators (upper class bankers)
even more wealthy and hurting the middle and lower class (average) citizen
● Southern states - worked hard to pay off their debts and were upset at Hamilton (a
Northerner) picking up the bill for northern states who did not pay their bills on time
Compromise - Washington, D.C.
● To win support for his plan, Hamilton agrees to support moving the capital of the U.S. to
the South
● The Southerners accept this compromise
● Washington, D.C. (formerly a swamp in Maryland) was created to serve as the capital
and was built largely by slave labor (irony alert - a country priding itself in freedom of
citizens and government by the people had its capital built by slaves)
● Benjamin Banneker - a black man, this mathematician and inventor surveyed much of
the land that would become Washington, D.C.
● Capital was moved from New York City to Philadelphia until Washington, D.C. could be
finished
Fight Over the Bank
● Bank of the United States - Hamilton wants to create a national bank to be run by the
U.S. government
● Thomas Jefferson and James Madison fear this would create a too powerful federal
government and that it was unconstitutional (nothing in Constitution about a bank)
● Hamilton wanted Washington to use the Elastic Clause (Amendment Nine) to build the
bank
● Washington agrees with Hamilton (he usually did) and creates a national bank
Tariffs and Taxes
● Hamilton (a northern banker) felt agricultural America would benefit from more
manufacturing.
● Tariff - Hamilton proposes a high tariff (tax on foreign goods) to protect American
companies from foreign competition.
● Tariffs are good for businesses but bad for consumers who have to pay higher prices.
● The South, largely a consumer, opposes the tariffs
● The North, largely producers, support the tariff
● Taxes - Hamilton’s plan creates a number of new taxes to help pay off the national debt
● Hamilton seeks to support wealthy businesses based in the North
● Jefferson and Madison are Southerners who feel the backbone of the country is farming
and average (not wealthy) citizens
Section Two - Early Challenges
The Whiskey Rebellion
● Whiskey Tax - placed on farmers who made whiskey from their corn crops
● Whiskey Rebellion - July, 1794 - Farmers in Western PA lead violent protests against
the Whiskey Tax. They attack tax collectors and burn buildings down in the Pittsburgh
area.
● This is the first challenge to Washington and the power of the federal government under
the U.S. Constitution
● Washington decides to send federal officials to negotiate with the protesters and also
sent a groups of about 13,000 soldiers to regain control.
● This strong response scattered the protesters and showed the new government would
be successful at enforcing laws
● The Whiskey Rebellion and its successful smashing by the government shows the
U.S Constitution would work while Shays’ Rebellion shows the old government under
the Articles of Confederation would not work because the government could not stop
farmers in rebellion.
Struggle over the West
● The British had not left the Northwest Territories like they were supposed according to
the Treaty of Paris (1783)
● Settlers moving into Native American lands caused many violent Indian responses on
the frontier
● Washington sends troops to the Northwest Territories under Arthur St. Clair. St. Clair
loses 600 men at the Battle of Wabash in November, 1791.
● British equip Native Americans in the West and train them to attack Americans.
● Battle of Fallen Timbers - U.S. general “Mad” Anthony Wayne’s men defeat 1000 Native
Americans under Chief Blue Jacket
● Treaty of Greenville (1795) - Native Americans surrender most of what is now Ohio.
Problems with Europe
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French Revolution - citizens overthrow King Louis XIV only to bring in another corrupt
and brutal government
Britain and France go to war (again - so what else is new)
U.S. trades with both and is aught in the middle
Policy of Neutrality - Washington hopes to not pick sides and continue to trade with both
France and Britain.
Playing the middle of the road is a great way to get run over in both directions, which is
exactly what happens to the U.S.
French captures U.S. ships heading to Britain
Britain captures U.S. ships headed to France
Impressment - Britain kidnaps American sailors and forces them to work aboard British
vessels. This infuriates Washington but the U.S. is too weak to do anything about it
Jay’s Treaty (1794) - John Jay (Chief Justice) is sent to Britain to negotiate a solution
with Britain. What results is the one of the dumber treaties in U.S. history:
○ British promise to leave U.S. lands in west (they did this time)
○ Brits to pay for stolen U.S. ships and goods (10 million paid)
○ US to pay American Revolutionary War debts to Brits (52 million paid)
○ Never mentions impressment (although impressment ends because war between
British and French ends by the time Jay’s Treaty takes effect)
○ Does create peace with Britain (until 1812)
Pinckey’s Treaty (1795) - Spain sees U.S. and Britain working together and fears an
alliance. Spain agrees to give U.S. right to sail the Mississippi and trade in New Orleans
Washington’s Farewell (1796)
● Washington retires after two terms, setting another president
● In his farewell address, Washington urges the following
○ Neutrality Policy - U.S. should remain neutral in foreign affairs
○ Avoid political parties in the U.S. (too late - they had already formed informally
around Hamilton and Jefferson)
Section Three - The First Political Parties
Opposing Views
● Washington did not want political parties to form, but they did largely because of his own
cabinet selections
● Political parties formed around Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State under Washington)
and Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury under Washington)
● Federalists - Hamilton supporters, tended to be wealthy, Northerners, federalists (in
support of federal government power) businessmen and bankers who wanted the “upper
crust” to rule the U.S. Supported Britain.
● Democratic-Republicans - Jefferson supporters, tended to be Southerners, farmers, and
anti-federalists (fearful of too much federal government power). Supported France
● Washington usually supported Hamilton’s point of view in his arguments with Jefferson.
Strict v. Loose Construction
● Loose Construction - people who viewed the Constitution as having “implied powers” Unless the Constitution specifically forbids something, then the federal government can
do it. These were Federalists.
● Strict Construction - feel that the government can only do what the Constitution
specifically states. These are Democratic-Republicans.
The Role of Citizens
● Federalists - feared the people becoming too involved. Wanted leaders to be elite
citizens who represented the people.
● Democratic-Republicans - feared a strong central government led by only a few people.
Felt democracy would only be safe if all people were involved.
Election of 1796
● Federalists choose John Adams as their candidate and Charles Pinckney for VP
● Republicans choose Thomas Jefferson as Presidential candidate and Aaron Burr as VP
● Jefferson and Adams, once good friends, become bitter rivals
● Adams win 71 electoral votes and Jefferson gets 68.
● Adams becomes the President and rival Jefferson becomes the VP because at the
time, they did not yet allow for same party running mates to automatically go into office
together.
President John Adams
XYZ Affair
● Adams sends people to talk to France about issues regarding U.S. trade
● France refuses to talk to U.S. representatives unless they receive a bribe.
● Adams is furious and asks Congress to prepare for war against France
● Hamilton sees his chance and tells Adams to declare war mainly so that the DemocraticRepublicans (who support France over Britain) would look bad.
● In the end, Adams alienates Hamilton and hurts his chances of re-election because he
refuses to declare war on France - he did what was best for his country and Hamilton
turned on him.
Alien and Sedition Acts
● Federalists under Hamilton seek to gain more power
● Alien Act - Any alien (person from a foreign country) thought to be doing something
wrong could be deported (kicked out). Most foreigners were Republicans.
● Sedition Act - Anyone speaking out against the government can be arrested (violation of
First Amendment)
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
● Created by Jefferson, Madison, and other Democratic-Republicans, these state laws
claim (rightfully so) that the Alien and Sedition Acts are unconstitutional and therefore
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the states of Virginia and Kentucky do not have to follow them.
State’s Rights - Question created is does a state have the right to nullify (ignore) federal
law? Whose rules are more important - state or federal?
Republican Southerners say states are more important
Federalists Northerners say Federal laws are more important.
No answer to this question just yet.