George Washington (1789-97)
I. Organizing the Government and the Debate over Government Power
A. Judiciary Act of 1789 - Passed by the first Congress, this piece of legislature created a
federal court system that contained a Supreme Court of five associate justices and one chief
justice, district courts, and circuit courts. The Act also created the position of attorney general.
B. Bill of Rights added (1791) - The Bill of Rights is made up of the first ten
amendments to the Constitution. These first ten amendments protect many individual rights that
Americans value highly such as the freedom of speech and religion and the right to a trial by
jury. After the Constitution was ratified, writing these amendments was important because so
many of the states had approved it based on the promise that a Bill of Rights would soon be
added to secure certain rights to the people.
C. Alexander Hamilton’s Financial Plan (1791)
1. Explain his debt plan - Hamilton proposed a domino-effect type of debt plan
where fiscal policies would favor the wealthy, who would lend the government money, the
economy would flourish, the rich would get richer, and the lower classes would prosper in turn.
In order to execute his plan and receive public funding, Hamilton got Congress to pay off all of
the national debt and the debt accumulated by the states during the Revolutionary War. He
convinced Congress by showing them that if they paid the states' debt, the central government
would have the support of the wealthy creditors. The states happily agreed, except Virginia who
bargained for the federal district to be on the Potomac River.
2. Excise Taxes and Custom Duties- Excise Taxes and Custom duties were used
by the US to help pay for their great debt and to govern. Both of these solutions were suggested
by Andrew Hamilton, who is known as the “Father of the National Debt”. A Custom Duty was a
tax on imports that had a duel purpose. Custom Duties helped raise money by putting a tax on
foreign imports, and it also helped protect small businesses in America by making American
products cheaper.
An Excise Tax was a tax that was put on items within the country. Whiskey was one of
the prime targets for this tax because it was plentiful. Since farmers produced large amounts of
whiskey and consumers purchased a large amount, it was an easy item to tax and increase
revenue.
3. First Bank of the United States chartered (the B.U.S.) - The Bank of the United
States was proposed by Alexander Hamilton as a significant part of his financial system. It would
be used to store excess money from the Treasury, stimulate business, and print paper money
resulting in the stability of the national currency. After a heated debate about the constitutionality
of the Bank, mainly between Thomas Jefferson, who opposed it, and Hamilton, (Congress and)
President George Washington signed the Bank into existence. The federal government, one of
the Philadelphia-based bank's major stockholders, held one-fifth of its capital. The rest of the
stock was sold to the eager public.
D. Whiskey Rebellion (1794) - The Whiskey Rebellion rose from south-western
Pennsylvania as a reaction to the tax that was put on whiskey. Since it was cheaper to transfer
rye and corn as alcohol, the distillers felt that the tax was an unfair penalty and because it cut
deeply into their profits. Through their actions, the distillers were able to stop the collection of
the whiskey tax.
In response, George Washington, who feared the rebellion since it challenged the
authority of the government sent a militia to crush it. However, by time they reached western
Pennsylvania, the rebellion had died. Although the actual rebellion was small, it gave the
government more strength and respect, as well as criticism for responding to the rebellion with
more force than was necessary.
II. Slavery
A. Cotton Gin Invented (1793) - Invented by Eli Whitney, this machine revolutionized
the handpicking process and revived southern slavery. The cotton gin separated seeds from
cotton fibers much faster than hand separation, which sent cotton profits through the roof and
allowed the entire eastern coast of America to prosper. Planters planted more cotton causing the
slave population to rise to meet the needs of the growing industry. Northern states involved in
textile manufacturing were able to produce more with the increasing supply of cotton, profiting
greatly along with shippers involved in cotton trade. Significantly, power over England was
finally in the hands of Americans; southern cotton planters supplied the northern shippers that
exported an incredible amount of cotton to England.
B. Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 *- The Fugitive Slave Law of 1793 was created to help
define what the Constitution says about escaped slaves. Southern slave owners felt that they had
the right to recapture slaves from the free states, but the northerners thought it was kidnapping.
The Fugitive Slave Law let slave owners recapture escaped slaves and orally prove to a judge
that the person was, in fact, an escaped slave, and the slaves were deprived of the right to a trial
by jury. This law created tensions between southerners and those against slavery.
III. Foreign Affairs
A. Washington's Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) - As a young, and therefore weak,
country, President George Washington suggested that the United States not get involved in any
wars with European powers. He instituted the Proclamation of Neutrality in 1793 following the
outbreak of war between Britain and France. It stated that the government would remain neutral
toward the war while warning Americans to do the same. Both pro-French Jeffersonians and proBritish Federalists were outraged at the sudden action taken by Washington, and some
Jeffersonians, like Edmond Genet, even went against his warning and began to get involved in
the war. However, overall, the Proclamation benefited both America and France because
America was still able to supply the French West Indian Islands without risking their country's
stability for no gain from the war.
B. Genet Affair (1793) –Diplomat Edmond Genet came to America from France
believing that their policy of neutrality was not the real way that American people felt. He
believed that most Americans supported France over England and he tried to organize them
against Britain. George Washington eventually forced Genet to leave the country.
C. Jay Treaty (1794) - Chief Justice John Jay was sent to London in 1794 to engage in
negotiations in hopes of avoiding the war. Back in America, Alexander Hamilton, afraid of war
with England, spilled America's bargaining strategies to the British, which hurt Jay's chances of a
successful negotiation. In the end, the British agreed to evacuate the frontier posts they were
keeping in America and pay for the damages they caused in seizing American trade ships,
however they didn't promise not to seize ships again and they forced Jay into making Americans
pay off their pre-Revolutionary debts. The Jay Treaty sparked a Spanish interest in America.
Fearful of an American alliance with Britain, Spain presented America with the Pinckney Treaty.
D. Pinckney Treaty (1795) - The Pinckney Treaty was a treaty between Spain and the
US. Spain, fearing an alliance between the Americans and Europeans, gave America the land
North of Florida, free navigation on the Mississippi, along with practically every other demand
that the Americans had.
E. Native Americans
1. Battle of Fallen Timbers (1794) - Northwest Indians were forging alliances
with the British in America. The Indians used the firearms they bought from the British to attack
Americans entering their territory. In response, General Anthony Wayne attacked and destroyed
these northwest Indians and left British-manufactured goods and a few corpses on their battle
field.
2. Treaty of Greenville- The Treaty of Greenville was a result of the Native
Americans loss at the Battle of Fallen Timbers. It was between the US and the Indians and
comprised of the Indians discarding their friendship with the British and relinquished their hold
on a good part of Ohio country.
F. Washington's Farewell Address (1797) - George Washington retired after two terms as
President of the United States. His Farewell Address, full of advice for America, was printed
nationally. In it, he urged America not to make any permanent alliances because it was still a
young and weak country.