1789 - 18

"As the first of every thing, in our situation will serve to establish a
Precedent,”
George Washington-
Letter to James Madison

Task: What problems do you think George Washington faced being the first president of the United States?
1) Needed to help form a strong, stable government.
2) Needed to raise money for the government.
3) Watch his every move – he would be setting precedents.
Precedent: an example for others to follow.
Accomplishments –
•Bill of Rights – added to protect people’s individual liberties.
•Judiciary Act of 1789 – established federal courts in each state. It also defined the courts’ powers.
•Cabinet – Washington chose advisors to assist him –
Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of State
Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of the
Treasury
Henry Knox
Secretary of War
Edmund Randolph
Attorney General

Financial Problems –
1) U.S. was in serious debt.
2) No money to pay back the debt
I have an idea!
It’s a 4 part plan!
REPAY THE DEBT
Repay the debt of the states and national government. This would establish good credit.
CREATE A
NATIONAL BANK
Would provide a safe place to deposit money, could issue a national currency, and issue loans.
PROTECTIVE
TARIFF
Urged Congress to pass a protective tariff to help
American industries.
WHISKEY TAX
Proposed a tax on whiskey to help raise money for the national government.
What is a tariff?
Tax on imported goods.

•Believed in a strong central government •Believed more power should be given to the states.
•Supported by farmers, plantation owners •Supported by merchants, lawyers doctors
•Supported ratification of the Constitution
•Believed the Constitution could be loosely interpreted (loose construction).
•Refused to ratify Constitution until of Bill of Rights was added.
•Believed the Constitution should be adhered to word-for-word. No interpretation (strict construction).
THOMAS JEFFERSON HATED HAMILTON’S FINANCIAL PLAN!

The differences between Alexander
Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson lead to the creation of the first political parties.
The
Federalists
The Democratic-
Republicans
Task: Did the Constitution call for the creation of political parties? Explain.
Political Parties considered part of our
“unwritten constitution”
 They are groups of people that share similar beliefs.
 They help elect members to office that represent their views.
 They raise money to get members of their party elected.

1789 – The French Revolution – “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity”
•Commoners in France rebel against King Louis XVI and his oppressive taxation.
•They try to write a new Constitution
“ All the old spirit of 1776 is rekindling.”
- Thomas Jefferson
Task: How do Americans view the Revolution in France at first?
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Reign of Terror –
•Revolutionaries execute thousands, including Louis and his wife.
•Britain declares war on France. Yes, again!
Task: Do you think the American’s view of the French Revolution changed as a result of the Reign of Terror? Explain.
Americans questioned the French idea of liberty. Beheading did
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Alexander Hamilton
Support BRITAIN!
Democracy and freedom does not give the French the right to murder!
Thomas Jefferson
Support FRANCE!
They are revolting against an oppressor just like we did 14 years ago! They favor democracy!
Proclamation of Neutrality – 1793
“Whereas it appears that a state of war exists between…Great Britain, on the one part, and
France on the other; and the duty and interest of the United States require, that they should with sincerity and good faith adopt and pursue a conduct friendly and impartial [to not take sides] towards the [warring] powers;
I…therefore…warn the citizens of the United States to avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever….
And I do hereby make known, that any citizen of the United States shall be…liable to punishment…by committing, aiding, or abetting hostilities against any Powers, or by carrying to any of them those articles which are deemed [prohibited] by the nations….
Task: What is Washington’s position?
Washington wanted to stay neutral. We should not choose any side. If anyone is caught
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“The great rule of conduct is for us in regard to foreign nations is in extending our [trade] relations, to have with them as little political connection as possible. So far we have already formed alliances, let them be fulfilled with perfect good faith. Here let us stop…
Our detached and distant situation invites and enables us to pursue a different course…
Why [give up] the advantages of so peculiar a situation?...Why be interweaving our destiny with that of any part of Europe, entangle our peace and prosperity with the toils of European ambition,
[competition], interest or [behavior without reason]?
It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world; so far, I mean, as we are not at liberty to do it…”
Task: What was the main message of Washington’s Farewell Address?
AVOID PERMANENT ALLIANCES – STAY NEUTRAL!!!!!
Task: What should we do to the alliances we already have?
We should honor them.
Task: What enables us to follow the policy suggested by Washington?
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President Washington refused to run for a third term.
He set a precedent.
It wasn’t broken until Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1940.
President John Adams – 1796 – 1800 (Federalist)
• Fear of the French caused America to take precautions at home.
Alien & Sedition Acts –
Alien: Foreign
Sedition: Actions or words that promote rebellion.
1) ALIEN ENEMIES ACT
• Authorized the president to imprison or expel any foreigners he deemed dangerous to the safety of the U.S.
2) SEDITION ACT
• Anyone who wrote, said, or printed anything bad about the government could be fined and jailed.
• That included members of the Republican party.

Chief Justice John Marshall –
•Marbury vs. Madison
•Established the power of judicial review
•Gave the Supreme Court the power to declare a law unconstitutional
•McCulloch vs. Maryland
•If a federal and a state law conflict, the federal law is supreme.
HIS COURT DECISIONS STRENGTHENED
THE POWER OF THE SUPREME COURT!
President Thomas Jefferson – 1801 – 1805 (Republican)
•Party power shifts to the Republicans.
•Believed in more power to the states.
•Believed constitution should be read STRICTLY (word-for-word)
Task: If it wasn’t written in the Constitution, could it be done?
•Continued Washington’s policy of neutrality.

Territory for $15 million (4 cents an acre)
•The Constitution never said anything about a president being able to buy land.
Task: In Jefferson’s mind, could he do it? Explain
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• If Jefferson bought the territory, he could
1) DOUBLE THE SIZE
OF THE UNITED
STATES.
2) gain control over the
Mississippi River
- trade route
- transportation
- food
- power

PROBLEM: Jefferson believes in strict construction.
Jefferson can’t buy it according to the Constitution!
The size of the United States DOUBLES!
The U.S. now controls the Mississippi River!
Lewis & Clark Expeditions –
•Lewis and Clark were sent by Jefferson to map the territory and determine its resources.
•Took detailed notes on:
•temperature
•terrain
•animals & plants
•natural resources
•Natives
Meriwether
Lewis
William
Clark

Task: Guess who’s still at war?
_____________________________________________ headed to France.
•American sailors were captured and forced to fight for the
British.
•U.S. believed in FREEDOM OF THE SEAS.
Embargo Act –
Task: How did the Embargo Act affect U.S. trade?
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War ends in a draw.
White House burned by the British
America wanted continue its policy of neutrality
OUTCOMES OF
THE WAR OF
1812
Rebuilding the White House,
1814
Native Americans lose
British as an ally in the
West
War hero emerges –
Andrew Jackson
“Star Spangled Banner” written by
Francis Scott Key

The Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key
O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there.
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen thro' the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected, now shines on the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner: O, long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash'd out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation;
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserv'd us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Monroe Doctrine –
•Europe cannot colonize anymore in the Western Hemisphere
•U.S. will not get involved in European affairs.
•U.S. didn’t have the power to enforce it, so Britain did.
Western Hemisphere 0
Task: Draw a line explaining how the Monroe
Doctrine affected U.S. foreign policy.
Task: How does the
Monroe Doctrine fit with
Washington’s Farewell
Address?
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Eastern Hemisphere