1789-1800

 Americans regarded a central authority as a necessary evil
 One to be distrusted, watched and curbed
 Times were difficult
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Revenue declining
Public debt increasing

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American population was doubling every 25 years
 1790 census – 4 million
 90% rural
Largest cities:
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Philadelphia – 42,000
New York City – 33,000
Boston – 18,000
Charlestown – 16,000
Baltimore – 13,000

 5 % of the population resided east of the Appalachian Mts.
 Kentucky, Tennessee & Ohio would all become states within
14 years
 Vermont in 1791

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George Washington was unanimously voted as president by the Electoral College in 1789
 NYC was the temporary capital
Washington created the Cabinet
 3 full department heads:
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Secretary of State – Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of Treasury – Alexander Hamilton
 Secretary of War – Henry Knox

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Antifederalists criticized the constitution for no guarantee of individual rights
 Bill of Rights became a major goal
Rules for Amendments:
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A new constitutional convention
 Requested by 2/3 of the states
Or a 2/3 vote by both houses of congress
James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights
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Guided them through Congress
Got the vote in 1791

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Freedom of religion, speech, press. Right to petition and assemble.
Right to bear arms.
Clause on quartering soldiers.
Unreasonable search and seizure.
Can’t incriminate yourself. Double jeopardy. Property rights.
The rights of a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
Right to a trial by jury.
Matching the punishment with the crime. (bail)
Listing these rights, does not deny other rights of the people.
Powers not listed in constitution are granted to the states and people.

 Judiciary Act of 1789
– organized the
Supreme Court
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Chief Justice and 5 associate judges
 First Chief Justice – John Jay (Federalist Papers)
Created a federal district and circuit courts

 Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton , was a financial wizard
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Favored wealthier groups
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They would lend money to the government
Government & wealthy would prosper
 Prosperity would trickle down
Asked congress to “fund” the national debt “at par” and assume all state war debts

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Fed would pay off its debts at face value + interest ($54 mil)
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Government bonds had depreciated to 10¢ or 15¢
Speculators bought them up ahead of the news
Fed would also assume the debts states ($21 mil)

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Hamilton felt “assumption” was a national obligation
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Paying off war of independence
Chain states more tightly to “federal chariot”
 Support of rich creditors to national administration
 Some states favored assumption, others didn’t

 Hamilton persuaded Jefferson to line up votes in congress for assumption
 In exchange, Virginia would have the new federal district on the Potomac River

Debt Owed
Foreigners
$11,710,000
Federal Domestic Debt
$42,414,000
State Debt
$21,500,000
Miscellaneous Revenue
Excise Revenue (on
Whiskey, etc)
Customs Duties (Tariffs)

 Hamilton wanted a Bank of the U.S.
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Gov. would be major stockholder
Treasury to deposit surpluses
Federal funds would stimulate business
Would print paper money to provide a sound national currency

 Was it Constitutional to create a U.S. Bank?
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Jefferson says No
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Theory of “strict construction” – powers not granted to the federal gov. were reserved for the states
Hamilton says Yes
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Theory of “loose construction” – belief of “implied powers” of the constitution. Congress may pass any laws “necessary and proper”

 Bank of the U.S
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created in 1791
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Had a capital of $10 million
 1/5 owned by the federal government
Stock was sold to public

 Whiskey Rebellion of 1794
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Whiskey distillers were upset about Hamilton’s excise tax
 Tar and feathering revenue collectors
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Whiskey often used in lieu of paper money
 Rye & corn cheaper to distill than to transport bales of grain
Washington raised several state militias and crushed the rebellion

 Political parties begin to emerge
 Never intended and seen as undemocratic
Hamilton
 Caused by the growing feud between Hamilton and Jefferson
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Hamilton: Federalists
Jefferson: Democratic Republicans
 The two party system has proven to be beneficial over time
Jefferson

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 In 1789, most Americans hailed the French
Revolution as the next step to their own glorious revolution
1792 – France declared war on Austria
1793 – King Louis XVI beheaded as well as hundreds of nobility
 Federalists – were against this
 Jeffersonians – felt it was a necessary evil

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Washington chose not to honor the Franco-American Alliance of 1778
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Would have to protect West Indies from Britain
Felt America was too weak
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Jeffesonians – Favored war
Hamiltonians – were against it
France was better off with America neutral
 French West Indies needed Yankee foodstuffs

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England tested Washington’s neutrality
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Kept their forts on U.S.’s northern frontier (fur trade)
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Incited Indians (provided them firearms & firewater)
 Battle of Fallen Timbers
 Little Turtle and his Miamis defeated
British navy captured American merchant ships in West Indies
Jeffersonians – wanted war
Hamiltonians – say we need to trade with England

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Chief Justice, John Jay, sent to London in 1794 to negotiate
 Hamilton sabotages Jay
Jay’s Treaty
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Britain promises to evacuate forts on northern border
Would pay damages for recent seizures of shipping
 Did not pledge to stop
U.S. had to pay off pre-war debt
Jeffersonians were upset

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Spain, worried about an Anglo-American alliance, quickly makes a deal with America
Pickney’s Treaty of 1795
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Free navigation of the Mississippi River
U.S. gets disputed territory north of Florida

 Washington left after two terms
 Said America should not form any permanent alliances
 Achievements
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Fiscal government on solid ground
West expanding
Trade was growing
No overseas entanglements

 John Adams ran for president in 1796 versus
Jefferson
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Adams wins by 71to 68 in the electoral college
Jefferson became the VP

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John Adams was 62 when he became president
5’7”, rotund
 Able statesman
 Considered tactless and prickly
 Felt Hamilton did his best to sabotage his administration

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French condemned Jay’s Treaty
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Violated Franco-American Alliance
French navy begins to seize American merchant ships

 XYZ Affair of 1797
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The French foreign minister, Talleyrand, did not permit American ambassadors to speak with him
Adam’s envoys, including John Marshall (future
Chief Justice), try to meet with him
 They were secretly approached by 3 go-betweens, later known as X, Y, Z
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They want a bribe to meet him
$250,000
Talleyrand

 John Marshall came back a hero
 Did not pay the tribute
 Americans prepare for war
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Navy Department created
U.S. Marine Corps. Reestablished
10,000 men army authorized
 Sea battles occur for next two years
 No full fledged war

 France did not want war
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Talleyrand had too many enemies
Would drive Britain closer to U.S.
Napoleon wanted to focus on Europe
 Talleyrand let it be known he would accept a new American minister
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Rather than go to war, Adams appoints a new minister
Hamilton wanted war

 Franco-American Pact ended
 U.S. to pay damage of American shippers
 Adams had kept the peace

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Federalists tried to capitalize on Anti-French frenzy
Alien Acts
– Federalists did not like poor immigrants
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Citizen Requirement – residency raised from 5 yrs to 14
 Violated open door policy & speedy assimilation
Deportation & Imprisonment of foreigners
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Never enforced
Too much executive power violated constitution

 Sedition Act
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Imprisonment to anyone who impeded the government or falsely defamed it
 Many outspoken Jeffersonians were indicted
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10 went to trial (all convicted)
Matthew Lyon (“Spitting Lyon”)
Supreme Court, dominated by Federalists, said act was constitutional
 For most part Alien & Sedition Acts received widespread support

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Jefferson feared freedoms of speech and press were slipping away
 Secretly writes a series of resolutions adopted by Virginia &
Kentucky
The Compact Theory
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States entered into a willing compact regarding creation of the U.S.
Gov. was an agent of the contract, therefore states could judge whether gov. violated contract
 Wanted to nullify Alien & Sedition Acts

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No other state legislatures adopted Jefferson’s resolutions
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Supreme Court determines if laws are unconstitutional
Jefferson’s resolutions later used by Southerners to justify nullification prior to Civil War

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Rule by the “best people”
Hostility to extension of democracy
A powerful central government
Loose interpretation of the Constitution
Government to foster business
A protective tariff
Pro-British
National debt a blessing
An expanding bureaucracy
A powerful central bank
Restrictions on free speech and press
Concentration in seacoast areas, urban
A strong navy to protect trade
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Rule by the informed masses
Friendliness toward extension of democracy
A weak central government (states rights)
Strict interpretation of the Constitution
No special favors to business
No special favors to manufacturers
Pro-French
National debt a bane
A reduction of federal officeholders
Encouragement of state banks
Relatively free speech and press
Concentration in South and Southwest, agricultural
A minimal navy for coastal defense