A Conservative Triumph
• The minority had triumphed again, and the
transition had been peaceful
• Only about ¼ of the adult males in the country
(mainly those with land) had voted for the
ratifying delegates
• Conservatisms was victorious, as the safeguards
had been erected against mob-rule excesses
• Federalist believed that every branch of
government effectively represented the people,
unlike Anti-federalists who believed that only the
legislative branch did so.
Washington and Franklin on the
Constitution
• “Our constitution is in actual operation;
everything appears to promise that it will last;
but in this world nothing is certain but death
and taxes.” Franklin
• “I do not expect the Constitution to last for
more than twenty years.” Washington
“A More Perfect Union”
• It has lasted much longer than 20 years
• It has provide a model of republican
government
• It has been repeatedly borrowed by other
nations through the years
• It has been resilient and flexible for the people
of the United States
Terms you need to know
• Consent of the governed – The people of a
country have to give their consent to be
governed, otherwise they have the right to overthrow the government. This theory was coined
by John Locke
• Mobocracy – The term is the fear that the nation
would be ruled by a mob
• Anarchy – This is the lack of a strong government,
often resulting in chaos
• James Madison – “Father of the Constitution”
First Political Parties
• Originally, political leaders believed the
republican experiment’s success depended on
political harmony
• They wanted to avoid organized political parties
• Yet parties quickly formed, first in Congress, an
then spread throughout the nation
• The 1790s was a decade of intense partisanship,
an “age of passion” in which the survival of the
republic, the revolution’s legacy, and American
liberty seemed at stake.
Washington’s Cabinet
•
•
•
•
John Adams – Vice President
Thomas Jefferson – Secretary of State
Alexander Hamilton – Head of the Treasury
John Jay – Chief Justice
Bill of Rights to the Constitution
• James Madison and George Mason wrote the BofR
• They provided safeguards for certain fundamental
individual rights: freedom of religion, press, speech,
and assembly; the right to keep and bear firearms; the
right to refuse to house soldiers in private homes;
protection from unreasonable searches and seizures;
the right to refuse to testify against oneself; the right
to a speedy public trial, with legal counsel, present
before an impartial jury; and protection against cruel
and unusual punishment.
• Bill of Rights became effective on December 15, 1791.
Bill of Rights to the Constitution
• Ninth Amendment: Any rights not specifically
mentioned in the Constitution are also
guaranteed against government infringement.
• Tenth Amendment: All powers not delegated
to the federal government belong to the
states or to the people.
Hamilton’s plan frays national unity
• Using Great Britain as his model
• He wanted to stabilize the nation’s
finances
• He wanted to garner the support of
powerful financiers
• Foster economic development –
National Bank
• He saw the US as a military and
commercial power
• Know the specifics of his plan.
Opposition to his plan
• Most were from the southerners who had
already paid off their debts
• Strict constructionist argued that the federal
government could only use powers that were
explicitly in the Constitution
Jefferson and the French Revolution
Jefferson
• Sees it as a victory for selfgovernment everywhere
Washington & Hamilton
• Revolution invited anarchy
• Believed that America
should befriend Britain
• 1793 – remain neutral
between France and
England
By the Mid-1790s two parties
appeared
Federalists
Democratic Republicans
• Supported the Washington
Administration
• Well-to-do merchants,
farmers, lawyers, established
political leaders (esp. North)
• They were elitist who saw
society as a fixed hierarchy in
which political office should go
to wealthy men
• They feared the spirit of liberty
generated by Rev. was
degenerating into anarchy
• Led by Madison and Jefferson
• Embraced popular politics
• Supported France and had more
faith in democratic selfgovernment
• Southern planters, ordinary
farmers and urban artisans who
sympathized with the F.Rev.
supported this party
• They were far more critical of
social and economic inequality,
and more congenial to broad
democratic participation by
ordinary people
What did these new parties do?
• Expanded the public sphere and the democratic
content of American Freedom
• It increased the number of citizens who attended
political events and read newspapers
• It also invigorated discussion of women’s rights.
• Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights
of Women
Farewell
Address
warned against parties and
partisanship
AND
“permanent alliances”
Foreign Affairs During Washington’s
Presidency
The French Revolution
Mob hysteria and mass executions. America was alliance with the French
Monarchy, not with the revolutionary republic. Jefferson argued that the
US should join France in its defensive war against Britain.
Proclamation of
Neutrality
President Washington, however, believed that the young nation was not
strong enough to engage in a European war. He issued a proclamation of
US neutrality. Jefferson resigned from the cabinet.
“Citizen” Genêt
Objecting to Washington’s policy, “Citizen” Edmond Genêt, the French
minister to the US, broke all the rules of diplomacy by appealing directly
to the American people to support the French cause. Washington and
Jefferson agree that he should be removed.
The Jay Treaty (1794)
Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay on a special mission to Britain to
talk that county out of its offensive practice of searching and seizing
American ships and impressing seamen into the British navy. After one
year, Jay brought back a treaty in which Britain agreed to evacuate its
post on the US western frontier. But the treaty said nothing about British
seizures of American merchant ships
Comparison between Political Parties of 1796
Federalists
DemocraticRepublicans
Leaders
John Adams
Alexander Hamilton
Thomas Jefferson
James Madison
View of the Constitution
Loose interpretation
Strong central government
Strict interpretation
Weak central
government
Foreign Policy
Pro-British
Pro-French
Military Power
Large peacetime army and
navy
Small peacetime army
and navy
Domestic Policy
Aid business
National bank Tariffs
Favor agriculture
No national bank
Opposed tariffs
Chief Supporters
Northern businessmen
Large landowners
Skilled workers
Small farmers
Plantation owners
The Election of 1796
“First Contested Presidential Election”
John Adams/Thomas Pinckney
Federalists
Thomas Jefferson/Aaron Burr
Republicans
The Changeover
• Even as Washington was writing his address, political
parties were active in every state to gain majorities in the
two houses of Congress.
• The vice president, John Adams, was the Federalists’
candidate, while the former secretary of state Thomas
Jefferson was the choice of the Democratic Republicans
• Adams won by just three electoral votes.
• Jefferson became the vice president, since the Constitution
as originally written provided that the candidate receiving
the second highest number of votes would become the vice
president.
• (This method for selecting a vice president was changed by
the Twelfth Amendment in 1804)
John Adams’ Presidency
The Alien and
Sedition Acts
Public anger against France strengthens the
Federalists in the congressional elections of 1798.
Winning a majority of seats in both houses, the
hoped to take advantage of their victory by enacting
laws that would restrict their political opponents, the
DemReps. They adopted the Naturalization Act, the
Alien Act, and the Sedition Act
The Kentucky and
Virginia Resolutions
Republicans argued that the A&S Acts violated rights
guaranteed by the First Amendment of the
Constitution. In 1799, the Supreme Court had not yet
established the principle of judicial review.
Republican leaders challenged the legislation of the
Federal Congress by enacting nullifying laws of their
own in the state legislatures. (Kentucky-Jefferson)
and (Virginia-Madison). Both resolutions declared
that the states had entered into a “compact” in
forming the national government, and, therefore, if
any act of the federal government broke the
compact, a state could nullify the federal law
The immediate crisis over the Alien and Sedition Acts
faded because of two developments:
• The Federalists lost their majority in Congress after the
election of 1800, and the new Republican majority either
allowed the acts to expire or repealed them.
• The Supreme Court under John Marshall asserted its power as
the court of last resort in deciding whether or not a certain
federal law was constitutional.
The Election of 1800
John Adams/Thomas Pinckney
Federalists
Thomas Jefferson/Aaron Burr
Republicans
The Election of 1800
• During Adams’ presidency, the Federalists rapidly lost
popularity. People disliked the Alien and Sedition Acts and
complained about the new taxes imposed by the Federalists
to pay the costs of preparing for war against France.
• ELECTION RESULTS – It swept the Federalists from power in
both the executive and legislative branches of the US
government. A majority of the presidential electors voted for
two Republicans: Jefferson and Burr. Because both these
Republican candidates received the same number of electoral
ballots, it was necessary to hold a special election in the HofR
to break the tie. Hamilton urged his followers to vote for
Jefferson who he deemed less dangerous
Revolution of 1800?
• A Peaceful Revolution – The passing of power in
1801 from one political party to another was
accomplished without violence. This in itself was
a rare event for the times and a major indication
that the US constitutional system would endure
the various strains that were placed upon it.
• The Federalists quietly accepted their defeat in
the election of 1800 and peacefully relinquished
control of the federal government to Jefferson’s
party, the DemReps. This is sometimes known as
the Revolution of 1800.
The Jefferson Democracy
• The Federalist Finale – Adams was the last
Federalist president, and the party sank away
afterwards
• Still, the Federalists had been great diplomats,
signing advantageous deals with the European
nations, and their conservative views had given
the US a political balance
• On March 4, 1801, Thomas Jefferson was
inaugurated president in the new capital of
Washington D.C. (address)
• There were two Thomas Jeffersons: the scholarly
private citizen who philosophized in his study
and the harassed public official who discovered
that bookish theories worked out differently in
practical politics
• Jefferson had to rely on his casual charm
because his party was so disunited still
What is Jeffersonian Democracy?
• It emphasized the limited role of the national
government, equality, individual liberties, and
faith in the abilities of ordinary people.
• His secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin,
oversaw the downsizing of the federal budget –
including cutting the army budget in half and
shaving the navy budget by two thirds.
• Taxes were repealed, and proposals to reduce
debt.
• No Alien and Sedition Acts.
The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary
• The Judiciary Act, passed by the Federalists in the
their last days of Congressional domination in
1801, packed newly created judgeships with
Federalist-backing men, so as to prolong their
legacy
• Chief Justice John Marshall, a cousin of Jefferson,
had served at Valley Forge during the war, and he
had been impressed with the drawbacks of no
central authority, and thus, he became a lifelong
Federalist, committed to strengthening the power
of the federal government
The “Dead Clutch” of the Judiciary
• Marbury v. Madison (1803): William Marbury had been
one of the “midnight judges” appointed by John Adams
in his last hours as president. He had been named
justice of peace for Washington DC, but when
Secretary of State James Madison decided to shelve
the position, Marbury sued for its delivery.
• Marshall dismissed the case, but he said that the
Judiciary Act of 1801 was unconstitutional, thus
suggesting that the Supreme Court could determine
the constitutionality of laws (AKA “judicial review”).
The Louisiana Purchase
• In 1800, Napoleon secretly induced the king of Spain to cede the
Louisiana territory to France.
• In 1803, Jefferson sent James Monroe to join regular minister
Robert R. Livingston to buy New Orleans and as much land to the
east of the river for a total of $10 million, tops.
• Instead, Napoleon offered to sell New Orleans and the land west of
it, Louisiana, for a bargain of $15 million, thereby abandoning his
dream of a French North American Empire.
• The Louisiana Purchase was finalized on October 30, 1803.
• The Senate quickly approved the purchase of Jefferson’s urging, and
the Louisiana Purchase (828,000 sq. mi) doubled the size of the
United States. This was the biggest bargain in history averaging 3
cents per acre.
Thomas Jefferson’s chief reason for
purchasing Louisiana was to:
a) Challenge Hamilton’s loose interpretation of
the Constitution
b) Challenge Napoleon’s bid for world empire
c) Give the United States control of the
Mississippi River
d) Provide a rationale for the Lewis and Clark
Expedition
e) Strengthen the Republican party in the transMississippi West
Election of James Madison (1808)
• Jefferson believed in tradition (2 term)
• Supported Secretary of State, Madison
• Becomes the second Democratic Republican
president of the United States.
Mr. Madison’s War
(War of 1812) Causes of the War
Neither Britain nor the United States wanted their dispute to end in
war. And yet war between them did break out in 1812
From the U.S. point of view, the pressure leading to war came from
two directions: the continued violation of U.S. neutral rights at sea and
troubles with the British on the western frontier.
• Free Seas and trade – people sided with the French and
remembered the Revolution
• Frontier Pressures – Added to long-standing grievance over British
actions at sea, were the ambitions of western Americans for more
open land. Americans on the frontier longed for the land of British
Canada and Spanish Florida. Standing in the way of their ambitions
were the British and their Indian and Spanish allies.
Native Americans
•
•
•
•
For decades, settlers had been gradually
pushing the Native Americans farther and
farther westward. In an effort to defend their
land from further encroachment, Shawnee twin
brothers – Tecumseh, a warrior, and Prophet, a
religious leader - attempted to unite all of the
tribes east of the Mississippi River.
White settlers became suspicious of Tecumseh
and persuaded the governor of the Indiana
Territory, General William Henry Harrison, to
take aggressive action.
In the Battle of Tippecanoe, in 1811, Harrison
destroyed the Shawnee headquarters and put
an end to Tecumseh’s efforts to form an Indian
Confederacy.
The British had provided only limited aid to
Tecumseh. Nevertheless, Americans on the
frontier blamed the British for instigating the
rebellion.
War Hawks
• A congressional election in 1810 had brought a group of new, young
Democratic-Republicans to Congress, many of them from frontier states
(Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio).
• Known as War Hawks because of their eagerness for war with Britain, they
quickly gain significant influence in the House of Representatives.
• Led by Henry Clay of Kentucky and John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, the
war-hawk Congressmen argued that war with Britain would be the only
way to defend American honor, gain Canada, and destroy Native American
resistance on the frontier
Declaration of War
• British delays in meeting U.S. demands over
neutral rights combined with political
pressures from the war-hawk Congress finally
persuaded Madison to seek a declaration of
war against Britain.
• Ironically, the British government had by this
time (June 1812) agreed to suspend its naval
blockade. News of its decision reached the
White House after Congress had declared war.
Military Defeats and Naval Victories
• Invasion of Canada
• Naval Battles – USS Constitution (Old
Ironsides)
• Chesapeake campaign – Spring of 1814, British
army burns down the White House
• Southern Campaign – Commanded by Andrew
Jackson
The Treaty of Ghent
• By 1814, the British were weary of war. At the same time, Madison’s
government recognized that the Americas would be unable to win a
decisive victory.
• On Christmas Eve, 1814, an agreement was reached. The terms were:
– a halt to the fighting
– the return of all conquered territory to the prewar claimant
– and recognition of the prewar boundary between Canada and the United
States
• The Treaty of Ghent, promptly ratified by the Senate in 1815, said
nothing at all about the grievance that led to war. Britain made no
concessions concerning impressment, blockades, or other maritime
differences. Thus, the war ended in stalemate with no gain for either
side.
The War’s Legacy
• Having now survived two wars with Britain, a great
power, the United States gained the respect of other
nations
• The United States came to accept Canada as a
neighbor and a part of the British Empire
• Widely denounced for its talk of secession and
disunion in New England, the Federalist party came
to an end as a national force and declined even in
New England.
• Talk of nullification and secession in New England set
a precedent that would later be used by the South
The War’s Legacy
• Abandoned by their British allies, Native Americans in the
West were forced to surrender large areas of land to white
settlement
• As European goods became unavailable due to the British
navel blockade, more U.S. factories were built, and
Americans took a big step toward industrial self-sufficiency.
• War heroes such as Andrew Jackson and William Henry
Harrison would soon be in the forefront of a new
generation of political leaders
• As a result of the war, there was a strong feeling of
American nationalism and also a growing belief that the
future for the United States lay in the West and away from
Europe
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war-of-1812