The New Nation
In the 1790s, the US:
1. Implemented the US Constitution
2. Ratified a Bill of Rights
3. Built the capitol city in Washington,
DC
4. Created the first political parties.
There were two views of what the American
nation should become:
Alexander Hamilton: an economic and
military power modeled on Britain, with a
strong central government, a national bank, a
standing army, and flourishing industry
Thomas Jefferson: an agrarian society, no
central bank, small army, very small central
government
In 1790, the first Census was held.
Four million; most lived on the Atlantic
coast
One fifth of the population was black; of
whites, three-fifths were English and onefifth was Scottish or Irish; rest was
German, Dutch, French, Swedish; half of
Americans in 1790 were under sixteen
In 1790, the US faced many problems:
1. the challenge of building a sound economy
2. preserving national independence
3. creating a stable political system which provided a
legitimate place for opposition
4. A huge debt remained from the Revolutionary War
and paper money issued during the conflict was
virtually worthless.
5. In violation of the peace treaty of 1783 ending the
Revolutionary War, Britain continued to occupy forts
in the Old Northwest.
6. Spain refused to recognize the new nation's
southern and western boundaries.
To secure the nation's credit, the first Treasury
Secretary, Alexander Hamilton, had the federal
government assume the entire indebtedness of
the federal government and the states
(assumption). To issue currency, collect taxes,
hold government funds, regulate private banks,
and make loans, he recommended that the
federal government establish a Bank of the
United States.
The House:
1.passed a tariff on imports and a tax on liquor.
2. imposed duties on foreign vessels to encourage
American shipping
The House and the Senate:
1. created departments of State, Treasury, and War to
provide a structure for the executive branch of the
government,
2. passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 organized a
federal court system, which consisted of a Supreme
Court with six justices, a district court in each state,
and three appeals courts.
The Whiskey Rebellion, occurred in 1794, when
over 7,000 frontiersmen marched on Pittsburgh to
stop collection of the whiskey excise tax.
Determined to set a precedent for the federal
government's authority, Washington gathered an
army of 15,000 soldiers to disperse the rebels,
which he led to Pennsylvania. In the face of this
overwhelming force, the uprising collapsed. The
new government had proved that it would enforce
laws enacted by Congress.
In 1789, the French Revolution sent shock waves
across the Atlantic. Many Americans, mindful of
French aid during their own struggle for independence,
supported the Revolution. At the same time, the British
were once again inciting Native Americans to attack
settlers in the West, hoping to destabilize the fledgling
Republic. In 1793, Washington issued the Neutrality
Proclamation, which said that America was neutral in
the conflict between Great Brittan and France.
In 1793, within days of Washington's second
inauguration, France declared war on several European
nations, including England. The Jefferson and Hamilton
factions fought endlessly over the European conflicts.
The French ambassador to the U.S. -- the charismatic,
audacious "Citizen" Edmond Genet -- had meanwhile
been appearing nationwide, drumming up considerable
support for the French cause. Washington was deeply
irritated by this subversive meddling, and when Genet
allowed a French-sponsored warship to sail out of
Philadelphia against direct presidential orders,
Washington demanded that France recall Genet.
In mid-1793, Britain announced that it would
seize any ships trading with the French, including
American vessels. In protest, riots erupted in
several American cities. In 1794, Six large
warships were commissioned; among them was
the USS Constitution, the legendary "Old
Ironsides." An envoy was sent to England to
attempt reconciliation, but the British were now
building a fortress in Ohio while increasing
insurgent activities elsewhere in America.
President Washington wanted a diplomatic solution. The
envoy to England, John Jay, negotiated a treaty that
eliminated British control of western posts within two
years, established America's claim for damages from
British ship seizures, and provided America a limited
right to trade in the West Indies. However, the treaty
failed to compensate Americans for slaves taken by the
British during the Revolution. Worst of all, the treaty did
not address the practice of impressment. Congress
approved the treaty, with much criticism, and
Washington signed it in 1795.
In the Pinckney Treaty of 1795, Spain
recognized U.S. borders at the Mississippi
and the 31st parallel (the northern border of
Florida, a Spanish possession.)
Spain also granted Americans the right to
use the Mississippi River to New Orleans,
and this also opened much of the Ohio
River Valley for settlement and trade.
Jay's treaty with the British continued to have negative
ramifications for the remainder of Washington's
administration. France declared it in violation of
agreements signed with America during the Revolution
and claimed that it comprised an alliance with their
enemy, Britain. By 1796, the French were harassing
American ships and threatening the U.S. with punitive
sanctions. Diplomacy did little to solve the problem,
and in later years, American and French warships
exchanged gunfire on several occasions.
Adams's presidency, like that of Washington, was
consumed with problems that arose from the
French Revolution, The King and Queen (Louis
XVI and Marie Antoinette) were executed,
attempts at de-Christianization occurred,
numerous foes of the Revolution -- especially
aristocrats and monarchists -- were executed in
the September Massacre (1792) and the Reign of
Terror (1793-1794).
The Jay Treaty plunged Adams into a foreign crisis that
lasted for the duration of his administration. At first,
Adams tried diplomacy by sending three
commissioners to Paris to negotiate a settlement.
However, Prime Minister Charles Maurice de Talleyrand
of France insulted the American diplomats by first
refusing to officially receive them. He then demanded a
$250,000 personal bribe and a $10 million loan. This
episode, known as the XYZ affair, sparked a white-hot
reaction within the United States.
Adams responded by asking Congress to appropriate
funds for defensive measures. These included the
augmentation of the Navy, improvement of coastal
defensives, the creation of a provisional army, and
authority for the President to summon up to 80,000
militiamen to active duty. Congress passed the Alien
and Sedition Acts to curb dissent, created the Navy
Department, organized the Marine Corps, and
cancelled the treaties of alliance and commerce with
France that had been negotiated during the War of
Independence.
Adams’ goal was to demonstrate American resolve and,
he hoped, bring France to the bargaining table. During
the fall of 1798 and the winter of 1799, he received
intelligence indicating a French willingness to talk. When
Talleyrand sent unofficial word that American diplomats
would be received by the French government, Adams
announced his intention to send another diplomatic
commission to France. By the time the commissioners
reached Paris late in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte had
become the head of the French government.
After several weeks of negotiation, the American
envoys and Napoleon signed the Treaty of
Mortefontaine (The Convention of 1800) which released
the United States from its Revolutionary War alliance
with France and brought an end to the “Quasi-War” with
France Adams subsequently said that the honorable
peace he had arranged was the great jewel in his
crown after nearly twenty-five years of public service.