The Splitting of the New
Republic
1789-1800
Hamilton v. Jefferson
• Fiscal and Constitutional
• Ideological
• Hamilton = national
bank, national debt ok,
loose interpretation of
const
• Hamilton =
manufacturing and
strong national govt
• Jefferson = no national
debt; strict interpretation
of const
• Jefferson = agrarian
and states’ rights
Hamilton’s Fiscal Radicalism
• Federal govt would redeem securities
issued by confederation
• This would create a permanent national
debt and the interest would be paid by
• High tariffs on imported goods
• National Bank would be part private and
would handle all govt funds
Ideological Divides of Hamilton and
Jefferson
• Manufacturing
• Agrarianism
• States’ Rights
• DISCUSS documents
American Neutrality?
• Case of French Revolution and
• War on the Frontier
American Neutrality?
• US trades with both
France and Britain
• Britain begins to seize
US ships with French
goods
• John Jay sent to
negotiate treaty
• Jay’s Treaty (1795)
VERY pro-British
• (1791-94) War with the
Delawares, the
Shawnees, and the
Miami, in the NW
territory against settlers
who were ignoring
Intercourse Act of 1790
• Chief Little Turtle wins
battle and kills 900
Americans (largest
casualty # of any US war
with AI
•
So What??
• Jay’s Treaty showed pro-British leaning of
Federalist party and angered Jeffersonian
Republicans – and showed US was NOT
neutral
• Little Turtle war illustrated US
unwillingness to force settlers to negotiate
with American Indians on land
Reaction to Federalist Policies
• Whiskey Rebellion 1794
• 1796 reaction to XYZ affair
• Whiskey Rebellion
• W. Pennsylvania
farmers rebel against
tax collectors
• Washington worries
about rebellion
catching on – so he
calls out 13,000
person militia to quell
rebellion.
• Example of killing
democracy?
• XYZ
• John Adams elected
president, 1796
• Federalist!
• Diplomatic relations break
down with France – and
“agents” allegedly demand
bribe
• Adams won’t release names
of diplomats and calls them
“X, Y and Z”
• Adams uses this as excuse
to engage in undeclared
maritime war
• Anti-federalists and Irish
immigrants critique Adams
Constitutional Crises!
• Alien and Sedition Acts
• Election of 1800
• Alien and Sedition Acts • Election of 1800
• Alien = authorizes govt
to deport foreigners
• Sedition = prohibits
publication of criticisms
of govt policies
• Naturalization Act =
residency requirement
for citizenship goes from
5 to 14 years
• Disagreement on
National Bank
Foreign policy of
engagement and broad
British support
Disagreement on Alien
and Sedition Acts
LEAD TO
• Political Parties and
modern electioneering
Election of 1800
• Federalists John Adams
vs. Democrat-Republicans = Thomas Jefferson
• Jefferson wins electoral vote against Adams but
ties with Aaron Burr
• House of Representatives would have decided
in favor of Burr, but Hamilton steps in and wins
votes for Jefferson
• Jefferson calls this peaceful resolution of
electoral conflict a “Revolution”