Washington, Adams, and Jefferson Presidencies
Washington:
 Development of Two National Parties  Federalists and Republicans
o Federalists: saw America as becoming a nation-state with a strong central
government and complex commercial economy – Alexander Hamilton
o Republicans: America should have a modest national government and remain
predominantly a rural and agrarian nation – Jefferson and Madison
 Hamilton’s Funded Debt Proposal  The federal government should assume state debt
from the Revolutionary war, so that the wealthy who had helped out the states and the
nation would look to the federal government for repayment; by always having a debt, he
would give the wealthy a stake in the survival of the federal government (otherwise their
money goes bye-bye)
 Hamilton’s National Bank  Hamilton created a National Bank to provide loans and
provide a sound place for the government to deposit its money; the eventual question
would arise…was this Constitutional?
 Hamilton’s Taxes: Tax on Whiskey  led to the Whiskey Rebellion
o Whiskey Rebellion  1794 Penn backcountry farmers (it’s always farmers)
refuse to pay tax on Whiskey and attach tax collectors (sounds a lot like Shay’s
Rebellion, so let’s see how the new government will deal with the problem); at
Hamilton’s urging, Washington called out the militia of three states and
personally marched 15,000 militia to take on the farmers, who quickly ran away.
 “Report on Manufactures”  outlined a plan for stimulating economic growth and
developing manufacturing
 Foreign Affairs
o Jay’s Treaty  1794, Treaty preventing war with Great Britain during G.B.’s war
with revolutionary France; created reasonable commercial ties and confirmed
America sovereignty over the Northwest territory
o Pinckney’s Treaty  1795, Between US and Spain confirming the American
right to the Mississippi river (essential for shipping goods down to the port of
New Orleans)
Adams
 Won the 1796 election by just 3 electoral votes over Jefferson who became VP.
 XYZ Affair: American officials arrive in Revolutionary France in 1797 and the French
Minister demands a bribe and is met with the cry, “No, no, not a sixpence!”; when the
attempted bribe becomes known to the American public they are outraged and support
Adam’s call to prepare for war
 The “Quasi War” with France  1798-1799 American and France engage in an
undeclared war; capturing French armed ships and even beginning to work with Great
Britain, which leads France to want to conciliate with America, ending the undeclared
war.
o Alien and Sedition Acts
 Alien Act: made it harder for foreigners to become citizens


Sedition Act: allowed the federal government to prosecute those who were
engaged in “sedition” against the government  but what is a libelous or
treasonous activity?
 Republicans saw these laws as an effort to use the federal
government to destroy them and any opposition
o Virginia and Kentucky Resolves
 Presented the idea that states had only delegated powers to the central
government and could nullify laws where the state felt that the
government had exceeded its power
Election of 1800
o A dirty campaign
o Judiciary Act of 1801 – since the only branch that would stay in Federalist hands
was the Judicial, Adams expanded the number of federal justices (not S.C.
justices) so he could make last minute appointments (known as the “midnight
appointments”)
Jefferson
 Reversing Federalist Programs:
o 1802, Jefferson gets Congress to get rid of all taxes – so only sale of western land
and customs duties are the sources of revenue for the federal government
o reduced government spending
o Cuts the national debt in half
o Scales down the armed forces
 And Yet…
o He founds West Point – military academy for training officers
o Increases the Navy to fight Barbary Pirates
o Louisiana Purchase  1803, Jefferson buys France’s territory in N. America
(Lousiana) from Napoleon for $15 million
 Sent Lewis and Clarke to explore the new territory
 Marbury v. Madison, 1803
o Says Marbury has a right to his office but that the court has no authority to
compel Madison to deliver it
 in the Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress gave the S.C. the power to compel
executive officials to deliver commissions, but the S.C. argued that this
law itself was invalid and had exceeded the Constitutional powers given to
Congress
 while seeming to limit their power (can’t compel executive officials) they
instead enlarged it (they are the final rulers on the Constitutionality of
laws)
 Thank you Chief Justice John Marshall – so smart
 Jefferson and Aaron Burr
o Essex Junto  Radical Federalists who believed that their only way to come back
into power was to have New England secede from the Union  Wow, the first
idea of secession came from the North!
 Aaron Burr agreed to run for governor of NY and the plan for secession –
Hamilton called him a traitor, etc, etc, they fought a duel and Hamilton


was mortally wounded  Yes, an American VP killed someone, so Dick
Cheney shooting his friend while hunting is not really that bad compared
to Aaron Burr
 Burr began corresponding with the governor of the Louisiana Territory
and plotting to take the Southwest and make his own empire  he was put
on trial for treason (though he was later acquitted)
Impressment and Embargo
o France and G.B. are still fighting and are trying to blockade each other from
receiving goods
 America feels that they are neutral and should be able to sell goods to both
countries freely
 The British began impressing (forcibly putting them into the army)
American sailors into the British army
 Chesapeake-Leopard Incident  British ship fired and then
boarded an American ship
o In response Jefferson declared an Embargo in 1807 that no American ships could
leave for foreign ports
 The most hurt by this were merchants in the Northeast, most of whom
were federalists
o Non-Intercourse Act  passed just before Jefferson left office, it reopened trade
with G.B. and France
 Madison also announced that in 1811 an embargo on G.B. would go into
effect unless they stopped harassing American ships
Jefferson and Indians
o Harrison Land Law – 1800, allowed easier settlement of western land
o Jefferson’s Choice: 1) Indians could convert themselves into settled farmers and
become part of white society or 2) they could move to the west of the Mississippi
 Assimilation Policy
o Tecumseh  Tenskwatawa is the “prophet” who wants to get rid of the evil
effects of white culture and his brother, Tecumseh, helped created unified military
efforts to resist white settlement of their territories
 1809 began to try to unite tribes into the Tecumseh Confederacy  argued
that Harrison and the American government did not have title to any land
because their treaties with each tribe did not count – land belonged to all
tribes
 Battle of Tippecanoe – Harrison provokes a fight which leaves the
confederacy in disarray
 Tecumseh uses the summer of 1812 to raid and fight along the frontier –
with the aid and encouragement of the British in Canada – which leads
Harrison and others to push for Canada’s annexation and removal of all
British presence in North America