Chapter 10: Launching the New
Ship of State
p. 196-202
Mutinous Moonshiners in Pennsylvania
1. In 1794, in western Pennsylvania, the Whiskey Rebellion flared up
when fed-up farmers revolted against Hamilton’s excise tax on
whiskey.
•
•
•
Around those parts, liquor and alcohol was often used as money.
They said they’d been unfairly singled out to be taxed.
They cried “taxation without representation” since many were from
Tennessee and Kentucky which were not yet states and had no one in
Congress.
2. Washington sent an army of 13,000
troops from various states to the revolt, but the
soldiers found nothing upon arrival; the rebels
had scattered.
3.Washington’s new presidency now
commanded respect, but anti-federalists
criticized the government.
4.The new government was stronger than the
Articles of Confederation
And in this anonymous 1795 political cartoon called, "Triumph Government," Jefferson is
seen as the man trying to halt the "wheels of government" while Benjamin Franklin
Bache, and his newspaper, the Aurora, is shown being trampled by George Washington's
armed cavalcade.
The Emergence of Political Parties
1. Hamilton’s policies (national bank, suppression of Whiskey
Rebellion, excise tax) seemed to encroach on states’ rights.
2. As resentment grew, what was once a personal
rivalry between Hamilton and Jefferson gradually
evolved into two political parties.
3. The Founding Fathers had not envisioned various political
parties.
4. Since 1825, the two-party system has helped strengthen
the U.S. government, helping balance power and ensuring
there was always a second choice to the ruling party.
In this cartoon entitled, "The Providential
Detection," Thomas Jefferson kneels
before the altar of Gallic despotism as
God and an American eagle attempt to
prevent him from destroying the United
States Constitution. He is depicted as
about to fling a document labeled
"Constitution & Independence U.S.A."
into the fire fed by the flames of radical
writings. Jefferson's alleged attack on
George Washington and John Adams in
the form of a letter to Philip Mazzei falls
from Jefferson's pocket. Jefferson is
supported by Satan, the writings of
Thomas Paine, and the French
philosophers.
The Impact of the French Revolution
1. Near the end of
Washington’s first term
two parties had
evolved: the
Jeffersonian
DemocraticRepublicans and the
Hamiltonian
Federalists.
2. The French Revolution
greatly affected
America. At first,
people were overjoyed,
since the first stages of
the revolution were not
unlike America’s
dethroning of Britain.
3. When the French declared war on
Austria and threw back the Austrian
armies and then proclaimed itself a
republic, Americans were overjoyed.
4. After the revolution turned radical
and bloody, the Federalists rapidly
changed opinions and looked
nervously at the Jeffersonians, who
felt that no revolution could be carried
out without some bloodshed. But
neither group completely approved of
the French Revolution.
5. America was sucked into the
revolution when France declared war
on Great Britain and the battle for
North American land began again.
Executioner of King Louis XVI shows the head of the
King of France to crowd.
The king was only one of the thousands of victims of
Robespierre and his "Committee of Public Safety" and
"Revolutionary Tribunal"
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
1.
With war came the call by the
Jeffersonian Democratic Republicans to
enter on the side of France. The
Hamiltonian Federalists leaned toward
siding with Britain.
2. Washington knew that war could mean
disaster and disintegration, since the
nation was militarily and economically
weak and politically disunited. In 1793,
he issued the Neutrality Proclamation,
proclaiming the U.S.’s official neutrality
and warning Americans to stay out of
the issue and be impartial.
3. This neutrality proclamation clearly
was based on calculations of
American self interest, and the
controversial statement irked both
France and Britain.
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation ctd.
4. Soon afterwards, Citizen Edmond Genêt, landed at Charleston, South
Carolina, as representative to the U.S.
• On this trip to Philadelphia, he had been cheered by Jeffersonian
Democratic-Republicans (JDR’s), and he came to wrongly believe that
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation didn’t reflect the true feeling of
Americans.
• He equipped privateers to plunder British ships and to invade Spanish
Florida and British Canada. He even went as far as to threaten to
appeal over the head of Washington to the voters, and was kicked out
of the U.S.
5. Actually, America’s neutrality ultimately helped France, since it was
the only way to get American foodstuffs into the Caribbean islands.
6. Although France was angry with the U.S. for not helping them, the U.S.
was never officially obligated to honor its alliance from the Treaty of
1778 because France didn’t call on it to do so.
Embroilments with Britain
1. Britain still had many posts in the frontier and supplied the Indians with
weapons.
2. The Treaty of Greenville, in 1795, had the Indians cede their vast tract in the
Ohio country to the Americans after General “Mad Anthony” Wayne crushed
them at the Battle of Fallen Timbers on August 20, 1794. It was here that
the Americans learned of, and were infuriated by, British guns being
supplied to the Indians.
3. Ignoring America’s neutrality,
British commanders of the
Royal Navy seized about 300
American merchant ships and
kidnapped scores of seamen
into their army.
4. Many JDR’s cried out for war
with
Britain, or at least an
embargo, but
Washington refused,
knowing that such drastic
action would destroy the
Hamilton financial system,
which was dependent on
British customs collections
for U.S. revenue.
Jay’s Treaty and Washington’s Farewell
1.
In a last attempt to avert war, Washington sent John Jay to England to work
something out. However, the negotiations were sabotaged by Hamilton, who
secretly gave the British the details of America’s bargaining strategy.
2. The results of Jay’s Treaty were not good:
•
Britain would evacuate its chain of forts on U.S. soil
•
Britain would repay the lost money from the recent merchant ship
•
seizures called “impressment”, but it said nothing about future seizures
or supplying Indians with arms.
America would have to pay off its pre-Revolutionary War debts to
Britain.
3. The JDR’s were angry about making “peace” with Britain, but happy that at least war
was avoided.
4. The Pinckney Treaty of 1795 with Spain gave Americans free navigation of
the Mississippi and the disputed territory north of Florida. Oddly, it was
the pro-British Jay Treaty that prompted Spain to be so lenient, as they were
afraid that the USA would create a new Anglo-American alliance.
After his second term,
Washington wearily
stepped down, creating a
strong two-term
precedent.
His farewell address
warned against
building permanent
alliances with foreign
nations, and of
conflicting political
parties.
Washington had set the U.S.
on its feet and had made
it sturdy, with perhaps
his greatest
contribution being
that he kept the
young country out of
foreign wars.