Chapter 7, Section 3
Challenges for the New Nation
Remaining Neutral
• Tensions escalated between France and
Great Britain after the people of France
rebelled against their king
• July 14, 1789
– Citizens of Paris stormed and captured the
Bastille
• The Bastille was a hated fortress and prison that
stood as a mighty symbol of royal power
– One of the first acts of the French Revolution
» A rebellion of French people against their king in
1789
Remaining Neutral
• The French were inspired by the American
Revolution and in turn, many Americans openly
supported the French Revolution
– Believed that France was creating the same kind of
democracy as the United States
• The French Revolution was very bloody and
violent
– King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette were
beheaded by French citizens
• A few years after the beginning of the French
Revolution, France and Great Britain went to war
– Some Americans supported France, some supported
Great Britain, and some remained neutral
The Neutrality Proclamation
• The issue of neutrality divided Congress and
George Washington’s Cabinet
• Neutrality Proclamation
– April 22, 1793
– Presented to Congress by George Washington
– Stated that the United States would not take sides
with any European nations that were at war
– George Washington believed that his plan was the
safest
The Neutrality Proclamation
• Not everyone agreed with George
Washington
– Thomas Jefferson was in favoring of
supporting the French in their Revolution
– James Madison believed that Washington had
gone beyond his authority to make such a
proclamation without first gaining approval
from Congress
The French Question
• Edmond Genet
– France’s Representative to the United States
– Asked American sailors to help by commanding
privateers
• Private ships hired by a country to attack enemies
• George Washington told Edmond Genet that
American privateers violated his Neutrality
Proclamation
– Even Thomas Jefferson who supported the French
Revolution agreed that privateers were a bad idea
The French Question
• Thomas Jefferson was upset by United States foreign
policy towards France
– Believed that the United States should support the French
Revolution because France supported the American
Revolution
• Alexander Hamilton supported the British side of the
war
– Hamilton wanted to strengthen ties with Great Britain
because of his trade aspirations
• Thomas Jefferson felt that Alexander Hamilton had too
much political influence in foreign policy and that
Hamilton interfered with his position as Secretary of
State
– Thomas Jefferson resigned from George Washington’s
cabinet in 1793
Jay’s Treaty
• Other threats to United States Neutrality
– British seizing ships carrying food to the
French West Indies
• Neutral American merchant ships
– British supporting Native American efforts to
push back American settlers on the frontier
• To prevent another war with Great Britain,
George Washington sent Chief Justice
John Jay to London to work out a
compromise
Jay’s Treaty
• British were aware of 2 things:
– America lacked a strong military
– American business relied heavily on trade with Great
Britain
• In the end, Great Britain did not want another
war with the United States
• Jay’s Treaty
– November 1794
– Settle disputes between the United States and Great
Britain
– British would pay damages on seized American ships
– British would abandon forts on the American frontier
– United States would pay debts owed to Great Britain
Jay’s Treaty
• Unpopular Treaty
– Violent Protests
– Citizens/leaders felt that the treaty hurt trade and did
not punish Great Britain for its actions against the
United States
– Southerners especially angry
• Wanted Great Britain to repay the South for the slaves they
set free during the American Revolution
• Washington did not like the treaty, but felt it was
the most that could be done
Pinckney’s Treaty
• American Business Problems
– Disputes with Spain about the border between the
United States and Florida
– Spain closed the Port of New Orleans to the United
States in 1784
• Hurt American economy because all goods moving down the
Mississippi to places in the East or overseas had to pass
through New Orleans
• George Washington asked Ambassador Thomas
Pinckney to meet with Spanish officials and
discuss the problem
– Asked Spain to reopen New Orleans
– Asked for the right of deposit in New Orleans
• This would allow American boats to transfer good in New
Orleans without paying cargo fees
Pinckney’s Treaty
• Manuel de Godoy
– Attempted to delay reaching an agreement
hoping the Thomas Pinckney would become
desperate for a solution and sign a treaty in
favor of the Spanish
– Worried that the United States and Great
Britain would join forces against Spain after
the signing of Jay’s Treaty
• Pinckney remained patient and his patience was
rewarded
Pinckney’s Treaty
• October 1795
– Pinckney’s Treaty
• Settled border and trade disputes with Spain
– Spain to recognize the United States southern boundary
as 31ºN latitude
– New Orleans reopened
– Granted the right of deposit
• Opened the frontier to western expansionconsidered a success
Pinckney’s Treaty
Conflict in the Northwest Territory
• Americans continued
to settle in the
Northwest Territory
despite Native
Americans’ protests
• British traders
supplied Native
Americans with guns
Conflict in the Northwest Territory
• 1790 Native American alliance under
Miami chief Little Turtle defeated United
States forces under General Josiah
Harmar
• 1791 Native Americans defeated United
States forces under General Arthur St.
Clair
General Wayne Takes Command
• 1792
– President George Washington gave command of the
army in the West to General Anthony Wayne
• Given the task to bring troops to the frontier to fight against
the Native Americans
• 1793
– Wayne’s forces arrived in Ohio
• Many ill with small pox and influenza and were unable to fight
well
• General Anthony Wayne moved his troops north
and constructed Fort Greenville
General Wayne Takes Command
• In summer 1794, Native Americans led
attacks on American supply routes near
the fort
– Wayne responded by attacking Native
American towns and burning crops
• Native Americans were no longer
supported by the British
– Chief Little Turtle realized that he was
outmatched and urged his people to seek
peace
The End of the Conflict
• The Battle of Fallen Timbers
– Native Americans were defeated by General Anthony Wayne’s
troops
• Battle was named for an area where a tornado destroyed many
trees
– Wayne’s forces burned Native American villages and crops
• Strength of the Native American alliance was broken
• Treaty of Greenville
– August 1795
– Granted United States claim to most of the land in the Northwest
Territory
– Guaranteed safety of United States citizens living in the area
– Native Americans given $200,000 in goods and an
acknowledgement of their claim to the lands they still held
The Whiskey Rebellion
• Whiskey Tax
– Passed by Congress in March of 1791
– Part of Alexander Hamilton’s economic plan to
help pay the national debt
– Tested the power of the federal government to
control states’ actions
Reaction in the West
• Resentment towards the tax
– Already angry with the federal government
• Didn’t believe that the government protected settlers from
Native American attacks
• Felt that the federal government did not allow settlers enough
opportunities for trade
– Farmers’ corn crops were often distilled in whiskey
which was easier to transport than corn
• Because cash was rare, whiskey became like money in the
region
– Farmers believed the tax was aimed specifically at
them
Reaction in the West
• Farmers argued that they could not afford the
tax
– Believed they should be able to keep the money they
earned from a product they made themselves
• In 1792, among protests, President George
Washington issued a proclamation saying the
people had to obey the tax
• Westerners also upset that legal cases were
tried in district courts, which were usually very
far away from their homes, creating an
inconvenience
Whiskey Rebellion is Crushed
• By 1794, fighting broke out in Pennsylvania
• Whiskey Rebellion
– Farmers lashed out at the whiskey tax
– Protestors refused to pay the tax
• Some even tarred and feathered tax collectors
• Called themselves the new Sons of Liberty
• President George Washington feared that the
rebellion threatened the authority of the federal
government
– Felt he needed to make the people understand that
the Constitution gave Congress the right to pass and
enforce the tax
Whiskey Rebellion is Crushed
• President George Washington personally
led the army into military action against the
rebellion
– The first and only time in history that an
American President has done so
• President Washington’s forces (about
13,000) marched into western
Pennsylvania in November of 1794
– By this time, most of the rebels had fled and
the Whiskey Rebellion ended without a battle
Washington says Farewell
• President George
Washington decided
not to run for a third
presidential term
– “Tired of public life”
– Wanted to remind
Americans that the
people were the
country’s true leaders
Washington says Farewell
• President George Washington wrote his
farewell address with the help of Alexander
Hamilton and James Madison
– Spoke of what he believed to be the greatest
dangers to the new republic
• Foreign Ties
– Warned against forming permanent ties to foreign nations
• Political Party conflicts
– Warned that internal conflicts could weaken the new government
– Stated that political unity was the key to success
• Left office warning the nation to work out differences and
protect independence