The Early Republic: 17881800
Chapter 8
Early Republic: Washington and
Adams Presidencies
How would the new government work?
Many day-to-day issues weren’t explicitly talked about in the
Constitution
Many important precedents established during this time
Washington 1789-1796
Constitution took effect: 1788, first Presidential election 1789
Washington won unanimously=1st President, John Adams finished
second=1st Vice President
Important precedents of the Washington administration
The cabinet: President’s advisors, head the major executive
departments
1st three cabinet members:
Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of War: Henry Knox
Secretary of the Treasury: Alexander Hamilton
The federal courts:
District courtscircuit courtsSupreme Court
John Jay=1st Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
Finances and interpreting the Constitution. . . .
Washington Presidency:
Hamilton and his Policies
Alexander Hamilton: quintessential Federalist
Secretary of Treasury, had to fix the country’s finances
States and Congress couldn’t pay off debts under the Articles,
nobody trusted the financial problems of the US
Hamilton’s economic policies, pay off the debt, get people to
trust the credit of the US government
Pay off all government debt “at par”, controversial, why?
Pay off all state debt left over from the revolution (assumption
of state debt), controversial, why?
Debt could be a good thing. . . . how? Controversial, why?
Southern States didn’t like Hamilton’s policies: DC bargain
Hamilton’s Policies: Paying for
the Debt
3 part plan to pay for the debt/fund the government/restart economic activity
Part 1: Tariffs
Tariff=a tax on imports, would raise money, and would raise the price of
imported goods (would it raise the price of goods made in the US?)
Part 2: Excise taxes
Excise tax=a tax on goods produced/sold inside a country
Excise tax on whiskey=major money maker
Part 3: The National Bank
Private bank chartered by the federal government, with major government
investment
Would provide loan money to help stimulate economic growth
Would provide paper currency backed up in gold to help stimulate economic
activity
Debate over Hamilton’s Policies:
The Bank Debate
Bank Debate: was it constitutional?
No: nowhere in the Constitution did it authorize the federal
government to charter a bank
What’s the big deal? If the government could ignore the
Constitution on a seemingly unimportant issue like the bank then it
could ignore the Constitution on bigger issues
Yes: Article I Sect 8 Clause 18 (elastic clause) gave Congress
(the federal govt) the power to make all laws “necessary and
proper” for carrying out its other powers (taxation, coining
money, etc)
Strict (or narrow) vs Loose (or broad) interpretation of the
Constitution
Washington approved the Bank: important precedent!!!!!
Debate over Hamilton’s Policies:
The Whiskey Rebellion
Farmers in Pennsylvania produced a lot of whiskey
Excise tax hurt them
1794 farmers refused to pay the tax, harassed tax collectors,
took up arms, threatened to march to Philadelphia
Sound familiar?
Washington and Hamilton assembled a massive federal army
rebellion defeated easily
Why the different reaction from 1765 (Stamp Act) to 1794
(Whiskey Excise Tax)? What had changed in that time?
Political Parties Emerge
Another important precedent of the Washington
administration
Divide centered around Hamilton’s policies: some in favor,
some opposed—(broad interpretation of Constitution,
assumption of states debts, national bank, tariffs, excise
taxes, strong govt response to Whiskey Rebellion)
Those in favor: Federalists
Hamilton, Washington, Adams
New England, cities, merchants, factory owners, wealthy
Those opposed: Anti-Federalists (Democratic-Republicans)
Jefferson, Madison
South, West, rural areas, farmers, poor
Foreign Policy Under the
Constitution
Jay’s Treaty 1795 US-Britain
British left US soil
British repaid US merchants for seized ships
US govt had to finally repay the British for pre-war debts and
loyalist losses
Pinckney’s Treaty 1795 US-Spain
US got access to Mississippi River/New Orleans
US got disputed territory in the Southwest
Treaty of Fort Greenville 1795 US-Indians
US got access to the Northwest (Ohio, Indiana, etc) from
Miami Indian Confederacy
Constitution
Successes/Criticisms: Recap
Domestic Problems
International/interstate trade problems
Internal rebellions
Worthless money
Defaulting on state/federal debts
Foreign Problems
British occupation of Northwest
Spanish occupation of Southwest/lack of access to Mississippi
Indian attacks
Criticisms
Constitution was undemocratic
Constitution favored the wealthy/powerful
Bill of Rights
The original Constitution did not contain a Bill of Rights
What is a bill of rights?
List of freedoms that individuals have that the government
cannot violate
Why no bill of rights in the original Constitution?
States had their own bills of rights
A lot of rights were already protected in the Constitution
Habeas Corpus, no ex post facto laws, freedom of speech for
members of Congress, no religious tests
In the British governmental tradition (including the US) many
rights were protected by tradition—bill of rights seemed
unnecessary
Bill of Rights could be dangerous—how?
Saying that the government can’t do something limits whom?
Bill of Rights (Cont.)
1st ten amendments to the Constitution
1-speech, press, religion, assembly, petition
2-right to bear arms
3-no quartering of troops
4-no search or seizures without a search warrant
5-right to life liberty and property, no double jeopardy
6-speedy trial, trial by jury, trial in the place where the crime
occurred
7-trial by jury for common law offenses
8-no cruel or unusual punishment
9-there are more rights that people have than the ones listed in the
Bill of Rights
10-powers not given to the federal govt, and not prohibited by the
Const to the states are reserved by the states, or the people
Problems with France
1789 French Revolution began
1793 Radicals took control of the Revolution/French government
France at war with Britain 1793-1815
US still technically allied with the French (Revolutionary War
1778), what should the US do?
1793—Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
US would not get involved
1796—Washington leaves office after 2 terms (another precedent)
Farewell address warns about “entangling alliances”
Us won’t want to get involved in international affairs until WWIWWII
John Adams as President
Adams wins election of 1796 becomes 2nd Federalist
President
Jefferson finished 2nd, becomes VP
What party was Jefferson??
Problems with France
French angry over Neutrality Proclamation began seizing US
ships in the Caribbean—led to the Quasi War (Naval War
between US and France)
XYZ affair—Adams sent representatives to France, were denied
access to the French foreign minister by three French diplomats
(X, Y, and Z) unless they paid a bribe
Angered Americans, war with France seemed likely
Preparations for War: Federalist
Mistakes
Adams/Federalists in Congress voted to increase the size of
the navy and the army
Problems—money?
Problems—philosophically? (Why might a standing army look
bad?)
Alien and Sedition Acts
Technically targeted at foreigners (Aliens) living in the US who
might be hostile to the US in the event of war with France
(French, Irish)
Targeted at people who criticized the government in the event
of war—could be arrested for criticizing the
government/president
In reality used by the Federalists to persecute/deport their
political rivals/critics (newspaper editors, congressman, etc)
Election of 1800: Jefferson
Elected
Federalists looked bad by 1800
High taxes to pay for the army/navy
Abuses of power with the Alien and Sedition Acts
Republicans elected 73 electors in the election of 1800, Federalists
only 65
All 73 Republican electors cast their 2 votes for Jefferson and
Aaron Burr—who had the most electoral votes?
What happens in the event of a tie in the electoral college, or if
someone doesn’t have 50% +1 of the electoral votes?
Jefferson won the tie breaker, became President, Burr=VP
12th Amendment made separate elections for President and VP