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Washington’s Presidency
o Organizing the Government
 Congress was elected in 1788
 NYC was the temporary capital
 Washington took office on April 30, 1789
 Washington’s task was organizing new departments
 Picked 4 heads of departments:
o Jefferson was Secretary of State
o Hamilton was the Secretary of the Treasury
o Henry Knox was Secretary of War
o Edmund Randolph was Attorney General
o Became known as the Cabinet and met daily to discuss policies
 How these first leaders ran the country would set an example that would continue for
decades
 Congress had the power to create lower courts; could determine number of judges on
S.C.
 Created Judiciary Act of 1789
o Created S.C> with one Chief Justice and 5 associates
o Given job to rule on constitutionality on decisions made by state
courts
o Provided a system of 13 district courts and 3 circuit courts of appeal
 Problems with the Articles
 Lack of respect; America couldn’t pay its debts
 So articles were overturned
o Hamilton’s Financial Program
 Came up with comprehensive plan to stabilize U.S. finances
 Proposed to pay off the national debt at face value and assume state debts.
 If states owed money, they would pay that off too.
 Wanted to protect infant industries  protective tariff
 Proposed creation of a national bank  place for fed gov to deposit its funds and
create a sound currency
 Jefferson thought est. a national bank would only benefit the wealthy
 Eventually, they came up with a modified Hamilton’s Plan
 Plan was making the South ‘pay twice’
 Compromise was that capital would be in south  Washington D.C.
 Ecise Taxes – tax to buy, sell, or trade certain items
 Fed Bank was not mentioned in Constitution (nec. And proper clause)
 1/5 of national bank was owned by private investors
o Foreign Affairs
 Washington’s First term coincided with French Revolution
 Question was whether to support France, France’s enemies, or both?
 British were guilty of seizing American ships and their sailors
 Public wanted to help France, but Washington issue Proclamation of Neutrality – 1793
 Jefferson wanted to support French, resigned from Cabinet in protest
 Edmund Genet was French Diplomat in America
 Appealed to the public
 French removed him from post
 Became US citizen
Chief Justice John Jay
 Mission in Britain
 Discuss practice of seizing searching US ships, wanted treaty
 Brits forced Americans into British Army
 British “impressed” US sailors
 I year in Britain resulted in a treaty that addressed western expansion, but did
not address impressments
 1794 – Jay Treaty, ratified narrowly
 Spanish
 Interpreted Jay treaty as sign that we were getting closer to Britain; Spain
wanted to consolidate lands
 Thomas Pinkney – Right of Deposit
o US could pass through Louisiana
o Settled border of FL 1795 through Pinkney’s Treaty
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o Domestic concerns (QUIZ MATERIAL)
 Settlers moved west of Alleghenies, encroached on natives
 British were supplying natives with guns
 Mad Anthony Wayne
 Battle of Fallen Timbers
 Ohio territory was now open for settlement – 1795
 Was the new government strong enough to stand up against a rebellion?
 1794 – Whiskey Rebellion
o Hamilton’s ecise tax on whiskey caused some problems
o Pennsylvanian farmers grew corn and the easiest method was to go
ahead and convert it to whiskey and transfer it over the mountains.
o They didn’t want to pay the high taxes for whiskey and rebelled
o Hamilton convinced Washington to raise army to put down rebellion of
western Pennsylvanian farmers
o This proved that government was strong enough to handle internal
rebellion
 1709s – all 13 states had surrendered their western land claims and the gov passed
the Public Land Act of 1796
 Sold western land very cheaply in order to increase western population
 There was also a process of adding new states with the western land
 1791 – Vermont, 1792 – KY, 1796 – TN
Political Parties
o Washington had been unanimously elected
 This encouraged idea that political parties were not necessary
 Framers did not create guidelines for political parties
 Anti-Federalists and Federalists led to the development of parties
 Washington is unofficially known as a Federalist
 Two Key leaders formed parties
 Hamilton – Federalist
o Strong in the NE
o Favored growth of federal power
 Jefferson – Democratic Republicans (Anti-Federalists)
o Southern/western
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o Favored states’ rights
o Farewell Address
 Was written out and published
 Warned America of several things:
 Don’t get involved in European affairs/ no foreign entanglements
 Don’t make permanent alliances in foreign affairs
 Not to form political parties
 To avoid sectionalism
 By 1796, both parties had been developed; also, Washington announced he decision
not to pursue a 3rd term
o “Unwritten Constitution”
 Traditions that started with Washington’s era and are
continued today, not included in Constitution