CHAPTER 6: FORGING
THE NEW REPUBLIC
Big Picture: In the last decade of
the 1700s, debates over the size
and role of government led to the
emergence of political parties.
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 1:
WASHINGTON
BECOMES PRESIDENT
Main Idea: President Washington and
other leaders tried to solve the new
nation’s economic problems. This led
to the rise of political parties.
Organizing the Government
Washington Chooses A Cabinet
The First Congress
• Cabinet: a team of advisors to the
president who run executive
departments; the leader is called a
Secretary
• Washington had 4; today there are
15
• Department of War: Henry Knox
(heads the military, now called
Department of Defense)
• Department of State: Thomas
Jefferson (manages relationship
with foreign nations)
• Attorney General: Edmund Randolph
(enforces federal laws; the
government’s lawyer)
• Department of Treasury: Alexander
Hamilton (manages the nation’s
money)
• 2 major “achievements”
• Ratified the Bill of Rights
• Judiciary Act of 1789: organized the
judicial branch, creating a 6-person
Supreme Court, district courts, and
appeals courts
• John Jay: 1st Chief Justice
Settling the Nation’s Debts
Hamilton’s Economic Plan
Opposition and Compromise
• Gov’t owed money from American
Revolution
• Plan for Economy had three parts
and was designed to make the
nation strong economically
• There is opposition in the South to
paying off debts of all states (a lot
of Southern states had paid all or
most of their debt, so this benefits
the North)
• Also opposition to taxation (Tariff
taxed imported goods; excise tax
taxed domestic luxury goods like
snuff and liquor…not all products)
• Opposed to bank…is it
Constitutional?!?!
• Agreement in Congress to move
capital from NYC to modern
Washington DC to make South
happy
1. Pay the National Debt: both debt by
Continental Congress and each of
the states
2. Tariff of 1789 and excise tax to pay
off the debt
3. Create a national Bank to
standardize banking and print
money
Debating a National Bank
Interpreting the Constitution
Debating the Bank
• There are 2 ways to interpret
(read) the Constitution:
• Strict interpretation: the
government should only do what
the Constitution specifically states
it can do (i.e. raise an army)
• Loose interpretation: the
government can take reasonable
actions that are not outlined in the
Constitution as long as they are
not prohibited (“necessary and
proper”)
• Those who believed in loose
interpretation (like Hamilton)
supported the bank
• Those who believed in a strict
interpretation (like Jefferson)
opposed the bank
• Washington eventually adopted a
loose interpretation and signed
the bill chartering the 1st Bank of
the United States in February 1791
First Political Parties Form
The Whiskey Rebellion
Political Parties Develop
• Those on the western frontier
resented the power and wealth of
those on the east coast
• They believed the excise taxes (like
on alcohol) harmed them and
helped the easterners
• 1794: farmers in Western PA refused
to pay the tax on whiskey, which
was how they made a living
• When they violently attacked tax
collectors, Washington led a militia
of 13,000 to put down the rebellion
• Showed the national government
could and would take action in the
state (federal government
supreme)
• Federalists: believed in a strong
central government with a loose
interpretation of the Constitution
(led by Hamilton)
• Democratic-Republicans: believed
states should be more powerful
than the federal government with
a strict interpretation of the
Constitution (led by Jefferson)
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 2:
CHALLENGES OF THE
1790S
Main Idea: The United States faced
many challenges during the 1790s. It
tried to remain neutral in European
wars while dealing with Native
Americans in the Northwest Territory.
Remaining Neutral
A Declaration of Neutrality
More Diplomatic Challenges
• 1789 French monarchy overthrown
starting the French Revolution
• Led to war between France and
Great Britain
• Both sides tried to draw the US in
to their side
• Washington decided to remain
neutral so that the US could
continue to grow and prosper
• Proclamation of Neutrality: US
officially announces that they will
not take a side in war
• 1794 British begin seizing American
merchant ships and stirred up
trouble with the Native Americans in
the Northwest Territory
• To avoid war, Washington sends
John Jay to Britain to resolve the
issues
• Jay’s Treaty: Britain agreed to pay
for damages to American ships and
leave forts on the frontier, in return
the US paid debts owed to GB
• Pinckney’s Treaty: treaty with Spain
settling border and trade disputes
Conflicts in the Northwest Territory
• US government put pressure on Native Americans living in the
Northwest Territory to move
• Some tribes formed confederations to block US entry into their land
• Early 1790s violence breaks out in Ohio and Indiana under Chief Little
Turtle of the Miami he wins a big victory in 1791
• US sends in 4,000 troops to the Ohio Valley to build forts
• 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers: Americans defeat the Miami and force
them to sign the Treaty of Greenville: gave up land in Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan
President Adams and the XYZ Affair
Election of 1796
Foreign and Political Problems
• Washington retires after 2 terms
• Farewell Address: don’t form
political parties; stay neutral
• Adams v. Jefferson: 1 st sign of
sectionalism: being loyal to a
region over the US…Northern
states voted for Adams, Southern
states voted for Jefferson
• No separate elections for
President and Vice-President led to
Adams being elected President
and Jefferson Vice President
• Adams tried to resolve issues with France,
but French try to demand a bribe instead
of sign a treaty (called the XYZ Affair
because they wouldn’t give their names)
• Led to outrage at home, some called for
war and distrust of DRs grew (supported
France, attracted immigrants)
• Alien and Sedition Acts: passed to
‘protect’ the US from foreign enemies by
raising residency requirements for
citizenship and allowing for the fining and
jailing of those criticizing the government
• Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions:
written by Jefferson and Madison;
claimed the Alien and Sedition Acts were
unconstitutional and said states could
nullify them (declare them void) part of
states rights
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 3:
JEFFERSON'S
PRESIDENCY
Main Idea: The rise of political
parties influenced the election of
1800, bringing Thomas Jefferson and
a new outlook to the presidency.
The Election of 1800
• 1st time power passed from one political party to another
• Adams v. Jefferson (this time they had vice-presidential candidates)
• Campaign was vicious mudslinging (Attack Ads, Circa 1800)
• Election ended in a tie between Jefferson and his VP candidate Burr
• House of Representatives designated to break the tie; Hamilton
urged Federalists to support Jefferson; on 36th vote, he wins
• 12th Amendment: separate ballots for president and vice-president
• Burr later kills Hamilton in a duel
Jefferson Makes Changes
• Jefferson urges tolerance and unity in his inaugural address
• Called it the “Revolution of 1800” reduced the size and influence
of the federal government
• He reduced taxes and ended maintenance of a standing army
during peacetime
• Later had to reverse the reduction of the navy due to foreign
threats to shipping by the Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean
The Louisiana Purchase
A Need For Land
A Constitutional Puzzle and Lewis and Clark
• French leader Napoleon needed
money for ongoing wars with GB
• US wanted to purchase New
Orleans from France for shipping;
Napoleon offered all of Louisiana
Territory
• Without time to ask Jefferson, the
ambassadors agreed; purchasing
the land for $15 million, more than
doubling the size of the US
• Jefferson conflicted over strict
interpretation (no written right to
buy land)
• Adopts a loose interpretation and
approves the purchase, Congress
agrees
• Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark were commissioned to
explore the new territory (2 yrs)
• Aided by Sacagawea, they made a
map and noted new species of
animals and plants and new Native
American tribes
The Role of the Supreme Court Changes
• Judiciary Act of 1801: added new judgeship positions
• Federalists tried to appoint as many Federalists to the courts to
maintain influence
• John Adams appointed many on his last day in office (called
midnight judges)
• Some of the papers were not delivered in time and Jefferson’s
Secretary of State James Madison refused to deliver them
• One appointee, William Marbury, asked the Supreme Court to order
Madison to deliver the commission
• Marbury v. Madison: ruled Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional
• Establishes the Supreme Court’s right of judicial review: the right to
declare state and federal laws unconstitutional
CHAPTER 6 SECTION
4: THE WAR OF 1812
Main Idea: In the early 1800s,
Americans unified to face Great
Britain in war once again and to
battle resistance from Native
Americans over attempts to seize
their land.
Violating Neutrality
• US caught in the middle of the war between France and Great
Britain
• US declared itself neutral and tried to trade with both nations
• British begin seizing American ships headed for France and
practicing impressment: forcing US sailors to serve in the British
navy
• 1807 British tried to search the American ship Chesapeake; when
they refused, the British opened fire and seized 4 Americans
• Chesapeake Incident made Americans furious; in response,
Jefferson passed the Embargo Act of 1807 ending US trade to
protect US ships
• Was a disaster, especially in the North where most of the trade was
based; goods piled up in ports and businesses failed
Tecumseh Resists Settlers
New Policies
New Indian Leaders
• British try to reestablish
relationships with western tribes
• Shawnee brothers, the Prophet
and Tecumseh, tried to resist
American movements in the west
• They began uniting tribes
• 1811 Harrison’s army attacks
(Battle of Tippecanoe): made
Harrison a hero
• Many Americans believed they were
giving guns to Natives
• William Henry Harrison was
governor of the Indiana Territory
and carried out Jefferson’s Native
American policy: become farmers
and join white society or move west
of the Mississippi
• Many tribes began loosing land
The War of 1812 Begins
War is Declared
• After the Chesapeake Incident,
American politicians from the
South and West called war hawks
tried to get Congress to declare
war
• They hated the British and hoped
to conquer Canada
• Leader of war hawks Henry Clay
became Speaker of the House and
in June 1812, the US declared war
• US navy does well against the
British but fail to gain land in
Canada and British are able to burn
down the White House
Outcome of the War
• Andrew Jackson becomes a hero
with a US victory at the Battle of
New Orleans
• by then, US and GB had already
signed the Treaty of Ghent
• no territory changes hands, but
Americans had proved themselves
as a nation
• Leads to a period of US nationalism
(pride in your nation)
• Native American resistance declines
and US manufacturing increases