Chapter 8 Section 2: Early Challenges
I. The Whiskey Rebellion (Pages 263–264)
A. Rebellion Over Taxes
1. Farmers resisted paying a tax on the whiskey they made.
a. They usually exchanged whiskey and other items for goods they needed rather than buying
goods with cash.
b. They did not have money to pay a tax.
2. In July 1794, federal officers came into western Pennsylvania to collect a tax.
a. The resistance turned into an armed protest that was called the Whiskey Rebellion.
b. A large mob of people attacked tax collectors and burned buildings.
3. President Washington sent an army to quiet the rebellion.
a. His actions showed people that the government would use force to maintain social order.
II. Struggle over the West (Page 264)
A. Conflict in the West
1. The Native Americans who lived between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi
River had troubles with the new government over this land.
a. They felt the land belonged to them and the new settlers were taking away their land.
b. They looked to Britain and Spain for help to prevent American settlers from moving
onto these lands.
2. Washington hoped that treaties signed with the Native American tribes would keep the
British and Spanish out.
a. American settlers ignored the treaties and moved onto the lands that were promised to
the Native Americans.
3. When fighting broke out, Washington sent an army led by General Arthur St. Clair to restore
order. His troops were beaten badly in November 1791.
a. The Miami, Shawnee, and Delaware tribes allied and continued to resist American
settlers moving onto their land.
B. Battle of Fallen Timbers
1. The Native Americans demanded that all settlers north of the Ohio River leave.
2. Washington sent in another army led by Anthony Wayne.
3. At the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794, Wayne’s army defeated over 1,000 Native
Americans.
4. The Treaty of Greenville was signed in 1795 to settle the issue.
a. Native Americans agreed to surrender most of the land in present-day Ohio.
III. Problems with Europe (Pages 264–266)
A. Issues in Europe
1. The French Revolution began in 1789, just after Washington took office, and in 1793,
Britain and France went to war.
2. Washington hoped that America could remain neutral, but as time went on, this became
difficult.
a. The French tried to involve the United States.
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Chapter 8 Section 2: Early Challenges
3. In April 1793, the French diplomat Edmond Genêt came to the United States to recruit
American volunteers to attack British shipping.
a. His plan failed, but he did sign up a few hundred Americans to serve on French ships
that took British vessels and stole their cargoes.
B. Washington Proclaims Neutrality
1. Washington announced a Proclamation of Neutrality on April 22 that prohibited Americans
from fighting in the war and prohibited British warships from American ports.
2. The British began capturing American ships that traded with the French.
a. They also stopped American merchant ships, took their crews, and forced them into the
British navy, or impressed them.
C. A Controversial Treaty
1. Washington, so as to avoid war with Britain, sent John Jay to negotiate a peaceful solution.
a. The British listened to Jay’s proposal.
b. They knew that a war with the United States would make things more difficult, as they
were already at war with France.
 Besides, the United States bought their products.
2. Jay’s Treaty said that Britain shall
a. withdraw from American soil
b. pay damages for ships they seized
c. allow some American ships to trade with British colonies in the Caribbean.
 Jay’s treaty also provided for settlements of debts from before 1776.
3. Jay’s Treaty was controversial.
a. Many Americans disapproved of it because it did not deal with British impressment or
the British interference with American trade.
4. Washington sent it to the Senate even though he, too, did not favor it.
a. He saw it as an end to a crisis.
 It was narrowly approved.
D. Treaty With Spain
1. To settle their differences with the United States, Spain also signed a treaty.
2. Thomas Pinckney went to Spain in 1795.
3. The Pinckney Treaty gave Americans the right to freely navigate the Mississippi River and
also the right to trade at the port of New Orleans.
IV. Washington’s Farewell (Page 266)
1. Washington had served two terms as president and chose not to seek a third term.
a. This set a precedent for later presidents to follow.
2. He looked forward to retiring at Mount Vernon.
3. He was greatly troubled by the divisions in American politics and political parties.
a. In his farewell address, he spoke about the evils of political parties and the problems of
foreign affairs.
b. His parting words influenced the nation’s foreign policy for more than 100 years.
4. Washington’s speech is read aloud in the Senate each year on his birthday.
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