Launching a New Ship of State
1789-1800
American Pageant Chapter 10
Growing pains
• Population doubling
every 25 years
• 90% rural
• 95% east of Appalachian
Mountains
• Kentucky, Tennessee, &
Ohio
– States w/in 14 years
– Restless group; conflict
with Spanish
Washington for President
• Why George?
– Unanimously drafted by
electoral college
– Imposing presence, war
hero, did not lobby for
office
– “Balanced rather than
brilliant”
– Took office April 30, 1789
Washington for President
• Washington’s Cabinet
– Set precedent of cabinet
meetings
– Secretary of State: Thomas
Jefferson
– Secretary of the Treasury:
Alexander Hamilton
– Secretary of War: Henry
Knox
The Bill of Rights
• Constitution ratified
w/no Bill of Rights
– Anti-federalist criticism
– States ratified w/promise
bill of rights coming
• Bill of Rights:
– James Madison wrote 1st
then presented to
congress
– First 10 Amendments
ratified 1791
The Bill of Rights
• Includes:
– Freedom of: speech,
religion, press, bear
arms, tried by a jury
– Freedom from:
unusual punishments,
seizure of property
– 9th Amendment:
Other rights
guaranteed not listed
– 10th Amendment:
Powers not explicitly
written—went to the
States
The Bill of Rights
• Made Constitution
more Anti-federalist
• 1st Congress—
Judiciary Act of 1789
– Organized Supreme
Court w/6 judges
– John Jay first Chief
Justice
Hamilton & Public Credit
• Alexander Hamilton
– Financial wizard
– Shaped country’s fiscal plan
– Favored the wealthy (trickle
down to lower classes)
– 1st objective—strengthen
national credit
Hamilton & Public Credit
• “Funding at par”
– Government bonds
depreciated to $.15/$1
– Pay off debts at face value
• “Assumption”
– Congress take state debts
for war
– Strengthen the federal
government
Hamilton & Public Credit
• Conflict (Jefferson)
– Big debtor states liked
(MA)
– smaller debtor states
disliked (VA)
• Compromise—move
capital to South
– District of Columbia
(Washington, DC)
Custom Duties & Excise Taxes
• National debt: $75
million
– Hamilton “Father of
National Debt”
– National blessing, not
curse
• More creditors—more
people want to prevent.
Government failure
– Pay off with customs &
tariffs
Custom Duties & Excise Taxes
• First Tariff Law
1789
– Protective for
“infant” industries
– Foresaw spread of
Industrial
Revolution
• Excise Tax 1791—
few domestic
items, i.e. whiskey
Hamilton v. Jefferson—The BANK
• Bank of the United
States
– Hamilton’s idea
– Modeled after England
– Private bank
w/government as
major stockholder
– Federal Treasury
deposit surplus $
– Paper $--sound &
stable national
currency
Hamilton v. Jefferson—The BANK
But was it Constitutional?
• Jefferson: “No.”
– No specific authorization
– Amendment 10—all other
powers to states
– “Strict Construction”
• Hamilton: “Yes.”
– “necessary & proper”
– Power to collect taxes &
regulate commerce
– “Implied powers”
– “Broad construction”—
”elastic clause”
Hamilton v. Jefferson—The BANK
• G.W.—unenthusiastic
• North for it
(manufacturing centers)
• South against it
(agricultural)
• Bank of United States
created 1791
– Chartered 25 years
– Capital of $10 million
– Philadelphia
– 1/5 owned by government
– Public quickly bought up
stock
Hamilton V. Jefferson Debate
Mutinous Moonshiners of Pennsylvania
Mutinous Moonshiners of Pennsylvania
The Emergence of Political Parties
• At the start--Political
parties not in existence or
planned for
• Organized resistance: Antifederalists
– Alexander Hamilton’s fiscal
policies
– State right(ers)
• Two party system since then
– Party out of power—balances
government
Impact of French Revolution
• French Revolution 1789
(A few weeks after Washington was
inaugurated)
– Impact on U.S.
– Early stages—removed
Louis XVI
– Declared war on Austria
then other countries
• Control of the Atlantic
– Reign of Terror—
executed all nobles
Impact of French Revolution
• American
Reaction:
– Jeffersonian
Republicans:
• Regret bloodshed,
but…
• Supported the
French
Revolution
– Hamiltonian
Federalists:
• Feared change &
mobocracy
• Worried about
economic impact
Do You Hear the People Sing?
https://www.youtub
e.com/watch?v=g
MYNfQlf1H8
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
• U.S. neutrality
benefitted
France
– U.S. too weak
to help
– F.W.I.—supplies
– British would
have blockaded
U.S. coast
Embroilments with Britain
Embroilments with Britain
Embroilments with Britain
Jay’s Treaty & Washington’s Farewell
Jay’s Treaty & Washington’s Farewell
Jay’s Treaty & Washington’s Farewell
Jay’s Treaty & Washington’s Farewell
John Adams becomes President
Unofficial Fighting with France
Adams Puts Patriotism Above Party
Adams Puts Patriotism Above Party
The Federalist Witch Hunt
• Alien & Sedition Laws 1798
– Anti-French frenzy
– Extended residency requirement from
5 to 14 years
– President empowered to deport in
peace or imprison in war (never
enforced)
– Imprisonment and/or fine for those
who impede the government
• Matthew Lyon—4 mo. Jail for criticizing
John Adams
– Purpose: Oppress pro-Jeffersonians
The Virginia & Kentucky Resolution
Federalists v. Democratic Republicans
Federalists
• Those who owned
government should
run it
• Government should
support private
enterprise
• Support—Atlantic
seaboard
• Internationally
strong
– Trade
Democratic Republicans
• Thomas Jefferson
• Agrarians
• Strict
Constructionists
• Middle class &
underprivileged
• Focus on frontier &
strengthen
democracy at home
John Adams: An Overview