Introducing
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Washington was an obvious first choice for president. He was both a national hero and the favorite son of Virginia. Washington came to the presidency with practical experience, having served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
As a group, these heads of departments were THE CABINET. The Cabinet began to ADVISE the president, as they do today.
Adams, won and became president. However, his VP, Thomas Pinckney, would not be elected vice president. As the Constitution laid out, the person with the second most electoral votes would become VP.
With Jefferson as VP, the election of 1796 put two opposing parties into the White House.
The DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN PARTY (Jefferson and Madison) supported the ideas of REPUBLICANISM, including:
The request for a bribe outraged Americans and led to the slogan, "Millions for defense but not one CENT for tribute."
Adams is considered to be the father of the American Navy.
And ever since the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Democratic-Republicans saw Adams as an ENEMY to their cause. When election season rolled around, Adams was in a BAD POSITION for reelection.
*NOTE*
The ALIEN and SEDITION ACTS
(See Separate Review Worksheet)
The ELECTION of 1796
The DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS chose Thomas Jefferson to run for president and Aaron Burr to run for vice president at a CAUCUS. The Federalists chose JOHN ADAMS and Charles Pinckney. Adams received the most ELECTORAL VOTES and became president. Jefferson, the runner-up, became vice president.
The CONVENTION of 1800
In 1800, Adams sent another set of delegates to Paris. In the CONVENTION OF 1800, France agreed to stop NAVAL ATTACKS. Adams was pleased, but many FEDERALISTS from his own party had wanted a WAR.
The Democratic-Republican Party was favored in the SOUTH and on the WESTERN FRONTIER.
The DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICAN PARTY was also just called the Republican Party. It's NOT related to today's REPUBLICAN PARTY. It actually evolved into today's DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
The XYZ AFFAIR
France began attacking American SHIPS as England had. In 1797, President Adams sent Charles Pinckney, Elbridge Gerry, and John Marshall to PARIS to negotiate. The French foreign minister, TALLEYRAND, refused to meet. Instead, Talleyrand sent three agents to discuss a treaty for a huge BRIBE. Adams was furious. Referring to the agents as Agent X, Y, and Z, he urged Congress to prepare for WAR. Congress expanded the navy, but Adams didn't REALLY want war
The FEDERALIST PARTY (Hamilton) was named after those who had supported the Constitution from the beginning. This party supported:
Most Federalists did business and lived
in urban areas in New England.
INTRODUCTION:
Since Washington was the first president, everything he (and FIRST LADY MARTHA WASHINGTON) did became the start of a tradition, or a PRECEDENT. For example, Washington chose to be called "MR. PRESIDENT" instead of "YOUR HIGHNESS," "YOUR EXCELLENCY," or "YOUR HIGH MIGHTINESS".
Some these PRECEDENTS became part of our
U N W R I T T E N C O N S T I T U T I O N
POLITICAL PARTIES FORM
The DISAGREEMENTS with Jefferson and Madison on one side and Hamilton on the other grew into the first full-fledged PARTIES in American politics.
The FIRST PRESIDENT
In early 1789, the states that had ratified the Constitution decided that an ELECTORAL COLLEGE would meet and elect a president.
George Washington was convinced to come out of retirement, and he received ALL the electoral votes. According to the rules of the Constitution, the person with the SECOND-HIGHEST number of votes became vice president, so John Adams became the first vice president.
WASHINGTON'S FAREWELL
Concerned that he had too much POWER for one man, and overdue for RETIREMENT, George Washington announced in 1796 that he wouldn't be running for a THIRD term. In his FAREWELL ADDRESS, Washington warned against forming political parties, FACTIONS, or "permanent alliances" with foreign nations.
FACTION a group that shares a common goal or belief.
ELECTORAL COLLEGE a group that represents the people's vote in electing a president
Each state LEGISLATURE appointed a certain number of "electors" (based on its number of congressmen) to represent their STATE and elect a president. The Electoral College system has changed a lot since then but is STILL in practice today.
In 1789, the first presidential election, George Washington was unanimously elected president of the United States. No other president since has come into office with a universal support to lead.
WASHINGTON IS THE ONLY PRESIDENT TO HAVE EVER WON ALL OF THE ELECTORAL VOTES.
Washington sent Chief Justice JOHN JAY to England to discuss the seized U.S. ships. In 1795, Jay was able to get the BRITISH to agree to pay for the losses.
Results of JAY'S TREATY:
The CABINET
Congress created DEPARTMENTS of the executive branch and Washington chose these people to HEAD these departments:
The JUDICIARY ACT of 1789
ARTICLE III of the Constitution had few specifics about a federal COURT system, so Congress passed the FEDERAL JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789. This established federal courts consisting of thirteen DISTRICT COURTS and three CIRCUIT COURTS OF APPEAL.
IMPRESSMENT and JAY'S TREATY
The British SEIZED American ships that traded in the French West Indies and forced the American sailors to fight for Britain. This practice, called IMPRESSMENT OF SEAMEN, pushed the U.S. closer to another war with England.
The STATES still maintained their own courts, but a federal court could OVERTURN their decisions. The SUPREME COURT, the final federal court of appeals, would consist of six JUSTICES (NOT JUDGES!) that were nominated by the president. President Washington nominated JOHN JAY as the first CHIEF JUSTICE of the Supreme Court.
On April 22, 1793, Washington issued the NEUTRALITY PROCLAMATION. Americans wouldn't fight or help EITHER side, and foreign warships couldn't use American ports. Madison argued that only CONGRESS had authority over foreign affairs. Jefferson RESIGNED as secretary of state.
ALEXANDER HAMILTON and the NATIONAL ECONOMY
President Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury - ALEXANDER HAMILTON - knew the new nation faced a huge war DEBT, with debts to foreign nations, individual citizens, and soldiers who'd been paid with BONDS rather than cash.
Hamilton proposed a THREE-PRONG solution in 1790:
1 - The U.S. would pay off all debts, including debts owed by STATES.
2 - REVENUE would be generated by raising TARIFFS, which should also encourage people to buy American-made GOODS.
3 - A NATIONAL BANK would be established, owned jointly by the government and private INVESTORS, for the government to store Money and make loans. A national MINT would print paper money.
The NEUTRALITY PROCLAMATION
In 1789, when the French REVOLUTION began, Americans were SUPPORTIVE of a revolution that seemed similar in spirit to their own. But the French Revolution turned BLOODY and VIOLENT and war broke out between the French and other EUROPEAN nations. Jefferson felt that the U.S. shouldn't ABANDON its ally France-its people were fighting for LIBERTY. Hamilton thought it was more important for the U.S. to PROTECT relations with BRITAIN, its biggest trading partner. ($$)
Hamilton ran into OPPOSITION:
The South had PAID their few debts, so they saw Congress's decision as REWARDING the North's failure to PAY.
The South opposed tariffs, which don't benefit an ECONOMY that doesn't rely on manufactured GOODS.
Major Events during Washington’s Administration
The WHISKEY REBELLION is the only time in U.S. history that a sitting PRESIDENT has personally commanded an ARMY.
Hamilton supported a LOOSE CONSTRUCTION VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION, noting that the ELASTIC CLAUSE of Article I gives Congress the authority to do what is "necessary and proper" to carry out its powers.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison favored a STRICT CONSTRUCTION VIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION, arguing that the "necessary and proper" clause put stronger limits on what was truly necessary.
In the summer of 1794, farmers attacked tax collectors in the WHISKEY REBELLION. That November, Washington personally LED an army to stop the rebellion, and the farmers SURRENDERED right away. Washington proved that the U.S. government was POWERFUL and would use force if its people did not follow the LAW.
Hamilton Makes a Deal
By assuring southerners that the location of the nation's CAPITAL would move to the south, Hamilton was able to CONVINCE them to accept his plan. Congress assumed the STATE DEBTS, enacted LOW TARIFFS, and established the Bank of The United States in 1791. Washington had tried to stay NEUTRAL, but he agreed with Hamilton.
While Hamilton seemed to favor BUSINESSMEN, Jefferson and Madison supported small FARMERS. While Hamilton advocated for a STRONG central government, Jefferson and Madison FAVORED local and state governments. The disagreement between "Hamiltonians" and "Jeffersonians" over the scope and extent of federal powers laid the foundation for the first POLITICAL PARTIES in the U.S.
The TREATY of GREENVILLE
NATIVE AMERICANS in the Northwest Territory united to fight American EXPANSION into their land, with the support of the
BRITISH. After many initial successes but a final defeat, 12 tribes
signed the 1795 TREATY OF GREENVILLE, Ceding most of their land in the Northwest Territory to the U.S.
(CEDE - to yield or formally surrender.)
WASHINGTON, D.C.
New York City was a large and bustling METROPOLIS, but some worried that keeping the capital there favored Northern INTERESTS. A piece of land on the Potomac River, between MARYLAND and VIRGINIA but part of neither state, was chosen as the site of a new CAPITAL. In 1790, the capital moved temporarily to PHILADELPHIA, and in 1800, Washington, the District of COLUMBIA, became the new capital.
The WHISKEY REBELLION
Alexander Hamilton also encouraged Congress to pass a TAX on whiskey. In western Pennsylvania, farmers who grew the CORN used to make the whiskey saw the tax as an ATTACK. Many of them used whiskey as MONEY.
Poor Tax Collector!
People who lent money to the GOVERNMENT in exchange for bonds often sold their bonds for cheap to SPECULATORS, who would now get a PROFIT. SPECULATORS - people who buy items at a lower price with the hope that their value will later increase and they can be sold at a profit.
Some people argued that Congress didn't have the right to start a BANK.