SOCIAL STUDIES NOTES: GRADE 8
CHAPTER 8 LAUNCHING A NEW NATION: 1789-1800
Section 1: Washington Takes Office
- I. The First President
-In April of 1789, George Washington traveled from Virginia to the nation’s capital, New York City, to begin his term as the first President of the United States.
- The Constitution of the United States provided only a general outline for organizing the government.
-When the President took office, the entire federal government was made up of little more that 75 post offices, a few clerks, and a tiny army of 672 soldiers.
-The first job of the President and the Congress was to put a working government in place.
-First Congress passed laws to set up three departments for the executive branch: Treasury, State, and War. The President would also appoint an attorney general to advise him on legal matters.
-Washington appointed four well-known men to take the new posts. He chose Alexander Hamilton to be secretary of the treasury. Hamilton was considered one of the country’s outstanding leaders and an expert on economic affairs.
-Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence, became secretary of state. His task was to manage relations with foreign countries.
-Henry Knox, a former general, was Washington’s choice for secretary of war. Edmund Randolph, who had played an important role at the Constitutional Convention, became attorney general.
-This group became known as the cabinet.
-The Constitution also called for a judiciary. The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for a Supreme Court of six justices. Under the Supreme Court were three circuit courts and thirteen district courts.
-Washington appointed John Jay of New York as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
II. The Nation’s First Economic Crisis
-The American Revolution had left the nation deeply in debt. The federal government owed $52 million. That debt was mainly in the form of bonds.
-The government was operating on a shoestring. It did not even have the money for George Washington’s move to New York.
III. Hamilton’s Financial Plan
-Hamilton was responsible for developing a plan to solve the country’s financial crisis.
-Hamilton’s program had three parts: (1) The U.S. government would fully assume all federal and state debts. (2) The U.S. government would charter a national bank for depositing government funds. (3) The government would impose a high tax on goods imported into the country.
-Hamilton knew that paying the debt would be a huge burden on the U.S. government. However, he wanted to prove to people here and abroad that the United States would honor its debts in full. Then people would be willing to invest again in the future.
-Many southerners opposed the plan to repay state debts. Several southern states had paid off their wartime debts on their own.
-Congress debated the plan for six months in 1790. Then an agreement was reached. Southerners would support Hamilton’s plan to have the federal government repay the wartime debt. In return, the government would build its new capital city in the south along the banks of the Potomac River between Virginia and Maryland.
-The second part of Hamilton’s plan called for the creation of a privately owned bank of the United States. It would provide a safe place to deposit government funds. The bank would be able to issue paper money that would serve as a national currency.
-Opponents of the bank, such as Thomas Jefferson, insisted the law establishing the bank was unconstitutional. Jefferson argued that nowhere in the Constitution was there a provision allowing Congress to set up a national bank.
-Hamilton pointed out that Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, gave Congress the power to make all laws “necessary and proper” for fulfilling its duties.
-In 1791, Congress did pass a law establishing the bank, and the President signed it.
-The final part of Hamilton’s plan called for a high tariff. It would raise money for the federal government. It would also protect U.S. manufacturers from foreign competition.
- The tariff was the only part of Hamilton’s plan that Congress did not pass, and that was because southerners opposed it. They argued that a high tariff would help the North where most industries were located, while making southerners pay more for the goods they bought.
IV. The Whiskey Rebellion
-In 1791, Congress imposed a tax on all whiskey made or sold in the United States. Hamilton hoped this tax would raise funds for the Treasury. Instead, it led to a revolt that tested the strength of the new government.
-Many backcountry farmers made extra money by turning the corn they grew into whiskey. Therefore, they bitterly resented the new whiskey tax.
-Many farmers organized protests and refused to pay the tax. In 1794, officials in western Pennsylvania tried to collect the tax. Farmers rebelled, burning down the home of a tax collector.
-Soon, an angry mob was marching through Pittsburg like a gathering storm. This violent protest became known as the Whiskey Rebellion.
-Washington sent the militia to Pennsylvania. When the rebels heard that 13,000 troops were marching against them, they quickly scattered. Washington later pardoned the leaders of the rebellion.
-The Whiskey Rebellion tested the will of the new government. Washington’s forceful response showed Americans that armed rebellion was not acceptable in a republic.
Section 2: The Birth of Political Parties
I. Political Parties Emerge
-The framers of the Constitution did not expect political parties to develop in the United States. Rather, they thought that government leaders would rise above personal or local interests and work together for the sake of the country.
-In those days, people spoke of factions rather than political parties. A faction was an organized political group.
-James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton all disliked factions. No one was more hostile to factions than George Washington. Despite Washington’s best efforts, by the early 1790s two political parties were beginning to form. One group supported Thomas Jefferson and his close ally, James Madison. The other supported Alexander Hamilton and his ideas.
II. Republicans Against Federalists
-The two parties that took shape during the 1790s eventually got the names of Republicans and Federalists.
-The Republicans argued that the federal government was growing too strong under President Washington. They wanted to keep most power at the state or local level. They feared that a strong central government would act like a monarchy.
-The early Republican Party drew its main strength from southern planters and northern farmers and artisans. Key leaders were James Madison and Thomas Jefferson.
-The Federalists took their name from the people who had supported the adoption of the Constitution after 1787. A prominent leader was Alexander Hamilton.
-Federalists said the United States needed a strong federal government to hold the country together and deal with its problems.
-Federalists drew support mainly from merchants, other property owners, and ordinary workers whose jobs depended on manufacturing and trade. They were especially strong in the north.
-At the time that both parties were organizing, the Federalists had an advantage. President Washington usually supported Hamilton and his policies.
-In addition to their fundamental disagreement about the power of the federal government, Federalists and Republicans disagreed about other issues.
-Federalists favored the national bank and a national tariff. Republicans opposed both. Federalists favored close ties with England. Republicans were sympathetic to France.
III. The Election of 1796
-In 1796, George Washington said he would not seek a third term. This set an important precedent. Not until Franklin Roosevelt ran for and won a third term in 1940 would any president seek more than two terms.
-The Republican candidate for President in 1796 was Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists nominated John Adams, a New Englander, who had been George Washington’s Vice President.
-In 1796, President and Vice President were not elected together as a ticket, as they are today. Instead, the candidate getting the most votes became President and the second-place candidate became Vice President.
-Adams finished first and Jefferson second. The country thus gained a Federalist President and a Republican Vice President. Not surprisingly, this led to serious tensions during the next four years.
Section 3: Troubles at Home and Abroad
I. Conflicts in the Northwest Territory
-As a result of the Treaty of Paris that ended the American Revolution, the United States won the vast territory north and west of the Ohio River to the Mississippi River.
-Although the British still had forts in the region, they promised to withdraw within a “reasonable” time. A decade later, the British soldiers were still there.
-Moreover, the British were supplying Native Americans with guns and ammunition. The British hoped that this would limit American settlement in the Northwest Territory.
-Native Americans in the Northwest Territory wanted to keep their lands. During the 1780s, they attacked many American settlements.
-Many American leaders believed that the country’s future depended on settling its western lands. Therefore, the federal government tried to force the Native Americans in the territories to sell their lands.
-By 1790, the United States had succeeded in buying Native American lands in most of Kentucky and in part of Tennessee. North of the Ohio River, Native American refused to sell.
-In 1790, Washington sent a small force to end the Native American attacks on settlers. Warriors led by Little Turtle of the Miami Nation and Blue Jacket of the Shawnees defeated the soldiers.
-The next year, Washington sent an even larger force. This time Little Turtle won an even bigger victory.
-Washington then turned to a Revolutionary War hero, General Anthony Wayne, to lead the forces against the Native Americans.
-In 1794, Wayne won a major victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers.
-That battle broke the Native American hold on the Northwest. In the 1795 Treaty of Greenville, leaders of the defeated Native American nations gave up most of their lands from the Ohio River in the south to Lake Erie in the north. Today, that is most of the state of Ohio.
II. The French Revolution
-The French Revolution began in 1789. Most Americans at first supported the French revolutionaries. In their eyes, France was following the lead of the United States in fighting monarchy.
-Soon, though, the French Revolution became controversial in the United States. One reason was that it became more violent. This process peaked in mid-1793 with a period called the Reign of Terror. The French revolutionaries executed about 17,000 people including the king and queen.
-The Federalists denounced the violence, but Jefferson and his supporters argued that in a fight by oppressed people to win freedom, some injustices were to be expected.
-Secondly, by early 1793, France and Britain were at war. In that war, said President Washington, the United States would remain neutral.
-The United States wanted to trade with both sides. However, each European country feared such trade would benefit the other. Both countries began stopping American ships and seizing their cargoes.
-The British made matters worse by the impressment of sailors on American ships.
-As tensions rose, Hamilton urged the President to stay friendly with Britain. He argued that American prosperity depended on trade with Britain. The British purchased 75 percent of American exports and supplied 90 percent of American imports.
-Washington agreed and sent John Jay to London to try to solve the most serious problems.
-Jay returned with a treaty in 1795. In it, the United States agreed to pay debts long owed to British merchants. In return, Britain agreed to pay for the ships it had seized. It also agreed to withdraw its troops from the Northwest Territory and stop aiding Native Americans.
-The British, however, refused to recognize a U.S. right to trade with France. They also refused to cease impressment of U.S. sailors.
-The Jay Treaty angered Republicans, but since the Federalists controlled the Senate, the treaty won approval by a small margin.
III. Washington Retires from Public Life
-In 1796, Washington published a letter to fellow Americans that had a lasting influence. Washington’s farewell address made two major points. First, the President warned about political divisions at home. He feared that violent divisions might tear the nation apart.
-Washington’s second piece of advice concerned foreign policy. Washington emphasized his belief that the United States must not get entangled in the affairs of Europe.
-As he left office, Washington could take pride in his accomplishments: (1) The United States now had a functioning federal government. (2) The economy was improving. (3) Washington had avoided war. (4) The British had been forced to leave their forts in the Northwest Territory, an area that was now safe for settlement.
Section 4: The Presidency of John Adams
I. Troubles with France
-John Adams immediately faced a crisis over relations with France. The French were angered by U.S. neutrality in the war between France and Britain.
-The Jay Treaty only increased tensions with France. As the French saw it, the treaty put the United States on Britain’s side. France reacted late in 1796 by snubbing a U.S. diplomat. Moreover, the French continued to attack American merchant ships.
-In 1797, Adams sent a new three-person mission to France. Agents of the French government demanded that the United States pay a bribe of $250,000. The agents also wanted the United States to lend
France several million dollars.
-The Americans refused, and the bribe attempt was a sensation when it became public. Because the names of the French agents were kept secret, they were called X, Y, and Z. The incident became known as the XYZ Affair.
-The XYZ Affair caused an outbreak of war fever in the United States. Many Federalists demanded that Adams ask Congress to declare war on France.
-With war fever rising, Adams asked Congress to increase the size of the army and rebuild the navy. It did both. Adams also convinced Congress to create a separate department of the navy.
-Between 1798 and 1800, the United States fought an undeclared naval war with France.
-Nevertheless, the President and many other Americans opposed a full-scale war. To avoid war, Adams sent a new mission to France. Napoleon Bonaparte, France’s dictator, was busy dealing with a war in Europe. In 1800, he agreed to stop seizing American ships.
-President Adams had avoided war.
II. The Alien and Sedition Acts
-The war fever deepened the split between Federalists and Republicans. Federalists’ fear of Revolutionary France spilled over into a mistrust of immigrants. Federalists suspected them of bringing in dangerous ideas and feared they would back the Republicans.
-Federalist leaders decided that to restore order at home they must destroy their political opponents. Congress passed a group of laws in 1798 aimed at immigrants. Another 1798 law targeted Republicans.
-The laws directed at immigrants were the Alien Act. The Alien Act increased the length of time from 5 to 14 years that a person had to live in the United States to become a citizen. The President gained the power to deport or imprison any alien he considered dangerous.
-The law targeting Republicans was the Sedition Act. Sedition is activity designed to overthrow a government. The Sedition Act probably was the harshest law limiting free speech ever passed in the United States.
-It made it a crime for anyone to write or say anything insulting and anything false about the President, Congress, or the government in general. During 1798 and 1799, ten people were convicted under the act. Most were Republican editors and printers.
III. States’ Rights
-The Republicans denounced the Alien and Sedition acts. They charged that the Sedition Act violated the Constitution, especially the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech.
-However, the Republicans faced a problem opposing the law. At the time, it was not clearly established that the Supreme Court had the power to strike down a law as unconstitutional. Because of this, the Republicans expressed their opposition through state legislatures.
-In Virginia and Kentucky, resolutions were passed that stated that the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. These resolutions declared that states had the right to declare laws passed by Congress to be unconstitutional.
-The Alien and Sedition Acts were not in force for long. The law that gave the President the power to imprison or deport dangerous aliens expired after two years. The Sedition Act expired in 1801. The waiting period for immigrants to become citizens was restored to five years in 1802.
-However, over the long term the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were far more important than the laws that provoked them. The resolutions claimed that states could nullify a law passed by Congress.
-These resolutions boosted the idea of states’ rights. In decades to come, a number of states would refuse to obey certain federal laws. States’ rights would become the rallying cry for southern defenders of slavery.