Chapter 12: Establishing the Republic – the 1790s

U.S. History

12-1: Starting the Government

• 1789 - George Washington was unanimous choice for first President of the United States

The First Inauguration

• Why did some people worry that the federal government was turning into a monarchy?– Washington imitated the king– Congress imitated Parliament

The First Congress

• What major problems awaited the first Congress?– Raise money– Fill in the details of government– Write a bill of rights

Raising Money

• How did Congress raise money to support the government?– Congress imposed duties on certain imported

foods and also on shipping

Executive Departments

• What department heads did Congress set up under the new government?– Kept Department of War, Foreign Affairs, and

Treasury from AoC– Changed Foreign Affairs to Department of State– Set up Attorney General and Postmaster General– Alexander Hamilton became the first Sec. of Treas.– Thomas Jefferson became the first Sec. of State

Creating a Court System

• What were the provisions of the Judiciary Act of 1789?– Set up a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 5

associate justices– Set up 13 district courts– Set up 3 circuit courts– Stated Supreme Court could only review decisions

of state courts

Hamilton’s Financial Plans

• Whose job was it to prepare plans for the nation’s income and credit?– Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton

“The Report on Public Credit”

• Why did some members of Congress not wish to pay in full that part of the federal debt owed to speculators?– Some members of Congress did not think that

speculators should be rewarded. Why should they be given full face value for bonds plus interest that they bought for less than full value?

Madison’s Proposal

• Why did Hamilton want to pay full value to bond owners?– Hamilton believed that anyone who held a bond

should be paid its full value. – He understood that the government needed the

support of people with money to spend and invest. At some time in the future, the US would want to borrow from those people.

– Hamilton hoped such persons would use the money to help develop the nation’s manufacturing strength.

Assuming State Debts

• Why did Hamilton want the nation to assume state debts?– That would increase the importance of the nation

for creditors everywhere– States with large debt liked this plan– States with small debt disliked this plan– The nation’s capitol was moved in order to

appease states who disagreed

A National Bank

• Why did Jefferson oppose the national bank?– He said the bank bill was unconstitutional.– The Constitution said Congress could do what was

necessary and proper to exercise its legal powers. A bank might be useful, but since it was not necessary, Congress could not set one up.

– Jefferson was a strict constructionist

The Report on Manufactures

• Why did farmers oppose Hamilton’s plans to help manufacturing?– They feared they would have to pay more for the

goods they bought. – They also feared other nations would respond to

the new American duties by buying fewer American products such as tobacco, rice, and wheat.

12-2: Foreign and Domestic Policy

• Political parties began to form because of the ideas and plans of Hamilton

• Hamilton’s opponents were called Republicans• Hamilton's supporters were called Federalists

Foreign Policy Issues

• What is foreign policy?– How the United States should carry on its relations

with the rest of the world

The Question of France

• What differing positions did Hamilton and Jefferson take over the alliance with France?– Hamilton wanted the US to cut itself off from

France entirely– Jefferson hoped to avoid offending the French, but

he did not want the US to go to war with Britain. Jefferson thought the US should get something from Britain in exchange for its promise of neutrality

Washington Proclaims Neutrality

• What was the Proclamation of Neutrality?– It said that the US was at peace with both Great

Britain and France. – The proclamation ordered the citizens of the US

not to become involved in the war

Citizen Genêt

• Who was Citizen Genêt?– The minister France sent to the US to win support

for the French Republic– Hired Americans to fight for France– Jefferson told him to stop, which he briefly did– Jefferson insisted France recall him, so they

relieved him of his post– Because Washington listened to Hamilton more,

Jefferson resigned as Sec. of State in 1793

Jay’s Treaty

• What were the major provisions of Jay’s Treaty?– The British agreed to give up their posts in the Old

Northwest as long as they could continue trade with the Indians there.

– The British also agreed to allow some American ships to trade in the West Indies.

– They US had to promise not to compete with the British by selling basic products such as sugar, molasses, and cotton in other parts of the world.

Pinckney’s Treaty

• What were the major provisions of Pinckney’s Treaty?– Won for Americans the right to ship goods freely on

the Mississippi– Won the right of deposit at the port of New Orleans– Spain recognized the Mississippi and the 31st parallel

as boundaries between its lands and those of the US– Both countries agreed to keep the Indians within

their territories from entering the other country’s lands

The Whiskey Rebellion

• What caused the Whiskey Rebellion?– In 1791 Congress passed a tax on whiskey

The Election of 1796

• What were the major points of Washington’s farewell address?– He told Americans that the nation should always

pay its debts and that it should avoid permanent political alliances with European countries.

– Above all, he warned that the country should avoid the dangers of political parties. Their battles, he said, could cause the Republic to fail.

The Candidates

• Who were the candidates in the election of 1796?– The Republicans ran Thomas Jefferson for

President and Aaron Burr for Vice President– The Federalist candidate for President was John

Adams. Thomas Pinckney was Adams’ running mate

The Outcome

• Why did Hamilton’s plan to make Pinckney President fail?– Adams’ friends in New England understood the

electoral system. Several of them refused to vote for Pinckney so that Adams would be sure to have the most votes

– Adams won with 71 votes– Jefferson became his Vice President with 68 votes

12-3: The Administration of John Adams

• Candidates from different parties ended up working together

• Framers had not expected different political parties to develop

Adams and Jefferson

• Why was it a mistake for Adams to keep Washington’s Cabinet?– Most of those men were not very good at their

jobs.– All of them took their orders from Alexander

Hamilton, who had resigned from the Cabinet in 1795

– Hamilton had an important influence on Adams’ administration

New Problems with France

• Why did war with France seem likely in 1797?– The French seized about 300 American ships– French refused to work with the American

minister to France and even threated to arrest him

XYZ Affair

• Why did the XYZ Affair enrage the Americans?– “Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute”

became a national slogan.– The US could not be forced to give money to any

nation

An Undeclared Naval War

• When did the US fight an undeclared naval war with France?– 1798-1800

The Alien and Sedition Acts• How did the Alien and Sedition Acts harm the

Republicans?– Federalists thought immigrants would join the Republican party

as soon as they could vote, so they made it harder for immigrants to become citizens

– Alien Act required immigrants to live in US for 14 years before becoming citizens. Also gave President power to deport dangerous immigrants

– Sedition Act put down opposition to the Federalists– Sedition Act made any effort to oppose federal laws illegal.

Also outlawed writing, speaking, or publishing false, scandalous, or malicious statements about the government

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

• What issue did the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions raise?– The important issue of whether the states could

stop acts of Congress from being enforced, or nullify them

Adams Takes Charge

• How did Adams end the war scare?– In Feb 1799 – without asking his Cabinet’s advice –

Adams asked the Senate to confirm his nomination of William Vans Murray as a special diplomatic envoy to France.

– The Murray mission was successful. It got the French to recognize the neutrality of American ships and ended French attacks on American commerce.

The Election of 1800

• What was unusual about the presidential election of 1800?– The Republican candidates, Jefferson and Burr,

each had 73 electoral votes– Technically Jefferson and Burr were tied– The decision was thrown into the House of

Representatives, which voted 35 times before finally electing Jefferson in February 1801