His presidency and how it shaped the nation

Washington Heads the New Government

Washington Takes OfficeHow did George Washington like the idea of being the president of the United States?He had no desire to become president, and only wished to retire to his Virginia estate, Mount Vernon.

George Washington was a man of the people though, and chose to take the responsibility offered to him by the voters who chose him unanimously. He set out for NYC to take the oath in April 1789.As a president of the new nation, Washington had a daunting task ahead of him. He must create an entirely new government and act as the executive leader.

The New Government Takes Shape

Washington took over a government based on the will of the people, a radical experiment that seemed difficult at the time.He had to figure out how to shape this government on the foundation laid out by the Constitution.The first step Washington took was to create a judicial system. Since the Constitution gave Congress the power to establish a federal court system headed by a supreme court, Washington had some questions to ponder. What were some issues he had to consider?

Some questions included what types of additional courts would there need to be and how would conflicts between federal courts and state laws be handled.Washington solved these issues with the

Judiciary Act of 1789. This act set up a Supreme Court with a chief justice and 5 associate judges, 3 federal court circuits and 13 federal district courts throughout the country, and allowed for state court decisions to be appealed to a higher court when constitutional issues were raised. This made federal laws “the supreme law of the land.

Washington Shapes the Executive Branch

When Washington took office in 1789, there were only 2 positions in the Executive Branch; President & Vice President. To help these leaders govern, Congress created 3 divisions of the Executive Branch: the Department of State, Department of War, and Department of the Treasury. What were each of these departments responsible for?STATE: foreign affairsWAR: military mattersTREASURY: finances

Thomas Jefferson became the secretary of state.

Alexander Hamilton became the secretary of the treasury.

And Henry Knox became the secretary of war.

These three department heads were the presidents chief advisors, also called his cabinet.

Hamilton & Jefferson Debate

Hamilton Jefferson

Believed in a strong central government, led by the prosperous, educated elite of the upper-class.

Believed commerce and industry were keys to a strong nation

Distrusted a strong central government and the rich.

Favored strong state and local governments rooted in popular participation.

Favored a society of farmer-citizens.

Hamilton’s Economic PlanHamilton put forth a plan to manage the U.S. finances through managing the nation’s debts and establish a national banking system.Hamilton’s plan for the country’s debt included to pay off foreign debt and issue new bonds to pay off old debts, as well as having the national government pay off the state debts. Why did Hamilton think the federal government should assume state debts?Hamilton thought that taking on state debts would earn support for the new government since creditors would be paid off. This idea infuriated the South (who had paid off their state debts) because they felt that would lead to higher federal taxes. Basically, they did not want to pay for Northern debt.To appease the South, Hamilton came up with the idea to move the nation’s capital from New York City to a more Southern locale. This idea pleased the South, particularly Virginians such as Madison and Jefferson, and they backed the debt plan by 1790.The plan passed along with the authorization to build a new capital in the District of Columbia (between Maryland & Virginia)

The National BankThe most controversy came from Hamilton’s plan to establish a national bank. This bank would be funded by both the federal government and wealthy investors. Why would a bank cause such a stir?Opponents of the national bank, such as James Madison, saw this as a way for an unhealthy alliance to form between the federal government and the wealthy.He also argued that the Constitution had no provisions stating that a national bank could be authorized by Congress.2 groups emerged in this conflict. Those who favored a “strict” interpretation of the Constitution, and those who favored a more “loose” interpretation.

What clause in the Constitution did those who favored a “loose” interpretation use to explain why Congress could deviate outside from what the Constitution states?

The elastic clause of the Constitution gives Congress the power to do whatever is “necessary and proper” to carry out its specific enumerated powers.

Hamilton convinced the Congress to establish the bank, and the one pictured above in New York was the nations first B.U.S.

The 1st Political Parties Form

Out of the turmoil in Washington’s cabinet between Jefferson and Hamilton came a two-party system. Supporters of Jefferson’s beliefs became known as Democratic-Republicans, and those who supported Alexander Hamilton were known as Federalists.

Washington feared the effects of a two-party system and stated, “It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against the another, foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption…”

Federalists & Democratic-Republicans

Federalists could be likened more to today’s republicans, while the Democratic-Republicans were the early ancestors of today’s Democrats.

The Whiskey RebellionDuring Washington’s 2nd term as president Congress passed a protective tariff in 1789. This was an import tax on goods produced in Europe and was meant to encourage American production.Secretary Hamilton pushed the limits though when he passed an excise tax which levied a tax on the production, sale, or distribution of a specific good. He chose whiskey as his target and caused an uproar, why?Whiskey was produced by small frontier farmers since corn (which is distilled to make whiskey) was to heavy to ship over the Appalachian Mountains, therefore these farmers whose livelihood depended on the production of whiskey felt that a grave injustice had been done to them.

Widespread rebellion broke out in 1794 when farmers in Western PA. refused to pay the tax, beat up federal marshals, and threatened to secede.

This was a Whiskey Rebellion Flag, used to protest

The Rebellions AftermathHamilton viewed the rebellion as a way to “flex” the federal governments muscle and he and Washington, accompanied by 15,000 militiamen, traveled from Maryland to Pennsylvania to squash the rebellion.They did so successfully, and without losing a single life. This became a milestone for the consolidation of power in domestic affairs.

Although Washington’s administration found several areas of success, they also begin seeing issues with their foreign relations with Europe abroad, and Native Americans on the home front. These issues would really test the new nations strength and fortitude in the coming years, as well as the Constitution that we held as our foundation.

RemindersHW: SPNotes on Chapter 6.2

The end of the term is approaching fast… make sure to get those test corrections and missing assignments in ASAP!

Leave the room better than you found it, and have a great day!