Presidential Biography

George Washington1789-1797

1.What are the various elements depicted in this image that dates from 1800?

2.What purpose did an image like this serve in the United States in 1800?

3. . All of the elements in this image served as symbols of America in 1800. Which of these lasted as iconic symbols of America over time, and which fell out of favor?

I. The Political Crisis of the 1790sA. The Federalists Implement the Constitution1.Devising the New Governmenta) Washington received the highest number of votes from the electoral

college and was elected president in 1788b) John Adams was elected vice presidentc) Washington insisted that only the president had the right to remove

appointed government officials. d) He appointed a cabinet: T. Jefferson (head of Dept. of State), A.

Hamilton (head of Treasury Dept.), and H. Knox (Sec. of War). e) Judiciary Act of 1789 established a federal district court in each

state with three circuit courts to hear appealsf) Supreme Court would have final judicial say.

I. The Political Crisis of the 1790sB. Hamilton’s Financial Program1.Public Credit: Redemption and Assumptiona) Was extremely controversial because it would create a permanent

national debtb) suggested that Congress redeem at face value the $55 million in

Confederation securities held by foreign and domestic investors to create good credit

c) critics said this policy would unfairly increase the profits of speculatorsd) Hamilton wanted to improve public credit by having the national

government assume the war debt of the states.

2. Creating a National Bank3. Raising Revenue Through Tariffs

2. Creating a National Bank

a) (December 1790) Hamilton argued that a national bank would be jointly owned by private stockholders and the national government

b) bank would make loans to merchants, handle government funds, and issue bills of credit

c) Jefferson and Madison opposed a national bank (preferred a strict interpretation of Constitution) on the grounds that the government did not have the right/power to create such an institution.

3. Raising Revenue Through Tariffs

a) Hamilton’s “Report on Manufactures” (December 1791)

b) urged the expansion of American manufacturing

c) called for Congress to impose excise taxes to pay the interest on the national debt

d) advocated moderate revenue tariffs and not protective tariffs.

I. The Political Crisis of the 1790sC. Jefferson’s Agrarian Vision1.Southern planters and western farmersa) By 1793, the Federalists had split over Hamilton’s financial plans

for the nationb) southern Federalists supported Jefferson and Madison (called

themselves Democratic Republicans or simply Republicans), while northerners supported Hamilton (Federalists)

c) Jefferson argued that the wage-labor of the North could not sustain a republican nation

d) therefore, he focused instead on yeoman farmers and their families, whose work he argued could support the nation as well as European countries.

e) The French Revolution’s disruption of European farming lent credibility to Jefferson’s ideas.

I. The Political Crisis of the 1790sD. The French Revolution Divides Americans1.Ideological Politicsa) Americans made large profits from the French Revolution but

argued over the ideologies that led to the revolution b) some Americans supported the Jacobin ideas of social

egalitarian/democratic society c) Americans with strong Christian beliefs disliked the Jacobins

closing the churches and feared a similar social rebellion in the U.S.

d) still other Americans were critical of the revolution’s bloodshed.

e) In 1794, western Pennsylvania farmers mounted the Whiskey Rebellion to protest Hamilton’s excise tax on alcohol.

2. Jay’s Treatya) Disagreements between the British and

Americans over shipments to France led to Jay’s Treaty (1793/1794), accepting Britain’s right to stop neutral ships

b) in return, Americans could make claims to the British for illegal seizures and required the British to remove their troops and Indian agents from the Northwest Territory

c) was seen as a decidedly pro-British treaty.

3. The Haitian Revolutiona)Saint-Domingue was a French plantation colony in the West

Indies; elite planters ruled a population of 40,000 free whitesb)some 28,000 free blacks were excluded from white privilegesc)a half million black slaves worked the sugar plantationsd)French Revolution intensified conflicts on the island and

inspired a massive slave uprising that aimed to abolish slavery. e)Toussaint L’Ouverture seized control of the country and in 1803

proclaimed the independent nation of Haiti, the Atlantic World’s first black republic.

f) Haitian refugees flood into the U.S.; American slaveholders feared contagion of slave revolution; many Americans saw Haiti as a perversion of the republican ideal.

Presidential Biography

John Adams1797-1801

I. The Political Crisis of the 1790sE. The Rise of Political Parties1.Public interesta) Many Americans believed organized political parties were

dangerous because they feared that they did not serve the public interest

b) debate over Hamilton’s financial policies led to further divide among politicians.

c) By the 1796 election, the two groups were holding public festivals and processions to celebrate their perspectives and candidates

d) Adams was elected president; maritime disputes with the British erupted in the XYZ Affair.

2. The Naturalization, Alien, and Sedition Acts of 1798

a) Federalists took a hard line against Republic criticsb) they passed Naturalization Act (lengthened residency requirement

for American citizenship from five to fourteen years), Alien Act (authorized deportation of foreigners), and Sedition Act (prohibited publication of insults or attacks on president or members of Congress), which limited individual rights and threatened the fledgling party system

c) Federalist prosecutors arrested many Republican newspapers editors and politicians and jailed some of them

d) resulting constitutional crisis led Kentucky and Virginia legislatures to declare Alien and Sedition Acts to be “unauthoritative, void, and of no force”

e) the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions set forth a states’ rights interpretation of the Constitution, asserting that the states had a “right to judge” the legitimacy of national laws.

3. The “Revolution of 1800”

a) The presidential election of 1800 was an intense partisan contest

b) Federalists attacked Jefferson as an irresponsible radical

c) election was contested, but Federalist Hamilton supported Jefferson, leading in new Republican era

d) bloodless transfer of power showed that popularly elected governments could be changed in an orderly way, even in times of bitter partisan conflict.

II. A Republican Empire Is BornA. Sham Treaties and Indian Lands1.The Treaty of Greenvillea) Disagreements continued in the West; government asserted control over

trans-Appalachian west, arguing that the natives who lived there were “conquered”; Indians disagreed because they had not signed the Treaty of Paris

b) native peoples were forced to cede huge tracts of land in New York and Pennsylvania; land speculators used liquor and bribes to take additional land

c) conflict arose between allying native groups, white settlers, and the U.S. Army.

d) The Treaty of Greenville ceded most of Ohio to U.S. and started a wave of migration from the east; by 1805, Ohio was a new state with more than 100,000 people.

2. Assimilation Rejecteda)To prevent conflict, U.S. government encouraged assimilation to white culture; some converted to Christianity but kept their cultural practices.

II. A Republican Empire Is BornB. Migration and the Changing Farm Economy1.Southern Migrantsa)Two “streams”: 1) white tenants and yeomen farmers flocked into Kentucky and Tennessee, then later into Ohio, Indiana, Illinoisb)2) southern planters and slaves from the Carolinas moved toward Gulf of Mexico (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana) to plant cotton.

2. Exodus from New Englanda) Left New England for NH, VT, ME, NY in search of land for

their children.3. Innovation on Eastern Farms1. In the North, farmers switched from grain to potatoes; bought

farm equipment2. began to adopt year-round farming schedules; worked harder

and longer3. improved standard of living.

Presidential Biography

Thomas Jefferson1801-09

II. A Republican Empire Is BornC. The Jefferson Presidency1.Policiesa) Jefferson’s presidency began the “Virginia Dynasty”

of Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe (1801–1825)b) all three actively supported westward expansionc) Jefferson reduced the size of the permanent army. 2. Marbury v. Madison a) 1803 Supreme Court decision. b) The Supreme Court did not have the constitutional

power to enforce legislation but did have the power to review legislation and interpret the Constitution.

II. A Republican Empire is BornD. Jefferson and the West1. The Louisiana Purchasea) Jefferson wanted it to be easier for farm families to acquire land

in the Westb) in 1801, Napoleon signed a secret treaty with Spain that regained

Louisiana for Francec) coupled with revolt in Haiti against French rule, Jefferson began

to fear relationship with Franced) made efforts to purchase New Orleans (ultimately all of

Louisiana)e) Jefferson believed this would force Indian population further west.

2. Secessionist Schemesa) Some New England Federalists considered

leaving the Union after Louisiana Purchase to form a confederacy of northeastern states, supported by Vice President Aaron Burr

b) Hamilton accused Burr of planning to destroy the Union

c) a duel occurred between the men and Hamilton was killed

d) Burr was later acquitted of treason.

3. Lewis and Clark Meet the Mandans and Sioux

a) In 1804, Jefferson sent his secretary Meriwether Lewis and army officer William Clark to explore the Louisiana region

b) came into contact with Mandan and Sioux peoples

c) continued traveling further (1,300 miles) into unknown territories

d) gave to Jefferson the first maps of the immense western wilderness and a detailed account of its resources and inhabitants.

Presidential Biography

James Madison1809-1817

III. The War of 1812 and the Transformation of Politics

A. Conflict in the Atlantic and the West1.The Embargo of 1807a) Napoleonic War in Europe and the Atlantic eventually brought

Americans into the conflictb) the British navy impressed Americans into service from merchant

shipsc) Embargo Act of 1807 kept American ships from leaving ports

until the French and British restrictions had been liftedd) American economy weakenede) Madison was elected in 1808 and continued to restrict American

trade.

2. Western War Hawksa) Republicans from the West blamed Britainb) Shawnee war chief Tecumseh rebuilt the Western

Confederacy (Indians) and mobilized his people (and others) for war

c) violence broke out between native peoples and white Americans

d) British aided Indianse) war broke out between U.S. and Britain in June

1812, with U.S. arguing that Britain had violated the nation’s commercial rights.

III. The War of 1812 and the Transformation of PoliticsB. The War of 1812

1.Federalists Oppose the Wara) U.S. invasion of British Canada failedb) U.S. stayed on the offensive in the Westc) in East, New England Federalists opposed the war completely

and prohibited invasion of Canada; in the North, war went poorlyd) in the Southwest, Andrew Jackson (slaveholding planter) and a

force of Tennessee militiamen successfully defeated the British and Spanish-supported Indians

e) New Englanders continued to oppose the war.

2. Peace Overtures and a Final Victory

a) War cost the U.S. $88 million and increased the national debt to $127 million

b) by 1815, Britain called for peacec) the Treaty of Ghent (1814) put borders back to

preward) Andrew Jackson’s victory of British forces in the

Battle of New Orleans occurred before news of peace treaty reached him

e) battle lifted American morale and made Jackson a national hero.

Presidential Biography

James Monroe1817-1825

III. The War of 1812 and the Transformation of PoliticsC. The Federalist Legacy

1.Marshall’s Federalist Lawa) John Marshall, Supreme Court Chief Justiceb) three main principles influenced Marshall’s thinking: 1) judicial authority,

2) supremacy of natural law, and 3) traditional property rights.2. Asserting National Supremacya) Dominance of national over state statutes was again was asserted by the

Marshall Court.3. Upholding Vested Property Rightsa) Fearing “tyranny of the majority,” Marshall advocated protecting the

property rights of the individual.

4. The Diplomacy of John Quincy Adams

a) Citizens and political leaders embraced the Republican Party

b) John Quincy Adams was a member of the Republican Party before the War of 1812 and had negotiated the Treaty of Ghent

c) brilliantly served two terms as Secretary of State under President Monroe.

5. Monroe Doctrine

a) John Quincy Adams was the architect of the doctrine, which stated the Americas were no longer open for colonization from European powers and pledged that the U.S. would not “interfere in the internal concerns” of European nations.