uil social studies

"Farewell Address" by George Washington (Sept. 17, 1796)

These were the final words that the first President of the United States wanted the public and history to take from his about the general direction he thought the country was headed. In his address, Washington warned against political factions and foreign alliances, emphasizing unity and independence.

• These were the final words that the first President of the United States wanted the public and history to take from his about the general direction he thought the country was headed.

• Warned Americans to avoid partisanship and factionalism that sought to divide the people based on the regions they lived in.

• He also notes the downsides of foreign relationships and entanglements.

"Letter to James McHenry" by George Washington (1798)

• Former president George Washington wrote President John Adams's Secretary of War.

• The Secretary of War was a High Federalist and served under Washington as well.

• Disusses how best to appoint officers to the Additional Army created to combat a French invasion.

• Washington distrusted supporters of the French Revolution and criticizes Democratic-Republicans as a danger to the government even as they promised to support and defend it.

"Letter to John Taylor of Caroline" by Thomas Jefferson (June 4, 1798)

• The author and future President of the United States discusses the political influence of New England compared to the South.

• He compares it to despotic "minority rule."

• Author believes the majority of Americans agree with the Democratic-Republican Party.

• Believes only the populaity of George Washington and the schemes of Alexander Hamilton have helped the Federalist Party to stay in power.

• Believes if the Federarlist Party continues in power could lead to war against England, rising taxes, and an end to the Constitution.

• Author insists that the states should stay together and that suffering through the Federalist regime was better than disunion.

"Letter to Jonathan Trumbull" by George Washington (July 1799)

• A letter from the first President of the United States to his former personal secretary.

• The author spells out his dislike for revolutionary France and for the Democratic-Republican Party in the U.S.

• States that any candidate for the Democratic-Republican Party would receive their party's loyal vote regardles of the qualifications of the Federalist candidate (even if it was a broomstick!)

• Does not wish to run for president again and will only come out of retirement at Mt. Vernon if he needed to serve in the military.

• He also fears that if he did run for office again, he would be attacked in the partisan press.

• The author would die five months after writing this letter in December 1799.

"First Inaugural Address" by Thomas Jefferson (March 4, 1801)

• The first inaugural address of the nation's 3rd president.

• Acknowledges the tension and friction of the Election of 1800.

• The president states that opposing him or the government is a cherished American right that should be protected and differences of politics are welcomed.

• Outlays his vision of a smaller federal government.

• Urges Americans to come together dispite political differences because of all of our shared values and the mighty resources of the country to work toward a shared prosperity.

• His political platform included shrinking the size of the federal government, paying the federal debt, encourage agriculture, safeguard freedom of information, press, and religion, and defend the Constitution.

"Letter to Senator Uriah Tracy" by John Quincy Adams (1804)

• The son of a former president wrote to Senator Uriah Tracy on how he felt many political offiicals were focused on their own lives instead of fighting for princpled causes.

• Author argues that a constitutional amendment (originally proposed by Timothy Pickering) is necessary to abolish the 3/5ths Compromise from the Constitution.

• Author argues that removing the slave compromise is required to break the "slaveholding power" that had oversized influence on government.

"A Collection of Facts and Documents, relative to the Death of Major-General Alexander Hamilton" by William Coleman (1804)

• A play-by-play documentation of a famous duel that occurred in Weehawken, New Jersey, on July 11, 1804.

• The duel was the long-time result of decades of political rivalry between the two New Yorkers.

• The document states that the duelists were 10 paces apart. The victor (the sitting vice-president) hit is opponent in the liver.

• The vice-president flees the scene so as not to be recognized.

• Dr. David Hosack attended the loser and recorded that he did not fire at Burr and chose to fire to the side at a tree.

"Message to Congress on the Burr Conspiracy" by Thomas Jefferson (January 22, 1807)

• President Thomas Jefferson was providing the House of Representatives with facts concerning the actions of the former Vice-President who allegedly plotted to attack Spanish territory and American territory on the western frontier.

• Despite a shortage of specifics, President Jefferson thought the former VP guilty "beyond question."

• Charges also included an attempt to invade and capture the Spanish city of New Orleans and then go into Mexico.

• The VP had already been tried in Kentucky but was found not guilty.

• Even after additional evidence and a trial in the Congress, the former vice-president was found not guilty of treason and lived the rest of his life in exile in Europe.

"The Hartford Convention and State of the War of 1812," Niles Weekly Register (January 28, 1815)

• A news story about a "New England Convention" being held by Federalists in Connecticut who were speaking out against President James Madison and the War of 1812.

• The reporter of the news story states the convention would hurt America's war effort and current peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium.

• The reporter then discusses General Andrew Jackson's chances at victory in New Orleans.

• The report ends with calls of support from soldiers and from politicians on the homefront.

• The last section appeals that "Men of Color" to join the military to fight the British.

Amendments to the Constitution Proposed by the Hartford Convention (1814)

• This document was formulated by New England Federalists in opposition to the War of 1812.

• The document opens with a resolution against any military draft issued by Congress.

• It calls for 7 amendments to the Constitution:

1. Abolish the 3/5th Compromise

2. New states admitted by a 2/3rds majority in Congress.

3. Federal trade embargoes will be capped at 60 days.

4. Federal trade embargoes need a 2/3rds majority in Congress to pass.

5. 2/3rds approval from Congress to declare an offensive war.

6. Naturalized citizens are barred from holding federal office.

7. Limit the presidency to one term and the president cannot come from the same state for two terms in a row.

• The document ends with calls for secession convention in Boston if no action is taken.

"Resquests from Congress to Support Internal Improvements" by President James Madison (1815)

• The 4th president of the United States asked Congress to fund infrastructure that would support national defense after the War of 1812.

• The president suggested that tariffs could be used to help pay for the new infrastructure projects.

• States that building canals and roads is essential in the U.S. due to its massive size.

• The president also called for the creation of a national university in Washington, D.C.

"Letter to John Holmes" by Thomas Jefferson (April 22, 1820)

• The 3rd president of the United States writes to John Holms concerning the controversy surrounding Missouri statehood.

• Author believes the proposed Missouri Compromise would only be a temporary answer.

• Suggests that expanded slavery in new territories would not increase the number of slaves and might bring about emancipation sooner than without it.

• Author believes that Congress cannot end slavery and only individual states have that power

• Concludes by arguing the freedom won by his generation will be wasted by the divisions and sectionalism that leads to disunion and is glad he will be dead before he can see a civil war.

"Note to His Speech on the Right of Suffrage," by James Madison (1821)

• The 4th president of the United States muses on the pro's and con's of expanding universal white male suffrage.

• Stated that there are dangers in both limiting voting and to expanding voting.