apush: Washington - Madison (1789-1800s)

following American Rev.

• broke

• armed and trained army of dissatisfied middle class men

  • have experience fighting

• European powers circling, waiting for America’s collapse

Articles of Confederation

• too difficult for anything to happen

• cannot collect taxes - national government too difficult to fund

• each state gets one vote

Northwest Ordinance

• outlined directions for new territory to be added as state

  • 60,000 people settled + agree on border

• outlawed slavery in new territories

Newburgh Conspiracy of 1783

• all officers dissatisfied with congress

• gather in Newburgh and invite Washington - present him with list of grievances

  • if not met will march on philly

• Washington stops this

Shay’s Rebellion

• Daniel shay - middle class farmer from mass.

• hasn’t been paid from war and bank wants to take away his farm

• a lot of farmers similar to him - join together and start going through mass burning court buildings with records of mortgages

• gov cant put them down, mass has to do it themselves

• elites get scared

  • cast doubt on efficiency of the articles - gov sees the need for a new robust constitution

clash over Constitution at Constitutional Convention - (Federalists v Anti-Federalists, etc.)

Federalists:

• Hamilton and Adams

• robust Constitution that can tax keep army, and keep order

Anti-Federalists:

• Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and Madison

• Agree that a stronger constitution is needed, but wants to keep power with states and individuals

• clash over addition of Bill of Rights, Anti-Federalists would only sign if it was added

• Federalists and Anti-Federalists are NOT political parties - political parties interpret an already written constitution

compromises made for constitution - (4)

• “The great compromise”

  • house of rep - legislative branch of gov - based on population

  • senate - not based on population - more elitist

• electoral college

• “the 3/5 compromise”

  • a slave counts as 3/5 of a person

  • south insisted

• fugitive slave laws

The Federalist Papers

• John Jay and Hamilton

• argued in defense of a strong central government

why electoral college was written

put in place to prevents the common man from making a stupid choice

“elasticity”

• constitution written so it could be stretched and interpreted

• “how much should it be stretched?” - immediate question

Democratic Republicans

• created from anti-federalists

• Jefferson and Madison

• narrow interpretation

• states rights and individual rights

Federalists

• Hamilton, John Adams, Washington

• broad interpretation

• created gov to wield its power

• can do things unless constitution prohibits it strictly

• expand the government

Washington’s cabinent

• surrounds himself with people - “cabinet” - expanding constitution

Hamilton’s economy

• creation of a national bank - creates a line of credit

• in order to get credit government levy's taxes

  • whiskey tax

    • effects farmers in Penn who use whiskey as currency

• assuming state’s debts - each state owes money to Britain, putting the debt as a whole

  • Republicans HATE this

Whiskey Rebellion

• 1794 in Pennsylvania

• in response to whiskey tax

• “no taxation w/o representation”

• Washington gathered federal force and put the rebellion down

Jay’s Treaty (reasons and outcomes)

• John Jay

• ambassador to England

• Reason: goes to address two problems

  • Britain’s impressment of our sailors

  • Britain has forts on our soil that were never evacuated

    • supplying natives on our west with firearms

• Outcome

  • Brit gives us back our soldiers but doesn't promise to stop

  • doesn’t do anything about forts

Republicans angry about treaty - don't like Jay or Federalists

• Jay is against war with Britain

Washington’s farewell address

1) warned against a two party system - against political parties

2) also warned against US getting involved in foreign affairs

• difficult to maintain, neither side wants us trading with the other

XYZ affair

• result of US trying to speak with the French about interfering our trade with Brit

  • Federalists want to go to war with France following this affair