• George Washington’s cabinet included…

  • Thomas Jefferson, the secretary of state

  • Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury

  • Henry Knox, secretary of war

  • Edmund Randolph, attorney general

French Revolution and America

• In the French Revolution, the initial idea was to overthrow King Louis XVI, the people having resonated with American Revolution ideals

• However the Reign of Terror and France’s declaration of war on other European nations raised questions regarding US support

• Americans and Washington’s cabinet were divided over supporting the French Revolution

Reasons for Supporting

• France had supported the US in its revolution

• French ideas of democratic reform were opposed to the monarchy

  • They had similar reasons

• Thomas Jefferson led the support of the French Revolution

  • He had spent a significant amount of time in France asking for aid during their revolution

  • As the secretary of state his job was foreign affairs

Reasons for Opposing

• The Reign of Terror was too radical

• France had declared war on Britain, which would affect American trade

• Alexander opposed the French Revolution

  • This also makes sense for his position, managing financial affairs

• Similarly, merchants feared economic trouble

Financial Problems

• The national economy was in trouble

• There was debt from the war, creditors wanted payment, and trade was limited

• State and federal debt combined added up to around $76 million

• The government began to sell national bonds

  • This invested money in the US

  • Eventually the government has to pay this back + interest

• A controversial tax on luxury items was instated nationally

  • Most upsettingly, whiskey was taxed

• There were also taxes on all imported goods

  • This promote the manufacturing of goods domestically

  • The taxes went straight towards alleviating national debt

• The bank of the United States had a number of responsibilities

  • Printing paper money

  • Collecting tax revenue

  • Paying off interest on the debt

  • Offering commercial loans for new businesses/industry

• There was controversy regarding whether the bank was constitutional or not

  • There was no specific permission for the national government to create a bank… nor was there explicit denial

  • Thomas Jefferson, who interpreted the constitution strictly, said a national bank was NOT permitted by the constitution

• Alexander Hamilton took a different perspective…

  • He interpreted the constitution more loosely, and also employed the ‘necessary and proper cause’

  • Congress has the power to “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, all other powers vested by this constitution”

  • Hamilton argued that a bank was necessary and therefore allowed