A New Government & Its Challenges

Dangers of a Powerful Government

  • Delegates considered George Washington for Chief Executive.

  • The presidency was endowed with extraordinary powers.

Sovereignty

  • Favored federal governmental power over state power.

The Judiciary

  • Vested with enormous, unclear powers.

  • Lifetime terms for judges.

No Provisions

  • No executive branch departments or a national bank were initially planned.

Slavery

  • The 3/5ths Rule gave disproportionate power to slave owners and states.

Political Parties

  • The system did not anticipate political parties.

  • Lack of guidance on candidate/VP selection.

Undemocratic Features

  • Senate (representation disparities).

  • Electoral college.

  • The judiciary.

The Electoral College

  • Problematic in: 1800, 1824, 1876, 2000, 2016.

  • Faithless Electors: Instances of electors voting against their state's prescribed manner.

  • Electoral College:

    • Thesis: Popular Vote.

    • Antithesis: Selection by Congress.

    • Synthesis: Electoral College.

Presidential Elections

  • 1800: Adams may have received more popular votes, but Jefferson obtained power.

  • 1824: Jackson won the most votes but lost the election.

  • 1876: Disputed results led to a compromise.

  • 2000 & 2016: Highlighted the electoral college's potential to elect a president who didn't win the popular vote.

The New Nation in 1783

  • 13 original states on the Eastern Seaboard.

  • Large area claimed by the U.S. in the west.

Northwest Ordinance

  • Addressed slavery restriction.

Ratification of the Federal Constitution (1787-90)

  • Lessons from Anti-Federalists: Argued against a republic of national extent.

  • Supporters of the Constitution struggled to address this point.

Presidential Elections (Early)

  • 1789: George Washington elected unanimously.

  • 1792: Washington re-elected.

Washington & Slavery

  • Washington desired to free enslaved people at Mount Vernon after his death.

  • He included this in his will.

Slavery and the Founders

  • Slavery highlights the incompleteness of the Revolution.

Slavery's Role

  • Hard-wired into the founding of the U.S.

  • 12 of the first 18 presidents owned slaves.

The 1st Congress (1789-91)

  • Significant Legislative Acts:

    • Department of State (July 1789).

    • Department of War (August 1789).

    • Department of the Treasury (Sept. 1789).

    • Judiciary Act of 1789 (Sept. 1789).

    • Residence Act (July 1790).

    • Funding Act (Aug. 1790).

    • Tariff Act (August 1790).

    • Bank of the United States (Feb. 1791).

    • Whiskey Act (March 1791).

Economic Ideas

  • Robert Morris & Federalist economic ideas.

  • Hamilton's Understanding: Understood public finance and power.

  • Hamilton opposed slavery.

Bank of the United States (1791-1811)

  • Founded to stabilize the economy.

  • Washington's Support: Placed his prestige behind it.

Native Americans

  • Washington led military operations against Native Americans.

Dispossession of Native Americans

  • Native Americans possessed less and less land.

Western Land Claims (1782-90)

  • Eastern states made claims on western lands.

Native American Resistance (1785-1842)

  • Native Americans were not passively dispossessed.

Native American Land Cessions (1783-1814)

  • Massive Native American cessions of territory.

Moving West

  • Cumberland Gap, 1779-96.

Greenville Treaty Line 1795

  • Established a boundary between Native American territory and U.S. settlement after US victory at Fallen Timbers.

American Migrations (18th and 19th Centuries)

  • Native tribes, Spanish, British, French.

Spanish Explorers (1774-1808)

  • Exploration and settlement patterns.

Spanish Colonial California

  • Settled from 1769 to 1823: Missions, Pueblos, Presidios.