unit 1 - washington

election of 1789

  • each delegate voted for 2 different candidates

    • first place would be president, second would be vice president

  • washington won the first election, adams as vice president

election of 1792

  • it is decided that there will be an election every 4 years no matter what

  • outcome is the same - washington president, adams vice president

george washington

  • first term began in 1789 and the second term was 1792

  • he set prudence and precedents

  • he stayed away from foreign entanglement and political parties

  • “relunctant hero”

  • his leadership established the foundation for the presidency and set a standard for future leaders to follow

domestic issues during his presidency

  • national and state wide debt

  • lack of unity and constant disagreement

  • whiskey rebellion happened due to a tax being set

  • native american resistance in northwest

foreign issues during his presidency

  • great britain, spain, and france

  • declaration of neutrality

    • didn’t want to get involved with other countries’ battles, especially france and britain

  • freedom of seas to trade

  • access to gulf of mexico/america

  • wanted sovereignty of the fledgling nation

precedents by george washington

  • set up the cabinet system and elected officials for it

  • set the expectation that president would only serve 2 terms

    • all followed this precedent up until FDR

  • to be called “mr president”

  • ended the inauguration with “so help me God”

  • created executive order and signed 8 of them

cabinet

  • secretary of treasury - alexander hamilton

  • secretary of state - thomas jefferson

  • secretary of war - henry knox

  • attorney general - edmund randolph (basically chief law enforcement)

  • chief justice - john jay

executive order

  • carry the weight of law but not the power of one

  • legislation, supreme court, and new president can overturn any executive orders

political parties

federalists vs democratic republicans

federalists - (washington, hamilton, adams)

  • pro british - anglophiles

  • wanted a gov’t ruled by the educated elite

  • economy based on commerce, industry, and trade

  • very loose interpretation of the constitution

    • gave more power to the gov’t through implied powers

  • believed bill of rights to be unnecessary

  • BUS - national bank of US

    • expires after 20 years and must be remade

  • assumption of debt

    • all debt must be paid off

    • the gov’t will “consume” all extra debt and pay it off

democratic republicans - (jefferson, burr, madison)

  • pro french - francophiles

  • power to common people (democracy)

  • agricultural based economy

    • manufacture in england and not a landed country

  • very strict interpretation of constitution

    • if its not written then the power goes to the people

  • thought bill of rights to be necessary

  • no national bank because they thought it was too elitist

    • gave rich people too much power and overlooks the lower class

  • compromised on what the capital city would become

  • national debt should be paid every generation

    • around 19 years

hamilton’s financial plan

  • elitist or good policy?

  1. assumption of existing debt (article 6)

  2. war bonds to be paid at face value (not devalued worth)

    • speculators will be paid and not original buyers

    • madison and jefferson strongly object

  3. take on individual state debts if capital is moved to the south

    • compromise with not debt in the south

    • agree to move capital to washington d.c.

  • national debt if not excessive is a good think

    • investments can be made (return on investment > interest)

    • internal improvements bring in money with efficient trade

      • ex. roads, ports, river dredging

    • gov’t expenditures (organization and assistance)

      • military expenses

    • US creates good credit by paying back their debts on time

  • national bank (first BUS)

hamilton vs jefferson

  • lots of fighting within cabinet

  • jefferson accused of working against administration policies by leaking information to friendly press

  • jefferson resigns 1793

whiskey rebellion (1791 - 1794)

  • congress placed tax to reduce federal deficit

    • first tax ever levied to domestic product

    • whiskey acted as “bank/depository” for capital

  • whiskey tax 25% show of power was necessary

    • tax from elite, federalists, north east tyrannical gov’t

  • farmers in PA and VA burned tax inspector’s homes

    • tar and feathered tax collectors

    • raided courts

  • gallatin - local wealthy leader - “swiss founder”

    • defended rebels and attempted to defuse situation

  • washington sent 13,000 men in a force (hamilton’s idea)

    • country needs to take law of congress seriously

  • protestors quickly dispersed and rebellion ended

  • hamilton demonized gallatin as treasonous ring leader

    • no evidence, so he was no convicted

  • gallatin elected to hr (1794) and secretary of treasury (1801)

    • burr suported him over hamilton

  • whiskey tac is first domestic tax on domestic product

foreign issues

  • british intercepting american merchant ships

  • birtish northwest occupation

  • native americans provoked by british to attack frontier settlers and gave weapons

  • us and british trade imbalance was a massive one way flow of british products coming in

jay’s treaty (1795)

  • hollow concession on forts in northwest

    • british are still there because they liked fur trade (1815)

  • jay ok’d british seizure of american cargo to french ports only if paid for by british

    • opens door for furture confiscation and impressment

  • us - "most favored nation” - trade concession with west indies

  • mostly a failure but averted war with britain

  • madison (dr) mocks concession gained by jay

    • “trading in canoes is all we get”

  • dr press: “pro british american aristocratic elite federalists are selling the nations out to our #1 enemy”

  • in boston, john jay burned with effigy

  • in ny, hamilton pelted with stones

    • copies of treaties were burned at presentations

  • aaron burr leads anti-federalists charge by questioning constitutionality of geroge washington

    • “is the judiciality now working at the pleasure of the executive”

genet

  • jacobin (frenchmen) agent from revolutionary france is looking for support against briitsh

  • genet bring prospect of french disorder and european entanglements to america

    • aaron burr supports him

  • neutrality proclamation of 1793 - “logan act”

    • legal proceedings against anyone offering foregin assitance to nations at war

      • private person cannot send $ to nation at war

foreign issues - spain

  • we want new orleans and mississippi river

    • want use of river and port at mouth

  • treaty of san lorenzo (pinckney’s treaty)

    • granted us rights to navigate mississippi river and deposit goods at new orleans

  • ohio river dumps into mississippi river

    • starts in pittsburg

  • mississippi river starts in minnesota

  • important to appalachian formers

domestic issues

  • kentucky (1792) - 15th state

  • tennessee (1796) - 16th state

  • cumberland gap - hole in appalachian mountains

  • us settlements of trans-appalachian

  • native americans resistance with birtish settlers

  • battle of fallen timbers (aug 1794) - anthony wayne

    • natives defeated and abandoned by british allies

  • treaty of greenville (1795) - natives signed

    • relinquishes nw territory land and loeads to rapid settlement

  • mad anthony wayne - rev war vet of yorktown

    • saved lafayette to beat cornwallis

    • died in 1795 - replaced by w.h. harrison

  • ohio (1803) - 17th state

    • 14th state was vermont

aaron burr

  • ny - aaron burr (progressive), hamilton (conservative)

  • accused of formatting domestic strife

    • jay’s treaty (questioned), genet (entertained), gallatin (supported), duel (kill hamilton)

  • antagonist to federal party