Chapter 9, Section 2

Challenges to the New Government

I. Securing the Northwest Territory

  1. Washington saw that the country needed peace in able to prosper, but Spain, Britain, the United States, and Natives claimed parts of land in between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River
  2. The port of New Orleans was key to trade for the American settlers, but was claimed by the Spaniards
  3. The British still held forts north of the Ohio River, but this was a violation to the Treaty of Paris of 1783 and Natives and settlers eventually would clash over the Northwest Territory

II. The Battle of Fallen Timbers

  1. Washington sent troops to the Northwest Territory believing that security and growth of the new nation was critical
  2. Shawnee, Ottawa, and Chippewa defeated the federal army, expecting British help, Native warriors gathered at Fort Miami
  3. On August 20, 1794, 2000 Natives clashed with Anthony Wayne’s troops, and the Natives were defeated at the Battle of Fallen Timbers
  4. Not wanting war with the US, the British did not help the Natives
  5. Twelve tribes signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, and they agreed to cede, or surrender, much of Ohio and Indiana to the US

III. The Whiskey Rebellion

  1. Conflict arose over the government’s tax on whiskey, and this was part of Hamilton’s financial plan
  2. From PA to GA, farmers resisted the tax, because whiskey and the grain it was made from were important products
  3. Wheat and rye were easier to carry to market in liquid form, so customers paid more for whiskey than grain, and the farmers used whiskey to get whatever supplies they needed
  4. The Whiskey Rebellion occurred when one armed group beat up a tax collector, coated him with tar, and stole his horse
  5. Washington feared that not to act might undermine the new government, so Gen Henry Lee and 13,000 troops went to PA and put down the uprising, showing that the government had the power to enforce laws

IV. The French Revolution

  1. Inspired by the American Revolution, the French revolutionaries demanded liberty and equality, but thousands of French citizens were massacred
  2. Louis XVI, the king of France was executed in 1793
  3. France declared war on Britain, which put the US in an awkward position because France was an ally, but Britain was the most important trading partner
  4. Washington said the nation would be “friendly and impartial”, so Congress passed a law forbidding the US to help either side

V. Remaining Neutral

  1. The British began seizing the cargoes of American ships, so Chief Justice John Jay was sent to Britain to talk about the ships and persuade the British to give up their forts on the Northwest frontier
  2. In Jay’s Treaty, the British agreed to leave the Ohio Valley in 1796 and pay damages for US ships they had seized, but failed to open up trade in the West Indies
  3. Pinckney’s Treaty with Spain gave the US the right to travel freely on the Mississippi River, and the 31st parallel was the southern boundary of the US

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