American History I: The Presidency of George Washington (Part I)
I. George Washington (President from 1789 - 1797)
l No political party affiliation
l Won 100% of electoral vote in both elections
l Established precedent of only serving two terms as president
II. Creating the First Cabinet & Establishing the Supreme Court
l Alexander ______
l Washington’s ______Secretary
l Wanted to build a financially strong and independent US, especially for American industry and businesses
l Thomas ______
l Washington’s Secretary of ______
l Former governor, congressman, and ambassador to France
l Wanted to protect states’ rights, US-French relations
l Resigned from the cabinet in 1793 due to his disagreements with Hamilton
l Henry ______
l Washington’s Secretary of ______
l Tasked with building America’s ability to defend itself
l Memorization device: Ft. Knox (in Kentucky) is named after him; forts are used in WAR)
l Supposedly died from swallowing a chicken bone
l Edmund ______
l Washington’s ______
l Later became Secretary of State after Jefferson’s resignation, but then forced to resign in 1795, due to scandal; he had been coaching the French government on how to manipulate President Washington, potentially an act of treason
l The ______Act of 1789
l Passed by the First Congress
l Established the Federal Court system
l Made clear that the ______Court was the highest court in the U.S.
l President Washington appointed John Jay to be the first Chief Justice
l John Jay: First Chief Justice (1789-95)
l Sent to England in 1794-5 to negotiate Jay’s Treaty (more on that in a later)
l Resigned from the court in 1795 to become governor of New York
III. Alexander Hamilton (Federalist Party) vs. Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican Party)
l Hamilton’s Economic Plan
l Most states had many debts left over from the Revolution
l Hamilton wanted the US to assume the states’ individual debts
l US would pay these debts by taxing ______and imported goods
l Hamilton also wanted to establish a national ______
l Constitutional opposition to Hamilton’s Plan
l Thomas Jefferson argued government did not have the constitutional power to create a bank (a strict interpretation of the Constitution)
l Hamilton argued that the “______” clause allowed the government to do what was necessary to perform its functions (loose interpretation)
l Southern opposition to Hamilton’s Plan
l Taxes on imported goods would hurt southern farmers
l Many southern states had already paid off their war debts
l South agreed to support Hamilton’s plan only after North agreed to move the capital from New York City to a site on the ______River (Washington DC)
l Frontier opposition to Hamilton’s Plan
l Didn’t like tax on whiskey because that was how many frontiersmen made their living
l This opposition led to the ______Rebellion of 1794
l Pennsylvania farmers refused to pay whiskey tax and took up arms
l Pres. Washington responded by personally leading the US Army in putting down the rebellion
l Federal government demonstrated it could (and would) enforce its laws
Federalists vs. Democratic-RepublicansFederalists / Democratic-Republicans
Led by Alexander Hamilton / Led by Thomas Jefferson
Favored a strong federal government / Favored strong state governments
Favored large landowners & wealthy merchants / Favored small-scale farmers
Favored tariffs & business-friendly policies / Favored a "laissez-faire" approach where government did not try to regulate the economy
Favored a "loose" interpretation of the Constitution / Favored a "strict" interpretation of the Constitution
Strongest in the Northern states / Strongest in the Southern states
Pro-business / Pro-farmer
Favored neutrality in the war between Britain & France / Favored supporting France in their war against the British