Launching the New Ship of State

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Launching the New Ship of State

• 1789-1800

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• Launching the Ship of State
• Was America ready for self government?
• decade of revolution constitution smashing
• Finances were poor high debt, worthless money
• Census 1790- 4 million people doubling every 25
  years
• 90 rural
• 95 lived east of Appalachian Mountains

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• Washington as President
• Unanimously drafted as President by Electoral
  College 1789
• Did not campaign for office
• Capital located in NYC
• First cabinet- Sec. State- Thomas Jefferson, Sec.
  Treasury- Alexander Hamilton, Sec. of War- Henry
  Knox
• 1791- Bill of Rights added to the Constitution
  James Madison drafted pushed them through
  Congress.
• Judiciary Act of 1789- organized the Supreme
  Court (1 Chief Justice 5 associate justices)-
  John Jay- 1st Chief Justice of SC.

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• Hamiltons Financial Plan
• Father of National Debt
• believed national debt was an adhesive
• plan was to shape fiscal policies of the
  administration to favor
• wealthier Americans wealthy would give monetary
  political
• support to the national government.
• Report on National Credit
• 1. Strengthened national credit- asked Congress
  to fund a full value
• entire national debt plus interest (54 million)
• Problem- government bonds had depreciated
  speculators were buying them up.
• 2. Assume State debts- assume Rev. war debts of
  states (21.5 million)
• would chain states to national government
• Problem- states that had lots of debt liked plan-
  states like Va. which had small debt disliked the
  plan.
• Compromise- The Dinner- Hamilton persuaded
  Jefferson to line up southern votes in Congress
  in exchange- the capital would be moved to the
  federal district on the Potomac (D.C).
• money to pay interest on debt- customs duties
  collected from tariffs excise taxes.

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• Report on Manufactures
• a) Customs Duties
• Collected from tariffs
• Depended on vigorous trade
• Designed to protect American businesses from
  foreign competition.
• b) Excise tax- tax on specific domestic products
  like whiskey.
• Second Report on Public Credit
• 3. A National Bank- to issue paper money
  (national currency), strongbox for federal
  deposits, circulate federal funds to stimulate
  businesses.
• US government would be a major stockholder- but
  privately owned.
• Was it constitutional?? Jefferson others
  opposed!
• Jefferson- all powers not given to national
  government are reserved for states.
• Hamilton- used Article I Sec VIII, CLAUSE 18-
  Congress may pass any laws necessary and
  proper to carry out powers
• Hamiltons view won- Congress created the Bank of
  the US (1791) for 20 years.
• bank supported by commercial interests in north-
  disliked by south.
• located in Philadelphia

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• The Whiskey Rebellion
• 1791- Congress passed a tax on Whiskey (7 cents
  a gallon)
• the new tax hurt backcountry farmers
  distillers most
• tax was looked on as a tax on a medium of
  exchange a tax on an economic necessity
• defiant farmers tarred feathered tax
  collectors
• George Washington led 13,000 troops the rebels
  dispersed
• Importance- proved power of new government over
  popular dissent.
• The First Political Parties
• at its founding America had no political
  parties
• the first two parties developed because of
  Hamiltons controversial finance plan.
• Democrat-Republicans- led by Jefferson, Madison
  favored state power and suspicious of strong
  centralized power.
• strict interpretation of the constitution
• supported by farmers in the South West

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• 2. The Federalists- led by Alexander Hamilton
  supported strong centralized national government.
• Loose interpretation of the Constitution
• supported by the business classes, bank
  interests of the New England area.
• America works to maintain Neutrality
• 1789- The French Revolution erupted
• most Americans supported the French early on
• 1792- France Austria go to war- France becomes
  a Republic.
• 1793- The Reign of Terror shocks
  Federalists- creates tension between
  Democrat-Republicans Federalists
• Britain was sucked into the European conflict
• COULD AMERICA AVOID BEING SUCKED IN AS WELL??

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• George Washington Foreign Policy
• Franco-American Alliance of 1778- bound the US
  to help defend the French West Indies.
• Jeffersonian Republicans wanted to honor the
  alliance fight Britain
• GW Hamilton wanted to avoid war- Jefferson
  concurred.
• Neutrality Proclamation 1793
• Citizen Edmond Genet- attempted to convince
  Americans to support France fitted out
  privateers.
• embraced by Democrat-Republicans early on
• Planned for recruitment of armies to invade
  Spanish Florida
• Democrats do not follow
• GW demanded Genets withdrawal from the US
• US Neutrality favored France
• French West Indies needed US food products
• if US entered war on side of France- Britain
  would blockade French west Indies- no food
  imports!
• NO OTHER TREATIES WITH FOREIGN
• COUNTRIES WITH MILITARY COMPOENT
• UNTIL AFTER WWII (NATO)

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• GW British trouble
• British still had forts on US soil (violating
  the Treaty of 1783)
• Why?- lucrative fur trade, to bottle up
  Americans.
• British agents sold firearms firewater to
  Indians
• Miami Confederacy 8 Indian nations (Chief
  Little Turtle)- 1790-91 attacked settlers on the
  frontier.
• 1794- Gen. Anthony Wayne defeated Little Turtle
  at Battle of Fallen Timbers
• Treaty of Greenville (1795)- Miami Confederacy
  gave up large tracts of land in NW- (present day
  Indiana Ohio) for 20,000 yearly sum of
  9,000- hoped to be granted sovereignty.
• The British, the Sea, GW
• World War continues- Britain attempted to starve
  the French West Indies
• Royal Navy seized about 300 American merchant
  ships IMPRESS HUNDREDS of American sailors.
• Impressments- a form of kidnapping.
• Democrat-Republicans- want to fight Britain-
  want to embargo

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• Jays Treaty 1794
• sabotaged by Hamilton- secretly gave US
  negotiating tips to British
• Britain did promise to evacuate forts on US
  soil
• agreed to pay for seizures of RECENT Americans
  ships but not future seizures
• did not agree to stop supplying Indians with
  arms
• forced Jay to concede to pay debts still owed
  British merchants on pre-Rev. war accounts.
• strengthened the Democrat- Republicans-
  OUTRAGED
• Southern planters would pay a major share of
  pre-war debts!
• Rich northern shippers received payment!
• Pinckneys Treaty 1795- Spain gives America the
  right to navigate the Mississippi River use of
  New Orleans, disputed territory in N. Florida.
• Washington Steps Down
• set the 2 term tradition for future presidents
• Farewell Address warned Americans to avoid 3
  things 1. entangling alliances 2. political
  parties 3. sectionalism
• Accomplishments a) solid financial foundation
  b) westward expansion
• c)Kept us out of wars

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• The Election of 1796
• VP John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson
• campaign turned into a mud slinging event for
  parties
• turned heavily on personalities
• Adams won- 71 to 68 Electoral votes- Jefferson
  becomes VP!
• Adams Presidency
• hard to fill George Washingtons shoes
• Adams had a prickly personality
• faced cabinet members who plotted against him
• Foreign Policy
• worked to maintain neutrality
• France angry over Jays Treaty- began to seize
  US merchant ships (300 by 1797).
• France refused an American envoy
• Adams sent 3 men to negotiate with France
  avoid war
• X, Y, Z, Affair
• hoped to meet with French foreign minster
  Talleyrand.
• met by 3 French agents (XYZ) who demanded
  250,000 loan of 32 million florins in order
  for American reps. To meet with Talleyrand.

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The X,Y,Z Affair- in American papers
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• Americans began to demand war- Millions for
  defense, but not one cent for tribute
• Federalists- pushed anger over French actions
• America prepared for war
• Navy Dept. created (3 ship navy expanded)
• US Marine Corp- reestablished
• new army of 10,000 men authorized- never fully
  raised
• The Quasi-War (1798-1800)- undeclared war at
  sea US privateers men-of war captured 80
  French ships.
• Britain loaned the US war supplies
• War Avoided
• 3 US envoys met with Napoleon
• Convention of 1800- France agreed to end
  Alliance 1778 US agreed to pay damage claims of
  American shippers- ended our only peacetime
  alliance.

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• The Alien Sedition Acts
• Federalists played to the anti-French frenzy by
  passing laws designed to end criticism of the
  president slow the growth of the
  Democrat-Republicans.
• most European immigrants were not welcome in the
  Federalist Party-so they were attracted to the
  Democrat-Republicans
• Alien Acts- increased the naturalization process
  from 5 years to 14, the president could deport
  undesirable aliens or imprison them.
• never really strictly enforced
• Sedition Act anyone who impeded polices of the
  government or defamed officials could be fined or
  imprisoned (violated 1st amendment)
• Jeffersonian editors were arrested- 10 brought
  to trial
• Matthew Lyon (Spitting Lion)- sentenced to 4
  months in jail.
• Sedition law set to expire in 1801.

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• The Virginia Kentucky Resolutions
• Democrat-Republicans were angered over the Alien
  Sedition Acts
• Jefferson Madison secretly wrote a series of
  resolution adopted by the legislatures of
  Virginia Kentucky.
• both relied upon compact theory- 13 sovereign
  states had entered into a contract when creating
  the national government- national government was
  a creation of the states!
• Nullification- idea that states had the right to
  cancel unjust federal laws.
• states rights view
• Election of 1800
• Federalist Democrat-Republican parties were
  more developed.
• see chart page 206- write chart out on your
  notes-know chart