Transcript Launching the New Ship of State

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Chapter 10
 When
the Constitution was launched in 1789,
The Republic was doubling in population every
25 years.
 The first official consensus in 1790, recorded
almost 4 million people.
o Philadelphia- 42,000
o New York- 33,000
o Boston- 18,000
o Charleston- 16,000
o Baltimore- 13,000
 The
population was still about 90% rural.
 All but 5% of the people lived east of the
Appalachian Mountains.
 4 new states were welcomed into the union;
o Vermont in 1791
o Kentucky in 1792
o Tennessee in 1796
o Ohio in 1803 (1st entered under Northwest
Ordinance)
 Washington
was elected unanimously as
President by the Electoral College in 1789.
 He commanded his followers by strength of
character rather than by the arts of the
politician.
 He took the oath of office on April 30, 1789
on a crowded balcony overlooking Wall
Street in New York (the temporary capital).
 Washington
established the cabinet, but
there were only 3 full-fledged department
heads under him; Secretary of State Thomas
Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury
Alexander Hamilton, and Secretary of War
Henry Knox.
 Many
antifederalists sharply criticized the
Constitution for its failure to provide
guarantees on individual rights.
 Amendments to the Constitution could be
provided in 1 of 2 ways;
o Constitutional convention requested by 2/3 of
the states
o By 2/3 vote of both houses of Congress.
 Fearing
that the new convention might unravel the
narrow federalist ratification victory, James
Madison drafted the amendments himself and
guided them through Congress.
 The first ten amendments, known commonly as the
Bill of Rights, were adopted in 1791 by the
necessary number of states.
 The amendments safeguard precious American
principles such as;
o Freedom of religion, speech, and the press
o The right to bear arms and to be tried by a jury.
 The
10th Amendment, which reserves all rights not
explicitly delegated or prohibited by the federal
Constitution “to the States respectively, or to the
people.”
 This was done to appease the states’ righters.
 Congress also put into place the Judiciary Act of
1789, which organized the Supreme Court, with a
chief justice and 5 associates, as well as federal
district and circuit courts, and the office of attorney
general.
Alexander
Hamilton was the key figure
in the new government as Sec. of
Treasury.
Hamilton regarded himself as a kind of
prime minister in Washington’s cabinet
and sometimes over stepped his
bounds and got into affairs of other
departments (big rival of Jefferson).
 Hamilton
set out to change the economic
issues that plagued the Articles.
 He wanted economic policies to favor the
wealthier groups who would, in turn,
gratefully lend the government monetary and
political support.
 The new federal regime would thrive, the
propertied classes would fatten, and
prosperity would trickle down to the masses.
 To
raise capital, Hamilton asked the
government to fund at par, which meant that
the federal government would pay off its
debts at face value, plus accumulated
interest ($54 million).
 Hamilton’s plan was to move the backing of
wealthy creditors from the states to the
federal government and help strengthen the
federal government.
 The
bottom line was that Hamilton was
purposely trying to increase the national debt
because there would be more people with a
personal stake in the success of the United
States.
 Hamilton is known as “Father of the National
Debt”.
 The question was, where was the money going
to come from to pay off the $75 million debt?
 Hamilton’s
first answer was customs duties,
derived from a tariffs, which were dependent upon
foreign trade.
 The first tariff law imposed an 8% tariff on dutiable
imports.
 This was imposed to raise revenue, but also protect
the infant industries in the U.S. from the British.
 Hamilton had the foresight to realize that the
Industrial Revolution was soon to move across the
Atlantic to America.
The
only problem was the Congress was
still looking out for the agrarian farmers
(still majority) and only voted 2 slight
increases in the tariff during
Washington’s presidency.
In 1791, Hamilton secured from
Congress an excise tax on some
domestic items, most notably whiskey.
 Hamilton
pushed hard for a bank of the
United States (modeled off of the Bank of
England).
 He wanted the federal government to be a
major stockholder and wished for the federal
Treasury to deposit its surplus monies.
 The idea of having newly minted paper
money was useful, but was it Constitutional?
 Jefferson
wrote to Washington that he was
vehemently against the bank, arguing that it
was not within the boundaries of the
Constitution.
 Jefferson generally believed that what the
Constitution did not permit it forbade.
 Jefferson felt that the states could charter
banks, but not the federal government.
 Hamilton,
on the other hand, believed that
what the Constitution did not forbid it
permitted.
 Hamilton was invoking the “necessary and
proper” clause and that a national bank
would fall under “implied power”.
 Hamilton was successful in convincing
Washington, who reluctantly signed the
measure into law.
 The
support came from the industrialized North,
whereas the strongest opposition came from the
agrarian South.
 The Bank of the United States was created in 1791
and was chartered for 20 years.
 Located in Philadelphia, it was to have capital of
$10 million, one-fifth owned by the federal
government.
 Stock was open to public sale, which went very
quickly.
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794, flared up in
southwestern Pennsylvania and heavily challenged the
new national government.
 People of this region did not see whiskey was a luxury,
but an economic necessity and medium of exchange
(preachers were paid in whiskey in some cases).
 Washington summoned the militias to put down the
rebellion without much trouble.
 Though a minor insurrection, the Whiskey Rebellion
showed that the new government commanded respect.

 Even
though Hamilton’s financial successes were
great, all of his schemes heavily encroached on
states’ rights.
 Out of this, an organized opposition began to build
and the Hamilton/Jefferson personal feud turned
into a full-blown and frequently bitter political
rivalry.
 Until this time, there were no political parties, only
factions (Tories/Whigs, Federalists/antiFederalists).
 The
notion of a formal party system was a
novel idea in the 1790s when Jefferson and
Madison organized their opposition to
Hamilton.
 As the newspapers began to spread the
ideas of Jefferson and Hamilton, people
began to take sides.
 Since this time, there has been a two party
system in the U.S. (pg. 206)
 By
the time that Washington’s first administration
ended in 1793, there was a divide between the
people based on the two newly emerged political
parties; the Jeffersonian Democratic- Republicans
and the Hamiltonian Federalists.
 The French Revolution, most aptly a historic, global
revolution, was one of the few non-American events
that has left a deeper scar on American political
and social life.
 As
the Reign of Terror started and the king
was beheaded, Federalist aristocrats began
to feel nervous as they eyed the Jeffersonian
masses more nervously.
 The nervousness continued to grow as the
British entered the fray and the fighting
spread to the New World.
 The
Franco-American alliance of 1778 was still on
the books, but the question was whether or not the
U.S. should help defend their West Indies from
England.
 Many Jeffersonians favored honoring the alliance
because they felt they owed France for their
freedom.
 Backed by Hamilton, Washington knew that the
nation was militarily feeble, economically wobbly,
and politically disunited.
 Washington
felt that the U.S. needed to avoid
trouble in Europe for a generation or so until the
population could increase and they could assert
themselves militarily.
 In 1793, Washington asserted his Neutrality
Proclamation shortly after the outbreak of war
between France and England.
 The Pro-French Jeffersonians were enraged in part
because Washington did not consult Congress and
the Pro-British Federalists were pleased.
 In
a desperate gamble to avoid war with the
British, Washington sent Chief Justice John
Jay to London in 1794.
 Even though Jay had weak cards to negotiate
with, he was able to convince the British to
evacuate their chain of trading posts on U.S.
soil (even though it had been promised to
him in Paris before).
 Britain
consented to pay damages for the
seizure of American ships, but never
promised to stop and future maritime
seizures nor did they promise to stop
supplying weapons to the Natives.
 They also forced Jay to give binding word that
they U.S. would repay debts owed to British
merchants on pre-Rev. accounts.
Jay’s unpopular pact further strengthened the
Jeffersonians when they learned of Jay’s concessions.
 Southern Jeffersonians would have to repay most of
the debts to the British while the wealthy Federalists
shippers collected damages for recent British seizures.
 Jay’s Treaty lead to Pinckney’s Treaty of 1795 with
Spain that granted the U.S. free navigation of the
Mississippi, the right of deposit at New Orleans, and
the disputed territory of western FL.

Washington
decided to retire following
the tension filled 2nd term (setting the
unofficial standard of a 2 term
President).
In his printed Farewell Address,
Washington urged “temporary treaties”
instead of permanent alliances.
 Hamilton,
years before, would have been the
obvious successor to Washington, but his financial
policies had made him so unpopular that he could
no longer hope to be elected.
 The Democratic-Republicans naturally rallied
behind their master organizer and leader Thomas
Jefferson.
 Adams, who was supported greatly in New England,
won by the narrow margin of 71 to 68 Electoral
College votes.
Adams
was seen as an intellectual
aristocrat who stepped into a role that
no one could succeed in; filling
Washington’s shoes.
Adams was hated by Hamilton who
resigned his position in the Treasury to
head the war faction of the Federalist
party, the “High Federalists”.
 The
French were upset at Jay’s Treaty and
considered it a violation of the FrancoAmerican Treaty of 1778.
 French warships began to seize defenseless
American merchant vessels in the Atlantic.
 President Adams sent John Marshall (future
chief justice) and others to Paris to meet
with French foreign minister Charles Maurice
de Tallyrand.
 They
were secretly approached by 3 go-between,
later referred by as X, Y, and Z.
 The French anonymous spokesmen demanded a
loan of 32 million florins and a bribe of $250,000
to merely talk to Tallyrand.
 The Americans knew that bribes were common in
Europe, but the Americans refused to pay a quarter
million dollars and returned home as heroes for
their steadfastness.
 The
XYZ Affair sent a wave of hysteria
sweeping through the U.S.
 The Federalists were delighted at this
unexpected turn of events, whereas only the
most strident Jeffersonians kept their heads
up over the misbehavior of their French
friends.
 War preparation moved on at a fever pitch.
The
Navy Department was created;
o The three-ship navy was expanded
o The Marine Corps was reestablished
(created in 1775 and disbanded at the
end of the war)
o A new army of 10,000 men was
authorized.
 Bloodshed
was confined to the seas,
principally the West Indies.
 Over two years (1798-1800) an undeclared
war cost the U.S. several hundred ships and
they were able to capture 80 French ships.
 It seemed that only a slight push was
needed to force the 2 into a full-dress war.
 France
wanted no war with the U.S. as that would
only add one more foe to the enemy roster for
Tallyrand.
 The British, who were lending the U.S. cannons and
other war supplies, were actually closer with the
Americans than they would be for many years.
 In 1799, Adams submitted to Congress 3 new
names to send to France for one last attempt at
peace.
 Hamilton
and the rest of the Federalists were
enraged that Adams would try the diplomatic
approach over starting a war.
 As the 3 American ambassadors reached France,
they were happy to see that Napoleon Bonaparte
had taken dictatorial rule over France.
 Napoleon was quick to squash the problems with
the U.S. so he could concentrate on redrawing the
map of Europe.
The
Convention of 1800 paved the way
for peace and 3 years later, it paved the
way for the Louisiana Purchase.
If there had been full blown war
between France and the U.S. there is no
way that Napoleon would have sold the
Louisiana Territory to Thomas Jefferson
in 1803.
 During
the anti-French time, the Federalists used
their power and influence to push a number of antiJeffersonian laws through Congress.
 Because of their scorn for European immigrants
who were poor, and often Jeffersonian, the
Federalists upped the age of residence from 5
years living in America to 14 years living in
America.
 This law violated the American policy of open door
hospitality and speedy assimilation.
The
Alien Laws allowed the President to
deport dangerous foreigners in times of
peace and deport or imprison them in
time of hostilities.
This was a grant of executive power that
was contrary to the Constitution and it
was never enforced.
 The
Sedition Act was an attack on freedom of
speech and freedom of the press.
 It said that anyone who stood in the way of policy or
defamed any government officials, including the
President, would be liable of heavy fine and
imprisonment.
 Many outspoken Jeffersonians were charged and
10 were brought to trial.
 All
10 were convicted by juries serving
heavily biased Federalist judges.
 Even though it was in direct violation of the
Constitution, the Sedition Act was upheld
by a Federalist friendly Supreme Court (law
expired in 1801).
 In the congressional elections of 17981799 the Federalists won a sweeping
victory.
Fearing
prosecution for sedition,
Jefferson secretly penned a series of
resolutions, which the Kentucky
legislature approved in 1798 and 1799.
James Madison penned similar but less
extreme statements that were adopted
by the VA legislature in 1798.
The Kentucky resolutions concluded that the federal
regime had exceeded its constitutional powers and that
with regard to the Alien and Sedition Acts- nullification
was the only “rightful remedy”.
 The other states refused to fall in line with Jefferson’s
thinking.
 Federalists states added that since the people, not the
states had made the original constitution, the question
of whether to nullify was up to the Supreme Court.

 The
Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were
more sweeping in their implications than
most people could have dreamed and were
used by southerners to support nullification
and ultimately secession.
 Jefferson and Madison were using the
resolutions to drum up Jeffersonian support
for the upcoming Presidential election of
1800.
 The
Federalists distrusted full blown
democracy and often said that, “those who
own the country ought to govern it.” (Jay)
 Hamiltonian Federalists wanted a strong
central government with the power to;
o Crush democratic excesses like Shay’s Rebellion
o Protect the lives and estates of the wealthy
o Subordinate the sovereignty loving states
o And promote foreign trade
They
believed that government
should support private enterprise,
but not interfere with it (remember
who they are).
 Jefferson
by all accounts should have been a
Federalist. He was a member of the VA
aristocracy and slave owner.
 Jefferson believed in uncommon sympathy for
the common people, especially the oppressed
and downtrodden.
 Jefferson favored government for the people,
but not by all people- only by white males who
were literate enough to inform themselves.
The
Republicans demanded;
o A weak central government
o Power in the states
o The national debt paid off or it would
be passed down to the next
generation.
 Jefferson
was a large proponent of slave
ownership.
 He felt it was the only way to solve the
problem of landlessness among men.
 Slaves would provide cheap labor so that
white farmers could make a living and afford
to own land (they wouldn’t be able to own
land if they had to pay for labor).
 Foreign
policy was another thing that
Hamilton and Jefferson disagreed on.
 Hamilton wanted to keep up relations with
Britain so that we could openly trade with
them as part of his fiscal policy.
 Jefferson wanted to support the liberal
ideals of the French Revolution instead of
“licking the boots” of the British Tories.
Jefferson
felt that the priorities needed
to start at home instead of muscle
flexing abroad.
Jefferson’s policies faced inward and
westward.
Hamilton’s policies faced outward and
eastward.