Transcript Launching the New Ship of State

Launching the New Ship of State
1789-1800
Launching the New Ship of State
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Americans regarded a central authority as a necessary evil
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One to be distrusted, watched and curbed
Times were difficult
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Revenue declining
Public debt increasing
Growing Pains
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American population was doubling every 25 years
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1790 census – 4 million
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90% rural
Largest cities:
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Philadelphia – 42,000
New York City – 33,000
Boston – 18,000
Charlestown – 16,000
Baltimore – 13,000
Growing Pains
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5 % of the population resided east of the Appalachian Mts.
Kentucky, Tennessee & Ohio would all become states within
14 years
Vermont in 1791
Washington for President
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George Washington was unanimously voted
as president by the Electoral College in 1789
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NYC was the temporary capital
Washington created the Cabinet
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3 full department heads:
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Secretary of State – Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of Treasury – Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of War – Henry Knox
Amending the Constitution
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Antifederalists criticized the constitution for no guarantee of
individual rights
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Bill of Rights became a major goal
Rules for Amendments:
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A new constitutional convention
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Requested by 2/3 of the states
Or a 2/3 vote by both houses of congress
James Madison drafted the Bill of Rights
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Guided them through Congress
Got the vote in 1791
Bill of Rights
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10.
Freedom of religion, speech, press. Right to petition and assemble.
Right to bear arms.
Clause on quartering soldiers.
Unreasonable search and seizure.
Can’t incriminate yourself. Double jeopardy. Property rights.
The rights of a defendant in a criminal proceeding.
Right to a trial by jury.
Matching the punishment with the crime. (bail)
Listing these rights, does not deny other rights of the people.
Powers not listed in constitution are granted to the states and people.
Judiciary Act
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Judiciary Act of 1789 – organized the
Supreme Court
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Chief Justice and 5 associate judges
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First Chief Justice – John Jay (Federalist Papers)
Created a federal district and circuit courts
Hamilton Revives the Corpse of Public Credit
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Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton,
was a financial wizard
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Favored wealthier groups
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They would lend money to the government
Government & wealthy would prosper
Prosperity would trickle down
Asked congress to “fund” the national debt “at par”
and assume all state war debts
Hamilton Revives the Corpse of Public Credit
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Fed would pay off its debts at face value + interest ($54 mil)
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Government bonds had depreciated to 10¢ or 15¢
Speculators bought them up ahead of the news
Fed would also assume the debts states ($21 mil)
“Assumption”
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Hamilton felt “assumption” was a national
obligation
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Paying off war of independence
Chain states more tightly to “federal chariot”
Support of rich creditors to national
administration
Some states favored assumption, others
didn’t
Assumption Compromise
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Hamilton persuaded Jefferson to line up votes in congress for
assumption
In exchange, Virginia would have the new federal district on
the Potomac River
Hamilton’s Financial Structure
Debt Owed
Foreigners
$11,710,000
Federal Domestic Debt
$42,414,000
State Debt
$21,500,000
Miscellaneous Revenue
Excise Revenue (on
Whiskey, etc)
Customs Duties (Tariffs)
Hamilton Plans for a U.S. Bank
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Hamilton wanted a Bank of the U.S.
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Gov. would be major stockholder
Treasury to deposit surpluses
Federal funds would stimulate business
Would print paper money to provide a sound national currency
Hamilton Battles Jefferson for a Bank
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Was it Constitutional to create a U.S. Bank?
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Jefferson says No
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Theory of “strict construction” – powers not granted to the federal gov. were
reserved for the states
Hamilton says Yes
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Theory of “loose construction” – belief of “implied powers” of the
constitution. Congress may pass any laws “necessary and proper”
Bank of the United States
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Bank of the U.S. created in 1791
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Had a capital of $10 million
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1/5 owned by the federal government
Stock was sold to public
Whiskey Rebellion
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Whiskey Rebellion of 1794
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Whiskey distillers were upset about Hamilton’s excise tax
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Whiskey often used in lieu of paper money
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Tar and feathering revenue collectors
Rye & corn cheaper to distill than to transport bales of grain
Washington raised several state militias and crushed the rebellion
Whiskey Rebellion
Emergence of Political Parties
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Political parties begin to emerge
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Never intended and seen as undemocratic
Caused by the growing feud between Hamilton and Jefferson
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Hamilton
Hamilton: Federalists
Jefferson: Democratic Republicans
The two party system has proven to be beneficial over time
Jefferson
French Revolution
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In 1789, most Americans hailed the French
Revolution as the next step to their own
glorious revolution
1792 – France declared war on Austria
1793 – King Louis XVI beheaded as well as
hundreds of nobility
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Federalists – were against this
Jeffersonians – felt it was a necessary evil
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation
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Washington chose not to honor the Franco-American Alliance
of 1778
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Would have to protect West Indies from Britain
Felt America was too weak
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Jeffesonians – Favored war
Hamiltonians – were against it
France was better off with America neutral
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French West Indies needed Yankee foodstuffs
Embroilments with Britain
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England tested Washington’s neutrality
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Kept their forts on U.S.’s northern frontier (fur trade)
Incited Indians (provided them firearms & firewater)
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Battle of Fallen Timbers
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Little Turtle and his Miamis defeated
British navy captured American merchant ships in West Indies
Jeffersonians – wanted war
Hamiltonians – say we need to trade with England
Jay’s Treaty
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Chief Justice, John Jay, sent to London in 1794 to negotiate
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Hamilton sabotages Jay
Jay’s Treaty
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Britain promises to evacuate forts on northern border
Would pay damages for recent seizures of shipping
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Did not pledge to stop
U.S. had to pay off pre-war debt
Jeffersonians were upset
Pickney’s Treaty
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Spain, worried about an Anglo-American alliance, quickly makes
a deal with America
Pickney’s Treaty of 1795
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Free navigation of the Mississippi River
U.S. gets disputed territory north of Florida
Washington’s Farewell
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Washington left after two terms
Said America should not form any permanent alliances
Achievements
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Fiscal government on solid ground
West expanding
Trade was growing
No overseas entanglements
President John Adams
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John Adams ran for
president in 1796 versus
Jefferson
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Adams wins by 71to 68 in
the electoral college
Jefferson became
the VP
John Adams
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John Adams was 62 when he became
president
5’7”, rotund
Able statesman
Considered tactless and prickly
Felt Hamilton did his best to sabotage his
administration
Unofficial Fighting with France
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French condemned Jay’s Treaty
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Violated Franco-American Alliance
French navy begins to seize American merchant ships
XYZ Affair
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XYZ Affair of 1797
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The French foreign minister, Talleyrand, did not
permit American ambassadors to speak with him
Adam’s envoys, including John Marshall (future
Chief Justice), try to meet with him
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They were secretly approached by 3 go-betweens,
later known as X, Y, Z
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They want a bribe to meet him
$250,000
Talleyrand
XYZ Affair
Americans Prepare for War
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John Marshall came back a hero
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Americans prepare for war
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Did not pay the tribute
Navy Department created
U.S. Marine Corps. Reestablished
10,000 men army authorized
Sea battles occur for next two years
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No full fledged war
Adams puts Patriotism Above Party
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France did not want war
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Talleyrand had too many enemies
Would drive Britain closer to U.S.
Napoleon wanted to focus on Europe
Talleyrand let it be known he would accept a new American
minister
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Rather than go to war, Adams appoints a new minister
Hamilton wanted war
Convention of 1800
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Franco-American Pact ended
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U.S. to pay damage of American
shippers
Adams had kept the peace
The Alien & Sedition Acts
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Federalists tried to capitalize on Anti-French frenzy
Alien Acts – Federalists did not like poor immigrants
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Citizen Requirement – residency raised from 5 yrs to 14
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Violated open door policy & speedy assimilation
Deportation & Imprisonment of foreigners
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Never enforced
Too much executive power violated constitution
The Alien & Sedition Acts
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Sedition Act
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Imprisonment to anyone who impeded the government or falsely
defamed it
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Many outspoken Jeffersonians were indicted
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10 went to trial (all convicted)
Matthew Lyon (“Spitting Lyon”)
Supreme Court, dominated by Federalists, said act was constitutional
For most part Alien & Sedition Acts received widespread
support
The Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions
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Jefferson feared freedoms of speech and press were slipping
away
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Secretly writes a series of resolutions adopted by Virginia &
Kentucky
The Compact Theory
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States entered into a willing compact regarding creation of the U.S.
Gov. was an agent of the contract, therefore states could judge
whether gov. violated contract
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Wanted to nullify Alien & Sedition Acts
The Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions
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No other state legislatures adopted Jefferson’s resolutions
Supreme Court determines if laws are unconstitutional
Jefferson’s resolutions later used by Southerners to justify
nullification prior to Civil War
Federalists
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Rule by the “best people”
Hostility to extension of democracy
A powerful central government
Loose interpretation of the Constitution
Government to foster business
A protective tariff
Pro-British
National debt a blessing
An expanding bureaucracy
A powerful central bank
Restrictions on free speech and press
Concentration in seacoast areas, urban
A strong navy to protect trade
Democratic-Republicans
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Rule by the informed masses
Friendliness toward extension of democracy
A weak central government (states rights)
Strict interpretation of the Constitution
No special favors to business
No special favors to manufacturers
Pro-French
National debt a bane
A reduction of federal officeholders
Encouragement of state banks
Relatively free speech and press
Concentration in South and Southwest,
agricultural
A minimal navy for coastal defense