FEDERALIST ERA

CHAPTER 9 NOTES

BELL RINGER

What are some of the precedents (examples) do you think the First President should set for

this new United States? Consider: How long should the President serve? Should the President serve as

many terms as she/he wants? How should our nation relate to other nations- should we have long term foreign alliances? Should the President start off with passing numerous new laws or should he/she rarely suggest new laws?

Remember this is before any of these questions to consider were decided. The first president set the precedent for other presidents to follow.

Label your paper “Chapter 9 Notes”

Remember to write the notes only in RED.

This is the only day you are taking Chapter 9 notes.

WASHINGTON TAKES OFFICE

On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the 1st president of the United States under that new Constitution. John Adams became vice president. Washington’s cabinet helped solve the challenges in the new nation.Washington picked Thomas Jefferson to head the State Department, Alexander Hamilton as head of the Department of the Treasury, Henry Knox as the secretary of the Department of War, and Edmund Randolph as attorney general.

The three department heads and the attorney general had many important duties (ex: giving advice to the president). The executive advisers formed what is called a cabinet.

MR. PRESIDENT

Congress was unsure how much power the president ought to have over the cabinet. In a vote on this question, senators were evenly divided. Vice

President John Adams broke the tie. He voted to allow the president the power

to dismiss cabinet officers without Senate approval. This established presidential power over the whole

executive branch. Congress was also unsure of how to address the president, but eventually they decided. Congress agreed to

address George Washington as Mr. President.

The first Congress also formed the nation's court system. Some favored a uniform legal system for the entire nation, others favored keeping the existing state systems. The two sides reached an agreement in the Judiciary Act of 1789 - established a federal court system. The states kept their own laws and courts, but the federal courts had the power to reverse state decisions.

ESTABLISHING THE COURT SYSTEM

The Constitution established the Supreme Court as the final authority on many issues. President Washington chose John Jay to lead the Supreme Court as chief justice. The Senate approved Jay's nomination.

WHISKEY REBELLION

The new government wanted to collect taxes on products made in the U.S. In 1791 Congress passed a tax on the manufacture and sale of whiskey (alcohol made from grain). Western Pennsylvania farmers were especially upset by this tax.

Their anger turned into violence in July 1794. An armed mob attacked tax collectors and burned down buildings. This protest, called the Whiskey Rebellion, alarmed government leaders.

Washington sent federal troops to meet the challenge. His action sent a strong message to the public: The government would use force to maintain order.

Whiskey Rebellion challenged Washington’s presidential authority.

CHALLENGES IN THE WEST

Washington worried about European interest in the Northwest Territory. The British and Spanish were trying to stir up Native American anger against American settlers in the region. To block these efforts, Washington signed treaties with Native American groups. American settlers ignored the treaties and moved onto lands promised to Native Americans. Fighting broke out between the two groups.

Again, Washington decided to use force. He sent an army under General Arthur St. Clair to restore order in the Northwest Territory. In November 1791, St. Clair's army met a strong Native American force led by Little Turtle, a Miami chief.

More than 600 U.S. soldiers died in the battle. It was the worst defeat U.S. forces had ever suffered against Native Americans.

BATTLE OF FALLEN TIMBERS

Americans hoped an alliance with France would help them control the West. As a result, In 1794 the British urged Native Americans to destroy American settlements west of the Appalachians and also began building a new fort in Ohio.

Natives demanded that settlers who were living north of the Ohio River leave. Washington sent general Anthony Wayne to the region.

In August 1794, Wayne's army defeated more than 1,000 Native Americans under Shawnee chief Blue Jacket. The Battle of Fallen Timbers crushed the Native Americans' hopes of keeping their land. In the Treaty of Greenville (1795), Native American leaders agreed to surrender most of the land in what is now Ohio.

PROBLEMS WITH EUROPE

In 1789 France erupted in revolution against Britain. In 1793 a violent war began and Washington refused to take sides. After Washington refused to support British in their fight with France, the British navy practiced Impressment. Impressment- British forced American crews to work on British ships and stole U.S. ships.

Washington sent chief justice John Jay to discuss a solution with the British. The result of this negotiation was called Jay's Treaty. In the treaty, the British agreed to withdraw from American soil.

WASHINGTON LEAVES OFFICE After 8 years in office, Washington

decided not to seek a third term as president. In his Farewell Address, Washington urged his fellow citizens to "observe good faith and justice toward all nations. . . . It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances."

In Washington’s Farewell Address-warned Americans against political parties and permanent alliances with foreign countries. These parting words influenced the nation's foreign policy for more than 100 years. Washington finally urged American support of the French Revolution when he retired.

Brain Pop: Political Parties Origins

REFLECTING ON WASHINGTON’S TERM

Important events that occurred during Washington’s term of office:

The Battle of Fallen Timbers

The Whiskey Rebellion

The French Revolution

POLITICAL PARTIES EMERGE FEDERALISTS VS. DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS

Federalists led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a strong federal government. They believed the Constitution gave government "implied" powers. Federalists believed Congress could make all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out its enumerated powers.

“Necessary and Proper” Clause

-Allows government powers not specifically granted.-Makes Constitution more flexible in unexpected situations.-Hamilton used to create a national bank

Democratic-Republicans opposed the Federalists. James Madison and Thomas Jefferson thought the constitution should be viewed strictly and narrowly with only powers stated in the Constitution.

They believed congressional powers were limited to what is absolutely necessary to carry out the enumerated powers.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1796 Each party chose two presidential candidates and

the electors voted. The Federalists chose John Adams and Charles Pinckney. The Republicans chose Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. No one was a vice president candidate on the ballot.

Adams got 71 electoral votes, winning the election. Under the rules of the Constitution at that time, the person with the second-highest electoral vote total—Jefferson—became vice president.

In 1796 there was a Federalist president and a Democratic-Republican vice president. That is like having a Democratic President and Republican Vice President today.

JOHN ADAMS AS PRESIDENT

John Adams was the first vice-president and the second president. He served two terms as vice president under Washington before becoming president.

He was well-known as one of Massachusetts's most active patriots in the period before and during the Revolutionary War.

U.S. foreign policy during John Adam’s administration was to remain neutral in a dispute between two other nations.

BRAIN POP: JOHN ADAMS

Brain Pop: John Adams

XYZ AFFAIR

XYZ Affair- U.S. diplomats were asked for bribes to meet with a French official

The nation was in a dispute with France when Adams took office. The French viewed Jay's Treaty as an American attempt to help the British in their war with France. To punish the U.S., the French seized American ships that carried cargo to Britain.

President Adams sent a team to Paris to try to resolve the dispute in the fall of 1797. French officials chose not to meet with the Americans and instead sent three agents, who demanded a bribe and a loan for France from the Americans. The Americans refused.

When Adams learned what had happened, he was furious. The president urged Congress to prepare for war. In his report to Congress, Adams used the letters X, Y, and Z in place of the French agents' names. As a result, the event came to be called the XYZ affair.

ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS

Targets of Alien and Sedition Acts:

- Immigrants

- Supporters of French Revolution

- Non U.S. Citizens

- Media sources run by members of the Democratic-Republican Party

When the public found out about the XYZ affair, many grew angry at foreign attempts to influence their government. They became more suspicious of aliens—residents who are not citizens. Europeans who had come to the United States in the 1790s supported the ideals of the French Revolution. Some Americans questioned whether these aliens would remain loyal if the United States went to war with France. Federalists in 1798 passed the Alien and Sedition Acts which allowed the president to imprison aliens. The president could also deport those thought to be dangerous. President Adams was a strong supporter of these laws.

DOMESTIC AFFAIRS

Democratic-Republicans saw Alien and Sedition Acts as tyranny. Madison and Jefferson wrote the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions of 1798 and 1799 stating the Alien and Sedition Acts violated the Constitution. The Kentucky Resolution said that states could nullify (legally overturn) federal laws they thought were unconstitutional.

The resolutions supported states' rights. This held that the powers of the federal government were limited to those clearly granted by the Constitution.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Federalists urged Adams to declare war on France. Adams resisted this pressure and sent a representative to seek peace with France. In 1800 the French agreed to a treaty and stopped their attacks on American ships.

Though it had benefits for the U.S. the agreement with France was unpopular and hurt Adams’s chance for reelection. Hamilton and his supporters opposed their own president. The Federalists were now split. This improved Democratic-Republican hopes for winning the presidency in the 1800 election.