1

U.S. BEGINNINGS 1781 - 1800

I. The Early U.S. Government

A. The Second
Continental
Congress which met
in the Spring of 1775
actually served as
the U.S. government
until the constitution
was completed
(1789).
Following the end of the fighting and recognition of the
U.S. by Britain, the major problem facing congress was to
form a working form of government.

Once independent, they were

outside the commercial
protection of the British, many
of whose ports, especially in
the Caribbean, were now
closed to American shipping.

1
 2
a. Britain no longer paid a bounty for Carolinian indigo
which disappeared as a crop.
Carolinian indigo disappeared as an American crop

American crops were now frozen out of the British West

Indies

b. The export of horses, cattle, hogs, poultry, beans,

potatoes, flour, rice, oats was stopped unless sent on
"British built ships owned by His Majesty's subjects;"
c. Cured meats, fish, and dairy
products were also excluded
from the West Indies;

d. As a result of the closing of

these markets, surplus
crops of farmers in MA, the CN and Hudson Valleys and
Eastern PA piled up, causing farm prices to fall. (SUPPLY
AND DEMAND?)

2
 3

The Continental Congress had foreseen this problem and

had taken steps to correct it.

a. New trade routes were sought while the Revolutionary

war was being fought

(1) New routes to the Far East

were found;

(2) Trade with China and Asia

proved to be very profitable
and of long duration
b. Americans were encouraged
during the war to develop their
own manufacturing goods, to
lessen U.S. dependence on
British goods.
c. The need for some kind of
national economic regulation
was underscored because
different states charged
different tariffs.
d. A common currency was needed, a problem magnified
by the economic depression following the Revolutionary
War among farmers who were land rich but cash poor

3
 4

Articles of Confederation
Background
a. At the time of the Declaration of
Independence, it was decided to write a
framework for central government.

c. Within one year the

Articles of Confederation
were finished and ratified
in 1781.
Features of the Articles
of Confederation
a. The national
government was
weakened and not given
the authority it needed.

b. Because it was
believed that power
corrupts, the executive
was little more than a figurehead, with no real power,
and there was no judicial branch.

c. Although Congress was given broad powers, it was

denied the same powers that the people had denied to

4
 5
Parliament:
Congress could not tax - funds were contributed to the
national government only through the appropriations
of state legislatures, based on requests by congress
proportionally according to population.

(2) Changes could be made

only through unanimous
consent - every state had to
ratify an amendment or the
document could not be
changed;
(3) Every state was equal to the
other and each received one
vote in Congress.

(4) Frequent elections were to be held annually - no

one elected delegate could serve for more than three
years, but could return after three years.

What Congress
could do:
a. Set quotas for men and
money which could be
asked for from the states;
b. select an executive from

5
 6
members of Congress;
c. make commercial and other Treaties (as with France
1778 and with Britain 1783);

d. conduct war and foreign affairs,

including negotiation with Indians;

e. manage public lands in the west, limit

state boundaries, and admit new states;

f. borrow money, sell war bonds, regulate coinage and

provide a currency base.

State powers
a. State governments,
assumed to be the most
powerful, had many powers
that the national government
had -- right to issue bills of
credit, borrow and mint
money, deal with foreign
governments and engage in war (with congress's
consent)

b. Only states could tax citizens, and legislate

regarding family affairs and indebted-ness and the
making of contracts
6
 7

c. The states also feared giving too much power to one

man.

C. Problems with Ratification of the

Articles of Conferation
The debate over western territory delayed final
ratification of the Articles until
1781.

II. U.S. Government

Under the Articles of
Confederation
A. Weaknesses Of the
Articles of Confederation
Amendments required a unanimous consent, so not one
amendment was ever ratified.

a. The proposal of a 5% duty on imports was defeated by

Rhode Island in 1781;

b. A second import duty proposed in 1783 was vetoed

when NY placed so many conditions on it that the other
states would not agree to them.

7
 8

Agriculture
a. Farmers suffered during the war, having fences and
buildings destroyed and crops burned, dikes in the
Carolinas were neglected or destroyed by troops, the
frontier line was pushed back because of Indian raids, and
the labor supply was depleted because of runaway slaves,
encouraged by the British;

b. After the war, farmers lost the payment of bounties for

certain crops like indigo and markets closed within the
British Empire, so that surplus crops drove prices down.

c. Western settlers (esp.

Kentucky and Tennessee)
needed salt, guns, powder,
shot, farm implements, cloth,
notions and small luxuries,
which must be purchased in
Europe or Asia;

d. Because the overland route

(Appalachian MTS) by pack mule was too costly, western
settlers sailed goods down the Mississippi and its
tributaries to New Orleans, for shipment to the Caribbean
or the East coast.

8
 9

e. According to the Treaty of

1763, Spain controlled the
mouth of the Mississippi and
was reluctant to allow
Americans to use New
Orleans.

Industry
a. American manufacturers
fared well during the war,
but after the peace, consumers went on a spending spree,
leaving manufacturers with few customers;
b. Some states used tariffs to protect local industry but
merchants who imported goods opposed tariffs
c. States exempted goods exported from other states,
making the system ineffective.

Creditors and
Debtors
a. Because Congress
could not tax, it stopped
paying interest and
principle on its national
debt which caused the
value of government
securities to drop sharply;
9
 10

b. Because British goods were snapped up immediately

after 1783, merchants sent the remaining gold and silver
overseas to purchase additional goods.

c. The absence of cash caused

prices to fall sharply,
creating demand for some
type of paper currency

d. Although many states had issued currency, it was not

legal tender and did not have to be accepted by creditors.

Foreign Affairs
a. France remained
friendly and honored its
trade privileges;

b. Britain was antagonistic

to the new government as were many smaller nations and
did not evacuate their forts in the Ohio Valley as agreed in
the Treaty of 1783 (although the U.S. was not
compensating Loyalists for lost property);

c. U.S. citizens were not

paying their pre-war
debts to British
merchants as agreed in
10
 11
the Treaty of 1783, and the Congress was powerless to
force compliance;

d. When Spain refused to let U.S. ships into Latin

American ports, the U.S. gave up the right to deposit
goods in New Orleans in exchange for some concessions
in Latin America, a 25-year agreement, pleasing eastern
merchants but angering westerners;

e. North African Barbary States

(Morocco, Algiers,
Tunis, and Tripoli)

Ha
d

extracted ransoms
and bribes from
European nations
who either paid or
protected their
ships in the
Mediterranean, but
U.S. shipping,
having depended
on the British navy and unable to pay bribery payments,
were constantly harassed by Barbary Coast pirates

11
 12

Daniel Shays's Rebellion In Massachusetts

(August - December 1786)
a. Massachusetts,
committed to paying off its
Revolutionary debts, had
the heaviest state taxes
with land bearing about 2/3
of the burden, and also
required that every legal
transaction be recorded in
court (with payment of
court costs and legal fees;

b. Massachusetts farmers, unable to pay their debts, faced

foreclosure, having all property, including furniture,
seized in order to pay off debts.
c.

12
 13
c. Hampshire County's

Courthouse (August 1784-86) had

about 3,000 debt cases

d. As the crisis worsened, especially in Western

Massachusetts, pressure controlled by favorable
legislators could be elected;

f. One such farmer's protest was led by Daniel Shays

(1747-1825), a Continental army officer from Pelham in
Hampshire County, who, by mid-1786, with a mob of
1,500, ended court foreclosures by surrounding the
Hampshire County courthouse.
e. To prevent more
foreclosures, some courts
were seized until Governor
James Bowdoin, called out
the state militia.
h. 600 militiamen who
approached the rebels under
13
 14
the command of Gen. William Shepherd, three protesters
were killed and the rebels scattered, including Shays.

Shays escaped
to Vermont and
Canada before
settling in New
York, dying in
Sparta at age
84.
i. Several rebels
were tried and
sentenced to
death, but Shays and all others were either pardoned or
served only short sentences.

Many viewed such rebellions as threats to property

rights -- to halt the seizure of property to which
creditors had claims was viewed as an attempted
violation of those rights sentenced to death, but Shays
and all others were either pardoned or served only
short sentences.

C. Settlement of Western Lands

Land Distribution
a. Congress could limit state boundaries and admit new
states from the western territory which had been ceded by
14
 15
the larger states, prior to the ratification of the Articles of
Confederation.
b. In New England, land had been surveyed and sold in
blocks while in the South a buyer got the rights to so
many acres, pretty much where he wanted, following
natural boundaries (rivers, etc).

Land Ordinance of 1784

Lands North of the Ohio River was divided into sixteen
districts, which established a precedent for the future
division of lands in the Ohio Valley

Land Ordinance of 1785

a. The area North of the Ohio River and between the
Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River was
15
 16
designated the North West
Territory
b. An orderly pattern for
surveying the lands was
established whereby the land
was divided into townships of
six square miles (36 sections of
one square mile each):

(1) One section in each

township was set aside for
education;
(2) Land was reserved for veterans and some sold at $1
per acre to raise money
(3) One-half was sold as complete units of a minimum of
640 acres or one section;
c. Because not many could afford to buy one section,
arrangements were made for land companies to purchase
sections and sell them in smaller parcels.

Northwest Ordinance (passed during

the Constitutional Convention 1787)

16
 17
a. The Ordinance of
1785 was revised
and the process of
statehood was
established.

b. The Northwest
Territory was divided
into three to five
states which could
enter the union on an equal footing with older states.
(1) A territory was opened when Congress appointed an
interim government, consisting of a governor, a secretary
and three judges;
(2) After 5,000 free white males were in a territory, they
elected a bi-cameral legislative assembly and sent a non-
voting representative to the U.S. Congress while the
territorial governor had veto power over the assembly;

(3) After the population of

a territory reached
60,000, a territory could
draft a constitution and
apply for statehood;
(4) Although allowed at
first, slavery was
prohibited in the
17
 18
Northwest Territory.
(5) State constitutions had to guarantee religious freedom
and the right to a trial by jury and states had to have
elected representative governments;

d. As a result, Congress maintained almost complete

control over frontier growth.

Constitutional Convention
(aka the Philadelphia Convention).
Early attempts to Begin the Process for
Change
Crisis Magnified
Rebellions like Shays' were translated in the popular
mind into a national crisis, created the fear that the
nation was on the brink of collapse and underscored
the need for a stronger central government with
powers to deal with these problems.
d. Shays's Rebellion nationally symbolized potential
anarchy and moved many off the fence to push for action
to male the Articles of Confederation more workable.
e.
Mount Vernon
Conference March
18
 19

1785
a. Geo. Washington hosted a meeting at Mt Vernon to
discuss improving navigation on the Potomac.

b. Delegates from MD and

VA quickly agreed over
navigation rights on the
Potomac River and
Chesapeake Bay and on
apportionment of expenses
for marking the channel
through Chesapeake Bay.

A broader meeting was suggested to include PA and

DE to discuss import duties and currency problems.

Annapolis Meeting September 1786

a. The Virginia legislature issued a call to all states to
discuss trade and commerce.
b. Although this was not legal (only Congress could call
such meetings), 9 states agreed (including NH, MASS, RI,
NC), but only delegates from 5 states (NY, DE, VA, PA, NJ)
arrived in time.

c. John Dickinson, chairman, because of the slim

19
 20
attendance, decided that it would be useless to proceed to
a study of interstate commercial problems.

d. Alexander Hamilton drafted a statement which was

adopted urging all states to attend a meeting in
Philadelphia, scheduled for May 1787, to review
commercial and all other matters necessary to render the
constitution of the Federal Government adequate to the
exigencies of the Union ..

e. Congress under pressure called for

a meeting in Philadelphia (February
1787) whose sole purpose would be to
consider amendments to the Articles of
Confederation.

B. Philadelphia Convention
Make-up of the Convention -- Twelve
states -- Rhode Island not participating

a. Delegates
(1) 55
delegates
with an
average age
of 43, ranging
from 81-years
(Benjamin
Franklin of
20
 21
PA) to 26-years (Jonathan Dayton of NJ);
(2) 29 were college trained; one-half were lawyers, and the
others were planters, merchants, physicians and college
professors.
(3) George Washington was unanimously elected
president and William Jackson (1759-1828), secretary.
(4) Each delegate at the Convention felt that their duty
was sacred -- the U.S. faced anarchy, if something was not
done quickly).

b. Early decisions
made at the
Philadelphia
Convention
16 September
1787
(1) The proceedings were to be held in secret, with
nothing told or published about the meeting until changes
were finalized (James Madison's detailed notes were
published after 1840);

(2) The cobblestone streets

were covered with dirt to
21
 22
minimize noise;
(3) The Articles of Confederation were to be ignored,
replaced by a new written document which would give the
government certain powers which the Articles of
Confederation did not grant

(4) Each state would vote as a single unit.

c. Delegate desires
(1) A strong government with the power to tax;
(2) The power to regulate commerce;
(3) The power to raise an army with the power to
require military service;
(4) A stronger executive to head the government;
(5) An easier amendment process.

Opposition to the Convention -- Not everyone

favored changing the Articles, because they opposed a
federal government which would exist at the expense of
the states.

a. Patrick Henry refused to attend the meeting and

worked against the ratification of the constitution in
Virginia until it was completed (but once ratified, he no
longer worked against it).
b.

22
 23

3. The Virginia
Plan (May
1787).
b. Its main
features:
(1) a bicameral
national
legislature which
represented the states proportionally (thus ending the
states having power as states) with the lower house
elected by the people, and the upper house elected by
state legislatures;

(2) an executive chosen by the legislature for a single

seven-year term;

(3)a judiciary including a supreme court and inferior

courts;
a council of revision consisting of members from the
executive and the judiciary which could veto acts of
congress;

The legislature could veto state bills;

Amendments would be approved by state conventions
which were elected by the people, not by the state
23
 24
legislatures.

The New Jersey

Plan (June 1787)
b. Its main
features
included:
(1) Equal
representation of each state, regardless
of size or population;
(2) Congressional power to tax and regulate foreign and
interstate commerce;

(3) Congressional appointment of a plural executive with

no veto power and a
supreme court;

(4) U.S. treaties and

acts of Congress
would be the supreme
law of the states.

The Connecticut
24
 25

Plan or The Great Compromise

a. An upper house (Senate) would be based on equal
representation and vote as individuals
b. A lower House of Representatives would be
proportionally represented.
c. A census every ten years would determine the number
of representatives per state.

Other Compromises
Three-Fifths
Compromise
–
Counting of
Slaves
(1) The South wanted
slaves to be
counted as people
for population and representation purposes but not
for taxation purposes.

25
 26

(2) The convention

agreed to count five
slaves as three,
making both taxes
and re-presentation
proportional to the
number of
population counting
only 3/5 slaves
b. The South
wanted a 2/3 vote
before imposing duties; the North wanted slavery
abolished

(3) Duties would be determined

by a simple majority vote in
Congress, but export duties,
thought to hurt the South,
were forbidden;
(4) Congress would make no
laws regarding the slave trade for twenty years.

26
 27

The
selection
of the
President
of the
United
States of
America
(1) The president would be elected for a four-year term
and could be re-elected

(2) The candidate receiving the majority of votes of the

electors would be President and the second place
candidate would be vice-president.

(3) If two candidates had a majority, House of

Representatives would elect him.
(4) If no one had a majority, the top five candidates who
received votes would be voted upon by the House of
Representatives.

c. Congress would be regulated by a simple majority except

for treaties which would require a 2/3 vote of the Senate.
27
 28

d. Elastic Clause of
Article I
e.
f. listed specific powers reserved for the
national government, giving Congress
whatever power was necessary to carry
them out.
g. It provided for three branches of government,
each with distinct powers:

h. Executive Branch Executive Branch

28
 29

Executive Branch, overseen by a chief

executive or president (elected by an electoral
college chosen by the states), with veto power, power
to make treaties, served as commander-in-chief of the
military, and made federal and judicial appointments

(2) Legislative
Branch,
composed of two
houses (Senate --
two from each state
elected for six-year
terms by the state
legislatures; House
29
 30
of Representatives based on population elected by the
people every two years) which could override a
presidential veto by a two-thirds vote, can declare war,
Senate confirms presidential appointments and ratifies
treaties with a two-thirds vote and the House of
Representatives can impeach the executive;

(3) Judicial Branch, the

most weakly defined of the
three, composed of judges
appointed by the executive
but confirmed by congress
with lifetime tenure with no
salary reductions.

The final form – 1787

30
 31

C. Ratification Process

Delegates
a. Of the 55 delegates, only 39 signed the new
constitution.
b. Of those who did not sign, only Edmund Randolph, who
initially opposed it because it was not entirely like his
plan, eventually did support and sign it.

Federalists v. Anti-Federalists
Opponents –
Anti-
Federalists
31
 32

b. States' rightists believed that “the

government that governs best, governs
least.

These individuals tended to be small

farmers, artisans, illiterates and from the
poorer classes.
c. Also concerned that there was no bill of rights to
protect individual freedoms.

Supporters of the
Constitution --
Federalists
a. These realists believed that if the
natural rights philosophy was
taken straight, it would topple
the government.
b. They tended to be from the
cultured propertied groups along
the Atlantic Seaboard.

c. Federalist Papers --
Alexander Hamilton was the major author.
32
 33
(1) Supporters of the Constitution were better organized
to present their arguments for ratification, stressing the
inadequacy of the Articles of Confederation and that the
Constitution conformed to the best principles of
republican government.
(2) John Jay (5), James Madison (28)
and Alexander Hamilton (51)
penned masterful essays on the
Constitution;

Alexander
Hamilton
(3) 77 essays published under the
name Publius in New York
Papers from October 1787 -
April 1788, were combined
with 8 others and published in
two volumes, entitled The
Federalist .

(4) Most significant was Federalist #10 by

James Madison which argued that a republican
33
 34
form of government could extend over a vast
amount of territory.

Early Ratification

IV.New Government
under the
Constitution

A. Organization of the
New Government
The first presidential
elections January 1789
a. Electors chosen either by state legislatures or directly
by the people
b. Electors cast their ballots in
February for president.
The first Congress 4 March

c. The Senate on 6 April

counted the ballots for
President.

(1) George Washington was

34
 35
unanimously elected President with 69 votes, and on 30
April, Washington was inaugurated as the first U.S.
president.
(2) John Adams was chosen Vice-President with 34 votes.

B. Early Tasks of the New Government

The Bill of Rights
a. A set of amendments that guaranteed certain individual
rights had been promised as a condition of ratification in
some states.

b. Amendments to
the new Constitution
could be proposed
by a 2/3 vote in both
Houses of Congress
or by constitutional
conventions called
by 2/3 of the states.

d. Ratification by 2/3 of
the states was
required to approve
an amendment.

g. First Amendment guaranteed religious freedom from

the national government and was modeled after the
35
 36
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom , written by
Jefferson, and passed (January 1786) by the House of
Burgesses.
h. Ninth Amendment stressed that the lack of a right being
specified should not imply that the right did not exist.
i. Tenth Amendment satisfied the states' rightists by
specifying that all other rights not delegated or prohibited
belonged to the states and to the people.

Federal Judiciary Act of 1789 September

a. The Supreme Court was organized to consist of a Chief
Justice and five Associate Justices.
b. It created 13 district courts and 3 circuit courts and
established the office of Attorney General, which became
a cabinet level post.

c. John Jay - first Supreme Court chief justice and

Edmund Randolph - first Attorney General.

C. Financing the New

Government - Hamilton's
Fiscal Program
Alexander Hamilton's fiscal program
to the House of Representatives

36
 37
created a controversy out of which developed two distinct
parties –

Federalists v. Republicans.
The purpose of his program was two-fold
a. To establish and maintain the public credit and thereby
revive confidence in the government at home and abroad.
b. To strengthen and stabilize the central government by
fostering a consciousness of national solidarity of interest
among business and commercial groups who held most
of the domestic debt.

It favored the wealthy who would lend money and moral

support to the new nation.

Hamilton reported on the debt inherited from the

Confederation (January 1790)
a. U.S. foreign debt, held mostly by the French and the
Dutch -- $11,710,378;
b. Domestic debt, including arrears of interest +
unliquidated claims and currency -- $44,414,085;
c. State debts -- estimated at $25 million.

Hamilton's Recommendations
a. Funding at Par –
37
 38
Fund the foreign and domestic debt at par, letting
creditors to exchange depreciated securities for new
interest-bearing bonds at face value.

b. Assumption of State Debts

- the Federal Government should assume debts of
$21,500,000 incurred by the states during the Revolution.

Domestic Debt Controversy

The proposal on the foreign debt was virtually
unopposed, but debtor and agrarian groups bitterly
opposed the funding of the domestic debt because they
had been forced to sell off their securities at a steep
discount.

(1) The government bonds or certificates had been traded

to merchants at less than face value, and merchants had
restocked, using them at even less value;

(2) The certificates had in some cases depreciated to 10 or

15 cents on the dollar

(3) Speculators had purchased many depreciated

certificates, hoping to cash in.

(4) Hamilton had tipped off several speculators who

were his friends in the hopes that by putting capital in
their hands, they would invest it in industrial
development and become endeared to the new federal
38
 39
governments.

b. Assumption of state debts

were opposed by the
southern states, who had
already made arrangements
to discharge their
indebtedness.

c. Critics believed that

Federal power would
increase at the expense of
state power.

James Madison (VA) led opposition to the assumption

plan -- defeated 31-29.

Sectional Compromise on
the Assumption Bill
Arranged by Jefferson and
Hamilton

a. If northerners voted to locate

the National Capital along
the Potomac instead of in
Philadelphia, southerners
would approve assumption

b. The House on 10 July by a vote of 32-29 fixed the site of

39
 40
the projected national capital in a district 10 miles square
along the Potomac, the precise area to be selected by the
President, using Philadelphia as temporary capital until
1800.
On 26 July by a vote of 34-28, the House adopted the
assumption plan.

d. Critics mainly in the South remained apprehensive and

found a voice in Patrick Henry whose Virginia resolutions
(December 1790) warned that the assumption scheme
created a moneyed interest, subordinated agricultural to
commercial interests, was inimical to republican
institutions and the federal form of government and was
not authorized by any clause in the U.S. Constitution.

Bank of the United States February 1791

a. Hamilton recommended a
national bank to stimulate
business and print paper
money for a strong national
currency.
b. The bank would be
chartered for 20 years as a
private institution with the
federal government as the
major stockholder and be
40
 41
located in Philadelphia.

c. This issue - Did the Federal Government Have the

Power to Charter a Bank - magnified the difference of
opinion over how the constitution should be interpreted.

(1) Jefferson's doctrine of strict construction cited the

tenth amendment because incorporating a bank was not
specified as a power of Congress.

(2) Hamilton's
doctrine of
implied
powers or
loose
construction
argued that
because
Congress could collect taxes and regulate
trade, it had the power to employ whatever
means was necessary to execute its powers.
(3) Washington, who had asked for the opinion of his
Cabinet, favored Hamilton's view, mainly because the
proposal fell within the jurisdiction of his department.

Whiskey Tax March 1791

41
 42

a. Hamilton levied an excise tax on

manufactured distilled liquors
to raise revenue
b.
b. This tax of seven cents per
gallon imposed a heavy burden
on backwoods farmers for whom
distilling was the chief means of
disposing of surplus grain
(because of poor roads and high
shipment costs).

Resistance to the Whiskey Tax

(August - September 1792)

(1) This tax was resisted in the

South, especially in central
North Carolina, and in four
western counties in
Pennsylvania.

(2) The resolutions of Albert

Gallatin denounced the tax and
declared that legal measures
would be taken to obstruct the collection of the taxes.

42
 43

Hamilton's Balance
Sheet
a. Hamilton hoped that a
vigorous trade would
develop on which tariffs
could be charged thus
raising revenue.
b. Although he favored more
protection for the
established manufacturing
groups, only two slight increases were passed during
Washington's administration over the eight percent tariff
Congress had already passed on certain imports
c. Hamilton did not achieve support for bounties for
industrial development.
d. His overall plan strengthened the Federal Government
but led to the development of political parties.

V. Growth of Political Parties

A. Background
Members of the Constitutional Convention believed that
factions would exist in the U.S., but never envisioned the
growth of political parties.

43
 44
Whigs and Tories had existed in the pre-Revolutionary
War days.
Tensions between Federalists and Anti-Federalists
increased and were often sectional in nature (although
both factions claimed to represent U.S. interests, not a
particular region) following the same lines of thought that
had forced compromises on the Constitution.

Being dissatisfied over the administration's fiscal

policies, Jefferson and Madison toured New York and
parts of New England to sound out Anti-Federalist
sentiment and gauge the possibility of forming a coalition
along national lines.

B. Beginning Stages Of Political Parties

in the United States

Two easily-definable groups

materialized (1792-93):
a. Anti-Federalists, led by Jefferson and Madison, were
frequently called Republicans (but also known as
Democrat-Republicans), and tended to be pro-French.
b. Federalists led by Hamilton, Washington, and Adams
tended to be pro-British.

44
 45
Two Party newspapers developed:
a. National Gazette (1791) under Philip Freneau was anti-
administration.

b. Gazette of the Unites States (1789) under John Fenno

was Federalist.

Federalist Beliefs
John Adams Alexander Hamilton
a. Rule should be done by the "best" people or the elite;
b. Deplored the democratic tendencies of the masses,
distrusting their ability to govern

c. Desired a potent central government which fostered

business, commercial, shipping and financial interests,
not regulate them;
d. Sympathetic toward creditor interests;

e. Attracted merchants, manufacturers, shippers in the

urban, seaboard areas.

45
 46

Republican Beliefs
a. Rule by the people (only
the ignorant were unfit
to govern);

State power favored

over federal power to
keep the government
closer to the people
Desired a weak central
government, distrusting centralized government;

No special privileges for any

Class, although Jefferson favored
a democratic agrarian order based
on the individual freeholder;

e. Relative freedom from

industrialism, urbanism and
organized finance, sympathetic to
debtor interests;

f. Attracted middle class, poor

farmers, agrarians in the South and Southwest.

C. Controversies in Foreign Policy Which Fostered Party

46
 47
Growth
Problems with France -- Even though France was out of
North America after 1763, it remained the enemy of the
American colonies, as part of the British Empire, until the
Treaty of Amity and Commerce 1778.

a. French Revolution 1789

(1) After the overthrow of the French monarchy, many
Americans were pleased, seeing many similarities with
the American Revolution, but when the revolution turned
into a Bloody Reign of Terror in 1791 (executing both
Louis XVI and Marie Antionette by 1793), many Americans
cooled somewhat toward France.

47
 48

(2) The perpetual treaty with France as an ally raised a

question - With which French government were we allies,
because a government-in-exile composed of members of
the former government existed outside of France.
b. In 1793, at the beginning of
Washington's second term,
Britain declared war on France,
and Americans began to take
sides.
(1) Federalists supported
Britain, believing U.S. destiny
was more in line with them.
(2) Republicans supported the
48
 49
French.

Problems with Britain

a. The U.S. took over trade routes across the Atlantic after
the Revolutionary War.

b. Once war was declared, France and Britain hindered

U.S. trade with the other nation.
c. Britain's Orders in Council in 1793 (whereby Britain
interfered with American neutral shipping) intensified the
friction between the U.S. and Britain.

Impressment of American Sailors

One issue precipitating the War of 1812 was
the British disregard of American shipping
rights. British ships frequently stopped
American ships, confiscated their cargo, and
49
 50
impressed (captured) crew members,
claiming they were deserters from Britain’s
Royal Navy.

(1) The British practiced impressments whereby U.S.

ships were stopped, searched and suspected British
citizens were "pressed" into military service.

(2) Although the exact number of citizens impressed is

unknown, the usual figure given is 6,000 (although it is
sometimes listed as high as 10,000).

VI. Washington's Administration

(Federalist)

A. The President Organizes the

Government
Although not specified in the Constitution, Cabinet
members were selected to help run the government, all
were selected in 1791.

50
 51
a. Foreign Affairs
(July), renamed
Secretary of State -
Thomas Jefferson

b. Secretary of War
(August) - Henry
Knox.
c. Secretary of
Treasury
(September) -
Alexander Hamilton

d. Postmaster
General was
reestablished (September) - Samuel Osgood .
e. Later added Attorney General - Edmund Randolph

Although Washington had consulted with his department

heads since 1789, and continued to meet with them on
matters of policy, in November and December 1791 he met
with the department heads on foreign and military
matters.

At least three such meeting occured in 1792, so that by

the time Adams was president the practice of regular
Cabinet meetings was well established.

51
 52

B. Election of 1792
Because of the Jefferson-Hamilton feud, Washington
was pressed into a second term.

Washington received 132 electoral votes (three

abstentions) and Adams was reelected Vice-President
with 77 votes, although Anti-Federalists gave 50 votes to
George Clinton (NY).

C. Actions during the Second

Administration

Neutrality Proclamation 22 April 1793

a. Washington declared U.S. policy regarding the war in
Europe would be neutrality toward both sides, although
Hamilton pressed for a repeal of the treaty with France.

b. Washington warned U.S. citizens to abstain from hostile

acts against either side.

Citizen Genet Affair

a. When the Minister to the U.S.
government from France, Edmund
Charles Genet, arrived in the U.S., he
52
 53
did not report to Washington but went to Charleston SC
instead, and sought private support for the French cause.

b. Before presenting his credentials (April 1793), he

commissioned four privateers to prey on British vessels
and took steps to organize expeditions against British and
Spanish territories, but these non-neutral activities on
U.S. soil violated the U.S.-French treaty of 1778.
c. Although warned of the violation of U.S. sovereignty, he
sent a re-commissioned French vessel out to sea for
which the U.S. government officially requested his recall,
although he remained in New York as a private French
citizen.
d. Fortunately, France did not ask for U.S. help, which
they might have done under the terms of the perpetual
treaty 1778.
e. Although Jefferson agreed that Genet's actions harmed
the Anti-Federalist cause, he continued to favor the
French over the British

f. After the Genet Affair, Washington began to lean more on

Hamilton for advice than Jefferson. As a result, Jefferson
resigned as Secretary of State. He was replaced by
Edmund Randolph.

Eleventh
53
 54

Amendment 5 March, 1794

a. After the Supreme Court case Chisholm vs Georgia
(1793, where two citizens from SC sued the state of GA), it
provided in effect that one state was not suable by a
citizen of another state.
b. It was ratified in January 1798.
Neutrality Act June 1794 - U.S. citizens were forbidden
from enlisting in the military of a foreign power and could
not fit out vessels in U.S. ports.

Whiskey Rebellion
July - November 1794
a. Western counties in Pennsylvania erupted in open
resistance to the whiskey tax.

b. Seizing this opportunity to show the authority of the

new government, Washington sent to those counties
15,000 troops, under Henry Lee, accompanied by
Hamilton. Washington made it clear that the era of armed
rebellion was finished and that the only way disputes
could be resolved was through the courts
c. Although two were convicted for treason in May 1795,
Washington pardoned them.

54
 55

Jay's Treaty
a. A continued source of
irritation was the British
failure to evacuate its
Northwestern forts under the
terms of the Treaty of 1783
(because legal obstacles had
been placed against pre-
Revolutionary merchant
creditors wanting their bills
paid and against Loyalists
seeking recovery of or
compensation for
confiscated property).
b. Western settlement was retarded and Indian
insurrections were believed instigated by the British, who
kept control of the lucrative Ohio Valley fur trade.
c. A chief source of revenue was derived from British
exports to the U.S., which was a main feature of
Hamilton's fiscal system.
d. Supreme Court chief justice John Jay was sent as
special envoy to England (November 1794) to negotiate a
new treaty, because commercial provisions of the Treaty
of 1783 were about to expire.

e. Terms of the Treaty

55
 56

(1) The most important concession was the promised

British withdrawal of Northwest military posts by June
1796.
(2) Britain also agreed to permit U.S. vessels to trade in
British East Indian ports, to open the West Indian trade to
U.S. vessels not exceeding 70 tons burden, if the U.S.
would renounce carrying trade in molasses, cotton and
sugar, and to grant the U.S. most-favored nation status.
(3) The U.S. agreed to a joint-commission to settle the
payment of pre-Revolutionary War debts, Northeast
boundary question, and compensation for illegal maritime
seizures of U.S. goods and any damages to seized ships
f. The treaty did not address impressments, the Indian
question, the slaves removed by the British or Loyalist
claims.
g. Difficulties with ratification
(1) Republicans immediately attacked the treaty and
whipped up support against it, upset by the fact that it
really did not differ from the Treaty of 1783.

(2) Southern planters did not want the debt settled (most
of which was owed by Virginians) and did not like the
silence over stolen slaves.
(3) Northern shipping and commercial interests attacked
the treaty.
56
 57

(4) During the ratification process Senators opposed to

Jay’s Treaty insisted on seeing the correspondence
between Washington and Jay during jay’s negotiations
with the British.

(5) Washington flat out refused to turn his private

correspondences over to the Senate thereby establishing
the precedent of “Executive Privilege.”
h. It was ratified after Washington exercised his executive
prerogative when refusing to grant papers to the Senate
regarding the Treaty, and set an important precedent.
i. Knowing it was this treaty or none, Washington, putting
his prestige on the line, enabled it to pass the Senate in
June 1795, which allowed the U.S. to avoid war with
Britain at a time when we needed trade to grow financially
and opened the Ohio Valley to western settlers.

Treaty of San
Lorenzo
(A.K.A)

Pinckney's
Treaty
57
 58

October 1795
a. One positive result of Jay's Treaty was this one
between the U.S. and Spain, who feared that the U.S. was
about to come to terms with Britain.
b. Differences regarding the southern and western
boundaries and the free navigation by Americans of the
Mississippi were adjusted.
c. U.S. minister to Britain, Thomas Pinckney , achieved
Spanish recognition of the U.S. boundary claims under
the Treaty of 1783 (Mississippi to the west, 31st parallel to
the south) and free navigation of the Mississippi, with a
right to deposit goods at New Orleans duty free for three
years.

This is the only treaty made with a foreign power during

the Washington Administration that can be considered an
unqualified success.

Cabinet Reorganization
(Only Federalists Remained)
a. Timothy Pickering of Massachusetts became Secretary
of War in January 1795.

b. Hamilton resigned and was replaced by Oliver Wolcott,

Jr, although he continued advising the President on major

58
 59
policy decisions unofficially.
c. Randolph, under a cloud of corruption, resigned as
Secretary of State, replaced by Pickering.

Naturalization Act (January 1795) required a

five-year residency period.

D. Washington's Farewell Address

( September 1796)
This address, written with the aid of
Madison and Hamilton, gave Washington's
reasons for not running for a 3d term,
establishing a precedent for future
presidents.
In this written address, Washington warned of the
dangers of a
entanglements.

E. Election of 1796
Candidates
a. Two candidates emerged for the Federalists, Hamilton
and Adams, but because Hamilton's fiscal policies were
unpopular, Federalists turned to John Adams.
b. Republicans, strengthened from the debate over Jay's
Treaty, turned to Jefferson.

59
 60

Results
a. Adams received 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68,
which made the executive branch divided between the two
factions.

b. The Federalist Thomas Pinckney received 59 votes and

Aaron Burr, Republican, 30.

VII. Adams (2d President)

Administration (Federalist)
A. John Adams the Man
The first to occupy the White House
Lived to be 90 years old.
Married to Abigail for 54 years.

B. Problems with France

Angered over the treaty with Britain, France began seizing
U.S. ships, (300 by mid-1797).

Adams sent a three-man commission, Charles Cotesworth

Pinckney (U.S. minister to France), John Marshall (also a
Federalist), and Elbridge Gerry (Republican Governor of
Massachusetts), to secure a treaty of amity and commerce
with France.

60
 61

XYZ Affair
a. The U.S. commission in Paris was unofficially received
by French foreign minister, Talleyrand, who sent three
agents to suggest that the U.S. could see the French
officially if a $10 million loan were guaranteed and a
$240,000 bribe were paid.
b. U.S. agents refused to make concessions, Marshall
replying that not a sixpence would be paid.
c. Gerry remained in Paris after the French suggested that
if all three agents left, France would declare war on the
U.S..
d. Although Republicans defended French actions as their
only recourse in the light of Jay's treaty, a pro-war faction
among Federalists fanned by Hamilton pressed Adams to
declare war.
e. In a report to Congress the three French agents were
identified as "X," "Y" and "Z"

Undeclared Naval War with France 1798-1800

A.K.A. the Quasi

War
61
 62

a. His cabinet pressed for an immediate declaration of

war, but Adams favored a peaceful solution.

b. Nevertheless, Congress passed 20 defensive measures

consolidate national defense.
(1) Washington was named commanding general and
Hamilton, inspector general.

(2) Department of the Navy was established (May 1796)

with Benjamin Stoddert named Secretary and the Marine
Corps was established.
c. Congress terminated the treaties with France in July
1798, thus ending the alliance.

d. An undeclared naval war with France began when

France captured the USS Constellation in November 1798.
e. Some 80 French ships were captured through 1800.

Convention of 1800
a. The situation changed in France in 1800 when Napoleon
seized power.

b. William Vans Murray , became new U.S. minister to

France after Talleyrand assured the U.S. that our diplomat
62
 63
would be received.
c. A new 3-man commission negotiated the Treaty of
Morfontaine (September 1800) which superseded the
treaties of 1778

C. Domestic Issues Under Adams

Alien and Sedition Acts 1798
a. The threat of war with France sharpened public hostility
toward aliens, esp. refugees from France.

b. Federalists imposed many severe restrictions,

including

(1) Naturalization Act - increased the period of residency

before becoming a citizen to 14 years (repealed in 1802);
(2) Alien Act - permitted the President to order out of the
U.S. any alien deemed dangerous to the public peace and
safety or suspected of treasonable or secret inclinations
(expired in 1802);
(3) Sedition Act - made it illegal to impede any
government policy or to defame a government official
(including the President and the Congress) under penalty
of imprisonment of two years and/or a fine of up to $2000.
(4) Alien Enemies Act - authorized the President, in time of
declared war, to arrest, imprison, or banish aliens subject
63
 64
to an enemy power;
c. The uneven enforcement of these acts confused
political opposition with sedition.

d. Twenty-five cases were prosecuted involving

Republican editors and politicians (including one
congressman) in which ten were fined and/or jailed.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

a. Two states (VA led by Madison December 1798 and KY
drafted by Jefferson 1798-99) passed resolutions,
invoking the compact theory of the Constitution -- where
the national government exercised powers not specifically
delegated to it, each state has an equal right to judge for
itself.
b. In other words, the resolutions advocated the right of
the state to declare national acts unconstitutional and
declared the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional.

c. Although no way yet existed to test the constitutionality

of congressional acts, it was generally felt that states
could not

(1) No other state joined them with similar actions;

(2) Several northern states suggested the judiciary was

the "exclusive arbiter of constitutionality."
64
 65

d. Both states reaffirmed their attachment to the Union

and no other action was taken.

Other issues
a. The first Federal Bankruptcy Law (April 1800) was
extended only to merchants and traders (repealed in
1803).
b. Congress convened in Washington for the first time in
November 1800.

c. John Adams appointed John Marshall , Chief Justice of

the Supreme Court.

George Washington died at Mt Vernon (14

December 1799), after which Henry Lee
eulogized him as first in war , first in peace
, first in the hearts of his countrymen
E. Election of 1800 -- Revolution of 1800
Candidates
a. Federalists - The handling of the French crisis by
Adams created a rift among Federalists with those who
favored war with France (hawkish elements led by
Hamilton), resulting in an unenthusiastic re-nomination of
65
 66
Adams for president and Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
(SC) Vice-President.
b. Prominent among Republicans were Jefferson and Burr
(NY).

Presidential Election Results of 1800

a. Both Burr and Jefferson received 73 electoral votes,
Adams 65, and Pinckney 64.

b. According to the constitution, it was now up to the

House of Representatives.
c. The Federalist-dominated House of Representatives
remained tied (17 February) after 35 ballots.

d. Although the Federalist caucus backed Burr, Jefferson

supposedly agreed not to scuttle the navy nor remove
Federalists from lower posts (but no reliable evidence
supports this).
e. While VA threatened to march on Washington to force a
settlement, three Federalists cast blank ballots and
Jefferson was chosen president by ten states (each
receiving one vote) and Burr became vice-president.

Although the presidential vote was close, the Republicans

won an emphatic majority in Congress with most new
Senators being Republicans and every branch of
66
 67
government being controlled by them, except for the
Judiciary.

For the first time in U.S. history, a member

of the opposition party won the presidency.
Although apprehension was in the air, an orderly transfer
of government took place which demonstrated that the
American system worked.

The inadequacy of the election machinery was changed

with the 12th Amendment.

F. Aftermath of the Election

Adams, a Federalist, was fearful of a Republican winning
the election, thinking that Jefferson would undo all the
things that the Federalists had done.

In the remaining weeks of his presidency, he made several

judicial appointments, which because of the lateness of
them, are called midnight appointments.

Many of these were delivered just before Adams left

office.

67