Topic 11 The Federalist Era

1. Topic 11 The Federalist Era

2. In what ways did Americans disagree about the future of their new country, and how did these disagreements form the First Political Party System?

3. Many people favored a more commercial, urban nation

4. French Revolution made many people fear the masses

5. Fearing the masses and potential anarchy, many put their hopes in an educated, virtuous elite to lead society

6. Others sought a more rural and agrarian society of small landowning yeoman farmers. They feared elites and urban commerce as encouraging corruption and divisions

7. Federalists: • - Envisioned urban America with developed and integrated commercial and manufacturing economy • In favor of stronger federal government, more faith in educated elites, feared masses • Stronger in New England • tended to favor Britain over Revolutionary France • Democratic Republicans: • Envisioned rural-dominated economy of self-sufficient land-owning yeoman farmers • Feared stronger federal government and wanted more power in states, more faith in masses than elites • Stronger in South and West • tended to favor Revolutionary France over Britain

8. Alexander Hamilton was a leader of the emerging Federalist party

9. Thomas Jefferson was a leader of the emerging Democratic-Republican party

10. The First Political Party System” “Federalist Era” – 1789-1800, the presidencies of George Washington (1789-1796) and John Adams (1796-1800) “Jeffersonian Era” - 1800 –circa war of 1812. the presidencies of Thomas Jefferson (1800-1808)and James Madison (1808-1816) Followed by the “Era of Good Feelings”

11. How did economic and domestic issues divide Americans and consolidate Federalist power from 1789 to 1800?

12. George Washington

13. Mount Vernon

14. Washington taking the oath of office at Federal Hall, NYC

15. Henry Knox as Secretary of War Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of treasury

16. Vice President John Adams

17. Washington was reelected in 1792 and served until 1796, when he refused to run again. This set up a precedent of two terms for presidents. Leaving office in 1796, Washington gave a famous “Farewell Address” warning against “foreign entanglements”

18. In 1796 John Adams won the presidency but by this time it was becoming obvious that factions or parties were forming and the Constitution needed amending to consider for this. The Constitution provided that the candidate with the most Electoral College votes would be elected president while the second place candidate in the Electoral College would be Vice President. In 1796 Jefferson received the second most votes and thus was vice president even though Adams as president had completely different views. The government, therefore, passed the 12th Amendment, which provided that all electors shall cast two votes, one for President and one for Vice President, creating, in essence, a “ticket.” (The 11th Amendment, by the way, had insured that federal courts would not hear suits against individual states. States had sovereign immunity)

19. Judiciary Act of 1789

20. Four major economic issues: “Funding” – In the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress had issued bonds. However, because the Articles of Confederation had been unable to pay, bond holders had sold their bonds at a depreciated value to speculators. The question, therefore, was to whom shall the new government pay- the original bond holders or the speculators? Bank – Should the new government create a national bank? “Assumption” – Should the new government lump all the state debts together and pay off as one national debt, or should each individual state pay off its own debts? What, if any, taxes or tariffs should the new government impose to raise funds?

21. Hamilton’s Economic Program: Funding of war debt – pay holder of bond even if speculator and not original lender Creation of national bank – facilitates federal government collecting taxes and paying debts; more secure for federal deposits Assumption of state war debts – we are all in it together = one nation, one debt “Report on Manufactures” excise taxes on distillers of alcoholic beverages and tariff on imports to supplement western land sales

22. On each issue Washington sided with Hamilton. While Washington tried to avoid growing partisan tensions and wanted to be above it all – a uniting force – his positions angered the growing number of Democratic-Republicans, and today he is considered in the Federalist Camp

23. Interestingly, in arguments over the bank, both sides tried to argue that the Constitution supported their side. Hamilton took a “broad constructionist” view and argued from the Elastic Clause while Jefferson took a “strict constructionist” view and said the Constitution did not explicitly create a bank. In any event, the First Bank of the United States began in 1791 in Philadelphia and had a twenty-year charter.

24. When it came to assumption of state war debts, Jefferson and Hamilton agreed to a compromise. Many southerners and emerging Democratic-Republicans feared that the nation’s capital would be in a big northern city. Jefferson agreed to allow the federal government to assume state war debts and Hamilton agreed to create a completely new federal capital further south, allowing Washington to choose the location. Washington chose near his home on the Maryland-Virginia border along the Potomac River – a new federal “District of Columbia”

25. Pierre L’Enfant

27. Washington faced immediate problems and led a force against the Whiskey Rebellion

28. What foreign policy developments took place during the presidencies of George Washington and John Adams, and how did they often exacerbate political tensions?

29. Problems also existed in foreign policy. Great Britain and Revolutionary France began fighting. Washington declared the US neutral, and, at first, this helped the US develop one of the largest merchant fleets in the world

30. At first most Americans supported France. The death of Louis XVI of France was celebrated among many in the US

31. In time, however, other Americans began to support the British. The revolutionary spirit of France devolved into the infamous “Reign of Terror” (and eventually the rise of Napoleon) and, of course, many Americans still had large commercial trading relationships with the British.

32. In general, this too became a partisan issue: the Democratic Republicans tended to favor the French and the Federalists the British.

33. In 1793 the British shifted their policy and began to seize neutral American merchant ships bound for France. Washington dispatched John Jay to London to solve the crisis

34. The resulting Jay’s Treaty angered many Democratic-Republicans, who thought it was too lenient on the British. The treaty allowed the British navy to continue boarding and inspecting American vessels, but allowed the Americans to submit claims to the British government for any seizures it considered illegal or wrong. The treaty also promised that the US government would pay off any lingering debt American merchants owed British merchants from before the Revolutionary War

35. Jay’s treaty did have some clear positive effect. Worried about improving British-American relations, Spain, who was at odds with Britain, agreed to Pinckney’s Treaty. This treaty allowed Americans to navigate out of New Orleans and set the boundary of Florida where the Americans had claimed it.

36. The Genet Affair angered Federalists. Here Edmund Genet is seen visiting Washington and begging him for political asylum

37. Indian affairs also continued to bother the United States. In the lower Mississippi River valley, an Indian chief, AlexanderMcGillivray, was raiding American settlements. Washington invited him to New York and agreed to pay him $100,000 to stop the raids

38. In the Ohio Territory, Indians were fighting American settlements. Washington sent General Anthony Wayne to force them out, which he did near Toledo today at the Battle of Fallen Timbers (August, 1794)

39. The Indians then agreed to surrender their claims to the Ohio territory in the Treaty of Greenville

40. After John Adams became president, relations with France deteriorated until finally there was the so-called “Quasi War” with Francein 1798-1799. France began boarding American vessels and seizing sailors

41. France sent a diplomatic mission to France, but this led to increased tensions when three French diplomats refused to see the delegation without a payment first. Adam’s report to Congress labeled the three “XYZ”. This episode thus became famous as the “XYZ Affair”

42. Even Democratic Republicans were hard pressed to defend France with the XYZ Affair, but one pacifist Quaker named George Logan went on his own to France to negotiate the release of American seamen. This led to the Logan Act passing, forbidding private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments without official authorization

43. Adams called for the construction of a larger US navy with the construction of three men-of-war: USS Constitution (shown above), the, USS United States and the USS Constellation.

44. Thankfully a full-fledged war with France did not take place when Napoleon rose to power in France in 1799 and wanted to focus on consolidating France's power in Europe.

45. By the election of 1800, the Federalist Party had begun to weaken and the Democratic-Republican party grow despite relations with France. The main reason was that new immigrants tended to be poorer and tended to migrate to the South and West, adding to the numbers of those Americans who feared wealthy powerful urban elites. Also many new immigrants came from places like Ireland and France.

46. The Federalists responded with unwise legislation, including the Sedition Act of 1798, which made it illegal to speak “maliciously” against the government. Her people are shown arguing over the Sedition Act

47. The Alien Act of 1798 allowed the president o deport “dangerous” aliens and the Naturalization Act of 1798 lengthened the time for new immigrants to become citizens from 5 to 14 years. These laws were often abused and angered Democratic-Republicans Alien Act if 1798