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Chapter 8, Section 1. Organizing the New Government. Setting an Example. Precedent : an act or decision that sets an example for others to follow During his 2 terms in office Washington set many precedents 1796 he decided not to run for a third term
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Chapter 8, Section 1 Organizing the New Government
Setting an Example • Precedent: an act or decision that sets an example for others to follow • During his 2 terms in office Washington set many precedents • 1796 he decided not to run for a third term • Others followed this precedent until 1940
The first Cabinet • The president needed people to help him carry out his duties • 1789 Congress created 5 executive departments • Departments of State, Treasury, War, and the offices of Attorney General, and Postmaster General
The first Cabinet • Washington choose well known leaders to head those departments • Thomas Jefferson: Secretary of State • Alexander Hamilton: Secretary of the Treasury • Cabinet: members and head of the departments
The federal court system • Constitution called for a Supreme Court but Congress had to organize the federal court system • Judiciary Act: Called for the Supreme Court to have one chief Justice and 5 Associate Justices • John Jay was named first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court • Also set up district courts and circuit courts across the nation
Hamilton and the National Debt • Most pressing problem for Hamilton was the large government debt
Government bonds • During the Revolutionary War the national government and state governments borrowed money from foreign countries and ordinary citizens to pay soldiers and buy supplies • Bond: certificate that promises to repay the money loaned plus interest • National debt: total sum of money a government owes
Plan for repayment • Hamilton’s plan was to buy all bonds issued before 1789 and sell new bonds to pay off old debts
Opposition to Hamilton’s Plan • Bankers and investors welcomed Hamilton’s plan
Madison leads the opposition • Speculator: someone willing to invest in a risky venture in the hope of making money • Speculators paid soldiers and citizens 10 to 15 cents for a bond worth a dollar • Madison did not think speculators deserved to make huge profits • Hamilton thought the U.S. should repay its bonds in full to gain trust and help of investors • Madison also believed states should pay for their own debts
Hamilton’s compromise • Hamilton offered to persuade his northern friends to vote for a capital in the South if southerners supported the repayment of state debts • Madison and other southerners accepted this compromise • Washington, D.C. ( District of Columbia) lies between MD and Virginia along the Potomac River • It belongs to no state
Strengthening the Economy A national bank • Bank of the United States: 1791: government deposited money it collected in taxes • Also made loans to farmers and businesses helping them to expand
Protecting the nation’s industries • Hamilton wanted to give American manufacturers a boost • Tariff: tax on all foreign goods brought into the country • Hamilton wanted to make imported goods more expensive then goods made in the U.S. • Protective tariff: high tariffs that protect American industry from foreign competition
Protecting the nation’s industries • Northerners where factories were growing, supported Hamilton’s plan • Southerners farmers, who bought more imported goods than Northerners, opposed it • Congress did pass a tariff but much lower then what Hamilton had proposed
The Whiskey Tax • 1791 all liquor made or sold in the U.S. was taxed • Settlers in the backcountry exploded with anger • Backcountry famers grew corn which was shipper more easily after being made in to whiskey • They compared it to Britain’s taxes on the colonies
The Whiskey Rebellion • Tax collectors were treated harshly William Miller receives a summons • Farmers who refused to pay the tax received a court summons in distant federal courts • A sheriff and John Neville, tax collector, served legal papers to William Miller • Miller was forced to travel to Philadelphia and pay $250.00
Farmers rebel • Angry farmers set out to find Neville and the sheriff, some had muskets others had pitchforks • The sheriff and Neville fled • The next day farmers and Neville met head on • Neville fired • A man died and others wounded
Government Response • News of the whiskey Rebellion spread quickly • Washington called up a militia • Rebels scattered • Washington quick response showed the new government would act firmly