Unit 5: A New Nation

1. Unit 5: A New Nation

2. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • First President • George Washington • John Adams = Vice President • Trusted leader • Precedents set (traditions) • “Mr. President” • 2 terms (nothing in Constitution limiting terms then) • 1st Cabinet = 3 departments • State Dept = relations with other nations (T. Jefferson) • Dept. of Treasury = money matters (A. Hamilton) • War Dept = defense (H. Knox) • Other Cabinet positions: • Attorney General – legal affairs (Edmund Randolph) • Postmaster General – postal service • Cabinet created by Congress • President make appointments/dismissals (authority to executive)

3. Precedent Analysis #1: Read the excerpt below and determine what precedent(s) Washington set as the first president of the US under the Constitution. Washington was well aware that he had been given the power to shape the American presidency. "I walk on untrodden ground," was a frequent comment he made in the days leading up to his first inauguration. He clearly understood that he needed to bring the executive branch to life in the republic he helped to found with no historic models to follow. Washington believed that the precedents he set must make the presidency powerful enough to function effectively in the national government, but at the same time these practices could not show any tendency toward monarchy or dictatorship. On the afternoon of April 30, 1789, George Washington stepped out onto the balcony of Federal Hall in Lower Manhattan to take the oath as the first President of the United States. When Samuel Otis, the Secretary of the Senate, held out a Bible before Washington, he placed his right hand upon it. Robert Livingston, the Chancellor of New York, using the words prescribed in Article II of the Constitution, asked Washington if he would solemnly swear to execute the office of President of the United States, and to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. Washington answered that he would, reciting the oath back to the chancellor.

4. Precedent Analysis #2: Washington made the office of the presidency powerful by appointing a cabinet and proposing major legislation to Congress. But at the same time he defined practices that emphasized the republican character of the position. When politicians suggested titles for the nation's chief executive ranging from "His Excellency" to "His Highness, the Protector of Our Liberties," Washington recommended the more democratic "Mr. President."3 He presented the annual State of the Union report, required by the Constitution, as a speech given directly to the Congress. Thomas Jefferson would break this precedent in the nineteenth century, however it was restored by Woodrow Wilson in the twentieth.

5. Precedent Analysis #3: Washington also set precedents for the social life of the president. Troubled by how the presidents of the Confederation Congress had been overwhelmed by visitors, Washington spent his days doing the business of government and set aside the late afternoon for meetings with the public and evenings for dinner parties with invited guests. These practices are still followed by White House protocol. Precedent Analysis #4: Well-known for his love of Mount Vernon, Washington made it acceptable for presidents to retreat from the pressures of the job to their own homes while in office. Finally, in part because of his wish to return to his estate on the Potomac, but likewise to escape the relentless attacks of the opposition press, he retired after serving eight years and so set the precedent that presidents should only serve for two terms. While President Franklin D. Roosevelt broke this precedent by winning a third and fourth term, the precedent became law when Amendment XXII of the Constitution was ratified in 1951.

6. Precedent Analysis #5: Washington's reliance on department heads for advice, similar to his war council during the Revolution, set a precedent for including the cabinet as part of the President's office. Moreover, because Congress did not challenge his appointments or his removal of appointees, principally out of respect for him, the tradition was planted to allow the President to choose his or her own cabinet. By his actions and words, Washington also set the standard for two presidential terms, a practice that lasted until 1940. When John Jay resigned as chief justice of the Supreme Court, Washington selected his successor from outside the bench, disregarding seniority and thus allowing future Presidents to draw from a diverse pool of talent beyond the Court's aging incumbents. Precedent Analysis #6: When the House of Representatives sought records related to negotiations surrounding the Jay Treaty of 1795, Washington refused to deliver all the documents. In doing so, he set the precedent for invoking what became known as executive privilege. In leading federal troops against the Whiskey Rebellion, Washington presented a clear show of federal authority, established the principle that federal law is the supreme law of the land, and demonstrated that the federal government is empowered to levy and collect taxes

7. Precedent Analysis #7: Although he sponsored and supported legislative proposals submitted to Congress for enactment, he carefully avoided trying to dictate or unduly influence the judicial and legislative branches of the government. In not vetoing bills with which he disagreed unless there were constitutional questions, he set a precedent of executive restraint that would be followed by the next five Presidents. Moreover, by keeping Vice President Adams at arm's length—not even inviting him to attend cabinet meetings—Washington set the tradition by which the vice president's role is largely ceremonial. Precedent Analysis #8: Also, although Washington hated partisanship and political parties, he tolerated dissent, vicious attacks on his reputation and name, and a divisive press—all in the interest of freedom. There is little reason to suggest that Washington, unlike so many of his successors, ever sought to use his office for personal empowerment or gain. Neither did he shelter his friends for the sake of their friendships when conflicts of interest arose. Perhaps most importantly, Washington's presidential restraint, solemnity, judiciousness, and nonpartisan stance created an image of presidential greatness, or dignity, that dominates the office even today. He was the man who could have been a king but refused a crown and saved a republic.

8. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • Judiciary Act of 1789 • Federal court system: 13 district courts, 3 circuit courts • State laws could be upheld or overturned by federal courts • Supreme Court = final authority • National Debt • Alexander Hamilton Plan • pay debt to other countries and American citizens • federal payment of states’ debt = states back nat’l gov’t • Problems • bonds bought back by nat’l gov’t for less than original amount = profit for gov’t • southern states less debt from war pay same amount • compromise = Washington, D.C. • locate national capital in south = southern support

9. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • National Bank (Bank of the United States) • Only 3 state banks • Fear national bank benefit wealthy • Unconstitutional? = Constitution doesn’t say yes or no • Outcome = established National Bank • Taxes • Tariff: tax on imports • promote American industry • protect from foreign competition • opposed by south = little industry • National taxes proposed • operate government • pay interest on national debt • example: tax on whiskey = approved • Hamilton’s policies split Congress and the nation

10. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • Early Challenges • Whiskey Rebellion = July 1794 farmers’ resistance turned into mob • Armed rebellion alarms gov’t • Washington and army march to stop it = rebellion collapsed • Set precedent for dealing with armed protest = protest legal if peaceful

11. Problems in West • Native Americans between Appalachian Mts. and Mississippi River deny authority of Am. Gov’t look to Britain/Spain for help • Washington tried treaties to aid with Indians • ignored by settlers moved into Indian lands = fighting • 1794 British try control territory - urge Indians to fight Americans • built fort in Ohio • Am. army successful in Ohio Valley (Fallen Timbers) • Treaty of Greenville = 12 Indian nations Great Lake Region = opened Ohio valley for Am. Settlement

12. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • French Revolution • 1789 overthrow/kill King Louis XVI (16th) • Bloody conflict = violate personal rights, attack religion • 1793 British/French to war = Am. Policy = neutrality • Am. Split trade w/British vs. sympathy for French • Washington’s Neutrality • Proclamation of Neutrality (1793) • no American citizens fight in war • British/French warships not allowed in Am. Ports • British attack Am. Merchant ships trading w/French = impressment

13. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • Jay’s Treaty (to avoid war with British) • British remove troops from US, pay damages for ships, allow trade w/British Caribbean colonies, settlement of debts before 1776 • Pinckney’s Treaty (1795) • Agreement w/Spain to make peace west of Appalachian Mts. • US full access to Miss. R and remove all Spanish forts from US • Washington leaves – 1796 leaves office after 2 terms

14. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • Political Parties = people w/similar views band together against opposition • 1790’s 2 Parties = Federalist Party and Democratic-Republican Party • Federalist Party = support A. Hamilton, strong central gov’t, favor banking/shipping, strongest support in NE and wealthy south, constitution has implied powers, support representative gov’t • Democratic-Republican Party = power to states, supported by small farmers/urban workers, strongest in Mid Atlantic, strict interpretation of Constitution, keep power out of hands of wealthy

15. Election of 1796 = Adams vs. Jefferson • Federalist = John Adams (71 votes) = President • Republican = Thomas Jefferson (68 votes) = Vice President • Person with second highest electoral votes = VP

16. President John Adams • XYZ Affair • 1797 to avoid war w/France sent 3 people to France to work out problems from Jay’s Treaty – French refused meeting and sent 3 of their own agents (X,Y,Z) to US to demand a bribe and loan from US – didn’t work • undeclared war with France = congress strengthen armed forces • create Navy Dept. May 1798, increase army, build ships, 1798-1800 naval battle

17. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation • Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) • Alien Act = president power to deport dangerous aliens • Naturalization Act – hard for aliens to become citizens = live in US for 14 years (not 5) • Sedition Act = crime to speak, write, publish, false criticism of gov’t, Congress, President • States’ Rights • Theory = states had right to judge constitutionality of federal laws • Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (1798, 1799) • put theory into practice = Kentucky Resolution suggested states could overturn federal laws • direct challenge to constitutional authority of nat’l gov’t

18. Chp. 8 Review Notes: A New Nation Directions: Write a brief response to the following question: Summarizing Prompt #1: What actions were taken to begin the new government? Summarizing Prompt #2: How did the federal government assert its power in the west? Summarizing Prompt #3: How did political parties effect government?