Download President Washington Takes Charge

President Washington Takes
Charge
How did Washington further establish the foundation for
the US government?
Election of 1788
 Washington becomes the first president
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Elected by the electoral college
ALL 69 electors cast one vote for Washington
Only 10 states voted
Second votes were divided among 11 candidates
John Adams was the runner-up with 34 votes (VP)
Twelfth Amendment changed this process by requiring
each elector to cast separate votes
 Washington’s
Inauguration- April 30, 1789
 Federal Hall, Wall Street,
NYC
President Washington Takes Charge
 First to do:
 Create a bureaucracy
 Create a judicial system
 Raise money
 FIRST ITEM: BILL OF RIGHTS (1791)
Safeguarding Liberty
 James Madison created the Bill of Rights (1791)
 Included
 Ninth Amendment stating any rights not specifically
stated in the Constitution are still protected
 Tenth Amendment stating any powers not given to the
national government go to the states
Creating a Judiciary System
 JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789
 Organization of the Supreme Court
 1 Chief Justice, 5 Associate Justices
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16 Lower Courts
Prosecuting Attorneys
Marshall Service
Office of the Attorney General (Edmund Randolph)
Organizing a Bureaucracy
 Executive departments created to deal with most
pressing issues
 Creation of Executive Cabinet
 Secretary of State- Thomas Jefferson
 Secretary of War- Henry Knox
 Secretary of Treasury- Alexander Hamilton
Economic Policies
 Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton
 Shape fiscal policies to help the wealthier class, who in
turn would lend the government money and trickle
down to lower classes
 Strengthen National Credit by:
 Paying off Foreign Debt-$54 million
 Assume State Debts-$21.5 million
 States with large debt thrilled (MA)
 States with small debt reluctant (VA)
Compromise
 VA would agree to assumption of debt, in exchange
for National capital set up along the Potomac River
(Washington D.C.)
Customs, Duties, & Excise Taxes
 National debt = “national blessing” to unify the
country
 Where would nation receive $ to pay interest and
keep government running?
 Tariff Revenue to pay interest
 Tariff of 1789 (8% tax on imports)
 Excise Tax in 1791 (whiskey)
Whiskey Rebellion
 Many backcountry corn farmers were upset about the
whiskey excise tax, since it was their main source of
income
 In 1794, farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to
pay the tax
 The farmers beat up federal marshals in Pittsburgh
and threatened to secede from the union
Enforcement of Federal Power
 Secretary Hamilton & President Washington looked
upon the Whiskey Rebellion as an opportunity for the
federal government to show that it could enforce the
law along the western frontier
 13,000 militiamen were called upon to stop the
rebellion
 The federal troops hiked over the Alleghenies, and
scattered the rebels without the loss of a single life
The National Bank
 Hamilton pushed for the creation of a Bank of the
United States
 Purpose:
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Issue paper money
Establish branches in various cities
Handle all government money
Invest
Bank of the United States
 Chartered in 1791
for 20 years in
Philadelphia
National BankSupport and Opposition
 South
 Make Northerners rich
 Strict interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
 North
 Favored a national bank
 Loose interpretation of the U.S. Constitution
Political Parties Formed
 Alexander Hamilton v. Thomas
Jefferson
Political Parties Formed
 Personal Feud between Hamilton and Jefferson
 Developed into two-party system
 Democratic- Republicans: led by Secretary of State Thomas
Jefferson
 Federalists: led by Secretary of Treasury Alexander
Hamilton
Two Party System
Republicans v. Federalists
 Main issues dividing the two parties:
Democratic- Republicans
Federalists
-Strong state gov’ts -Strong central gov’t
-Strict interpretation
-Loose interpretation
of Constitution
of Constitution
-Farming economy
-Industrial economy