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The New Republic under Washington and Adams
• Purpose: to gain an understanding of the tumultuous but
dynamic development of the United States under its first two
presidents, George Washington and John Adams, specifically:
• The Washington administration
• The conflict over Hamilton’s economic program
• The conflict over foreign policy and the French Revolution
• The emergence of the first party system
• The Adams administration
• The Quasi-War with France and the Alien & Sedition Acts
• Timeframe: 1789-1800
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
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The New Republic under Washington and Adams
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The New “Realities” of The New Republic
• We have a preconceived notion that the Constitution resolved all
the problems created by The Articles, and that the fledging
nation was “fine” after the vote to ratify.
• In reality, continued conflicts and divisions occurred that forced
the nation as a whole to re-evaluate what the Revolution had
really been for. The political unrest of 1780’s nearly destroyed
the fledgling country, pitting divisions of citizens over what the
Revolution was about and what the country should look like
going forward.
• Different motivations had brought colonists together during The
Revolution – and again during the Constitutional Convention –
but now without a clear-cut reason to band together, America’s
vision of their new country became fractured.
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
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The New “Realities” of The New Republic
• As the 1790’s arrived, these very clear divisions evaporated into not-so-clear ones.
• Some Americans actually did not support the Constitution, believing instead that
government had dangerously usurped American’s freedoms (PRESENTISM).
• The Constitutional Convention had spawned two separate teams: The Federalists and
The Anti-Federalists, whose efforts eventually led to the passage of a Bill of Rights.
• AF states like North Carolina and Rhode Island didn’t approve The Constitution until well
after it had gone into effect.
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Political Situation – 1783
• The Constitution wouldn’t be created until 1787.
• The gov’t was deeply in debt to at least $400 million (in 1783
money) – this doesn’t include debts owed by France, England,
Spain, and the Dutch.
• New lands won during the War had to be divided up for future
settlement (PROBLEM #1).
• Foreign and interstate relations, the economy and trade were
recurring concerns (PROBLEM #2).
• Taxation, representation (PROBLEM #3)
• These issues kept the country percolating with discontent.
A “More Perfect Union”?
“The country may have been called ‘The
United States,’ but its thirteen members lived
under thirteen different constitutions, with
thirteen different ways to value money, thirteen
different rules of commerce, and thirteen views
on how all the problems of the nation should be
solved.” – Lawrence Goldstone. “Dark Bargain”
"If the Plan now proposed (The Constitution) should be adopted nothing
less than Ruin to some Colonies will be the Consequence [of it]. The
Idea of destroying all Provincial Distinctions and making every thing of
the most minute kind bend to what they call the good of the whole, is in
other Terms to say that these Colonies must be subject to the
Government of the Eastern Provinces. The Force of their Arms I hold
exceeding Cheap, but ... I dread their overruling Influence in council. I
dread their low Cunning, and those leveling Principles which Men
without Character and without Fortune in general possess, which are so
captivating to the lower class of Mankind…as to introduce the greatest
disorder. I am resolved to vest the Congress with no more power than
what is absolutely necessary ... for I am confident if surrendered into the
Hands of others a most pernicious use will be made of it.“ – Edward
Rutledge, 1776
1.1 The Washington Presidency
• George Washington was ‘elected’
President of the US in 1788, reelected in
1792 without political parties.
• Washington did much to create an
independent presidency while allaying
fears of quasi-monarchy.
• His cabinet included Alexander Hamilton
(Treasury), Henry Knox (War), and
Thomas Jefferson (State). Hamilton and
Jefferson would become the principal
opposing political leaders of the next two
decades.
• Despite Washington‘s wish for a
consensus government, he consistently
favored Hamilton.
• Soon, personality conflicts and political
disagreements resulted in open
factionalism.
George Washington
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From His Excellency
•{Washington understood} that accepting
the presidency meant living the central
paradox of the early American republic:
that is, what was politically essential for
a viable American nation was
ideologically at odds with what it claimed
to stand for.”
–Ellis. His Excellency. pgs. 189-190.
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1.2 The Hamiltonian Program
• As secretary of the treasury, it fell to
Hamilton to find a way to consolidate the
tattered national finances.
• Report on the Public Credit 1790:
• Assume state debt and honor federal
debt, both at face value.
• “Funding” the debt through new
certificates at ca. 4 percent.
• Permanent domestic debt. Pay
interest, not principal. Tie
bondholders to US government, make
bonds a tradable commodity.
• Honor and pay off foreign debt.
• Report on the Bank 1790:
• Establish a national bank partly
funded and controlled by the federal
government.
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
Alexander Hamilton
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1.3 The Hamiltonian Program, ctd.
• Report on Manufactures 1791:
• Place high tariffs on imported
manufactured goods to foster domestic
manufactures (excise tax on WHISKEY)
• On the whole, Hamilton wished to put the
nation on sound financial footing and set it on
a path to industrial affluence.
• Critics, esp. Jefferson and Madison, attacked
Hamilton on several grounds:
• Many southern states had already paid
their debt, assumption was bad for them.
• Debt plan profited speculators but failed to
Bank of the United States in Philadelphia
reward original bondholders.
• Federal government had no authority to charter a bank, which would become a
corrupting influence (Strict v. Wide construction of the Constitution).
• Future of US lay in agriculture, not industry.
• This new ‘national debt’ would allow citizens to ‘buy in’ to the new gov’t – some
speculators made as much as a 70% profit from Hamilton’s plan.
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1.4 Passing the Hamiltonian Program
• Despite heavy resistance, Congress
passed most of Hamilton’s program.
• Virginia agreed to debt plan after being
promised that the new federal city
would be located between Maryland
and Virginia. Debt plan was approved.
• Bank was approved by a narrow
margin.
• High protective tariff failed, mostly due
to southern resistance.
Plan for Washington DC, Pierre L’Enfant, 1797
• Especially the debt plan proved to be extremely successful. Within a short span, US
credit was fully restored and US bonds highly sought after.
• However, the controversy revealed a basic disagreement over the future of the United
States: commercial, industrial, federal vs. agrarian & local (REBELLION)
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1.5 The Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
• To raise money to finance the assumption of state
debts, Congress (at Hamilton’s suggestion)
passed a tax on domestically produced whiskey in
1791. This tax hurt western farmers who distilled
grain to save transport costs.
• The law required all connected trials to take place
in federal court. Heavy burden b/c citizens had to
hear their cases in far-away districts. Protest
similar to pre-Revolution actions broke out.
• In 1792, Congress reduced the tax (by a penny)
and allowed trial in state court, but large-scale
resistance in 1794 in W. Pennsylvania. - attacks
on collectors and officials - flying of flags and a
growing amount of riots
• Tar and Feathering
• Committees of Correspondence
• With little to stop them, the protestors grew
increasingly embolden and violent in their actions
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
Tarring and Feathering a tax collector;
a “Whiskey Flag”
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1.5 The Whiskey Rebellion (1794)
• When US Marshals tried to serve Writs to 60
distillers, 500 men form a militia and attack the
local magistrate in charge of tax collection
• Tapped into deep hostility against the federal gov’t
whom many of the poor and affected farmers
viewed as growing too strong
• Created their own flag
• Washington led militia on Aug. 7th from 4 states
(13,000) to round up protesters (7,000) some of
whom were marched to Philadelphia for trial.
Several convictions, no executions.
• Important turning point
• Authority of federal gov’t over the states and
individuals demonstrated.
• Many Americans realized it was no longer
acceptable to protest via the same violent or
extra-legal means used in 1760’s
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
Washington marching to W. Pennsylvania
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1.6 Trans-Oconee Republic (1794)
• New rebellion begins in Georgia over the gov’t’s
treatment of Native peoples
• Initially supportive of the Constitution (4th) due to
their distant location from NY and militarily
vulnerable, Georgians outraged when they learn of a
series of treaties with Creek Indians in 1790.
• Many felt betrayed b/c they nullified former land
cessions AND negotiated behind their backs.
Elijah Clarke
•After ignoring the Treaty of NY, thousands of Georgians pour across the Oconee River
into Creek territory
•As violent conflicts resulted, Georgians looked to Feds for help – NONE WAS
FORCOMING
•After an expedition to overtake Spanish Florida failed, Georgians led by Elijah Clarke
form The Trans-Oconee Republic in W Georgia before ultimately giving up after
negotiations
•Later that year, the Georgia General Assembly ceded the same land to veterans of the
Revolution and various Indian conflicts.
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2.1 Frontier Conflict with Britain and Spain
• Both England and Spain continued to
block American expansion in the West.
• England still maintained forts in the
Northwest and supported Indians in the
Ohio territory. Several US defeats only
end in 1794. Treaty of Fort Wayne.
• England also continued to block American
trade with the West Indies.
• Spain expanded in New Mexico and
California. More importantly, it blocked the
Mississippi to American trade, bribed US
citizens and officials to undermine their
loyalty and supported the Creeks.
• Consequently, there was considerable
anti-British and anti-Spanish sentiment
esp. in the West and South of the US.
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2.2 The French Revolution
• When the French Revolution began in 1789,
most Americans cheered another republican
Revolution.
• The radicalization of the Revolution in the early
90s split American public opinion.
• Esp. conservatives in New England, the middle
states and South Carolina, Hamilton and his
followers abhorred a perversion of republicanism,
popular passion gone terribly wrong.
• Esp. Southerners and Westerners, including
Jefferson and Madison continued to be
sympathetic to the French Revolution, if not its
excesses. They founded Democratic-Republican
societies to support the role of “the people” in
politics and criticize the federal government.
• Both Washington an Hamilton condemned the
societies as subversive and dangerous, an
illegitimate opposition to properly elected
republican government.
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
Storming the Bastille, 14 July 1789
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2.3 Neutrality
• In 1793 war broke out between France and the
monarchies of Europe, esp. England.
• 1778 US-French alliance “in perpetuity.” Hamilton argued
that the change in government rendered the alliance
void. Jefferson agreed that US should not get involved in
European war, but called for pro-French, anti-English
trade policy.
• Washington declared neutrality without consulting
Congress. Much protest from Democratic-Republican
Societies.
• Meanwhile, French ambassador “Citizen” Genet tried to
raise American troops to attack English and Spanish
holdings in America and West Indies.
• He met with considerable support in the South until his
faction fell from power in France and no money was
forthcoming to finance such campaigns.
• The Genet affair helped further a partisan split in US.
• Jefferson resigned as secretary of state, partly in protest
over too pro-British policy.
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
Edmond Genêt (1763-1834)
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3.1 Washington’s Farewell Address
• In 1796, Washington announced he would
not seek another term a president.
• His farewell address – drafted by
Hamilton – contained advice to the
American people:
• No entangling alliances with
European powers, only trade.
• Independence in foreign policy.
• Washington also warned against
political factions.
• However, by the time he gave his farewell
speech, two parties - the Federalists and
Washington drafting the Farewell Address
(artist’s rendition, 1970s)
the Democratic-Republicans - were
already active.
• Washington’s own policies had defined not only much the Federalist party’s agenda but
the manner in which the President could wield and maintain power.
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3.2 The First Party System
• The debate about Hamilton’s economic
program and the foreign policy disputes
shaped the first party system.
• Federalists and Democratic-Republicans
fought in Congress, the states, and
especially in the press.
Federalists
• Hamilton, John Adams, Jay
• Wide construction of the Constitution,
strong federal government
• Leadership by responsible, well-educated
elite
• Afraid of excessive democracy as
anarchy or mob rule
• Pro-England
• Commerce, manufacturing, protective
tariffs.
• Strongest in New England, middle states,
South Carolina. Key constituencies:
commercial farmers and merchants.
Democratic-Republicans
• Jefferson, Madison
• Strict construction of the Constitution,
states’ rights
• Government should be directly
responsive to „the people“
• Afraid of aristocratic „tyranny“; champion
egalitarian values
• Pro-France
• Favor agricultural economy and
widespread land ownership.
• Strongest in South and West. Small
farmers, immigrants, DemocraticRepublican societies.
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3.3 The Election of 1796
• The election of 1796 was the first fully
partisan election.
• Principal candidates: John Adams (F) and
Thomas Jefferson (D-R)
• Federalists carried New England, New
York and eastern seaboard.
• Democratic-Republicans carried South
and West.
• Close result 71-68, Adams won.
• NY, PA key swing states. D-Rs strongly
courted the immigrant, esp. Irish vote.
• Because Constitution had not foreseen
political parties, Jefferson (effectively the
opposition leader) became vice president.
• Small Federalist majority in the House,
strong majority in the Senate.
The New Republic under Washington and Adams
Electoral vote in the election of 1796
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4.1 The John Adams Presidency
• While usually called a Federalist, Adams
was not a deeply partisan politician. He
believed that a president should be above
party politics.
• His administration was beset by struggles
that eventually cost him the 1800 election:
• “The Shadow of Washington”
• Alexander Hamilton
• Mood swings that bordered on insanity
• A continuing quasi-war with France
• Adams’ hands-off approach meant that
Hamilton worked behind the scenes against
Adams (The High Federalists).
• His presidency would be overshadowed by
foreign crisis and domestic dividedness.
John Adams, second president of the United States
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4.2 The XYZ Affair and the Quasi-War with France
• In retaliation for US signing Jay’s treaty,
the new French directorate ordered the
seizure of all American ships trading with
England, esp. in the West Indies.
• Adams sent a delegation to France to
negotiate. However, French agents known
as X, Y, and Z insisted on hefty a bribe
and a large loan to France before talks
could begin.
• The XYZ affair generated a wave of antiAnti-French cartoon showing French leaders harassing
French sentiment that hurt the
and robbing America
Democratic-Republicans in the 1798
congressional elections.
• Congress negated the alliance of 1778 and authorized the arming of American ships
against France.
• 1798-1800 undeclared naval war with France in the Caribbean, making Adams extremely
popular at least for the time being.
• However, that era of good feelings would be quickly undermined by two colossal
blunders, each of Adams’ doing.
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4.3 The Alien and Sedition Acts
• Federalists turned the anti-French, antiDemocratic-Republican sentiment into
legislation in 1798.
• The Alien Enemies and Alien Friends Acts
allowed for the expulsion of foreigners
suspected of espionage. No proof
needed. Could be used against recent
immigrants, as well.
• The Naturalization Act extended the
period for citizenship from 5 to 14 years.
Aimed to keep esp. Irish immigrants from
voting, hurting the Dem.-Rep. Party.
“Congressional Pugilists, 1798”
political cartoon on the “debate” on the Alien and
Sedition Acts
• Sedition Act ostensibly aimed to prevent inciting violence, but effectively outlawed
criticism against the government. It was primarily used to silence the Dem.-Rep. Press by
suing newspaper editors.
• Represented a clear violation of First Amendment principles, deflating Adams’ once allpowerful lock on a second term.
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4.6 The “Revolution of 1800”
• Great sense of crisis in 1800; fears of civil
war.
• Adams managed to end the Quasi-War in
1800 just before the election, angering the
Hamiltonians who had wanted to officially
declare war against France. Intra-party
quarrel probably cost Adams the election.
• Election again pitted Adams against
Jefferson. Dem.-Rep. party won 73,
Federalists 65 electoral votes.
• However, Aaron Burr of NY, Dem.-Rep.
candidate for vice president, had as many
electoral votes as Jefferson and wished to
become president himself. The House of
Representatives eventually elected
Jefferson after 36 votes!
• Despite the fears, peaceful transition of power, contrary to the bloody revolutions of
France – Jefferson attempted to quell any harsh feelings by stating, “We are all
republicans – we are all federalists.”
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Conclusion
• During the presidencies of Washington and Adams, the United States overcame many, but
not all, problems of the Confederation.
• However, the dispute over the Hamiltonian economic program and foreign policy resulted
in the emergence of the first party system. Federalists and Democratic-Republicans had
vastly different visions for the future of the United States.
• Neither the Constitution nor contemporary political wisdom were prepared for an
organized opposition party. Much early conflict was the result, including the attempt to
silence the Democratic-Republican party through the Alien and Sedition Acts.
• Despite the charged atmosphere, the election of 1800 brought a peaceful transferal of
power.
• The Whiskey and Trans-Oconee Rebellions signified a change in people’s perceptions
about what The Revolution meant to them and the way one would seek change in the new
political structure.
• These ideological differences would play out through the 1800’s, as political unrest
created two distinct camps – their refusal to settle the issue of slavery would both tarnish
the reputation of The Founding Fathers (Jefferson and Madison included), and ultimately
lead to secession and The Civil War.
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