Download The First Administration

7. Democracy in Distress:
The Violence of Party Politics
Washington and Adams
During the Washington
Administration
 Very different visions of America were
expressed.
 Centered on the concepts of Alexander
Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson
Congress Creates Executive
Departments
 War Department:
Henry Knox
 State Department:
Thomas Jefferson
 Treasury Department:
Alexander Hamilton
 Attorney General:
Edmund Randolph
(Part-Time)
From the left are Henry Knox, Secretary of
War, Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State,
and Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of the
Treasury (standing next to President
Washington on the right). The man with his
back turned is Edmund Randolph, who
was the first Attorney General.
Conflict Emerges Between
Jefferson and Hamilton
Hamilton
 Loose Construction
 Strong central
government
 Pro-British
 Industrial Nation
Jefferson
 Strict Construction
 Stronger state
governments
 Pro-French
 Agricultural Nation
Marks the Formal Beginning of
Political Parties
(Jeffersonian) Republicans
 Thomas Jefferson
 States’ Rights
 Strict Interpretation of
Constitution
 Support for France
 Against greed of the
industrial sector
 National Gazette
Federalists
 Alexander Hamilton
 Strong national
government
 Loose interpretation of
Constitution
 Support for Britain
 Centralized economic
planning
 Gazette of the United
States
Domestic Issue: Native Americans
 Americans were moving westward onto land occupied by
Native Americans.
 Public Land Act of 1796
 The British were supporting the Native Americans.
 Treaty of Greenville, 1795 ended the conflict.
Domestic Issue: Whiskey
Rebellion (1794)
Tax Collector is Tarred and Feathered
Domestic Issue: Hamilton’s
Financial Program
 Pay off the national debt
and assume the war
debts of the states.
 High tariffs on imported
goods
 Create the Bank of the
United States for
depositing government
funds and for printing
banknotes .
The Debate
Those in Favor
 Northern
merchants
 Would gain directly
from high tariffs
 Currency would be
stabilized
Those Opposed
 Anti-Federalists
 Too much power to
the government
 Southerners
(Always opposed
to high tariffs)
Residence Act of 1790
 Washington D.C. was selected as national
capital
 In exchange for Jeffersonian support for
Hamilton’s Financial Plan.
Foreign Agenda
 Washington’s entire term (as well as John
Adams’ administration) was consumed
with the issue of what to do about the
French Revolution
Proclamation of Neutrality, 1793
 Washington did not want the US
to become involved
 Led to renewed controversy in
cabinet.
 Thomas Jefferson will eventually
resign
The Debate
 Most Americans
 Alliance with the
identified with the
revolutionaries .
 Wanted the president
to openly support
their efforts.
 Thomas Jefferson
French monarchy was
still in effect.
 Mandated that the
president support the
existing government.
 Alexander Hamilton
Europe Tries to Involve U.S.
 Citizen Genet Affair
 Impressments of
Ships
Jay Treaty (1794)
 John Jay sent to London to solve issues:
 Remove British forts in the Northwest
Territory
 Payment for ships taken
 Better trade relations
 Acceptance of American Neutrality
 Hamilton leaks info to British
 Only concession Jay gained was removal
of British in the Northwest.
Pinckney Treaty (1795)
 Signed with Spain
 Set boundaries for northern Florida
 The Spanish allow the Americans to use
the lower Mississippi River and New
Orleans without paying duties.
Washington’s Farewell Address
 Stresses the benefits of the federal
government
 Warns against the party system
 Advocates a stable public credit
 Warns against permanent foreign alliances
Election of 1796
 Adams won by just three electoral
votes
 Jefferson became his vice-president
as specified in the constitution.
Foreign Policy
 Inherited the problem of the French
Revolution from Washington
 Complications ensued when French navy
began to seize American ships and
citizens
 Adams attempts to settle this issue by
sending a team of diplomats to France.
 The outcome further angers Americans
XYZ Affair
 American diplomats sent to France.
 French asked theme to pay a bribe in
order to settle the issue
 “Millions for defense, but not one cent for
tribute”.
Domestic: Repression
Alien Act
 President can deport any
aliens considered
dangerous
 Detain any enemy aliens
in time of war
 Made it more difficult to
obtain citizenship
Sedition Act
 Illegal for newspaper
editors to criticize either
the president or Congress
 Heavy penalties for
editors who violated the
law.
Both bills were aimed at actual or potential Republican opposition
Kentucky and Virginia Resolves
 Opposed: Jefferson
and Madison
 Adopt theory of
nullification.
 These two states
declare they will not
follow new laws.
 Becomes known as
States’ Rights
Election of 1800
 Federalists lose popularity
 Presidential candidates were Adams and
Pickney (Federalists) and Jefferson and
Burr (Republicans)
 Republicans win but both had the same
number of electoral votes
 Decided in the House of Representatives
The Revolution of 1800
 Alexander Hamilton throws his support to
Thomas Jefferson (angering Aaron Burr)
 The party in power changes for the first
time in U.S. history.
Adams’ Most Significant
Contribution
 “Lame Duck”
appointment of John
Marshall (Jefferson’s
cousin) as Chief
Justice of the
Supreme Court
 Serving for over three
decades, Marshall
defines the function of
the Supreme Court.