Download Chapter 8, Section 1

Ch. 8, Section 1: The First
President
• Main Idea: President
Washington tackled
the work of
establishing a new
government.
• Key Terms:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Precedent
Cabinet
National Debt
Bond
Speculator
Unconstitutional
Tariff
Chapter 8, Section 1
• President Washington
– Was elected the first president of the United States
under the federal Constitution (there had been
several presidents under the Articles of
Confederation).
– On April 30, 1789, he took the oath of office. John
Adams became vice president.
George Washington
• Washington was aware of the difficulties
and decisions he had to face.
• He would establish precedents that would
shape the future of the United States.
• He would make many decisions especially
about the structure of the government
President Washington cont.
• Congress set up a cabinet with three
departments:
– 1. the State Department to handle relations with other nations,
headed by Thomas Jefferson.
– 2. the Treasury Department to deal with financial matters,
headed up by Alexander Hamilton.
– 3. the War Department to provide for the national defense,
headed by Henry Knox.
President Washington
• Congress created the office of attorney general
to handle the government’s legal affairs.
Edmund Randolph was the first attorney
general.
• Congress also established the office of
postmaster general to direct the postal service.
Cabinet
• Washington met regularly with the three
department heads, or secretaries, and the
attorney general, which together became
known as the cabinet.
President Washington
• Congress was divided as to how much power
the president should hold over the executive
departments. The president appointed the
department heads with the Senate’s approval.
Congress gave the president authority over
hiring and firing cabinet officers so that he did
not need the Senate’s approval to dismiss
someone. This strengthened the president’s
position and created a major separation
between the legislature and the executive
branches.
President Washington
• The Judiciary Act of 1789 was actually a compromise
act.
– One group in Congress favored a national legal system, a
second favored state courts.
– The act established a federal court system with 13 district courts
and 3 circuit courts.
– State laws would remain, but federal courts would have the
power to reverse state decisions.
Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court
was to be the highest
court with final
authority. John Jay
was appointed chief
justice.
Bill of Rights
• Many people felt the Constitution needed a guarantee of
personal liberties. In fact, some states supported the
Constitution because a bill of rights was to be added to
it.
• 1. James Madison presented a list of amendments to
Congress.
• 2. Congress passed 12 amendments.
• 3. The states ratified 10 of them.
• 4. These 10 amendments became known as the Bill of
Rights and were added to the Constitution in December
1791.
Financial Problems
• Hamilton, as secretary of the treasury, tried to
find a way to strengthen the country’s financial
problems.
• Hamilton Plan-The new government should pay
off the millions of dollars of debts owed by the
Confederate government to other countries and
to individual citizens.
– 1. The nation should pay for the cost of their help.
– 2. Further, by the federal government assuming the
states’ debts, this would give the states a strong
interest in the success of the new government.
II. Financial Problems cont.
• B. There was opposition to Hamilton’s plan.
Congress agreed to pay money to other nations,
but they could not agree to pay off the debt to
American citizens.
• C. When the government borrowed money
during the war, it issued bonds, or paper
notes, promising to repay the money in a
given period of time. Speculators bought
many of the original bonds for less than
their value. Hamilton’s plan proposed
paying off these bonds at their original
value, and opponents said this would
make the speculators rich.
II. Financial Problems cont.
• D. The original bond owners were also opposed because
they had lost money on their bonds and the new bond
owners had made money, only to make more if
Hamilton’s plan was enacted.
• E. The Southern states also presented opposition
because their state debt was less than the Northern
states, and they would have to pay more than their share
under Hamilton’s plan.
• F. Hamilton proposed a compromise plan. He agreed to
a proposal by Southern leaders to move the nation’s
capital from New York City to a special district in the
South between Virginia and Maryland. This became
Washington, D.C. The Southerners then agreed to
support his plan to pay off the state debts.
III. Building the Economy
• A. Hamilton also proposed the creation of a national
bank, the Bank of the United States; a tariff, or tax, on
imports; and national taxes to help the nation’s economy.
• B. Before the bill to create a national bank was
proposed, only state banks existed. Madison and
Jefferson opposed the idea of a national bank, saying
that it would benefit the wealthy and was
unconstitutional. Hamilton said that Congress had the
power to create a bank even though the Constitution had
no provision. The president signed the bill, creating the
Bank of the United States.
• C. Hamilton proposed a protective tariff on imports. He
hoped this would protect American industry from foreign
competition and encourage people to buy American
goods.
– 1. The South opposed this tax because they had little
industry to protect.
– 2. Hamilton did win support in Congress for some low
tariffs to raise money.
III. Building the Economy
• D. Hamilton’s economic program also called for
creating national taxes. The government could
have additional funds to operate and use to
make interest payments on the national debt.
Congress approved a variety of taxes, including
one on American whiskey.
• E. Hamilton’s economic program gave the
country new financial powers, but it split
Congress and the nation. His opponents,
including Madison and Jefferson, feared a
national government with strong economic
powers to protect the wealthy.