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Student Study Guide for the American Pageant
CHAPTER 10 Launching the New Ship of State, 1789–1800
CHAPTER SUMMARY
The fledgling government faced considerable
difficulties and skepticism about its durability,
especially since traditional political theory held that
large-scale republics were bound to fail. But President
Washington brought credibility to the new
government, while his cabinet, led by Alexander
Hamilton, strengthened its political and economic
foundations.
The government’s first achievements were the Bill of
Rights and Hamilton’s financial system. Through
effective leadership, Hamilton carried out his program
of funding the national debt, assuming state debts,
imposing customs and excise taxes, and establishing a
Bank of the United States.
The bank was the most controversial part of
Hamilton’s program because it raised basic
constitutional issues. Opposition to the bank from
Jefferson and his followers reflected more
fundamental political disagreements about
republicanism, economics, federal power, and foreign
policy. As the French Revolution evolved from
moderation to radicalism, it intensified the ideological
divisions between the pro-French Jeffersonians and
the pro-British Hamiltonians.
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation angered
Republicans, who wanted America to aid
Revolutionary France. Washington’s policy was
sorely tested by the British, who routinely violated
American neutrality. In order to avoid war,
Washington endorsed the conciliatory Jay’s Treaty,
further outraging the Republicans and France.
After the humiliating XYZ affair, the United States
came to the brink of war with France, but Adams
sacrificed his political popularity and divided his party
by negotiating peace.
These foreign-policy disagreements embittered
domestic politics: Federalists passed the Alien and
Sedition Acts, to which Jefferson and Madison
responded with the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions.
GLOSSARY - To build your social science vocabulary, familiarize yourself with the following terms:
census - An official count of population; in the United States, the federal census occurs every ten years.
public debt - The debt of a government or nation to individual creditors, also called the national debt.
cabinet - The body of official advisers to the head of a government; in the United States, it consis of the heads of the
major executive departments.
circuit court - A court that hears cases in several designated locations rather than a single place.
fiscal - Concerning public finances-expenditures and revenues.
assumption - The appropriation or taking on of obligations not originally one's own.
excise - A tax on the manufacture, sale, or consumption of certain products.
stock - The shares of capital ownership gained from investing in a corporate enterprise; the term also refers to the
certificates representing such shares.
medium of exchange - Any item, paper or otherwise, used as money.
despotism - Arbitrary or tyrannical rule.
impress - To force people or property into public service without choice; conscript.
assimilation - The merging of diverse cultures or peoples into one.
witch-hunt - An investigation carried on with much publicity, supposedly to uncover dangerous activity but actually
intended to weaken the political opposition.
compact - An agreement or covenant between states to perform some legal act.
nullification - In American politics, the assertion that a state may legally invalidate a federal act deemed inconsistent with
its rights or sovereignty.
Locate the following places by reference number on the map:
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____ Kentucky
____ Ohio
____ Tennessee
____ Vermont
____ Baltimore
____ District of Columbia
____ Potomac River
____ Old Northwest
Explain the attitude among early Americans toward central authority: (pg. 190) _______________________
________________________________________________________.
Did George Washington get the idea for the creation of a cabinet from the new Constitution? (pg. 191) _____
____________________.
In the 1790’s, America's population was still about __________ rural. : (pg. 190)
What role in George Washington’s government did the following men occupy: (pg. 191)
Thomas Jefferson - _________________________________________________________________________.
Alexander Hamilton - _______________________________________________________________________.
Henry Knox - _____________________________________________________________________________.
Explain the major criticisms of the Constitution after its draft in Philadelphia: (pg. 192) __________________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
What was the highest priority facing the new government formed under the Constitution? (pg. 192) _________
________________________________________________________________________.
Be familiar with the most important guarantees provided by the Bill of Rights: (pg. 192) __________________
__________________________________________________________.
Which Amendment might rightly be called the “states' rights” amendment? (pg. 192) ______________.
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Explain Alexander Hamilton's financial program for the economic development of the United States: (pg. 193)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________.
As Secretary of the Treasury, what was Hamilton's first objective? (pg. 193) ___________________________
__________________________________.
Alexander Hamilton's financial plan for strengthening the economy and bolstering national credit proposed all of the
following except: (pg. 193-196)
A) funding the national debt. B) assuming state debts. C) abolishing tariffs. D) establishing a national bank.
E) a low protective wall around infant industries.
Explain Hamilton’s reasoning toward the national debt: (pg. 194) ____________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________.
What aspect of Hamilton's financial program received the least support in Congress? (pg. 194) ___________
_________________________________________________.
How did Hamilton plan to pay the interest on the national debt? (pg. 194) _____________________________
____________________________.
Explain Hamilton's justification that a national bank was permissable under the new U.S. Constitution: (pg. 195)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________.
Which of the following pairs of items are not directly related to each other? : (pg. 195-196)
A)
implied powers—“necessary and proper” clause
B)
strict construction—Tenth Amendment
C)
loose construction—“elastic” clause
D)
states' rights—loose construction
E)
“necessary and proper” clause—vested powers
In what way did Hamilton's financial successes become political problematic? (pg. 196) _________________
_________________________________________________________________________________.
In what perspective did the Founding Fathers view the formation of permanent political parties? (pg. 196)
_________________________________________________________________________________________.
Opposition by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to the financial plan of Alexander Hamilton resulted in: (pg. 197)
A)
the formation of permanent political parties.
B)
Hamilton's dismissal from the cabinet by George Washington.
C)
politics drifting too far out of kilter with the wishes of the people.
D)
the rejection of Hamilton's plan by Washington.
E)
their dismissal from the cabinet of George Washington.
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In what way were Americans affected by the French Revolution? (pg. 198) ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________.
The political party of the “outs” that provided the “loyal opposition” to the party in power in the 1790s was the : (pg. 197198) ________________________________________________________________.
What was George Washington’s foreign policy toward the French Revolution after it developed into a war with Britain?
(pg. 199) _____________________________________________________________________.
John Jay's 1794 treaty with Britain: (pg. 201)
A)
increased George Washington's huge popularity.
B)
provided further evidence of American support for France.
C)
alienated America from Spain.
D)
created deeper splits between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.
E)
led to the election of Thomas Jefferson.
Jay's Treaty contained all of the following provisions except: (pg. 201) Use these non-answers as a cheat sheet to
understand the provisions of Jay’s Treaty.
A)
a British promise to evacuate its chain of forts on U.S. soil.
B)
British consent to pay damages for the recent seizure of American ships.
C)
that Americans were bound to pay debts still owed to British merchants on pre-Revolutionary accounts.
D)
no promise by the British to pay for future seizure of American ships. – so impressment would not be curtailed in
the future.
E)
a promise by the British to stop selling arms to the Indians.
What advise to the young nation was given by George Washington in his Farewell Address in 1796: (pg. 201)
_________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
What were the primary issues in the election campaign of 1796? (pg. 202) ___________________________
____________________________________________________.
How were foreign relations between the U.S and France affected by Jay’s Treaty? (pg. 202)
_________________________________________________________________________________.
How did France react to Jay’s Treaty? (pg. 203) __________________________________________________
______________________________.
The United States finally negotiated a peace settlement with France in 1800 mainly because Napoleon: (pg. 205)
A)
had also reached a peace agreement with Britain.
B)
wanted to concentrate on gaining more power in Europe.
C)
realized that the French could not win a military victory over the American forces.
D)
had been convinced by the Democratic-Republican pleas for cooperation.
E)
had been removed from power.
What was the main purpose of the Alien and Sedition Acts? (pg. 205) ________________________________
____________________________________________________.
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According to the compact theory advocated by Jefferson and Madison, : (pg. 206)
A)
the national government was the creation of the thirteen sovereign states.
B)
nullification was an invalid policy.
C)
the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were illegal.
D)
legislation such as the Alien and Sedition Acts was proper.
E)
individuals, not the states, created the federal government.
For its continued success, Hamilton's financial program relied heavily on: (pg. 207)
A)
trade with Britain.
B)
removal of the Spanish from the Mississippi Valley.
C)
aid from France.
D)
retiring the national debt.
E)
high taxes.
Hamiltonian Federalists advocated: (pg. 207)
A)
government interference in private enterprise.
B)
a strong central government.
C)
a full-blown democracy.
D)
E)
strong ties with France.
a low national debt.
Thomas Jefferson appealed to all of the following groups except: (pg. 208)
A)
small shopkeepers.
D)
the upper class.
B)
the underprivileged.
E)
artisans.
C)
the middle class.
To the Jeffersonian Republicans, the “ideal” citizen of a republic was a(n)? (pg. 208) ________________
_________________________.
Thomas Jefferson favored a political system in which: (pg. 208)
A)
the central government possessed the bulk of the power.
B)
cities were the primary focus of political activity.
C)
a large standing army ensured peace.
D)
the states retained the majority of political power.
E)
manufacturing interests dominated.
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