Building the Federal Building the Federal GovernmentGovernment
Building the Federal Building the Federal GovernmentGovernment
Focus Question• How did debate over the role of
government lead to the formation of political parties?
The New Leaders• Washington took his oath as part of the
official swearing-in ceremony, or inauguration
• Elected 1st President of the United States• One French diplomat who witnessed the
inauguration reported in awe “He has the soul, look, and figure of a hero united in him”
Washington’s Government
• Established precedents for how to govern
• Precedent is an act or statement that becomes an example, rule, or tradition to follow…” So help me God”
The New Leaders• 1789, Washington made a
precedent by creating the departments of War, State and the Treasury
• Called the Cabinet• Washington selected officials to
head the major departments of the executive branch
The New Leaders• Thomas Jefferson – Department of
State• Alexander Hamilton – Secretary of
Treasury• Henry Knox – Secretary of War• Edmond Randolph – Attorney
General
Treasury Secretary Hamilton
• Brilliant, dynamic lawyer• Advocated a strong central
government
Hamilton’s Program
• Secretary of Treasury
• Huge debt after the Revolutionary war
• Proposed a plan to help the economy and strengthen the national government
Hamilton’s Program• Federal government
will assume state debts
• Controversial because some states had already paid debt
• If Southern States approve then
Hamilton’s Program• Federal capital
will relocate to Potomac River – stimulate the economy of Virginia
• Congress approved the plan
Hamilton’s Program
• U.S. government charter a national bank
• Strengthen the federal government
Hamilton’s Program• Creditors would look
to the nation for payment rather than individual states
• The central bank would collect tariffs and repay debt with interest
Hamilton’s Opponents
• James Madison and Thomas Jefferson
• Concerned that Hamilton’s policies would hurt the common person
Secretary of State Jefferson
• Maintained contacts with foreign governments
• Collected information about world affairs
• Communicated with U.S. officials living overseas
Thomas Jefferson - Republican
• Thomas Jefferson - Republican
• Objected to interference of the national government in the economy
• Assumed the strength of the economy in its agricultural productivity
Foreign Policy Issues• Conflict between Britain and France
threatened to break apart the new American nation
• Federalists oppose the war• Washington and his successors managed
to steer a neutral course (until the War of 1812).
Foreign Policy Issues• War with French
and Britain• US is neutral, or not
taking sides• British seized US
trading ships and supported Native American in the NW
Political Parties Emerge• Hamilton’s
economic program continue to grow
• The Whiskey Rebellion
• Direct tax on whiskey
Whiskey Rebellion• “taxation at the
source,” meaning the Government collects the tax from the producer, not the consumer.
Whiskey Rebellion• Whiskey was then often used as a form
of currency on the cash-strapped frontier.
• Made the whiskey tax unfair to the western farmer-distillers
Whiskey Rebellion• “Whiskey Rebellion” of 1794 in
southwestern Pennsylvania• President Washington, accompanied by
Alexander Hamilton, led 12,000 troops to put down the rebellion.
Whiskey Rebellion• The successful
suppression of the Whisky Rebellion helped establish the power of the Federal Government
Jeffersonian Republicans
• Federalists and Republicans
• First two political parties • Key issue --Power and
size of the federal government
• Federalists- followed Hamilton’s ideas of strong central government
Jeffersonian Republicans
• Republicans- favored Jefferson’s idea of strong state governments
• limited central government and agrarian economy
• No relation to the republican party today,
Daily QuizDaily QuizDaily QuizDaily Quiz
Who supported the federal government to
take on the states’ debts
• Alexander Hamilton
officials to head the major departments of the executive branch
•Cabinet
an act or statement that becomes an example, rule,
or tradition to follow
Precedent
Who objected to the interference of the
national government in the economy
• Jeffersonian Republicans
Whiskey Rebellion occurred in response to
• Hamilton’s debt plan
Treaty between the US and Britain aimed at
expanding trade between the two
countries
• Jay’s Treaty
Name the first two political parties in the United States.
Federalists and
Republicans
Federalists v Jeffersonian Republicans
• Create a T-chart outlining the difference in the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans