Starter

• Answer these on a scrap sheet of paper:

• 1) Who are your top 5 presidents (i.e. the best ones)

• 2) What are the qualities of a leader?

Critical Thinking

• If you were in charge of starting a new government what departments would you create. Give a brief description of each. (ANSWER IN COMPLETE SENTENCES)

A New NationWashington’s Presidency

George Washington Becomes President

• George Washington had no desire to be the president after the Constitutional Convention; he wanted to retire to his home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia.

• The American people had different ideas and Washington was the unanimous choice for the first presidential election in 1789. He reluctantly accepted. 1st President chosen by Electoral College

• Inaugurated (sworn in) on April 30, 1789

• One of the 1st things that Washington and Congress did was to create a judicial system.

• Precedents:

• Adds the words “so help me God” to the oath

• Called “Mr. President”

• Served two terms

• Neutrality

Judiciary Act of 1789

• The Judiciary Act of 1789 provided for a Supreme Court with 6 judges, federal circuit courts, and federal district courts.

• Section 25 of the act allowed state court decisions to be appealed to a federal court when constitutional issues were raised.

• It also stated that federal laws were the “supreme law of the land” in cases involving state disputes of constitutional issues.

Washington’s Cabinet- another precedent!

•Vice President: John Adams

•Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson

•Secretary of the Treasury: Alexander Hamilton

•Secretary of War: Henry Knox

Hamilton and Jefferson were both brilliant men, but both had very

different political views and often disagreed.

Alexander Hamilton’s Plan• Needed to pay off debts

and stabilize economy

• Pay off debts and interest

• Create national currency and bank

• Impose whiskey tax and tariffs

• Federal government assumes state debts

Hamilton vs. Jefferson

Alexander Hamilton• Hamilton believed that gov’t should

be led by the prosperous, educated, upper-class.

• He believed that trade and industry were the keys to a strong nation with a strong nat’l gov’t.

• He also proposed a plan to manage the country’s debts and established a nat’l banking system.

• Hamilton found favor with Northern states.

Thomas Jefferson• Jefferson distrusted a strong

nat’l gov’t.• He favored strong state and

local gov’ts.• He favored a society based on

farmer-citizens.• Jefferson’s views won support

in the Southern and Western states.

Establishing the Courts

• The Judiciary Act of 1789 established a federal system of courts.

ACTIVITY

Jefferson versus Hamilton

• Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton had very different views about how the new United States government should operate in relation to state and local governments. Hamilton supported a strong federal government and believed that government could assume certain powers even if those powers were not expressly (written word for word) stated in the Constitution. Jefferson, on the other hand, believed that if the Constitution did not specifically grant a power to the federal government and did not specifically deny it to the states, that power should be granted to the states or to the people.

Directions - You will be creating a double-bubble thinking map comparing and contrasting Jefferson and Hamilton. Use the links below to gather your information. The bubbles in the center between the two names are the similarities. The bubbles on the outside are the differences. Do one bubble at a time. You do not need to make the bubble map look exactly like the one below. Below are more examples of what it should look like.

Exit Slip Questions

•What did the Judiciary Act of 1789 establish?

•What departments did Washington create and whom did he appoint to head them?