Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Completing the Revolution 1780-1815

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Administration of George Washington  Translated blueprint of Constitution into

a working state  Presided over ratification of Bill of Rights  Judiciary Act of 1789 establ8ished national court system  Initial executive department of War, State, and Treasury

Hamiltonian Financial Plan  Report on Public Credit, 1790    

Federal Government would assume state debts Combine them with federal government’s foreign and domestic debt into a consolidated national debt Government would pay debt by issuing securities Called for creation of a permanent national debt

 Creation of a Bank of the United States 

To control all of the nation’s monetary and financial matters

 Federal excise taxes to fund national debt  

Generate revenue Legitimize government’s power to impose and collect an internal tax

Struggle between Hamiltonians and Jeffersonians  Dispute over what sort of government the United

States would have  Hamiltonians favored speculators, financiers, and economic interests 

Called for strong central government

 Jeffersonians favored farmers and an agrarian

orientation  

Called for decentralized authority and limited federal power Agreed to accept Hamilton’s financial plan if permanent U.S. Capital located in the South

 Vocal disagreement over creation of a federal bank  Hamilton backed by Washington and a majority of congress

Early Foreign Relations  Neutrality declared in Anglo-French War

in 1793  Federalists

privately supported Britain  Jeffersonians privately supported France  Arrival of Citizen Genét in 1793

complicated U.S. position  Sought

to win U.S. support for France, with or without Washington’s consent

Internal Sources of Trouble  Deteriorating relations with Northwestern Indians 

Frontiersmen uneasy about neighboring Indians 



Refused to pay federal excise tax on whiskey 



Federal government crushed Indian resistance at Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794

Government, with aid of several state militias, crushed Whiskey Rebellion in 1794

Jay Treaty with England, 1795  

Settled outstanding questions from Revolution, mostly in favor of Britain North supported treaty, South opposed it – Threatened ominous division of country along sectional lines



Pinckney Treaty with Spain, 1796 

Victory for U.S. demands, especially regarding access to Mississippi – Helped to assuage Southern anger over Jay Treaty

Washington’s Farewell Address and His Legacy  Laid out principles for American policy  Warned against alliances with other countries  Denounced internal political divisions

 Accomplishments of administration significant  Managed foreign affairs  Laid basis for federal government  Bitter struggle over who would succeed

Washington in 1796  

Intrigue and partisanship reigned John Adams elected president, Thomas Jefferson vice president

Adams Presidency  Foreign affair difficulties with France  

Jay’s Treaty had angered French, resulting in trade difficulties XYZ Affair made the situation worse  Adams asked Congress to begin war preparations  France instituted new economic sanctions

 Foreign Affairs problems led to crisis at home  Alien and Sedition Acts designed to stifle domestic opposition from Republicans  Republicans responded with Virginia and Kentucky Resolves denouncing the acts as unconditional  Drift toward toward war with France worried Adams 

Made peace with France in 1800, at great political cost  Lost the presidency to Jefferson in 1800

The Jeffersonian Republican in Power  Jefferson’s inaugural address laid out his governmental

goals    

Respect for power of states Defense of Bill of Rights Small federal state Frugality in spending so as not to incur national debt

 Efforts to purge Federalists from the courts  Repealed Judiciary Act of 1801 in order to remove Federalist “midnight justices”  Impeachment drives against John Pickering and Samuel Chase

 Jefferson’s struggle with John Marshall at the Supreme

Court  Marbury v. Madison 

Introduced practice of judicial review

Jefferson Administration Foreign Affairs  Louisiana Purchase  Opportunity presented because of French setbacks in the Caribbean  Would protect American access to Mississippi and enlarge country  Raised constitutional questions for Jefferson 



Resolved them by reasoning that ends justified the means

Jefferson believed the Purchase provided the nation with the chance to renew itself

The United States and the Napoleonic Wars  At first, the United States profited by selling to

both belligerents  After war reached stalemate in 1805, both sides began interfering with American trade  

France: Berlin and Milan Decrees England: Orders in Council

 British also began impressing Americans into

service in the British navy 

Confrontation between Chesapeake and Leopard, 1807

 Jefferson decision for economic coercion

The United States and the Napoleonic Wars (cont.) 

Embargo Act, 18088  

Suspended U.S. trade with all foreign countries Had disastrous consequences for U.S. economy

 Madison administration inherited bad situation  Replaced Embargo with Non-Intercourse Act, 1809 

Reopened trade with all nations save Britain and France – Proved largely ineffective



Next tried Macon’s Bill No. 2, 1810 



Reopened trade with everyone but would reinstate against one belligerent if the other ceased interfering in American trade Madison drawn into French trap to escalate tensions with Britain

War with Britain, 1812-1815  Role of western “War Hawks” in Congress  Madison war message, April  First war waged under the new Constitution  Detailed list of British crimes against America  Federalists wholeheartedly opposed to war  U.S. initiated disastrous invasions of Canada  Tecumsch’s Indian confederation allied itself

with Britain, as did the Creek “Red Stick” faction 

Defeated at battle of Thames and Battle of Horseshoe Bend

War with Britain, 1812-1815

(cont.)

 War in Europe ended in 1814  Allowed Britain to defeat full attention to war in America  Stalemate reached rather quickly  Federalist opposition to war created serious

domestic crisis 

Hartford Convention, 1814  

Some Federalists calling for secession Proposed constitutional am3ndments that would protect northeastern political power

 Treaty of Ghent, 1815  Restored status quo ante

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War of 1812