Lesson 11 Political Developments in The Early Republic

P O L I T I C A L D E V E L O P M E N...
The 50 years following the drafting of the Constitution were a time of great change
for the United States. By 1838, a total of 13 new states had joined the original 13,
as shown on the map below. New territory had been added to the republic as
well. The nation's first 50 years also saw the birth of the first political parties,
another war fought with Great Britain, and the election of the nation's first western
president. In addition, transportation links had been built, and many of the nation's
American Indians had been relocated west of the Mississippi River.
Along with new states and territories came a steady increase in population, as the
graph below shows. Seven presidents served in office from 1789 to 1837,
beginning with George Washington and ending with Andrew Jackson. Both men
came to the presidency as military heroes—Washington from the American
Revolution and Jackson from the War of 1812.
In this unit, you will learn about key events that took place during the
administrations of Washington through Jackson. Some of those events are listed
below.
© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

1789: George Washington takes the oath of office as the first president of the
United States in New York City, the nation's capital at the time.
1794: An army led by President Washington crushes the Whiskey Rebellion, an

uprising by some frontier farmers who resisted paying certain taxes.
1800: John Adams, the nation's second president, is the first president to live in
Washington, D.C., the new capital city, in the still-unfinished White House.
1814: In a conflict between the United States and Great Britain known as the War
of 1812, British forces capture Washington, D.C. The British burn the White
House, the Capitol building, and other government buildings.
During the War of 1812, U.S. forces turn back a British attack on Baltimore,
Maryland. The Americans' defense of Fort McHenry inspires Francis Scott Key to
write "The Star–Spangled Banner, " which later becomes the country's national
anthem.
1815: An American army led by General Andrew Jackson defeats the British in
the Battle of New Orleans. It is the final battle of the War of 1812. It is also the
greatest U.S. victory of the war and it makes Jackson a national hero.
1825: The Erie Canal opens. Begun in 1817, the canal creates a water route
connecting Lake Erie and the Hudson River. Its success sets off a canal-building
boom in the United States. You can locate the Erie Canal on the map titled
"Growth and Change in the United States, 1789-1839." It is located in the state of
New York.
Level: A © 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

1828: Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is elected the nation's seventh president.

He is the first president to come from a state other than Virginia or
Massachusetts.
1838–1839: Troops round up the remaining Cherokee in the East and move them
west along a route that becomes known as the Trail of Tears. The Trail of Tears is
shown on the map on the opposite page. It is located in the southern United
States.
The illustration to the left shows four leaders in the first government formed under
the Constitution. On the far right stands former Continental army general George
Washington, who had been lured out of retirement to serve as the nation's first
president. Seldom has a leader seemed more reluctant to take power. “My
movements to the chair of government,” he wrote on leaving home, “will be
accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit [criminal] who is going to the
place of his execution.”
Henry Knox sits opposite Washington. During the American Revolution, this

Boston bookseller became a general and Washington's close friend and adviser.
When Washington became president in 1789, he made Knox his secretary of war.
Take a close look at the other two men portrayed here. Alexander Hamilton, who
stands beside the president, served as Washington's secretary of the treasury.
Thomas Jefferson, who stands behind Knox, served as secretary of state. It was
his job to manage relations between the United States and other countries.
Washington chose Hamilton and Jefferson for these positions because of all they
had in common. Both were strong patriots. Both had served their country during
the war—Hamilton in the Continental army and Jefferson in the Continental
Congress. Both had brilliant minds.
But for all they had in common, the two men were opposites in many ways.
Hamilton dressed with great care. Jefferson was sloppy with clothes. Hamilton
moved with precision. Jefferson slouched. Hamilton was a doer who moved
briskly from task to task. Jefferson was a thinker who took time to explore ideas.

As you will discover, Hamilton and Jefferson soon became political rivals. Their
rivalry eventually gave rise to the nation's first political parties, which had different
visions for the new nation.
On April 30, 1789, George Washington took the oath of office as the first
president of the United States. After his inauguration, Washington addressed both
houses of Congress. He asked Congress to work with him to put into place “the
wise measures on which the success of this government must depend.” At times,
his hands shook so much that he had trouble reading his speech.
The Debate over Washington's Title Washington had reason to be nervous. The
first Congress was deeply divided. Some members were eager to build a strong
national government. Others were just as eager to limit the power of the new
government. These differences showed up immediately in a debate over what title
to use when addressing the president.
Vice President John Adams pointed out that European heads of government had
titles like “Your Excellency” that showed respect for their office. The president, he
argued, should have a similar title. Supporters of a strong national government

agreed.
Others argued that such titles smelled of royalty and had no place in a
democracy. A few members of Congress joked that the rather plump Adams
should be given the title “His Rotundity” (His Roundness). The debate finally
ended when Washington let it be known that he preferred the simple title “Mr.
President.”
Setting Up the Executive Branch Next, Congress turned to the task of creating
executive departments. As Washington had feared, arguments broke out at once
over what those departments should be and what powers they should have.
Congress eventually approved three departments. The Department of State was

set up to handle relations with other countries. The Department of War was
established to defend the nation. The Treasury Department was set up to oversee
the nation's finances. Congress also created an attorney general to serve as the
president's legal adviser and a postmaster general to head the postal system.
Washington chose men he trusted —such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander

Hamilton, and Henry Knox—to fill these positions. He often met with them to ask
for their ideas and advice. The heads of the executive departments came to be
known as the president's cabinet.
The most critical problem facing the new government was a lack of funds. The
national treasury was empty. Congress had the power to raise funds through
taxes. But its members argued endlessly about what to tax and by how much. In
1791, Congress finally agreed to place an excise tax on whiskey and other luxury
goods, such as carriages. An excise tax is a tax on the production or sale of a
product.
The Whiskey Rebellion Settlers living west of the Appalachian Mountains

reacted angrily to the tax. Western farmers found it too costly to transport their
grain across the mountains to sell in eastern cities. Instead, they distilled their
bulky wheat into whiskey, which could be shipped more cheaply. Many farmers
complained that the tax made their whiskey too expensive, and they refused to
pay it.

To end these protests, Congress lowered the excise tax in 1793. Most farmers
began to pay up, but not the tax rebels of western Pennsylvania. In 1794, these
“Whiskey Boys” tarred and feathered tax collectors who tried to enforce the law.
Alexander Hamilton and George Washington saw the Whiskey Rebellion as a

threat to the authority of the national government. At Hamilton's urging,
Washington led 13,000 state militia troops across the mountains to crush the
rebels. Faced with overwhelming force, the rebellion ended.
Thomas Jefferson thought that the idea of sending an army to catch a few tax
rebels was foolish. Even worse, he believed, was that Hamilton was prepared to
violate people's liberties by using armed force to put down opposition to
government policies.

The French Revolution Meanwhile, the nation was caught up in a debate over
events in France. In 1789, the French people rebelled against their king. The
leaders of the French Revolution dreamed of building a nation based on “liberty,
equality, and fraternity [brotherhood].” Three years later, France became a
republic and declared “a war of all peoples against all kings.”
Many Americans were thrilled by the French Revolution. This was especially true
of Jefferson and his followers, who began calling themselves Democratic-
Republicans, or simply Republicans. The Republicans saw the French Revolution
as part of a great crusade for democracy.
In time, news from France caused supporters of the revolution to change their
opinion. Cheered on by angry mobs, France's revolutionary government began
beheading wealthy nobles. Some 20,000 men, women, and children were killed.
Hamilton and his followers, who called themselves Federalists, were appalled by
the bloodshed. Many Federalists were themselves wealthy. After hearing about
the fate of wealthy families in France, they began to fear for their own safety,

wondering whether such terrors could happen in the United States. “Behold
France,” warned one Federalist, “an open hell . . . in which we see . . . perhaps
our own future.”
Washington's Farewell Address The growing division between Republicans

and Federalists so disturbed Washington that he agreed to run for a second term
as president in 1792. He was the only person, Hamilton and Jefferson told him,
who could keep the nation together.
Near the end of his second term, Washington announced that he would not run
again. Before leaving office, the president prepared a message that became
known as Washington's Farewell Address. In it, he reminded Americans of all
that bound them together as a people. “With slight shades of difference,” he said,
“you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in
a common cause fought and triumphed together.”
Next, Washington warned of two threats to the nation's future. One of those
threats was problems the nation was having with other countries. The other threat
was the “spirit of party.” It was natural for people to hold different opinions,
Washington said. But he warned against the dangers of passionate loyalty to
parties. If fighting between parties was not controlled, it could tear the young
nation apart.
Despite his worries for the future, Washington had much to be proud of as he left
office. The new government was up and running. The nation was growing so fast
that it had added three new states: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Vermont. Most of
all, Washington had steered his government safely through quarrelsome times.
He left the nation united and at peace.

George Washington's warnings did not stop the rise of political parties in the
young nation. The Federalist Party appeared first during the debates over the
ratification of the Constitution. Its most influential leader was Washington's
energetic treasury secretary, Alexander Hamilton.
Personal Background Hamilton was born in the West Indies and raised on the
Caribbean island of St. Croix. When Hamilton was 13, a devastating hurricane
struck the island. Hamilton wrote a vivid description of the storm that impressed
all who read it. A few St. Croix leaders arranged to send the talented teenager to
New York, where he could get the education he deserved. Once in America,
Hamilton never looked back.
Hamilton's blue eyes were said to turn black when he was angry. But most of the
time they sparkled with intelligence and energy. With no money or family
connections to help him rise in the world, he made his way on ability, ambition,
and charm.
George Washington spotted Hamilton's talents early in the American Revolution.

Washington made the young man his aidede-camp, or personal assistant. Near
the end of the war, Hamilton improved his fortunes by marrying Elizabeth
Schuyler, who came from one of New York's richest and most powerful families.
With her family's political backing, Hamilton was elected to represent New York in
Congress after the war. Later, he served as a delegate from New York to the
Constitutional Convention.
View of Human Nature Hamilton's view of human nature was shaped by his
wartime experiences. All too often, he had seen people put their own interests
and desire for personal profit above the cause of patriotism and the needs of the
country. “Every man ought to be supposed a knave [scoundrel],” he concluded,
“and to have no other end [goal] in all his actions, but private interest.”
Most Federalists shared Hamilton's view that people were basically selfish and
out for themselves. For this reason, they distrusted any system of government
that gave too much power to “the mob,” or the common people. Such a system,
said Hamilton, could only lead to “error, confusion, and instability.”
Views on Government Federalists believed that “the best people” —educated,

wealthy, public-spirited men like themselves—should run the country. Such
people, they believed, had the time, education, and background to run the country
wisely. They could also be trusted to make decisions for the general good, not just
for themselves. “Those who own the country,” said Federalist John Jay bluntly,
“ought to govern it.”
Federalists favored a strong national government. They hoped to use the new
government's powers under the Constitution to unite the quarreling states and
keep order among the people. In their view, the rights of states were not nearly as
important as national power and unity.
Hamilton agreed. Having grown up in the Caribbean, Hamilton had no deep

loyalty to any state. His country was not New York, but the United States of
America. He hoped to see his adopted country become a great and powerful
nation.

Views on the Economy Hamilton's dream of national greatness depended on the

United States developing a strong economy. In 1790, the nation's economy was
still based mainly on agriculture. Hamilton wanted to expand the economy and
increase the nation's wealth by using the power of the federal government to
promote business, manufacturing, and trade.
Before this could happen, the new nation needed to begin paying off the huge
debts that Congress and the states had accumulated during the American
Revolution. In 1790, Hamilton presented Congress with a plan to pay off all war
debts as quickly as possible. If the debts were not promptly paid, he warned, the
government would lose respect both at home and abroad.
Hamilton's plan for repaying the debts was opposed by many Americans,
especially in the South. Most southern states had already paid their war debts.
They saw little reason to help states in the North pay off what they still owed.
To save his plan, Hamilton linked it to another issue: the location of the nation's
permanent capital. Both northerners and southerners wanted the capital to be

located in their section of the country. Hamilton promised to support a location in

the South if southerners would support his debt plan. The debt plan was passed,
and the nation's new capital—called the District of Columbia—was located in the
South, on the Potomac River between Maryland and Virginia.
Next, Hamilton asked Congress to establish a national bank. Such a bank,

Hamilton said, would help the government by collecting taxes and keeping those
funds safe. It would print paper money backed by the government, giving the
nation a stable currency. Most important, the bank would make loans to
businesspeople to build new factories and ships. As business and trade
expanded, Hamilton argued, all Americans would be better off.
Once again, Hamilton's proposal ran into heavy opposition. Where in the
Constitution, his opponents asked, was Congress given the power to establish a
bank? In their view, Congress could exercise only those powers specifically listed
in the Constitution.
Hamilton, in contrast, supported a loose construction, or broad interpretation, of

the Constitution. He pointed out that the elastic clause allowed Congress to “make
all laws which shall be necessary and proper” for carrying out its listed powers.
Since collecting taxes was one of those powers, Congress could set up a bank to
help the government with tax collection.
After much debate, Hamilton was able get his bank approved by Congress. Once
established, in 1791, the Bank of the United States helped the nation's economy
grow and prosper.
Views on Great Britain and France When the French Revolution began,
Hamilton hoped that it would lead to the “establishment of free and good
government.” But as he watched it lead instead to chaos and bloodshed, his
enthusiasm for the revolution cooled.
When war broke out between France and England in 1793, most Federalists
sided with Great Britain. Some were merchants and shippers whose business
depended on trade with America's former enemy. Others simply felt more
comfortable supporting orderly Great Britain against revolutionary France.
Hamilton favored Great Britain for yet another reason. Great Britain was all that
he hoped the United States would become one day: a powerful and respected
nation that could defend itself against any enemy.
Alexander Hamilton's success in getting his plans through Congress alarmed

Thomas Jefferson and his fellow Republicans. In Jefferson's view, almost
everything Hamilton did in the name of putting the United States on the path to
greatness was instead a step down the road to ruin. The two men held very
different views on almost everything.
Personal Background Jefferson was born in Virginia to an old and respected

family. One of ten children, he was gifted with many talents. As a boy, he learned
to ride, hunt, sing, dance, and play the violin. Later, he carried a violin with him in
all his travels.
Jefferson was also a gifted student. When he entered college at age 16, he
already knew Greek and Latin. He seemed to know something about almost
everything. He once wrote that “not a sprig of grass [is] uninteresting to me.” This
curiosity would remain with him all his life.
With land inherited from his father, Jefferson set himself up as a Virginia tobacco
planter. Like other planters, he used slaves to work his land.

Once he was established as a planter, Jefferson entered Virginia politics. As a

politician, he lacked the ability to make stirring speeches. Instead, Jefferson wrote
eloquently with a pen. His words in the Declaration of Independence and other
writings are still read and admired today.
View of Human Nature Jefferson's view of human nature was much more
hopeful than Hamilton's. He assumed that informed citizens could make good
decisions for themselves and their country. “I have so much confidence in the
good sense of man,” Jefferson wrote when revolution broke out in France, “that I
am never afraid of the issue [outcome] where reason is left free to exert her force.”
Jefferson had great faith in the goodness and wisdom of people who worked the
soil—farmers and planters like himself. “State a [problem] to a ploughman [farmer]
and a professor,” he said, and “the former will decide it often better than the
latter.”
Views on Government Republicans favored democracy over any other form of

government. They had no patience with the Federalists' view that only the “best
people” should rule. To Republicans, this view came dangerously close to
monarchy, or rule by a king.
Republicans believed that the best government was the one that governed the
least. A small government with limited powers was most likely to leave the people
alone to enjoy the blessings of liberty. To keep the national government small,
they insisted on a strict construction, or interpretation, of the Constitution. The
Constitution, they insisted, meant exactly what it said, no more and no less. Any
addition to the powers listed in the document, such as the creation of a national
bank, was unconstitutional and dangerous.
Along with advocating for a weak national government, Republicans favored

strong state governments. State governments, they argued, were closer to the
people, and the people could control them more easily. Strong state governments
could also keep the national government from growing too powerful.
Views on the Economy Like most Americans in the 1790s, Jefferson was a
country man. He believed that the nation's future lay not with Federalist bankers
and merchants in big cities, but with plain, Republican farmers. “Those who labor
in the earth,” he wrote, “are the chosen people of God, if ever He had a chosen
people.”
Republicans favored an economy based on agriculture. They opposed any

measures, such as the national bank, designed to encourage the growth of
business and manufacturing. In their view, the national bank was not only
unconstitutional, but against farmers. While the bank was happy to loan money to
businesspeople to build factories and ships, it did not make loans to farmers to
buy land.

Views on Great Britain and France Another topic over which Republicans and
Federalists had heated arguments was the French Revolution. Most Americans
favored the revolution until it turned violent and led to war. As you have read,
most Federalists then turned against the new French republic and sided with
Great Britain. For this change of heart, a Republican newspaper called the
Federalists “British bootlickers,” implying that they were weak and eager to please
the British.
Despite the violence of the revolution, most Republicans continued to support

France. While regretting the bloodshed, they argued that the loss of a few
thousand aristocrats was a small price to pay for freedom. For their loyalty to
France, Republicans were scorned in a Federalist newspaper as “man-eating,
blood-drinking cannibals.”
In 1793, the French government sent Edmond Genêt (zhuh-NAY) to the United
States as its new official representative. Genêt preferred to be called “Citizen
Genêt.” French revolutionaries adopted this title to emphasize the equality of all
people. His mission was to convince Americans that they should join France in its
war against Great Britain.
Republicans welcomed Citizen Genêt as a conquering hero. Large crowds

cheered him as he traveled about the country. In Philadelphia, the nation's
temporary capital, a great banquet was held in his honor.
When Genêt formally presented himself to President George Washington, he

expected another warm and enthusiastic reception. Washington, however, did not
want to be drawn into war with Great Britain. His response to Genêt was cool and
dignified.
Genêt began making speeches against the president. These attacks on

Washington brought thousands of Genêt's supporters into Philadelphia's streets.
“Day after day,” recalled Vice President John Adams, the protesters “threatened
to drag Washington out of his house, and . . . compel [the government] to declare
war in favor of the French revolution.”
This was too much, even for Jefferson. Calling Genêt “hotheaded . . .
disrespectful, and even indecent toward the President,” Secretary of State
Jefferson asked the French government to recall its troublesome representative.
When the framers of the Constitution created the Electoral College, they imagined
that the electors would simply choose the two best leaders for president and vice
president. That was how the nation's first two presidential elections worked. By
the third election in 1796, however, it was clear that political parties had become
part of the election process.
The Republicans supported Thomas Jefferson for president that year. His support
came mainly from farmers in the South and West. The Federalists supported
John Adams, who appealed to lawyers, merchants, ship owners, and
businesspeople in the North. When the electoral votes were counted, John
Adams was elected president by just three votes. Jefferson came in second,
making him vice president. The nation's new top two leaders were political
leaders from opposing parties.

The Alien and Sedition Acts At first, President Adams tried to work closely with
Jefferson. “Party violence,” Adams found, made such efforts “useless.”
Meanwhile, Federalists in Congress passed four controversial laws known as the
Alien and Sedition Acts. They argued that these laws were needed as protection
against foreigners who might threaten the nation. In fact, the real purpose of the
Alien and Sedition Acts was to make life difficult for the Federalists' rivals, the
Republicans.
Three of the laws, the Alien Acts, were aimed at aliens, or noncitizens. The first
law lengthened the time it took for an immigrant to become a citizen with the right
to vote—from 5 to 14 years. Since most immigrants voted Republican, Jefferson
saw this law as an attack on his party. The other two Alien Acts allowed the
president to either jail or deport aliens who were suspected of activities that
threatened the government. Although these laws were never enforced, they did
frighten a number of French spies and troublemakers, who then left the country.
The fourth law, known as the Sedition Act, made sedition—encouraging rebellion
against the government—a crime. Its definition of sedition included “printing,
uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous and malicious [hateful] writing”

against the government, Congress, or the president. Alexander Hamilton
approved of this law, believing that it would punish only those who published lies
intended to destroy the government.
Instead, the Sedition Act was used to punish Republican newspaper editors who
insulted President Adams in print. One, for example, called him “old, querulous
[whiny], bald, blind, crippled, toothless Adams.” Twenty-five people were arrested
under the new law. Ten of them were convicted of printing seditious opinions.
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Republicans viewed the Sedition Act
as an attack on the rights of free speech and free press. Since the federal
government was enforcing the act, Republicans looked to the states to protect
these freedoms.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison drew up a set of resolutions, or

statements, opposing the Alien and Sedition Acts and sent them to state
legislatures for approval. They argued that Congress had gone beyond the
Constitution in passing these acts. States, therefore, had a duty to nullify the
laws—that is, to declare them to be without legal force.
Only two states, Virginia and Kentucky, adopted the resolutions. The arguments
put forward in the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were based on the states'
rights theory of the Constitution. This theory holds that rights not specifically
given to the federal government remain with the states. Of these, one of the most
important is the right to judge whether the federal government is using its powers
properly.

When no other states approved the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, the
protest died. The states' rights theory, however, was not forgotten. It would be
raised and tested again in the years ahead.
The New National Capital In 1800, the federal government moved to the city of
Washington in the District of Columbia. Most of the government's buildings were
still under construction. President Adams's wife, Abigail, described the new
“President's House” as a “castle” in which “not one room or chamber is finished.”
She used the large East Room for hanging laundry, as it was not fit for anything
else.

The move to Washington, D.C., came in the middle of the 1800 presidential
election. Once again, Republican leaders supported Thomas Jefferson for
president. Hoping to avoid the strange outcome of the last election, they chose a
New York politician named Aaron Burr to run as his vice president.
The Federalists chose John Adams to run for reelection as president. Charles
Pinckney of South Carolina was selected to run for vice president. Some
Federalists would have preferred Alexander Hamilton as their presidential
candidate. Although he did not run, Hamilton's influence would shape the results
of the election.
The Campaign The candidates outlined their campaign issues early. Jefferson
supported the Constitution and states' rights. He promised to run a “frugal and
simple” government. Adams ran on his record of peace and prosperity.
The campaign, however, centered more on insults than on issues. Republican

newspapers attacked Adams as a tyrant. They even accused him of wanting to
turn the nation into a monarchy so that his children could follow him on the

presidential throne.
Some Federalist newspapers called Jefferson an atheist. An atheist is someone

who denies the existence of God. Jefferson, these newspapers charged, would
“destroy religion, introduce immorality, and loosen all the bonds of society.”
Frightened by these charges, some elderly Federalists buried their Bibles to keep
them safe from the “godless” Republicans.
The Divided Federalists Hamilton and his followers refused to support Adams
because of disagreements over the president's foreign policy. “We shall never find
ourselves in the straight road of Federalism while Mr. Adams is President,” stated
Oliver Wolcott, one of Hamilton's close allies.
As the campaign heated up, Hamilton worked feverishly behind the scenes to
convince the men chosen for the Electoral College to cast their presidential ballots
for Pinckney over Adams. Pinckney seemed more likely than Adams to value
Hamilton's advice and his firm Federalist principles. With Pinckney as president,
Hamilton believed that he would be able to personally guide the United States into
the new century.
When the Electoral College voted early in 1801, it was clear that John Adams had
lost the election. But to whom? Under the Constitution, each elector cast two
votes, with the idea that the candidate finishing second would be vice president.
All of the Republican electors voted for Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The
result was a tie between them.
Breaking the Tie In the case of a tie, the Constitution sends the election to the
House of Representatives. There, each state has one vote. Burr could have told
his supporters in the House to elect Jefferson president, as his party wanted.
Instead, he remained silent, hoping the election might go his way. When the
House voted, the result was another tie.
After 6 days and 35 ballots, it was Federalist Alexander Hamilton who broke the
deadlock. He asked his supporters in the House to vote for Jefferson. Of the two
Republicans, he said, “Jefferson is to be preferred. He is by far not so dangerous
a man.” The tie was broken, and Jefferson was elected president.
In 1804, the Twelfth Amendment was added to the Constitution to prevent such
ties. The amendment calls for the Electoral College to cast separate ballots for
president and vice president. If no presidential candidate receives a majority of
electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses a president from the top
three candidates. If no candidate for vice president receives a majority, the
Senate chooses the vice president.
A Peaceful Revolution The election of 1800 was a victory for Jefferson and his
Republican Party. But it was also a victory for the new system of government
established by the Constitution. In other countries, power changed hands by
means of war or revolution. In the United States, power had passed from one

group to another without a single shot being fired.
In this chapter, you read about the beginnings of political parties in the
United States.
The New Government Under Washington George Washington took office as

president in 1789. In 1794, he ended the Whiskey Rebellion, a farmers' protest
against taxes.
Alexander Hamilton and the Federalists Hamilton and the Federalists favored a
strong national government. They supported a loose construction of the
Constitution. They also favored using the government's power to support
business, manufacturing, and trade. Alarmed by the violence of the French
Revolution, the Federalists favored Great Britain in its war with France.
Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans Jefferson and the Republicans

championed states' rights and an economy based on agriculture. They supported
a strict construction of the Constitution. Republicans saw the French Revolution
as a step toward democracy and attacked the Federalists' support for Great
Britain.
The Presidency of John Adams During Adams's presidency, Federalists used

the Alien and Sedition Acts to attack Republicans. In response, Republicans
urged states to nullify these laws.
The Election of 1800 and the Twelfth Amendment Adams lost the election of
1800 to Thomas Jefferson after the Federalists broke a tie vote between
Jefferson and Aaron Burr. In 1804, the Twelfth Amendment was added to the
Constitution to prevent such ties.

What kind of home should the president of a brand new country live in? The
early leaders had to decide this question. Congress gave George
Washington the freedom to make this decision, and his ideas led to the
building we know today as the White House. But it would be the second
president, John Adams, who first lived in the house.
John Adams reached Washington on Saturday afternoon, November 1, 1800.

Because travel at that time was difficult, no one had known ahead of time exactly
when the president would arrive. As it turned out, he was earlier than expected.
The only people there to greet him were a few workers and two commissioners
who were overseeing work on the nation's capital.
A welcoming committee was not the only thing missing when the president
arrived. The building that the president would call home was little more than a
shell on that November day. When Adams moved in, only 6 of the 36 rooms in
the president's house were fit to live in. Only 18 rooms had finished plaster walls.
Fires burned in 13 fireplaces every day to keep the house warm and dry enough
to live in. The fires also helped dry the plaster in the rooms that had it.
From the unfinished house, President Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, who was
still at their home in Massachusetts. He told her that “the Building is in a State to
be habitable. And now we wish for your Company.” Abigail arrived two weeks
later.
The First Lady was not happy about the condition of her new home. “Shiver,
shiver,” she wrote to her daughter. “Surrounded with forests, can you believe that
wood [for fires] is not to be had because people cannot be found to cut and cart
it.” Water, too, was hard to come by. Servants had to haul it nearly half a mile to
the president's house.
But Abigail made the best of it. She and John improvised. Abigail used what was
to become the formal East Room for hanging laundry. The Adamses even
managed to entertain guests in their unfinished home.
The Adamses knew that the building would be beautiful one day. They also hoped
that it would last for a very long time—like the nation whose leaders it would
house.

A Palace for the President
George Washington had turned down the chance to be king of the United States.
But Washington, a Federalist, believed in a strong central government, with the
president playing a central role. He wanted the leader of the new republic to live in
a house that reflected the president's importance.
Those who disagreed with the Federalist idea of a strong executive wanted a
more modest home for the president. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, a
Republican, favored a small central government. He wanted the president's
house to reflect that belief. So he proposed a plain house built of brick. To him, a
big house built of stone, like those of European leaders, suggested royalty, and he
wanted no part of that.
In 1792, Jefferson announced that he would hold a contest to choose an architect

to design the president's house. His advertisement for the contest required
applicants to include “an estimate of the Cubic feet of brickwork composing the
whole mass of the wall.”
But George Washington had other ideas. He wanted a presidential palace that
was large and made of stone. He saw pictures of buildings designed by James
Hoban, an architect who had trained in Ireland. He liked the buildings, and he
wanted Hoban to design the president's house. Hoban entered the contest and,
not surprisingly, won.
Hoban's design was for a grand house. It was to have three stories and to be built
of stone. But a lack of money limited his elaborate plans. The presidential home
would still look like a palace, but it would be only two stories tall, with only the first
story made of solid stone. The second story would be made of brick and covered
with a layer of stone.
In the end, then, the president's house was something of a compromise. The fact
that the new nation had limited time and money meant that Jefferson's republican
ideals were present, though Washington's influence is reflected even more.
Building the President's House
George Washington laid the cornerstone for the president's house on October 13,
1792. The outside structure looked finished by 1800, but it took another two years
to complete the basic structure inside. In part, that is because builders stopped

working on the house in 1799. They reasoned that it would be easy for one man
to find a place to sleep—even if that man was the president. Finding a place for
the legislature to meet, on the other hand, would be difficult. So they shifted their
energy to building the capitol.
Many people were involved in building the president's house. Some were
immigrants. Scottish masons built the stone walls and covered the second-story
brick with stone. The commissioners who oversaw the process had hoped to bring
in other immigrant workers. But they had very little success, so they turned to local
laborers.
Many of those laborers were African Americans. Some were free, but many were
slaves. The government leased the slaves from their masters. Slaves dug the
stone from the quarries in Virginia. They also made bricks, which they used to
build the huts they lived in at the work site. In addition, much of the lumber for the
building came from a slave-managed mill.
The regal-looking sandstone that George Washington wanted created a problem

for the stone masons. Sandstone is porous (absorbent), so the masons made a
whitewash to keep moisture out. They applied the whitewash like paint over the
brick, but it sealed like glue. That is why the president's house is white although it

was not until 1901 that President Theodore Roosevelt officially called the building
the White House.
Continuity and Change
The White House today looks enough like the White House of the past that a
viewer can tell it is the same building. But it has gone through many changes over
the years.
Wear and tear took their toll on the building, even in the early years. By 1803, so
much water had leaked through the roof that the ceiling of the East Room
collapsed. Many of the changes to the White House have simply kept the building
up to date, outfitting it with modern conveniences. Pipes installed in 1833 brought
running water into the house. Heated water piped to the second floor allowed the
first family to take hot showers. Starting in 1837, a central furnace took off the
chill. Gas lights were installed in 1848 and electric lights in 1891.
Several major renovations have also ensured that the president's house has

remained the building for the ages that Abigail Adams envisioned. In 1814, British
forces burned the president's house, and only the external structure survived. The
entire interior was rebuilt. During Theodore Roosevelt's administration, a 1902
renovation added the West Wing for the president and his staff. In doing so, it
doubled the size of the family's living space.
But the 1902 renovation, plus the addition of the third story in the 1920s, put a
huge strain on the structure. A 1948 engineer's report concluded that the White
House “was standing up purely from habit.” A 1952 renovation gutted the building,
strengthened the structure, and rebuilt it. Since 1952, no major overhauls have
been necessary. However, repairs are ongoing, and in recent years efforts have
been made to make the White House more energy efficient.
Although it has changed over time, the White House remains the home of the
president, just as it was when John Adams arrived. Carved in the mantle of the
State Dining Room today is the blessing that Adams made for his new home in
that long-ago November of 1800:
I pray Heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this House and

all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise
men ever rule under this roof.
Life in the early United States was very different from today. There were no
airplanes, cars, or telephones. People rode horses or in horse-drawn
conveyances. They hunted or grew their own food and made their own clothing.
They hauled water from streams or wells. They used firelight or, sometimes, oil
lamps to light their homes.
But to many of the roughly 5 million people living in the United States in 1800, life
felt new and exciting. No longer was the country a collection of separate colonies.
It was now a single nation, with a president, a capital city, a constitution, and a
flag.
While the country was now one nation, daily life could be very different depending
on who one was and where one lived. Let's take a look at what daily life was like
for various groups of people in the United States around the year 1800.
Life on a Farm
Most people in the new nation were farmers. Some farms were small; some were
large. A family farm in New England might include 10 acres or so of ploughed
fields, a house, a barn, and outbuildings such as a henhouse and an outhouse.

For a New England farmer, corn was the main crop. Other crops included beans,
squash, turnips, and potatoes. Farm families usually had a few domestic animals.
Cows, hens, and pigs provided milk, eggs, and meat.
Farm children worked as hard as their parents. Both boys and girls worked in the
fields, tended the vegetable garden, and fed the animals. Boys hunted and
trapped animals with their fathers. Girls cooked and sewed with their mothers.
Farms in the South were called plantations. Large plantations were almost like
towns. In addition to the plantation house, there were storehouses, kitchens and
laundries, and slave houses.
Plantation owners grew crops such as tobacco and cotton. Owners of large
plantations did not do their own farming. The backbreaking work of planting and
picking was done by slaves.
Life in the City
In 1800, the largest cities in the new nation were on the eastern seaboard. Many,
such as Boston, New York, and Charleston, had deep harbors where ships
coming from Europe and Africa could unload their cargo.
Cities were busy places. Businesspeople hired workers to make products like
wooden barrels and ships. Shops sold goods such as fabric, medicine, and
stationery. Many people offered their labor as tailors and hat makers, blacksmiths
and silversmiths, and ironmongers (people who made iron tools).
Cities were places of great contrast in 1800. They had elegant houses made of
wood and brick, and slums of hastily built shacks. There was often a central
green, or “common,” where people grazed their cows. All cities had taverns.
Some had grand public buildings, colleges, churches, and theaters. Most were
noisy and smelled bad from rotting fish and garbage.
Life on the Frontier
In 1800, most of the territory west of the Appalachian Mountains was “frontier
land.” The frontier included forests, plains, and mountains. There were few roads
and settlements. Some white settlers were starting to travel west to claim land for
farming, but most whites on the frontier were traders and trappers.

Trappers and traders tended to be rugged individuals. They had to be. Trappers
usually traveled by horse, often alone, deep into the wilderness. They spent
weeks and months setting animal traps. They waited out the worst of the winter,
when travel was impossible, in hand-built cabins or in Native American villages. In
the spring, they collected the animals they had caught in their traps and returned
to towns and trading posts, their packhorses piled high with skins and furs.
Traders did not catch animals themselves. Instead, they traded such goods as
knives, glass beads, and rum with Native Americans for skins and furs.
Trappers and traders sold their goods for paper money or gold. The animal pelts
they brought from the frontier were much in demand for hats and blankets.
Women's Lives
Women worked hard in 1800. Some women owned businesses, but most worked
in their homes. They cooked, cleaned, and did other household chores. And they
raised large families.
In 1800, some chores took days to finish. Bread had to be baked; butter had to be
churned. Women made all of their families' clothes. They cleaned and combed
wool, spun it into yarn, dyed the yarn and wove it into fabric, and sewed
everything by hand. Women made soap and washed clothes. They tended
animals and milked cows. And they did all this while training and supervising their
children.
Women had many responsibilities, but they did not have legal rights either inside
or outside their homes. Legally, husbands were in charge of their families. They
owned all property inherited by their wives. Almost everywhere, women could not
vote.
The Lives of African American Slaves
In 1800, the majority of slaves lived in the South. Most lived on medium-size
plantations where there were 20 to 50 slaves.
Legally, slaves were property. Although slaves could not leave the plantations to
which they belonged, they could be traded, bought, or sold by their white owners.
Husbands could be taken from wives, and children could be taken from parents.
Punishments were severe. Runaway slaves were whipped if they were caught.
Often they were killed.
Slaves lived in separate communities on the plantation. They had only what their
masters chose to give them in the way of food, shelter, and clothing. On some
plantations, children might attend field school, but that was rare. Most slaves
received little or no education.
Some slaves worked in the plantation house, cooking and cleaning. Some worked
as skilled laborers, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, and seamstresses. Most
worked in the fields. They worked from sunrise to sunset, with only enough time to
eat a quick midday meal. In summer, the workday could be 16 hours long.
The Lives of Free African Americans
A few slaves managed to gain their freedom. Some bought their freedom. Others
ran from southern plantations to northern cities, where they could find work.
Some African Americans were born free because their parents were free.
In the North, attitudes toward African Americans were mixed. Some people, like
the Quakers, took a fierce stand against slavery. Other northerners owned slaves.
Even free African Americans could not eat or sleep in inns with whites, vote, join
the army, or sit near whites in churches.
The Lives of Native Americans
In 1800, more than a dozen Native American nations lived in the new nation's
states and territories. There was no one way of life for Native Americans. Each
nation was made up of tribes with different customs and languages. Some tribes
stayed in one place and grew crops. Others followed the herds they hunted.
Let's look more closely at one Native American nation, the Sioux. As white settlers
began to travel west, some claimed the land that had historically been used by the
Sioux. The Sioux were a nation of Plains Indians. In 1800, they lived on the great
plains of the Midwest in small bands of 10 to 50 extended-family groups. They
followed the buffalo herds. During the winter, they lived in one camp for several
months. In the spring, summer, and fall, they moved camp every few days, using
horses to carry their food and tools.
Buffalo supplied the Sioux with almost everything they needed, including food,
shelter, and clothing. The Sioux also ate deer, rabbit, bear, and wild turkey, as
well as wild fruits and nuts.
Each family lived in a teepee, or tent. Sioux teepees were made of animal hides,
supported by long wooden poles. They had an opening at the top for smoke from
the cooking fire to escape. There was no furniture inside a teepee. Family
members slept on piles of buffalo hides.
Although each tribe had a chief, all adult members of a tribe helped to make
decisions.

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P O L I T I C A L D E V E L O P M E N...

© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

1794: An army led by President Washington crushes the Whiskey Rebellion, an

Level: A © 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

1828: Andrew Jackson of Tennessee is elected the nation's seventh president.

© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

Level: A © 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

Congress eventually approved three departments. The Department of State was

Washington chose men he trusted —such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexander

The Whiskey Rebellion Settlers living west of the Appalachian Mountains

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Alexander Hamilton and George Washington saw the Whiskey Rebellion as a

© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

Level: A © 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

Washington's Farewell Address The growing division between Republicans

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George Washington spotted Hamilton's talents early in the American Revolution.

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Views on Government Federalists believed that “the best people” —educated,

Hamilton agreed. Having grown up in the Caribbean, Hamilton had no deep

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Views on the Economy Hamilton's dream of national greatness depended on the

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located in their section of the country. Hamilton promised to support a location in

Next, Hamilton asked Congress to establish a national bank. Such a bank,

Hamilton, in contrast, supported a loose construction, or broad interpretation, of

© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

Alexander Hamilton's success in getting his plans through Congress alarmed

Personal Background Jefferson was born in Virginia to an old and respected

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Once he was established as a planter, Jefferson entered Virginia politics. As a

Views on Government Republicans favored democracy over any other form of

Along with advocating for a weak national government, Republicans favored

Republicans favored an economy based on agriculture. They opposed any

Level: A © 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

Despite the violence of the revolution, most Republicans continued to support

war against Great Britain.

Republicans welcomed Citizen Genêt as a conquering hero. Large crowds

When Genêt formally presented himself to President George Washington, he

Genêt began making speeches against the president. These attacks on

Level: A © 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute

uttering, or publishing any false, scandalous and malicious [hateful] writing”

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison drew up a set of resolutions, or

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© 2019 Teachers' Curriculum Institute Level: A

The campaign, however, centered more on insults than on issues. Republican

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Some Federalist newspapers called Jefferson an atheist. An atheist is someone

result was a tie between them.

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group to another without a single shot being fired.

The New Government Under Washington George Washington took office as

Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans Jefferson and the Republicans

The Presidency of John Adams During Adams's presidency, Federalists used

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John Adams reached Washington on Saturday afternoon, November 1, 1800.