CHAPTER 6: FORGING

THE NEW REPUBLIC

Big Picture: In the last decade of
the 1700s, debates over the size
and role of government led to the
emergence of political parties.
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 1:
WASHINGTON
BECOMES PRESIDENT
Main Idea: President Washington and
other leaders tried to solve the new
nation’s economic problems. This led
to the rise of political parties.
 Organizing the Government
Washington Chooses A Cabinet

• Cabinet: a team of advisors to the president

who run executive departments; the leader is
called a Secretary
• Washington had 4; today there are 15
• Department of War: Henry Knox (heads the
military, now called Department of Defense)
• Department of State: Thomas Jefferson
(manages relationship with foreign nations)
• Attorney General:
Edmund Randolph
(enforces federal
laws; the
government’s
lawyer)
• Department of
Treasury:
Alexander
Hamilton
(manages the
nation’s money)
The First Congress

• 2 major “achievements”
• Ratified the Bill of Rights
• Judiciary Act of 1789: organized the judicial
branch, creating a 6-person Supreme Court,
district courts, and appeals courts
• John Jay: 1st Chief Justice
Settling the Nation’s Debts
Hamilton’s Economic Plan
• Gov’t owed money from American Revolution
• Plan for Economy had three parts and was
designed to make the nation strong
economically
1. Pay the National Debt: both debt by Continental
Congress and each of the states
2. Tariff of 1789 and excise tax to pay off the debt
3. Create a national Bank to standardize banking and
print money
Opposition and Compromise
• There is opposition in the South to paying off debts
of all states (a lot of Southern states had paid all or
most of their debt, so this benefits the North)
• Also opposition to taxation (Tariff taxed imported
goods; excise tax taxed domestic luxury goods like
snuff and liquor…not all products)
• Opposed to bank…is it Constitutional?!?!
• Agreement in Congress to move capital from NYC
to modern Washington DC to make South happy
Debating a National Bank
Interpreting the Constitution
• There are 2 ways to interpret (read) the
Constitution:
• Strict interpretation: the government should
only do what the Constitution specifically
states it can do (i.e. raise an army)
• Loose interpretation: the government can take
reasonable actions that are not outlined in the
Constitution as long as they are not prohibited
(“necessary and proper”)
Debating the Bank

• Those who believed in loose interpretation (like

Hamilton) supported the bank
• Those who believed in a strict interpretation
(like Jefferson) opposed the bank
• Washington eventually adopted a loose
interpretation and signed the bill chartering the
1st Bank of the United States in February 1791
 First Political Parties Form
The Whiskey Rebellion
• Those on the western frontier resented the power and
wealth of those on the east coast
• They believed the excise taxes (like on alcohol) harmed
them and helped the easterners
• 1794: farmers in Western PA refused to pay the tax on
whiskey, which was how they made a living
• When they violently attacked tax collectors,
Washington led a militia of 13,000 to put down the
rebellion
• Showed the national government could and would
take action in the state (federal government supreme)
Political Parties Develop
• Federalists: believed in a strong central
government with a loose interpretation of the
Constitution (led by Hamilton)
• Democratic-Republicans: believed states should
be more powerful than the federal government
with a strict interpretation of the Constitution
(led by Jefferson)
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 2:
CHALLENGES OF THE
1790S
Main Idea: The United States faced many
challenges during the 1790s. It tried to
remain neutral in European wars while
dealing with Native Americans in the
Northwest Territory.
Remaining Neutral
A Declaration of Neutrality
• 1789 French monarchy overthrown starting the
French Revolution
• Led to war between France and Great Britain
• Both sides tried to draw the US in to their side
• Washington decided to remain neutral so that
the US could continue to grow and prosper
• Proclamation of Neutrality: US offi cially
announces that they will not take a side in war
More Diplomatic Challenges
• 1794 British begin seizing American merchant ships
and stirred up trouble with the Native Americans in
the Northwest Territory
• To avoid war, Washington sends John Jay to Britain to
resolve the issues
• Jay’s Treaty: Britain agreed to pay for damages to
American ships and leave forts on the frontier, in
return the US paid debts owed to GB
• Pinckney’s Treaty: treaty with Spain settling border
and trade disputes
Conflicts in the Northwest Territory
• US government put pressure on Native
Americans living in the Northwest Territory to
move
• Some tribes formed confederations to block
US entry into their land
• Early 1790s violence breaks out in Ohio and
Indiana under Chief Little Turtle of the Miami
he wins a big victory in 1791
• US sends in 4,000 troops to the Ohio Valley to
build forts
• 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers: Americans
defeat the Miami and force them to sign the
Treaty of Greenville: gave up land in Ohio,
Indiana, Illinois, Michigan
President Adams and the XYZ Affair
Election of 1796
• Washington retires after 2 terms
• Farewell Address: don’t form political parties; stay
neutral
• Adams v. Jefferson: 1st sign of sectionalism: being
loyal to a region over the US…Northern states voted
for Adams, Southern states voted for Jefferson
• No separate elections for President and Vice-President
led to Adams being elected President and Jefferson
Vice President
Foreign and Political Problems
• Adams tried to resolve issues with France, but French
try to demand a bribe instead of sign a treaty (called
the XYZ Affair because they wouldn’t give their
names)
• Led to outrage at home, some called for war and
distrust of DRs grew (supported France, attracted
immigrants)
• Alien and Sedition Acts: passed to ‘protect’ the US
from foreign enemies by raising residency
requirements for citizenship and allowing for the
fining and jailing of those criticizing the government
• Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions: written by
Jefferson and Madison; claimed the Alien and
Sedition Acts were unconstitutional and said
states could nullify them (declare them void)
part of states rights
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 3:
JEFFERSON'S
PRESIDENCY
Main Idea: The rise of political parties
infl uenced the election of 1800,
bringing Thomas Jeff erson and a new
outlook to the presidency.
The Election of 1800
• 1st time power passed from one political party
to another
• Adams v. Jefferson (this time they had vice-
presidential candidates)
• Campaign was vicious mudslinging (
Attack Ads, Circa 1800)
• Election ended in a tie between Jefferson and
his VP candidate Burr
• House of Representatives designated to break
the tie; Hamilton urged Federalists to support
Jefferson; on 36th vote, he wins
• 12th Amendment: separate ballots for
president and vice-president
• Burr later kills Hamilton in a duel
Jefferson Makes Changes
• Jefferson urges tolerance and unity in his
inaugural address
• Called it the “Revolution of 1800” reduced
the size and influence of the federal
government
• He reduced taxes and ended maintenance of a
standing army during peacetime
• Later had to reverse the reduction of the navy
due to foreign threats to shipping by the
Barbary pirates in the Mediterranean
The Louisiana Purchase
A Need For Land
• French leader Napoleon needed money for
ongoing wars with GB
• US wanted to purchase New Orleans from
France for shipping; Napoleon offered all of
Louisiana Territory
• Without time to ask Jefferson, the ambassadors
agreed; purchasing the land for $15 million,
more than doubling the size of the US
A Constitutional Puzzle and Lewis and Clark
• Jefferson conflicted over strict interpretation
(no written right to buy land)
• Adopts a loose interpretation and approves
the purchase, Congress agrees
• Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were
commissioned to explore the new territory (2
yrs)
• Aided by Sacagawea, they made a map and
noted new species of animals and plants and
new Native American tribes
The Role of the Supreme Court Changes
• Judiciary Act of 1801: added new judgeship
positions
• Federalists tried to appoint as many
Federalists to the courts to maintain influence
• John Adams appointed many on his last day in
office (called midnight judges)
• Some of the papers were not delivered in time and
Jefferson’s Secretary of State James Madison
refused to deliver them
• One appointee, William Marbury, asked the
Supreme Court to order Madison to deliver the
commission
• Marbury v. Madison: ruled Judiciary Act of 1789
unconstitutional
• Establishes the Supreme Court’s right of judicial
review: the right to declare state and federal laws
unconstitutional
CHAPTER 6 SECTION 4:
THE WAR OF 1812
Main Idea: In the early 1800s,
Americans unifi ed to face Great Britain
in war once again and to battle
resistance from Native Americans over
attempts to seize their land.
Violating Neutrality
• US caught in the middle of the war between
France and Great Britain
• US declared itself neutral and tried to trade
with both nations
• British begin seizing American ships headed
for France and practicing impressment:
forcing US sailors to serve in the British navy
• 1807 British tried to search the American ship
Chesapeake; when they refused, the British
opened fire and seized 4 Americans
• Chesapeake Incident made Americans furious;
in response, Jefferson passed the Embargo Act
of 1807 ending US trade to protect US ships
• Was a disaster, especially in the North where
most of the trade was based; goods piled up in
ports and businesses failed
Tecumseh Resists Settlers
New Policies
• British try to reestablish relationships with western
tribes
• Many Americans believed they were giving guns to
Natives
• William Henry Harrison was governor of the Indiana
Territory and carried out Jefferson’s Native
American policy: become farmers and join white
society or move west of the Mississippi
• Many tribes began loosing land
• Shawnee brothers,
the Prophet and New Indian Leaders
Tecumseh, tried to
resist American
movements in the
west
• They began uniting
tribes
• 1811 Harrison’s army
attacks (Battle of
Tippecanoe): made
Harrison a hero
The War of 1812 Begins
War is Declared
• After the Chesapeake Incident, American politicians
from the South and West called war hawks tried to
get Congress to declare war
• They hated the British and hoped to conquer
Canada
• Leader of war hawks Henry Clay became Speaker of
the House and in June 1812, the US declared war
• US navy does well against the British but fail to gain
land in Canada and British are able to burn down
the White House
 Outcome of the War
• Andrew Jackson becomes a hero with a US
victory at the Battle of New Orleans
• by then, US and GB had already signed the
Treaty of Ghent
• no territory changes hands, but Americans had
proved themselves as a nation
• Leads to a period of US nationalism (pride in
your nation)
• Native American resistance declines and US
manufacturing increases