Washington Heads the New Government
Loose interpretation
A loose interpretation means that you can take liberties and interpret how you would like. Alexander Hamilton believed in a loose interpretation.
Strict interpretation
A strict interpretation means that you take the constitution literally word for word. Thomas Jefferson believed in a strict interpretation of the constitution.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton is the secretary of the treasury. He believes that the rich, educated, elite upper class should run the government. He also believes in a strong federal government. He is a federalist. He believes the economy of the US should be based on industry and trade.
Whiskey Rebellion
Congress creates a tax on whiskey; it is specific tax making it more expensive so many people stopped buying. Frontier farmers (in the mountains) depended on whiskey to make their money; whiskey is make from corn, which is easier to ship corn, would be over the mountains. Frontier farmers rebel because they do not like tax. George Washington orders 15,000 troops to the rebellion in PA and puts it down. OPPOSITE of what happened in Shay's rebellion. Now the government has POWER!
George Washington
George Washington had no interest in being president. But congress makes an unaimous decision that George Washington should be president.
Thomas Jefferson
He is the secretary of state. He believes in the common man. He distrust strong government, he is an anti-federalist. He believes the US she base their economy on farming.
Unprepared American Military
America is completely unprepared to fight Britain. We were badly out numbered with only 16 ships vs. the world's greatest navy. Their navy blocks off the Delaware Bay and the Chesapeake Bay, they make sure that our entire east coast is blockaded. The British raid and burn towns along the Atlantic Coast.
Precedent
An example
Federal bank
Another idea of Alexander Hamilton was a national bank. A bank that would print money and collect taxes for the entire country. Thomas Jefferson hates this idea because it was not specifically states in the constitution; he believed that because it wasn't in the constitution there fore the government had no right to make it. Alexander Hamilton uses the constitution because in the constitution it says congress has the power to do anything it deems "necessary and proper". They ended up making the bank because of this clause.
Midnight judges
Before John Adams left the presidency, his last night in office he appoints several judges to the federal court. John Adams is making sure that the judicial branch is full of federalist and not democratic republicans. Thomas Jefferson becomes president and refuses to the "papers" to the judges that Adam appointed.
Treaty of Ghent
Eventually the British and the US come to a standstill and they realize they need to make a peace treaty. They sign the Treaty of Ghent which official ends the War of 1812. It did NOT address the issues that caused the war.
Hamilton's plan to end debt
Hamilton was the secretary of the treasury and he had to figure out how to deal with the debt in the country. Originally states were going to pay off debt individually. His idea is to combine all the state debt and have one national debt. The problem is many southern states already fully paid off their debts.in order to get the southern to agree to a national debt there is a compromise.
John Adams
He was the second president.
James Madison
James Madison is our president, he also wants to avoid war with Britain because Britain because Britain is strong and America is weak. However, these are a group of congressmen calling for war they are known as "War Hawks". James Madison is pressured into war. The war of 1812 is officially started between the US and Britain.
Lewis and Clark
Jefferson assigns two men Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the new territory. A Shoshone Native American woman named Sacajawea aided them. They took two years and four months and recorded valuable information about the land, wildlife, and vegetation.
Jefferson and simplicity
Jefferson is a man of simplicity. Jefferson decides that instead of taking a carriage he walks to his inauguration. He wears everyday clothing and does not powder his hair. As president he reduces the size of the government and lowered expenses (remember he hates strong federal government).
Election of 1800
John Adams decides to run for a second term as president. But he is not elected. Instead democratic republican Thomas Jefferson is elected by 8 votes.
Judicial Review
John Marshall sets a precedent (example). He sets this precedent of judicial review, which means the Supreme Court reviews the case according to the Constitution. So they review the constitution and make a decision. He reviews the constitution and decides the constitution does NOT give the Supreme Court power to order the president to give papers to the judges.
Marbury vs. Madison
Marbury is a man who was appointed by Adams to a position as a judge. He does not receive his papers, so he sues the government. This case called Marbury v. Madison goes to the Supreme Court with the Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall.
Louisiana Purchase
Napoleon the leader of France, decides he wants to sell the French territory in North America called the Louisiana Territory, he offers this land to the US for 15 million. It will double the size of America. Jefferson is torn, no where in the Constitution does it say a President can but land from another country. Jefferson decides it is to good of a deal to pass up and he buys the territory.
Judiciary Act
Once George Washington shaped the presidency and the government was by creating the detail of the judicial branch. Washington decided that there would be a chief justice of the Supreme Court and there would be 5 associate justices. He also created in each of the states. The most important part he decided was that federal laws are the "supreme law of the land".
Compromise
Originally the capital of the United Sates was NYC. The south thought that if the capital was closer to the south, then the government would be more sympathetic to their wishes. The south accepts a national debt in exchange for moving the capital to Washington D.C.
Embargo
President Jefferson wants to avoid war because America is still a weak and young country. He creates an embargo; an embargo bans trade, Jefferson stops all trade and does not allow ships on the Atlantic. The embargo hurts the US more than it hurts Britain; Americans lost tons of money because of the embargo.
Tecumseh and the Prophet
Tecumseh and the Prophet are two Native American brothers. Tecumseh and the Prophet are angered that Americans have been forcing them off their land. Tecumseh and the Prophet make a confederacy (a team) of Native Americans in Indiana and they recruit help from the British. Great Britain provides weapons to the Native Americans, Tecumseh and the Prophet attack Americans towns with these weapons.
Burning Washington D.C.
The British knock a huge blow to the US when they burn down the capital Washington DC. Including the White House, President Madison and other advisors need to flee the capital. The British did this in retaliation for America burning down the capital of Britain in Canada.
French and British War
The French and British are at war with each other, they are enemies. Both France and England are capturing any ships they encounter on the Atlantic Ocean; some of these ships are American. Americans are outrages that our neutral ships are being captured and boarded. The Americans are extremely angry that the British are using a policy of impressment. Impressment= boarding ships and forcing American sailors to be in British Navy.
Washington Shaping the Exucutive branch
Washington also shapes the executive branch. The constitution said that the executive branch will consist of: president and the VP. Washington adds to the executive branch by adding the cabinet. The cabinet is a group of his close advisors. In the cabinet are the secretary of state, secretary of treasury, and the secretary of war. *Secretary of state deals with foreign affairs and other countries. Secretary of treasury was Alexander Hamilton. Secretary of State was Thomas Jefferson. Secretary of War is Henry Knox.