UNIT 1 | TOPIC 1

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PRESIDENCY & PRECEDENTS

QUIZLET 1.1

Role of the president according to the Constitution?

Chief of State- Acts as the symbolic leader of the country
Chief Executive- Executes the laws, appoints key federal officials, grants pardons and reprieves
Commander in Chief- Runs the armed forces
Chief Diplomat- Negotiates with other countries
Chief Legislator- Signs or vetoes legislation, introduces legislation, works with Congress on the budget
Political Party Leader- Spokesman for the party he belongs to

Washington's Election, Inauguration, and Presidency

First Presidential Election

Washington was elected President in 1789.
First to be elected by the Electoral College.
He was the only president ever to be elected unanimously.
Runner up was John Adams, who became the Vice President.

Presidential Precedents

Although it named powers and duties of president, Constitution only a framework
Washington would define what it meant to be nation’s chief executive
Washington and the new government would set precedents (actions that set an examples for others to follow):

As president, George Washington’s actions and policies strengthened the federal government.

CHALLENGE #1: ORGANIZE BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT (executive branch and judicial branch)

Executive Branch
Washington began meeting regularly with the heads of the departments for advice and assistance this group became known as his cabinet
The First Presidential Cabinet
- Secretary of State – Thomas Jefferson
- Secretary of War – Henry Knox
- Secretary of Treasury – Alexander Hamilton
- Attorney General - Edmund Randolph

Judicial Branch:
Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 to set up the federal court system.
The act created three levels of federal courts and defined powers.
It set up federal district courts and circuit courts of appeal.
The president nominated federal judges.
Set the number of Supreme Court Justices at 6.

CHALLENGE #2: EXPANSION (Northwest Territory)

Americans continued to settle in the Ohio Country north of the Ohio River
British had ceded land to US after American Revolution, but continued to occupy forts
Native Americans rallied around Little Turtle and went to war against settlers to fight for their land.
- They were supplied weapons by the British

RESPONSE: Battle of Fallen Timbers

Washington sent General “Mad” Anthony Wayne to end the dispute.
The last major conflict of the Northwest Territory Indian Wars, and took place near Toledo, Ohio
Fight between Native Americans and white settlers over land
Led to Treaty of Greenville in 1795
- Opened up present-day Ohio to white settlers
- Native Americans lost land
- Americans paid Native Americans $20,000 worth of goods in return

Conflicting Ideas

WHO HAS THE POWER?
federalism: a system of government in which power is shared between the central and smaller regional or state governments

reserved: powers not specifically granted to the federal government, thus they belong to the states and the people

concurrent: powers held jointly by the national and state governments.

express: powers specifically granted to one branch of the national government by the Constitution (WRITTEN IN THE CONSTITUTION)

implied: powers not specifically mentioned in the constitution

4. Domestic Challenges

National Debt

The federal government owed $54 million to state governments another $25 million to foreign countries (like France) as well as private citizens for help with financing the American Revolution
If US didn’t pay debts, other countries could be reluctant to do business with them

Hamilton solved the problem of settling national and state debts.

Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton’s biggest challenge was paying off the national debt.
Some politicians, including Thomas Jefferson, opposed the plan.
Hamilton won the South’s support by getting northern approval to move the national capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.

Hamilton’s Financial Plan

Pay off old bonds, borrow new money
Pay off state debts
Create a National Bank
Tax on whiskey
Protective tariff

National Bank’s Opponents and Supporters

Opponents

Jefferson and Madison said Hamilton’s economic plans gave too much power to the national government and that the Constitution did not give Congress the power to create the bank.

Supporters

President Washington and Congress agreed with Hamilton that it would provide a stable economy for the United States.
The Bank of the United States— the country’s first national bank—was chartered in 1791.

Whiskey Rebellion (VIDEO)

Congress passed an excise tax on American made whiskey in 1791 to help pay off the national national debt
Pennsylvania farmers who couldn’t pay the tax rebelled
Tarred and feathered tax collectors
Fighting broke out between rebels and federal officers
Resolution: Washington commanded nearly 13,000 troops to shut down the rebellion but most rebels fled before they got there.
Importance of the Whiskey Rebellion

First major show of federal authority
Washington WOULD see that the laws were executed
Set a precedent that U.S. citizens who wished to change the law had to do so peacefully through constitutional means

5. Washington's Views on Slavery & Religion

Slavery

Gradual Abolition Act of 1780: prohibits any further importation of enslaved Africans into the state and guarantees that the future children of enslaved Pennsylvania mothers will be born free.
Slave Rotation: First year in which the Washingtons violate the 1788 amendment by bringing back into Pennsylvania enslaved Africans who had been transported out of state to prevent their obtaining their freedom. This illegal out-of-state rotation of the President's House enslaved Africans continues until the end of Washington's presidency
Fugitive Slave Act of 1793: makes it a federal crime to assist an escaping slave or interfere with his recapture, and sets severe fines for doing so, and also allows slave-catchers into every U.S. state and territory.
Slave Trade Act of 1794: prohibited exporting slaves from the United States to any foreign place or country.

Religious Freedom

Washington intended religious freedom in the United States to apply to all religions.
He told religious groups that the only being to whom Americans owed an explanation of their religious beliefs was God.

6. Foreign Policy

Foreign Issues:

French Revolution breaks out in 1789
Britain resumes fighting France
Spain still has New Orleans blocked

Washington set the tone for the first 100 years of U.S. foreign policy by adopting a position of neutrality.

France: The French Revolution

French uprising against monarchy caused considerable violence and bloodshed
The ideas of liberty, freedom, and the rights of man which started the revolution would turn to fear and tyranny
Mob violence scared Hamilton and the Federalists, they preferred the stability and order of Britain

Genet Affair / Neutrality Proclamation

France and Great Britain go to war.
Some Americans, including Thomas Jefferson supported the war because they helped America in the American Revolution.
Edmond-Charles Genet, the first ambassador to the United States from the Republic of France, encouraged Americans to attack British merchants in the Caribbean.
The U.S. had almost no navy to speak of and lacked the troops to attack the only British possession along her border, Canada.
President Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation, in 1793, saying America would not take sides, nor get involved in the war.

Great Britain (Jay’s Treaty)

The British were seizing American ships in the French West Indies.
Washington wanted to prevent another war; so did the British
Jay’s Treaty was signed in 1794.
British agreed to pay for seized ships, abandon frontier forts, and allow some Caribbean trade.
American agreed to pay pre-revolutionary war debts to British merchants

Spain (The Treaty of San Lorenzo a.k.a. Pinckney’s Treaty)

The Spanish disputed the U.S. and Florida border.
Spain closed the New Orleans port to U.S. trade in 1784. (Why was the river so important?)
This hurt the American economy
Pinckney’s Treaty was signed in 1795
- The southern U.S. border was set at 31° N latitude.
- The port of New Orleans reopened

7. Farewell Address

In George Washington’s Farewell Address, he provided the United States with a framework to follow in order to remain a strong and independent nation.

Washington’s Farewell Address

Wrote a Farewell Address to the people.
- Warned against dangers of foreign ties
- Warned against forming political parties.
According to Washington, the key to national success is political unity.

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