6) WASHINGTON AND ADAMS
GW as President 1789-1796
No one else stood for president – national hero
Judiciary Act 1789 – hierarchal system (supreme court, district courts and three circuit courts of appeal in
each state), federal laws adjudicated uniformly, Supreme Court can nullify state laws violating constitution,
Jay named Chief Justice, 3 judges from North and 3 from South for Supreme Court
Bill of rights Dec 1791 – addressed by Madison, House of Representatives 17 amendments, senate adopted
12, states ratified 10, 9 concerned rights of individual, 10 th withheld all powers to states apart from those
specifically delegated to federal gov in constitution, convinced NC (1789) and RI (1790) to enter union
Raising revenue – trade duty of 5%, up to 50% for steel, hemp, nails, molasses, ships, tobacco etc
Tonnage Act 1789 – drafted by Madison, American ships paid 6 cents per tonne, American built but foreign
owed ships paid 30 cents per tonne, foreign ship paid 50 cents per tonnne
Presidential dignity – open-house reception every week, civilian clothes, made governors travel to visit, ‘Mr
President’
President and congress – relationship not set out in Constitution, Aug 1789 Senate denied advise to GW on
Native American treaties, maintained separation of powers
Federal ‘civil service’ – state, treasury, war departments established (Autumn 1789), heads of departments
responsible to GW, could dismiss and appoint as he pleased
Cabinet – Hamilton (Treasury), Jefferson (state), Knox (war), Randolph (Legal)
Growth of Political Parties
Federalist (Hamilton) – strong central gov, lose interpretation, trade and industrialisation, fear of excessive
democracy, favoured links with Britain
Democratic Republican (Jefferson) – limited central gov, strict interpretation, no international trade,
agrarianism, more democracy, fear of tyranny, favoured links with France
War of words – Hamiltonian ‘United States Gazette’ v Jefferson Paid ‘National Gazette’
Jefferson, Madison, Clinton and Burr began South and NY alliance for DR party during summer 1791
1792 lection – Hamilton and Jefferson persuaded GW not to retire, federalist VP John Adams got more votes
than DR rival Clinton
Jefferson resigned Dec 1793 after nearly being dismissed
Hamilton’s Financial Programme
First report on Public Credit
- Funding at face value domestic debt amount to $56 million, federal assumption of war debts totalling
$21 million
- Congress rejected – Southerners did not to assume war debts as theirs were mostly paid off as more
fighting occurred in the North, Southerners did not want to fund domestic debt at face value as Northern
spectators would benefit at the expense of Southern creditors, Madison’s plan for discrimination
between original holders and subsequent purchasers rejected
- Compromise reached by Hamilton with Madison and Jefferson, reverse verdict for Capital in the South
and allowances for states who had already paid off debt
- Passed in Aug 1790, allowed national taxing, other countries wanted USA to thrive
Second Report on Public Credit
- Proposed a tax on distilled spirits as national debt was accumulated to $80million
- Madison opposed as it threatened state powers, VA assembly protested, Whiskey Rebellion 1794
- Passed March 1791, precedent for federal excise tax, value of gov bonds increased
Report on National Bank
- Suggestion to create national bank for tax, loans, paper money etc
- Opposed article 1 section 8 of constitution ‘necessary and proper’/elastic clause, Madison and Jefferson
argued national bank was not in enumerated power of gov
- Bank of US opened in Philadelphia Dec 1791 with charter for 20 years, bank notes held value
, Report of Manufactures
- Plan in Dec 1791 of industrialisation through protective tariffs and gov subsides for new industries, plan
shelved, ironic as would have benefitted Southern states
Whiskey Rebellion 1794
1791 tax on liquor meant small farmers had to pay per gallon, more expensive than flat fee paid by
corporations, felt attacked as distilled surplus corn and rye for whiskey to barter
1794 rebellion began in Western PA – liberty poles, tarred and feathered tax officers, prevented courts
August – 6000 men gathered and set up mock guillotines, solidarity with revolutionary France
GW raised militia of 13,000 men, supressed rebellion, but pardoned rebels to avoid being labelled a tyrant
Foreign Policy under GW
French revolution
- Jefferson – supported Jacobeans, wanted to keep treaty with France
- Hamilton – did not support Jacobeans who proposed wealth redistribution, saw treaty with France as
invalid as it was made with King Louis XVI who was killed
Citizen Genet – USA recognised Jacobin government, received diplomat Genet in 1793, set up Jacobin clubs
in SC and attacked British ships with American privateer ships, GW demanded recall, new French minister
arrived with warrant for Genet’s arrest, sought asylum in USA to avoid guillotine
In response Britain attacked American ships and forced sailors to fight in royal navy against France
Jay’s Treaty (Nov 1794)
- Hamilton had secretly told Britain USA would not agree to proposed League of Armed Neutrality
- Britain agreed – evacuate forts by 1796, deal with American compensation for ship seizure, grant
American commerce some access to West Indies
- USA agreed – deal with pre-war debt and north-eastern boundary, favour trade with Britain, French
privateers would not be fitted out in American ports
- DR saw as useless – failed to compensate for slaves carried off in 1783
- Senate ratified, GW put off signing until Aug 1795 to avoid war
- Was successful to boost economy and trade and get Britain out of forts
Relations with Spain
- Encouraged Natives to attack American settlers
- Pinckney agreed Treaty of San Lorenzo (Oct 1795) to grant free access to Mississippi and New Orleans,
promised to restrain Native attacks, accepted American claim to 31 st parallel as boundary for Florida –
agreed by Feds and DR
Native Policy – GW envisaged homelands where expansion would be prohibited, Treaty of NY with Creek
Leader restored Creek Lands, but impossible to enforce, War of Fallen Timbers with Western confederacy
Tribes, forced to cede land under Treaty of Grenville Aug 1795
Western Land – Hamilton and Jay ignored Jefferson and Madison who wanted to keep land costs low at $1
per acre, Land Cat 1796 charged $ per acre with only a year to compete payment, sold fewer than 50,000
acres
GW Retires
Refused to stand for 1796 election – established two term precedent
Hamilton had stepped down 1795
Federalist candidates Adams and Pinckney v DR candidates Jefferson and Burr
Adams became president with 71 votes, Jefferson VP with 68 votes
Farewell Adress 1796 – written by Hamilton, warned of party divisions, President and VP from different
parties, tired to undermine each other
Adams’ Presidency
XYZ Affair (March 1798)
