2.4 Launching the New Nation

How was the US prepared to go forward as a developing country?

New Government

• Washington was the first president of the new country

• He and Congress set up a new government; the Judiciary Act of 1789 set up a national court system

• Congress also set up three executive departments, including a cabinet, or group of chief advisors

Continued

• Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of the Treasury, Thomas Jefferson was Secretary of State, and Henry Knox was Secretary of War

• Together, these positions made up the cabinet, or advisors to the President

• Hamilton wanted a strong central government with a national bank; Jefferson opposed this with James Madison

• Their differences helped create a two-party system, where two political parties compete for power

Continued

• Federalists agreed with Hamilton; democratic-republicans agreed with Jefferson that state governments should be stronger

• Congress passed two important taxes:– A protective tariff, which placed a tax on goods

imported from Europe– A second tax was placed on whiskey, which angered

small frontier farmers who made it so much that they attacked tax collectors

– The Whiskey Rebellion was put down by federal troops to show that the federal government could enforce laws on the frontier

Changes Abroad

• France overthrew their monarchy in 1789, and then went to war against Britain

• Washington decided to remain neutral even though the US had a treaty with France

• In 1795 Spain and the US signed the Pinckney Treaty, where they gave up claims to land east of the Mississippi and paved the way for westward expansion of the US

• Settlers in the NW Territory angered Native Americans; in 1794 federal troops defeated their confederacy that battled for the land

• John Jay also negotiated a treaty with Britain for them to give up their forts in the NW Territory

Adams as President

• Washington retired, and John Adams became president with Jefferson becoming VP

• France began to interfere with American shipping, and Adams sent reps. to France, where the French demanded bribes from the Americans

• This became known as the XYZ Affair• Some Americans demanded war with the

French, but Adams settled the matter through diplomacy

Continued

• Adams thought Dem.-Repub. were dangerous, and he and the Federalists supported the Alien and Sedition Acts

• Passed in 1798, they made it harder to become a citizen and created harsh punishments for people who criticized the government

• Dem.-Rebub. opposed these laws• Kentucky and Virginia claimed that states could

cancel laws they found unconstitutional; this is called nullification