Chapter 8: The Republic Launched

The Republic Launched

• Preview: “In 1789 Americans could be divided into those who were rural, largely self-sufficient farmers and those tied more closely to the world of commerce. Politics in the early republic was rooted in this fundamental social division.”

• The Highlights:• 1789: A Social Portrait• The New Government• Expansion and Turmoil in the West• The Emergence of Political Parties• The Presidency of John Adams

Post War New England

• 1789: A Social Portrait– First federal census (1790): about 4

million Americans– Population would double every 22

years, mostly from natural increase– Poor transportation and few

newspapers meant that the movement of people, goods, and ideas was slow

The Semi-subsistence Economy of Crèvecoeur’s America– In 1783 French writer and traveler to rural

America, Hector St. John Crèvecoeur, published his Letters from an American Farmer

– he argued that American society’s distinguishing characteristic was equality

– Fairly broad distribution of wealth– Barter economy predominated

• The Commercial Economy of Franklin’s America– Eastern areas more tied to

commerce than the backcountry was

– Greater inequality of wealth– Values of commercial

economy and of backcountry were in conflict

• The Constitution and Commerce– Urban and rural American

differed on the role of government in the economy

Beginning the New Government

• On April 16, 1789, George Washington was unanimously named president of the United States by the Electoral College.

• Many thought his inaugural speech was too reminiscent of the English monarchy.

• Congress had to decide how to formally address Washington: “His Most Benign Highness,” and other kingly titles fortunately gave way to “Mr. President.”

The New Government

• Washington’s Character– Washington was somewhat

controversial for the pomp that he brought to the White House

– A tough historical figure to penetrate because of enormous attention by historians

• Organizing the Government– Washington created a cabinet

of advisors– Judiciary Act of 1789 defined

the judicial system

• The Bill of Rights– By 1791, 10 amendments

guaranteeing basic freedoms were ratified

• Hamilton’s Financial Program– Alexander Hamilton,

Washington’s secretary of the treasury, promoted ambitious plan for the federal government’s role in the economy

– Wanted to link the interests of the wealthy commercial class to the government

– 1791: first Bank of the United States created

The Bill of Rights• First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of

religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

• Second Amendment: A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

• Third Amendment: No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

• Fourth Amendment: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

• Fifth Amendment: No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Bill of Rights Continued• Sixth Amendment: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy

the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

• Seventh Amendment: In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any Court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

• Eighth Amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

• Ninth Amendment: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

• Tenth Amendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people

• Opposition to Hamilton’s Program– Madison and Jefferson became leading

opponents to Hamilton and the Federalists– Fear of a financial aristocracy and a system

of corruption

• The Specter of Aristocracy– In spite of fears, Hamilton’s program was an

economic success—inflation was ended, the currency was stabilized, and the government’s credit restored

“The passage of Hamilton’s program caused a permanent rupture among supporters of the Constitution”(239).

The Emergence of Political Parties

• Americans and the French Revolution– Most Americans welcomed news of the

revolution in France in 1789– Hamilton and the Federalists, however, saw

the French Revolution as leading to anarchy– The event became a defining issue between

the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans– Jefferson vs. Hamilton

Expansion and Turmoil in the West

• The Resistance of the Miami's– Federal government tried to buy

Indian titles to land in order to promote white settlement in the Ohio River Valley

– Treaty of Greenville (1795): Miami Confederacy ceded two-thirds of the area between Lake Erie and the Ohio River

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• The Whiskey Rebellion– Westerners irritated over new excise tax

(1791) on distilled liquors– Pockets of unrest all over the backcountry– Resistance collapsed with Washington’s

deployment of the army

• Pinckney’s Treaty– 1796: established 31st parallel as the

southern boundary of the United States– Gave Americans free navigation of the

Mississippi River

The Promise and the Peril of the French Revolution

• France’s revolution began in 1789 as an effort to reform the injustices of a weakened monarchy and soon exploded into a radical rebellion with the beheading of Louis XVI.

• For more than a decade the revolution dominated the stage in European politics.

• The violence of the Revolution was astonishingly brutal

• Washington’s Neutral Course– Washington proclaimed American

neutrality and moderated Jefferson’s attempts to support France

– Jay’s Treaty (1795) illustrated America’s secondary position to Britain

• The Federalists and Republicans Organize– By the mid-1790s, most politicians

had aligned themselves with one of the two major parties

“In his Farewell Address, Washington warned against the dangers of parties and urged a return to the earlier nonpartisan system. But that vision had become obsolete: parties were an effective way of expressing the interests of different social and economic groups within the nation.”

Adams vs. Jefferson

• The 1796 Election– John Adams defeated

Jefferson, who, because of a quirk in the Constitution, became vice-president

– Federalists’ political base was the more commercial Northeast; the Jeffersonian Republicans’ was the West

The Election of 1796

• The presidential election of 1796 reflected the political uncertainty of the times as Washington announced he would not seek a third term.

• The potential successor was narrowed to Jefferson or John Adams, two very different men who had a great deal of shared experiences in the Revolution and the creation of the government.

• Adams won the election, with Jefferson to serve as his Vice President.

The Presidency of John Adams

• The Naval War with France– Adams’ first trial as president was the interference

of American shipping by French naval vessels. raiding of American shipping became a major issue for Adams

– 1797: Adams sent diplomats to France to negotiate, and the French demanded bribes

– This event, subsequently known as the XYZ Affair, aggravated tensions with France and between the two political parties

Cartoon of the XYZ Affair

The Alien and Sedition Acts The Federalist-dominated Congress acted to staunch

the flow of aliens into the country through:

• The Naturalization Act – raised citizenship requirement of residency from 5 to 14 years

• The Alien Act – authorized the president to expel aliens whom he judged dangerous

• The Alien Enemies Act – allowed the president to imprison or banish the subjects of any hostile nation at will.

• The Sedition Act – made punishable by fine and imprisonment for anyone to conspire in opposition to the government. (Persecuted Republicans enlarged their interpretation of the freedom of the press)

The Election of 1800Jefferson and Adams ran again; this time, Jefferson won

Election of 1800

– Political tensions sometimes threatened to devolve into armed conflict

– Ideology of republicanism made activists vigilant protectors of liberty

– Federalists achievements capped by strengthening stability and order of nation’s society and foreign affairs

Political Violence in the Early Republic