Topic 6

The Washington Administration

1789-1797

A. Washington

1. Not an easy man to know or like – Was determined to be “presidential” and perhaps went too far; tended to be very formal and at times distant (and that is the way he has come down to us through history).
2. Has tended to come down to us as more of a monument than a man, but like us all he had his shortcomings: bad temper, did not like criticism.
3. In 1759 he married a Virginia widow, Martha Custis. Something of a marriage of convenience: she wanted a husband; he wanted her wealth (17,000 acres of land and 300 slaves). And while it did last, it does not appear to have been a passionate relationship. And the real love of his life was Sally Fairfax.
4. Hate to tell you, but he did not chop down that cherry tree! Story made up by Reverend Mason Weems.
5. On the other hand, a determined man not easily discouraged and had excellent judgment. Given a range of choices, he almost always made the right choice.
6. After his inauguration on April 30, 1789, Washington and the new Congress went to work handling the task of….

B. Filling in the Gaps (taking the steps required to make the new government work and last!)

1. The Bill of Rights – Congressman James Madison assumed the leadership and proposed a number of amendments to the Constitution. Eventually, 10 of 12 proposed amendments were ratified by the states.

2. Revenue – Revenue Act of 1789 – Tariff duties would be the main source of income for the new government. July 4, 1789

3. The Judicial Branch and the Judiciary Act of 1789 -

– Supreme Court – A chief justice and 5 associate justices

– 13 federal district courts (the lesser courts)

– Created the office of the Attorney General – Edmund Randolph

– Section 13 – gave the Supreme Court the authority to issue writs of mandamus – later!

4. The Executive Branch – Summer and fall of 1789

– State –

– War –

– Treasury –

– Washington did not rush to make his choices; wanted the best men to serve with him

C. Hamilton and the Hamiltonian Financial System

1. A couple of his basic ideas:

– Strong, active national government

– The common people – Did not trust them! Instead, he put his faith in the wealthy, the merchants and planters. These were the most capable and trustworthy members of our society. (Think of Highland Park, Beverly Drive etc.!)

2. Hamilton’s Goals:

– Pay off the debt created by the Continental Congress

– Get the wealthy to support the new national government by getting the government to follow policies that would benefit these people economically. If the government put money in their pockets, they would rally around the government and give it their support.

• How? One way he would put money in their pockets would be by paying off the debt of the CC. Most of this was owed to wealthy Americans. If the government paid off this debt, the wealthy would rally around the government and give it their support.

– Encourage the growth of American industry

D. Hamilton’s Reports to Congress

Report	What was proposed	What happened
Report on the Public Credit, Jan 1790	Funding of the national debt - $54 million Assumption of the state debts - $25 million	Hamilton got both enacted after agreeing to get enough northern votes in Congress to locate the permanent capital in the South.
Second Report on the Public Credit, Dec 1790	A federal excise tax on all liquor produced in the U.S.	Congress passed tax in Mar 1791 Very unpopular in the West and led to outbreak of Whiskey Rebellion in PA in 1794
Report on a National Bank, Jan 1791	Creation of a Bank of the U.S. (really a banking system) Bank would sell 25,000 shares of stock (federal government would buy 1/5, private investors the rest)	Touched off a fierce debate between Jefferson (strict constructionist view of the Constitution) and Hamilton (loose constructionist view) Congress passed Bank bill in Feb 1791 and Washington signed into law. Jefferson very disappointed!
Report on Manufactures, Dec 1791	Hamilton proposed steps to encourage growth of manufacturing – annual awards to outstanding American companies.	Congress shelved this report and did nothing.

E. Evaluation of Hamilton’s Program – Many contributions!

– Restored public faith in the credit of the U.S. government and this public faith helped place the new government on a sound financial foundation! (In other words, because people had faith in this new government, they were willing, mostly, to pay taxes and buy its bonds.)

– Through the Bank of the US, it provided the country with one of the strongest banking systems in the world.

– Through bank notes issued by the BUS, it provided the country with a type of paper money trusted and accepted everywhere in the country, and that was certainly good for business!

– But ….

F. The Rise of the first Political Parties

1. Were not any political parties when Washington took office in 1789.. Thanks to Hamilton’s program, by 1792, two parties were starting to take shape, Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans

2. Those who benefited directly from Hamilton’s financial program supported the program and began calling themselves Federalists – Merchants, and bankers living mostly in the North and Northeast.

3. And those who did not benefit directly opposed it and began calling themselves Republicans (not to be confused with the present-day Republican Party) – Planters and small farmers, especially in the South and West.

4. At first the two got along well enough; often met to discuss issues of the day, and the meetings were always pleasant. But it did not last because of their deep, underlying conflict of views!

5. Conflict of views:

Jefferson	Hamilton
The smaller the federal government the better	Favored a strong, active central government
Weak executive and a strong Congress	Strong executive and a weak Congress
A nation of farmers – the farmers were God’s chosen people	Favored industry over farming
Trusted the people – properly educated, the people could be trusted to govern themselves.	Did not really trust the common folk – wanted government controlled by the wealthy and well-born, the refined, etc., in other words the American aristocracy!
Disliked confrontation	Loved a good controversy

6. Turning point actually came in 1791 with the passage of the Bank bill. Jefferson hated banks (not much different from houses of prostitution!). Became convinced that Hamilton wanted to destroy the republic and establish a monarchy backed by corrupt bankers who would feed off the common people.

7. Began taking steps to oppose Hamilton. Could not oppose Washington as he was the nation’s hero, but could oppose Hamilton.

– “Botanizing tour” of New York and New England – Looking for political allies outside the South.

– Jefferson and Madison persuaded their friend Philip Freneau to organize an opposition newspaper, The National Gazette (to oppose The Gazette of the United States, the Fox News of its day!) While The Gazette of the U.S. was constantly praising Hamilton, The National Gazette began constantly lampooning him and his program.

G. The election of 1792

1. Jefferson and his people were upset by Washington’s support of Hamilton’s program, but they knew they could not oppose Washington. He was untouchable!

2. So, they would oppose John Adams by trying to get one of their own people elected Vice President: George Clinton of NY

3. Washington reelected – got one vote from every member of the Electoral College.

4. Adams also reelected, but not as easily as Washington.

– Adams – 77 electoral votes

– Clinton – 50 electoral votes

5. To sum up:

Jeffersonian Republicans	Federalists
A limited national government and states rights	A strong, active national government
Strict interpretation of the Constitution	Loose interpretation of the Constitution
Favored farming over trade and manufacturing	Wanted America to industrialize: industry was the path to national greatness
Trusted the common people – Let the people govern!	Suspicious of the common people and wanted the American aristocracy to be in charge and to maintain law and order and protect property rights

H. Washington’s Second Term – The focus changed to foreign affairs

1. Pro-English Federalists vs. the Pro-French Republicans

2. Basic question was, which way is America going to lean, toward England or toward France? This became the great question during Washington’s second term and the question widened the gulf between Federalists and Republicans.

3. The event that pushed foreign policy “front and center” during Washington’s second term was the French Revolution and war in Europe

– At first moderate in character and most Americans applauded

– Did not remain moderate, however – Girondins came to power

– Jefferson and Madison generally approved what was happening

– Hamilton horrified by the mob rule overtaking the country

– Girondins bitter opponents of royal government and in February 1793 France declared war on England

4. Washington’s neutrality

– Question facing Washington: what to do?

– Did not want war, but…

– Finally decided we were not obligated to fight unless France asked us to come in and fight.

– April 22, 1793 Washington issued his Neutrality Proclamation – America not taking sides and Americans would be “friendly and impartial” toward all countries.

5. Despite neutrality, war with England a real possibility by 1794

6. England and Jay’s Treaty – November 1794 – Probably the most unpopular treaty the U.S. government has ever signed!

7. Spain and Pinckney’s Treaty – October 1795 Spain gave us everything we wanted!

8. The Election of 1796 and Washington’s Farewell Address

9. A final note: without intending to do so, he set the precedent for the president only serving two terms, and this held until 1940.

Topic 6 Review

• What gaps had to be filled in to make the new government work?
• What were Hamilton’s goals as Secretary of the Treasury?
• What did Hamilton propose in each of his reports?
• What were the economic and political effects of Hamilton’s program?
• Jay’s Treaty – What were its provisions and why was it so unpopular? Pinckney’s Treaty – What were its provisions and why it was so popular?

• What part of the Farewell Address had the greatest influence on the American people and on American history?

• Election of 1796 – What was its significance?