early america (1789-1860). main ideas washington & the new national government managing national...
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Early America (1789-1860)
Main Ideas
• Washington & the new national government• Managing national debt & banks• Political parties• Expanding west• Conflict & change
Washington & the New National Government
• Question to consider:– What steps did Washington take to make the new
government work?
Washington & the New National Government
• Washington inaugurated April 30, 1789• Setting up an executive office– Congress created three Cabinet departments to
help the President:– Members of the Cabinet advised the President
and directed their departments. Washington set a precedent by choosing well-known leaders to serve in the Cabinet:• Thomas Jefferson = Sec. of State• Alexander Hamilton = Sec. of Treasury• Henry Knox = Sec. of War
Washington & the New National Government
• Setting up a judicial branch– The Constitution created a judicial branch but did not
specify its format – Judiciary Act of 1789 created the Supreme Court, along
w/ a circuit of federal and district courts• Appeal process:
– decisions made by a state court could be appealed to a federal court on constitutional issues
• Federal supremacy: – federal laws > state laws
– Marbury v. Madison judicial review (S. Court can declare laws & acts of Congress “unconstitutional”)
Managing National Debt & Banks• Questions to consider:– What was Hamilton’s plan to reduce the nation’s
debt and build the economy?– What were the causes and results of the Whiskey
Rebellion?
Managing National Debt & Banks• The problem– The U.S. had a huge national debt—the total amount
of money that a government owes to others. – The national & state governments had borrowed by
issuing bonds—certificates that promise to repay the money loaned, plus interest, on a certain date.
• Hamilton’s plan– Establish a national bank funded by the gov’t AND
private investors– Buy up old bonds, issue new ones to keep trust of
investors & have money for debt repayment
Managing National Debt & Banks• The Debate
– Madison argued that Congress could not make a national bank if the Constitution didn’t set one up; plus many southern states had already paid THEIR debts
– Strict vs. loose interpretation of the Constitution• Strict: if the Constitution doesn’t say it, you can’t do it• Loose interpretation: How does the “necessary and proper”
clause fit in?– Congress can make any laws or set up institutions that
are “necessary and proper” for the country
• The compromise– Hamilton promised to support putting the nation’s capital in the
South if southerners agreed to his plan for repaying state debts.
Managing National Debt & Banks• Whiskey Rebellion– Causes
• To raise money for the Treasury, Congress approved an excise tax – tax on a product’s manufacture & sale – on whiskey
• Farmers who grew corn said was easier to get their product to market & make a profit if they turned their corn into whiskey.
– What did they do?• They rebelled, marching in protest and tarring and feathering
tax collectors.
– How did the federal gov’t respond?• Sent 13,000 militiamen (national army) to squash the
rebellion
Political Parties
• Many competing views in early America led to creation of separate parties – groups with similar ideologies and political goals
• Federalists – called for a strong central gov’t (Hamilton)
• Democratic-Republicans – wanted strong state gov’t (Jefferson)– Theory of this party is called “Jeffersonian
republicanism”
Political Parties• Election of 1800 – 1st time P & VP had the same
number of votes – tie-breaker• Election of 1824 – rift in the Republican party– “Jacksonians” accused another republican, Henry
Clay, of helping the other party win (he was appointed Sec. of State by Adams); corruption scandal
– Clay & his faction became the National Republican Party
– Jackson & his faction became the Democratic Party• Spoils system = hiring supporters and friends to
government positions
• Presidents– Jefferson (pg. 75, 113-114)– Madison (pg. 114)– Monroe (pg. 116-117)– Jackson (pg. 123-126)
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