The Nation Begins George Washington and our first
The Nation Begins: George Washington and our first Political Parties
Introduction n After the creation of the Constitution, it was time to put our government into action and begin solving some of the nation’s problems n George Washington would be responsible for setting precedents and solving problems that would influence future generations of presidents n n Precedent: An example or decision made for later generations These problems would cause divisions in our nation that would lead to our first political parties
1 st President: George Washington n In the nation’s first election, Washington received 100% of the electoral vote n n 2 nd place went to John Adams who became Vice President In his time in office, Washington set several precedents that other presidents would follow n n Served two terms in office Created a Cabinet Called himself Mr. President “So help me God” at the end of the Oath of Office
1 st President: George Washington Jefferson Hamilton n First order of business: Creating a Cabinet n Washington wanted to appoint advisors to help him with his duties as president. n Choose four men, most notably political enemies Alexander Hamilton (Secretary of Treasury) and Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State) n Why would Washington pick two people who disagreed on everything?
Problems in the Nation n With Washington as President and a Cabinet selected, the Nation needed to deal with its main national problem: n n Debt: Owing borrowed money to someone else DEBT Who did we owe? n n Foreign Nations: $11. 7 Million Bonds to our people: $40. 4 Million n Bond: Money loaned to the government by its people with the promise it will be repaid with interest.
Problems in the Nation n Washington turn to Hamilton (Secretary of the Treasury) to solve the problem n Hamilton’s plan: n n n Pay back all of the Bonds to the people Establish a National Bank Tax whiskey Pass a tariff on foreign Jefferson agreed only after Hamilton agreed to place the capital in the middle of the nation; Washington D. C.
In the middle of North and South Free State: Red Slave States: Blue
Problems in the New Nation n Hamilton’s plan works EXCEPT for one small problem… n n Upset the people are rising against another tax, Washington rides to PA with hundreds of men and stops the rebellion in its tracks n n The people hate the tax on Whiskey and they start a rebellion in Pennsylvania called the Whiskey Rebellion Farmers didn’t strike back out of fear/respect for Washington Significance: Proved that the government would enforce its laws no matter what
Political Parties: Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans n The differences between Jefferson and Hamilton would lead to the nation’s first political parties , John Adams , James Madison
Political Parties: Federalists v. Democratic-Republicans n After two terms, Washington walked away from office, giving advice to future generations…read excerpt with your table n n Excerpt 1: American need to be weary of political parties because they will stop listening to the issues and simply elect people due to their party, not their merit Excerpt 2: America should not trust long standing foreign treaties
2 nd President: John Adams (Federalist) defeats Jefferson (Democratic-Republican) to secede Washington as President n Adams was less secure then Washington, hated criticism n Passed the Sedition Act: Law making it illegal to criticize the 1 st government n n Violated the…Amendment Law was eventually overturned, but Adams would not win re-election four years later
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