THE Administration OF George Washington PDF

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THE Administration OF George Washington
Lecture notes - Antoinette Hudson...

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THE PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION OF GEORGE WASHINGTON

George Washington was the first President of the United States of America. The Electoral College voted unanimously for him to be president. He was the only person voted unanimously by the Electoral College (in American history to date).

John Adams was elected as Vice-President. After President Washington took office, he “selected” a cabinet. The U.S. Constitution does not say anything about the president having a cabinet, but it does say he can bring people in for advice and consent. Based on that statement the President of the United States selects a cabinet. THE FIRST CABINET POSITIONS (were created by Congress in 1789) Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton Secretary of War: Henry Knox Attorney General: Edmund Randolph *The office of Vice-President of the United States is not part of the Presidential cabinet. The Vice-President is part of the administration. After Washington became President, the U.S. Congress passed the BILL OF RIGHTS. These are the first Ten Amendment to the constitution. They guarantee certain rights to the American citizen. They were authored by James Madison. The 2nd bill that congress passed was the Judiciary Act 1789. The Terms 1. The U.S. Supreme Court would consist of 5 justices and a Chief Justice (six members). 2. Created thirteen District Courts with one judge apiece 3. Created three Circuit Court of Appeal (consisted of one district judge, and two Supreme Court judges). 4. The U.S. Supreme Court had the power to rule on the constitutionality of state laws. Mr. Washington believed firmly that the President of the United States should not get involved in any controversy; therefore, he did not get involved with congress or the deliberations of congress. As a result of this philosophy the most dominate person in his administration became his Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. Alexander Hamilton exerted an aristocratic philosophy in politics and manners; He was outgoing, charming, brash, conservative and a financial genius at the age of 34. He was also an Anglophile. He believed in a powerful central government based on implied power. He also believed that the new government needed the support of the wealthy and powerful; in order to enlist the help of the wealthy he came up with a four-part-plan, also known as the Federalist Plan to get the country out of debt, and to give the wealthier citizens a bigger stake in the success of the new government. Hamilton established America’s banking system which was modeled after the British banking system.

THE FEDERALIST PLAN 1. Payment of Debts (Funding the debt): The new government should take the responsibility for the exiting public debt. During the American Revolutionary War, and after the war, the Continental Congress had issued certificates of indebtedness to various individuals. As a result of hard financial trouble, the people that first owned these certificates had sold them to wealthy speculators. Hamilton wanted the new government to “call-in” these certificates and exchange them for interest-bearing bonds at a specific rate. 2. Assumption of state debt: Hamilton wanted the federal government to “assume” the debt the states had accumulated during the revolution; this assumption policy would encourage states as well as the federal bondholder to look to the central government for payment. Hamilton did not envision paying off the debt, instead he wanted to create a large and permanent national debt, with new bonds being issued as old ones were paid off. He was hoping that the creditor—the wealthy class most likely—would lend more money to the government. They would have a permanent stake in seeing the government succeed. 3. The establishment of a national bank: Hamilton said the government needed a bank to carry out its financial functions, but the constitution did not give the government the power to establish a bank. Thomas Jefferson, a strict constructionist (someone who follows the constitution to the letter), told Hamilton that if he wanted to create a national bank, he would have to get the constitution amended. But Hamilton reminded Jefferson that there was a clause in the constitution that says… “Congress may enact all laws necessary to carry out its function.” That clause gave him permission to establish a bank. They both took their argument to President Washington, who decided in Hamilton’s favor. The United States established the Bank of the United States with ten (10) million dollars. 4. The promotion of manufacturing and Industry with tariffs: To off-set the interest on money loaned to the government Hamilton proposed two new kinds of taxes: a. A tariff on imports: This tariff would raise revenue but would also protect American manufacturing from foreign competition. It did not benefit small farmers. b. An excise tax to be paid by distillers of alcoholic liquors: This tax would fall heavily on distillers of backcountry farmers, especially in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. These were small farmers who converted part of their corn and rye crop into whiskey. Few members of Congress objected to Hamilton’s plan for funding the national debt, but many did oppose his proposal to accept the debt “at par,” that is at “face value.” The old certificates had been sold to the speculators at half the value, but Hamilton wanted to pay the person who currently held the certificate the full value of the certificate. Some members of the congress wanted to split the difference between the old and new holder. Hamilton and his allies argued that this would be impractical, and the honor of the government required that it pay the bondholders themselves, not the original owner who had sold their bonds on their own accord. Congress finally passed the funding bill Hamilton wanted. The Assumption of state debts was also met with many objections. His opponents argued that if the federal government took over state debts, the people of each states with few debts would have to pay taxes to service the larger debts of other states. Hamilton, and his allies struck a bargain with the Virginians to win passage of the bill. This deal involved the location of the national capital.

As a result of Hamilton’s Federalist Plan many of the “common people” who were farmers and small merchants felt this government served the interest of the wealthy elites. This feeling of being left out resulted in the rise of political parties. The U.S. Constitution does not mention political parties, and political parties were omitted intentionally, because many of the framers believed political parties were dangerous. But despite this belief many of the opponents to Alexander Hamilton and his Federalist program felt he had become too radical, and that there should be some sort of opposition to what had become the Federalist Political Party. The result of this opposition led to the organization of the Democratic-Republican Political Party which represented the common man (this was not the rise of the Democratic and Republican political parties of today). Alexander Hamilton was the leader of the Federalist, and the leaders of the Democratic-Republican party were Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. By the 1790s the Democratic-Republicans had started growing. It formed committees, and caucuses, and they were corresponding with one another across the country. They worked tireless to influence state and local elections. They considered themselves the “party of the people,” and their goal was to protect the country from what they considered the corrupt Federalist Party. The Federalists believed they represented the only legitimate interest of the government. The rise of these two political factions became known as the First Party System. President Washington’s most troubling problems were in foreign policy. This was due to the fact that the Colonials had broken away from England, and as a result, America was looked upon with suspect by most European powers who did not want their citizens to rebel against them. Despite the fact that America was now free of English rule, the English still maintained the right to impress and violate our neutrality. This was very upsetting to the American citizens, who wanted to go to war with England again. President Washington knew we could not sustain a war with England, because America did not have a military, or the financial means to sustain a war, so he sought a diplomatic answer to these problems. He sent John Jay, to work out a treaty with England to end impressment. This treaty is known as Jay Treaty. (John Jay was the first Chief Justice to the U.S. Supreme Court). JOHN JAY’S MISSION: 1. Removal of the British forts on U. S. frontier territory 2. Get the British to pay for American ships they seized in the British West Indies. 3. Improve the commercial relationship between England and America in the West Indies. 4. End the British involvement in the northwest fur trade industry 5. Get England to compensate southern plantation owners for the slaves the British took out of the south during the Revolution.

TERMS OF JAY’S TREATY 1. The British agreed to leave the Western forts they should have left in 1783

2. The British agreed to compensate American ship owners for vessel seized in the West Indies, (but only after America pay her prewar debts to British merchants). 3. The British agreed to allow America the right to trade in their territories. 4. American promised not to discriminate against British shipping. 5. American promised to pay her pre-revolutionary debts owed to British merchants with interest. 6. England agreed to recognize America’s sovereignty over the Northwest Territory. This treaty angered many Americans especially southerners because: 1. It required them to pay their pre-war debts to the British merchant, but it said nothing about the slaves the British had carried off during the revolution. 2. The Royal Navy would continue to search American vessels on the high seas, and they would continue to impress sailors suspected of being British citizens. President Washington was not happy with the treaty. He submitted it to congress without recommending it be ratified. After much debate Jay’s Treaty was ratified. PICKNEY’S TREATY: This was a treaty between America and Spain. It originated because Spain saw Jay’s Treaty as a threat to its North American holdings and they were also worried about this new alliance between Britain and the United States. To secure their North American holdings Spain entered into a treaty with America as well. It was negotiated by Thomas Pinckney (he was from South Carolina). TERMS OF PINCKNEY’S TREATY: 1. Spain agreed to recognize the American version of the boundary between the United States and Louisiana. 2. Spain agreed to open the Mississippi River up to American navigation. 3. Spain agreed to grant Americans the “Right of Deposit” in New Orleans. a. The “Right of Deposit” allowed Americans to store their exports in New Orleans, and carry out the commercial transaction needed to dispose of them. *Pinckney’s Treaty was favorable to the south, and softened the ill-feeling of Jay’s Treaty. As the threat of war eased, the west opened up for settlement, and the economy was in good shape; George Washington decided not to run for a third term as president. He was tired, and in failing health. The Framers of the Constitution did not have a limit on how many times a man could be elected president at this time, the term was set at four years. As President he presided over 4 million people, and approximately 900,000 square miles of territory. During his administration the following states were added to the union: Vermont, Kentucky, and Tennessee. GEORGE WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDERSS: 1. He encouraged the America citizens to voice their opposition to policies they disliked, but through constitutional peaceful ways. 2. He urged American to not align themselves with political parties. 3. He shared his fear that the country showed signs of sectionalism. He was afraid too many American pledged their allegiance to the north or to south and not to the United States. 4. He warned against the entangled traps of foreign countries....