Themes in U.S. History
Chapter 10
American Diversity
1790 census: 4 million
Philadelphia 42,000; New York 33,000; Boston 18,000; Charleston 16,000; Baltimore 13,000;
American Identity
Culture
The Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794 was lead by distillers who strongly opposed the 1791 excise tax on whiskey. The rebellion was ended when President Washington sent in federal troops. Although the troops faced no opposition, a strong message was sent by the government stating that it would enforce the law.
Demographic Changes
Pop. Doubled every 25 years
Pop. Was 90% rural
5% lived west of the App. Mts.
Economic Transformations
To get VA to approve of Hamilton’s plans they had to agree to place the forthcoming federal district, the District of Columbia, which would bring commerce and prestige on the Potomac River (1790)
Hamilton expected tariff revenues to pay interest on the huge debt and run the government. - The first tariff law, which imposed a low tax of 8% on the value of imports, was passed by Congress in 1789. Its purpose was to create revenue and to create a small protective wall around small industries. He passed additional internal revenue and, in 1791, convinced Congress to pass an excise tax on a few domestic items, notably whiskey.
Hamilton prevailed and the 1st Bank of the United States was created in 1791. Its charter lasted for 20 years and was located in Philadelphia. (The gov’t owned 1/5)
Environment
Globalization
1800 – Napoleon Bonaparte “Little Corporal”
Politics and Citizenship
Washington was unanimously drafted as president by the Electoral College in 1789 – took office on April 30, 1789
Est. the cabinet - Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, and Secretary of War Henry Knox
Written by James Madison the BILL OF RIGHTS were adopted in 1791
The Judiciary Act of 1789 created the Supreme Court, with a chief justice and five associates, as well as federal district and circuit courts, and established the office of attorney general
1st Chief Justice: John Jay
Alexander Hamilton – Treasury Secretary – wanted the national debt to be paid in par (meaning that the federal government would pay off its debts at face value plus accumulated interest) benefited wealthy people; he also wanted the federal gov’t to take on states’ debts (favored by states with large debt)
Washington left office in 1797
John Adams beat Thomas Jefferson to become to the 2nd President in 1797.
The dictator of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, signed the Convention of 1800 with American representative John Jay. It annulled the peace treaty between France and America and called for France to pay the damage claims of American shippers.
In order to decrease the number of pro-Jeffersonians, the Federalist Congress passed a series of oppressive laws aimed at "aliens", or foreigners who came to America and supported Jefferson.
These Alien Laws raised the residence requirements for aliens who desired to become citizens from 5 years to 14 years. They also stated that the President could deport or jail foreigners in times of peace or hostilities.
The Sedition Act stated that anyone who impeded the policies of the government or falsely defamed its officials would be liable to a heavy fine and imprisonment.
Jefferson's Kentucky resolution and Madison's Virginia resolution concluded that the states had the right to refuse laws created by the government. Virtually no other state followed the two states' resolutions
Reform
1793: Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans and Hamilton Federalists
Hamilton became the leader of the Federalist Party, known as the "High Federalists."
Religion
Slavery and Its Legacies in North America
War and Diplomacy
The French Revolution started in 1789 - the Federalists supported the revolution but that view suddenly changed when the attitude of the revolution changed
Washington issued the Neutrality Proclamation of 1793 stating the country's neutrality from the Britain-France war.
In a last attempt to avoid war, President Washington sent Chief Justice John Jay to London in 1794 to negotiate. Opposed by Democratic-Republicans, Jay hammered out a treaty, Jay's Treaty, in which the British promised to evacuate the chain of posts on U.S. soil and pay for damages for the seizures of American ships. Britain stopped short of pledging anything about future maritime seizures or about supplying arms to Indians. The treaty also called for the U.S. to continue to pay the debts owed to British merchants on pre-Revolutionary War accounts.
Jay's Treaty caused Spain, which feared an Anglo-American alliance, to strike a deal with the U.S. In Pinckney's Treaty of 1795 with Spain, Spain granted the Americans free navigation of the Mississippi River and the large disputed territory north of Florida.
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