Washington Leads a New Nation

The Big Idea

President Washington and members of Congress established a new national government.

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Main Ideas

• In 1789 George Washington became the first president of the United States.
• Congress and the president organized the executive and judicial branches of government.
• Americans had high expectations of their new government.

8.1

Vocabulary

electoral college - a body of electors who represent the people’s vote in choosing the president

precedent - an action or decision that later serves as an example

cabinet - Group of department heads who advise and support the president

George Washington - First president of the United States

Judiciary Act of 1789 – Law that created three levels of federal courts and defined their powers.

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The new nation sought its first president

• Americans saw George Washington as an honest man and a hero of the Revolution.
• Many Americans wanted him to be president.
• Washington had been looking forward to retirement on his Virginia plantation.
• Friends convinced him to run, arguing that his leadership was necessary to secure the success of the new national government.

George Washington was unanimously elected president

• In 1789 the first electoral college selected Washington unanimously
• John Adams was chosen to be vice president.
• First Lady Martha Washington entertained at social events.
• New York City was the first capital of the United States

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Check for Understanding

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• Was George Washington eager to become president? Explain.
• Why did many Americans want him to run?
• Explain the outcome of the first presidential election.

Executive Branch

• The new government would set precedents, or examples, for future action.

“The first of everything in our situation will serve to establish a precedent.” - - George Washington

• Congress created executive departments.
• The president’s cabinet served as his advisers.
• Alexander Hamilton was chosen secretary of the treasury, and Thomas Jefferson, secretary of state.

Congress and the president organized the executive branch

Washington

Jefferson

Hamilton

Congress and the president organized the judicial branch

• Judicial Branch
• Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 to set up the federal court system.
• The act created three levels of federal courts and defined powers.
• It set up federal district courts and circuit courts of appeal.
• The president nominated federal judges

First Chief Justice John Jay

• The United States had 4 million people in 1790. 95% lived in rural areas.
• Most were farmers, who wanted fair tax laws and the right to settle western lands.
• Merchants, laborers, and craftspeople wanted help with their businesses.
• The first capital was New York City—a trade center and economic hub of the nation, that had 33,000 people and was growing rapidly.

Americans had high expectations �of their new government.

Check for Understanding

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• Describe the population of the United States.
• Explain the different expectations Americans had for their new government.
• Where was the first U.S. capitol city, and why was that city chosen?

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Hamilton and National Finances

The Big Idea

Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton developed a �financial plan for the national government.

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Main Ideas

• Hamilton tackled the problem of settling national and state debt.
• Thomas Jefferson opposed Hamilton’s views on government and the economy.
• Hamilton created a national bank to strengthen the U.S. economy.

8.3.4

Vocabulary

national debt - money owed by the United States

bonds - certificates of debt that carry a promise to buy back the bonds at a higher price

 speculators - people who buy items at low prices in the hope that the value will rise and they will make a profit

  loose construction - the federal government can take reasonable actions that the Constitution does not specifically forbid

 strict construction - the federal government should do only what the Constitution specifically says it can do

 Bank of the United States - The country’s first national bank

Hamilton tackled the problem of settling national and state debt.

• Treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton’s biggest challenge was paying off the national debt (money owed by the United States).
• The United States owed $11.7 million to foreign countries and $40.4 million to U.S. citizens.
• Hamilton planned to pay foreign debt first, and all debt at full value.
• Some politicians, including Thomas Jefferson, opposed the plan, but Hamilton went ahead with it.

Check for Understanding

• How much money did the U.S. owe, and to whom following the war?
• What was Hamilton’s plan for paying off the national debt?

States’ Debts

• States owed $25 million for Revolutionary War expenses.
• Hamilton wanted the federal government to pay part of the states’ debts to help the national economy.
• The South did not want the federal government to pay states’ debts.
• Hamilton won the South’s support by getting northern approval to move the national capital from New York to Washington, D.C. (bordering Virginia and Maryland)
• The capitol was temporarily moved to Philadelphia while WA D.C was built from swampland.

Check for Understanding

• What was Hamilton’s plan for paying off state debt, and why?
• Why were many Southerners opposed to this plan?
• What compromise allowed Hamilton’s plan to gain Southern support?
• What were the first, second, and third locations of the capitol?

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Thomas Jefferson opposed Hamilton’s views on government and the economy.

Hamilton’s Views

• Believed in a strong central government
• Wanted a balance of power between the “mass of people” and wealthier citizens
• Wanted to promote manufacturing and business
• Wanted higher tariffs on foreign goods to protect American manufacturers

Jefferson’s Views

• Wanted to protect the states power
• Believed in the right of “the people” to rule the country
• Supported agriculture and farmers
• Wanted lower tariffs to keep costs low for goods farmers bought

Check for Understanding

• How did Jefferson and Hamilton differ in their view of government?
• How did Jefferson and Hamilton differ in their view of the economy?

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Hamilton created a national bank to strengthen the U.S. economy.

• Hamilton wanted a national bank in which the government could safely deposit its money.
• The bank would also make loans to the government and to businesses.
• Hamilton knew that states’ rights supporters would oppose his idea, so he suggested each state create a bank as well so the federal government would not have a monopoly.
• He also suggested limiting the bank to a 20-year charter.

First Bank of the United States

Check for Understanding

• List Hamilton’s reasons for wanting to create a national bank.
• What did Hamilton ask each state to create, and why?
• Why did Hamilton suggest limiting the band’s charter to 20 years?

• Jefferson and Madison said Hamilton’s economic plans gave too much power to the national government
• They believed the Constitution did not give Congress the power to create the bank.
• They favored a strict construction view of the Constitution:

— the government should do only what the Constitution says it can do.

Bank’s Opponents

“The Constitution allows only the means which are ‘necessary,’ not those which are merely ‘convenient.’”

– T. Jefferson

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Check for Understanding

• Why did Jefferson and Madison oppose about Hamilton’s plan for a national bank?
• What is meant by the term strict construction?
• Why would strict constructionists oppose a national bank?

Bank’s Supporters

• Hamilton believed in a loose construction of the Constitution:

—the government can take actions the Constitution does not forbid.

• President Washington and Congress agreed that the bank would provide stability for the U.S. economy.
• The Bank of the United States— the country’s first national bank—was chartered in 1791.

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Hamilton quoted the elastic clause, which states that Congress can “make all laws which shall be necessary and proper” to govern the nation.”

Check for Understanding

• What is the meaning of the term loose construction?
• Why would loose constructionists favor a national bank?
• Why did Congress and the president agree to create a national bank?
• What was the name of the country’s first national bank?