182 CHAPTER 6

Terms & NamesTerms & NamesMAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

One American's Story

Washington Headsthe New Government

WHY IT MATTERS NOWWHY IT MATTERS NOW

George Washington had no desire to be president after theConstitutional Convention. His dream was to settle down toa quiet life at his Virginia estate, Mount Vernon. TheAmerican people had other ideas, though. They wanted astrong national leader of great authority as their first presi-dent. As the hero of the Revolution, Washington was theunanimous choice in the first presidential ballot. When thenews reached him on April 16, 1789, Washington reluctantlyaccepted the call to duty. Two days later he set out for NewYork City to take the oath of office.

A PERSONAL VOICE GEORGE WASHINGTON

“ About ten o’clock I bade adieu [farewell] to Mount Vernon,to private life, and to domestic felicity [happiness]; and witha mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensationsthan I have words to express, set out for New York . . . withthe best dispositions [intentions] to render service to mycountry in obedience to its call, but with less hope ofanswering its expectations.”

—The Diaries of George Washington

When Washington took office as the first president of theUnited States under the Constitution, he and Congress faced a daunting task—tocreate an entirely new government. The momentous decisions that these earlyleaders made have resounded through American history.

The New Government Takes ShapeWashington took charge of a political system that was a bold experiment. Neverbefore had a nation tried to base a government on the Enlightenment ideals ofrepublican rule and individual rights. No one knew if a government based on thewill of the people could really work.

President Washingtontransformed the ideas of the Constitution into a real government.

The Cabinet, an institutionWashington created, is still a key element of every presidentialadministration.

George Washington

•Judiciary Act of 1789

•AlexanderHamilton

•Cabinet•Bank of theUnited States

•Democratic-Republicans

•two-party system•protective tariff•excise tax

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Although the Constitution provided a strong foundation, it was not adetailed blueprint for governing. To create a working government, Washingtonand Congress had to make many practical decisions—such as how to raise rev-enue and provide for defense—with no precedent, or prior example, for Americanleaders to follow. Perhaps James Madison put it best: “We are in a wilderness with-out a single footstep to guide us.”

JUDICIARY ACT OF 1789 One of the first tasksWashington and Congress tackled was the creation of ajudicial system. The Constitution had authorized Congressto set up a federal court system, headed by a Supreme Court,but it failed to spell out the details. What type of addition-al courts should there be and how many? What would hap-pen if federal court decisions conflicted with state laws?

The Judiciary Act of 1789 answered these criticalquestions, creating a judicial structure that has remainedessentially intact. This law provided for a Supreme Courtconsisting of a chief justice and five associate justices. It alsoset up 3 federal circuit courts and 13 federal district courtsthroughout the country. (The numbers of justices andcourts increased over time.) Section 25 of the Judiciary Act,one of the most important provisions of the law, allowedstate court decisions to be appealed to a federal court whenconstitutional issues were raised. This section guaranteedthat federal laws remained “the supreme Law of the Land,”as directed by Article 6 of the Constitution.

WASHINGTON SHAPES THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH Atthe same time that Congress shaped the judiciary,Washington faced the task of building an executive branchto help him make policies and carry out the laws passed byCongress. In 1789, when Washington took office, the exec-utive branch of government consisted of only twoofficials, the president and the vice-president. Tohelp these leaders govern, Congress created threeexecutive departments: the Department of State,to deal with foreign affairs; the Department ofWar, to handle military matters; and theDepartment of the Treasury, to manage finances.

To head these departments, Washingtonchose capable leaders he knew and trusted. Hepicked Thomas Jefferson as secretary of state,Alexander Hamilton as secretary of the trea-sury, and Henry Knox, who had served asWashington’s general of artillery during theRevolution, as secretary of war. Finally, he choseEdmund Randolph as attorney general, the chieflawyer of the federal government. These depart-ment heads soon became the president’s chiefadvisers, or Cabinet.

Launching the New Nation 183

NOWNOW THENTHEN

THE CABINETThe Constitution providedPresident Washington and his suc-cessors the right to “require theopinion, in writing, of the principalofficer in each of the executivedepartments.” Washington choseto seek those opinions, in person,on a regular basis. In 1793,James Madison called the assem-bled secretaries the Cabinet, aterm used in Britain for advisersto the king.

Since Washington’s time thenumber of departments hasincreased to 14. In addition to thesecretaries of these 14 depart-ments, Cabinet officers alsoinclude the director of the CentralIntelligence Agency, the adminis-trator of the EnvironmentalProtection Agency, and the vice-president. The Cabinet meets atthe request of the president andfrequency varies from administra-tion to administration.

President Washington (far right) meets with his first Cabinet:(from left to right) Henry Knox, Thomas Jefferson, EdmundRandolph (with back turned), and Alexander Hamilton.

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A. Answer Ifstates couldpass laws thatcontradictedfederal law, theauthority of thefederal govern-ment might beundermined andjeopardize thestability of theUnion.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

A

AnalyzingMotives

Why didfederal law have tobe “the supremeLaw of the Land”in the new nation?

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Hamilton and Jefferson DebateHamilton and Jefferson were brilliant thinkers, but they had very different polit-ical ideas. The differences between the two also caused bitter disagreements,many of which centered on Hamilton’s plan for the economy.

HAMILTON AND JEFFERSON IN CONFLICT Political divisions in the newnation were great. No two men embodied these differences more than Hamiltonand Jefferson. Hamilton believed in a strong central government led by a pros-perous, educated elite of upper-class citizens. Jefferson distrusted a strong centralgovernment and the rich. He favored strong state and local governments rootedin popular participation. Hamilton believed that commerce and industry werethe keys to a strong nation. Jefferson favored a society of farmer-citizens.

Overall, Hamilton’s vision of America was that of a country much likeGreat Britain, with a strong central government, commerce, and industry. Hisviews found more support in the North, particularly New England, whereasJefferson’s views won endorsement in the South and the West.

HAMILTON’S ECONOMICPLAN As secretary of the trea-sury, Hamilton’s job was to setin order the nation’s financesand to put the nation’s econo-my on a firm footing. To dothis, he proposed a plan tomanage the country’s debts anda plan to establish a nationalbanking system.

According to Hamilton’scalculations in his Report on thePublic Credit, the public debt ofthe United States in 1790 (mostof it incurred during theRevolution) was many millionsof dollars. The national govern-ment was responsible for abouttwo-thirds of this debt, andindividual states were responsi-ble for the rest. The new nationowed some of the debt to for-eign governments and some toprivate citizens, including sol-diers who had received bonds—certificates that promised pay-ment plus interest—as paymentfor their service during the war.

Hamilton proposed to payoff the foreign debt and to issuenew bonds to cover the oldones. He also proposed that thefederal government assume thedebts of the states. Althoughthis would increase the federaldebt, Hamilton reasoned thatassuming state debts wouldgive creditors—the people who

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KEY PLAYERSKEY PLAYERS

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

BContrasting

How didJefferson’s andHamilton’s viewsof governmentdiffer?

SkillbuilderAnswers1. Hamilton’s,because hefavored wealthy,educated peo-ple in govern-ment positionsand favored thenational bank.2. Jefferson:Believed thatpeople werebasically goodand needed littlegovernment.Hamilton:feared that gov-ernment by thepeople wouldmean “mobrule” and that astrong centralgovernment runby an educatedelite was need-ed to control the“common” people.

B. Answer Jeffersonemphasized therights of statesand average cit-izens. Hamiltonemphasized therights of thenational govern-ment and theruling elite.

THOMAS JEFFERSON1743–1826

The writer of the Declaration of Independence, ThomasJefferson began his politicalcareer at age 26, when hewas elected to Virginia’s colo-nial legislature. In 1779 hewas elected governor ofVirginia, and in 1785 he wasappointed minister to France.He served as secretary ofstate from 1790 to 1793. A Southern planter, Jeffersonwas also an accomplishedscholar, the architect ofMonticello (his Virginia house),an inventor (of, among otherthings, a machine that madecopies of letters), and thefounder of the University ofVirginia in 1819. Despite hiselite background and his own-ership of slaves, he was astrong ally of the small farmerand average citizen.

ALEXANDER HAMILTON1755–1804

Born into poverty in theBritish West Indies,Alexander Hamilton wasorphaned at age 13 and wentto work as a shipping clerk.He later made his way toNew York, where he attendedKing’s College (now ColumbiaUniversity). He joined thearmy during the Revolutionand became an aide toGeneral Washington.Intensely ambitious, Hamiltonquickly moved up in society.Although in his humble ori-gins Hamilton was the oppo-site of Jefferson, he had littlefaith in the common citizenand sided with the interestsof upper-class Americans.Hamilton said of Jefferson’sbeloved common people:“Your people, sir, your peopleis a great beast!”

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originally loaned the money—an incentive to support the new federal government.If the government failed, these creditors would never get their money back.However, this proposal made many people in the South furious. Some Southernstates had already paid off most of their debts. Southerners resented assumption ofstate debts because they thought that they would be taxed to help pay the debtsincurred by the Northern states.

PLAN FOR A NATIONAL BANK Hamilton’s line of reasoning also motivated hisproposal for a national bank that would be funded by both the federal govern-ment and wealthy private investors. Hamilton hoped to tie wealthy investors tothe country’s welfare. The Bank of the United States would issue papermoney and handle tax receipts and other government funds.

Hamilton’s proposals aroused a storm of controversy. Opponents of anational bank, including James Madison, claimed that the bank would forge anunhealthy alliance between the government and wealthy business interests.Madison also argued that since the Constitution made no provision for a national bank, Congress had no right to authorize it. This argument beganthe debate between those who favored a “strict” interpretation of theConstitution, one in which the federal government has very limited powers,and a “loose” interpretation, which favors greater federal powers. The lattergroup appealed to the so-called elastic clause of the Constitution (Article 1,Section 8, Clause 18), which gives Congress the authority to do whatever is “nec-essary and proper” to carry out its specific enumerated powers, such as regulatingcommerce. In the end, however, Hamilton convinced Washington and a major-ity in Congress to accept his views, and the federal government established theBank of the United States.

THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA To win support for his debt plan fromSouthern states, Hamilton offered a suggestion: What if the nation’s capitalwere moved from New York City to a new city in the South, on the banks of thePotomac River? This idea pleased Southerners, particularly Virginians such asMadison and Jefferson, who believed that a Southern site for the capital wouldmake the government more responsive to their interests. With this incentive,Virginians agreed to back the debt plan. In 1790, the debt bill passed Congress,along with authorization for the construction of a new national capital in theDistrict of Columbia, located between Maryland and Virginia.

Launching the New Nation 185

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

C

AnalyzingIssues

Why did thenew nation needto pay off itsdebts?

Contrasting Views of the Federal Government

HAMILTON• Concentrating power in federal

government• Fear of mob rule• Republic led by a well-educated elite

• Loose interpretation of the Constitution• National bank constitutional

(loose interpretation)• Economy based on shipping

and manufacturing • Payment of national and state debts

(favoring creditors)• Supporters: merchants, manufacturers,

landowners, investors, lawyers, clergy

JEFFERSON• Sharing power with state and local

governments; limited national government• Fear of absolute power or ruler• Democracy of virtuous farmers

and tradespeople

• Strict interpretation of the Constitution• National bank unconstitutional

(strict interpretation)• Economy based on farming

• Payment of only the national debt (favoring debtors)

• Supporters: the “plain people” (farmers, tradespeople)

SKILLBUILDER Interpreting Charts1. Whose view of the federal government was a wealthy person more likely to favor? Why?2. How do you think Jefferson differed from Hamilton in his view of people and human nature?

C. Answer Demonstratingthat the newgovernment wasfinanciallyresponsiblewould make itmore credible in the eyes ofcreditors,including foreigngovernments,and bolster thegovernment’sreputation.

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Pierre L’Enfant, a French engi-neer, drew up plans for the newcapital. L’Enfant was later fired byGeorge Washington for being obsti-nate. He was replaced by AndrewEllicott, who redrew L’Enfant’splan, but kept much of the grandvision. An African-American sur-veyor, Benjamin Banneker, assistedEllicott with the surveying work.They made their plan on a grandscale, incorporating boulevards,traffic circles, and monuments rem-iniscent of European capitals. By1800, the capital had been movedto its new site on the Potomac.

The First Political Parties and RebellionPresident Washington tried to remain above the arguments between Hamiltonand Jefferson and to encourage them to work together despite their basic differ-ences. These differences were so great, however, that the two men continued toclash over government policy. Their conflict divided the cabinet and fueled agrowing division in national politics.

FEDERALISTS AND DEMOCRATIC-REPUBLICANS The split in Washington’scabinet helped give rise to the country’s first political parties. The two partiesformed around one of the key issues in American history—the power and size ofthe federal government in relation to state and local governments. Those whoshared Hamilton’s vision of a strong central government called themselvesFederalists. Those who supported Jefferson’s vision of strong state governmentscalled themselves Republicans. No relation to today’s Republican Party, Jefferson’sRepublicans—later called Democratic-Republicans—were in fact the ancestorsof today’s Democratic Party.

The very existence of political parties worried many leaders, includingWashington, who saw parties as a danger to national unity. At the close of hispresidency, Washington criticized what he called “the spirit of party.”

A PERSONAL VOICE GEORGE WASHINGTON

“ It serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public adminis-tration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another; foments [incites] occasionallyriot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruption. . . .”

—“Farewell Address,” 1796

Despite criticism, the two parties continued to develop. The two-party sys-tem was well established by the time Washington left office.

THE WHISKEY REBELLION During Washington’s second term, an incidentoccurred that reflected the tension between federal and regional interests. In1789, Congress had passed a protective tariff, an import tax on goods producedin Europe. This tax, meant to encourage American production, brought in a greatdeal of revenue, but Secretary Hamilton wanted more. So he pushed through anexcise tax—a tax on a product’s manufacture, sale, or distribution—to be leviedon the manufacture of whiskey.

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BackgroundIn addition to pro-moting Americangoods, the TariffAct of 1789, aswell as tariffs that followed, providedthe majority of thefederal govern-ment’s revenueuntil the 20th century.

MAIN IDEAMAIN IDEA

DContrasting

How did theFederalists andthe Democratic-Republicans differfrom each other?

D. Answer Federalistsbelieved in astrong centralgovernment,whereasDemocratic-Republicansbelieved in alimited centralgovernment.

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Pierre L’Enfantproposed afederal capital ofspacious, tree-lined boulevards,symbolizing thefreedom of theyoung republic.

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Most whiskey producers were small frontier farmers. Their major crop wascorn. Corn was too bulky to carry across the Appalachian Mountains and sell inthe settled areas along the Atlantic. Therefore, the farmers distilled the corn intowhiskey, which could be more easily sent to market on the backs of mules.

Since whiskey was the main source of cash for these frontier farmers,Hamilton knew that the excise tax would make them furious. And it did. In 1794,farmers in western Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax. They beat up federal mar-shals in Pittsburgh, and they even threatened to secede from the Union.

Hamilton looked upon the Whiskey Rebellion as an opportunity for the federal government to show that it could enforce the law along the western fron-tier. Accordingly, some 15,000 militiamen were called up. Accompanied byWashington part of the way and by Hamilton all the way, the federal troops hikedover the Alleghenies and scattered the rebels without the loss of a single life.

The Whiskey Rebellion was a milestone in the consolidation of federal powerin domestic affairs. At the same time, the new government was also facing criti-cal problems and challenges in foreign affairs—particularly in its relations withEurope and with Native American peoples west of the Appalachians.

Launching the New Nation 187

•Judiciary Act of 1789•Alexander Hamilton

•Cabinet•Bank of the United States

•Democratic-Republicans•two-party system

•protective tariff•excise tax

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance.

MAIN IDEA2. TAKING NOTES

In a chart, list the leaders, beliefs,and goals of the country’s firstpolitical parties.

If you had lived in that time, whichparty would you have favored?

CRITICAL THINKING3. EVALUATING DECISIONS

How would you judge PresidentWashington’s decision to put twosuch opposed thinkers as Hamiltonand Jefferson on his Cabinet? Think About:

• both men’s merits• their philosophies• the conflicts that developed

4. ANALYZING ISSUESHow was the Whiskey Rebellion anopportunity for the federalgovernment to demonstrate itsauthority?

5. ANALYZING Would you have supportedHamilton’s economic plan? Explainwhy or why not. Think About:

• the money problems the nation faced

• other problems the nation faced

Federalists Democratic-Republicans

A group of rebelstaking part in theWhiskey Rebelliontar and feather atax collector.

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