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Unit VII. A New Government
The Early Years of the United States of America 1789-1796
Objectives
• Identify at least three South Carolinians involved in the first Congress
• Identify the four departments created by the Congress
• Explain the differences in the interpretation of the Constitution specifically between Hamilton and Jefferson
• Identify the first President of the US
The First President
• 1789-George Washington was unanimously elected president
• He was re-elected in 1792• 1796 he set a precedent of only
serving two terms as president• The precedent lasted until 1940
when Franklin D. Roosevelt won a 3rd term
Electoral College
• The EC chooses the president, not the popular vote
• The electors can vote for different candidates if they choose to do so
Problems
• Many Northern states owed large war debts
• SC and Virginia already paid their debt
• Hamilton (NY) wanted the federal government to pay the remaining war debts
• Jefferson (VA) disagreed and said Hamilton’s policies were unconstitutional
What is Our National Debt?
• http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
The Bank Controversy
• Hamilton wanted to create a national bank
• Jefferson said it was unconstitutional
• Hamilton used Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution-also called the “elastic clause” to defend his view
• Allows congress “to make all laws necessary and proper” to help the US
Opposing Views
• Hamilton believed in broad construction of the Constitution, if the Constitution did not prohibit an action, then Congress could do it
• Jefferson believed in strict construction, if the Constitution did not specifically say Congress could do something, then Congress couldn’t do it.
The First Congress
• Met in New York (Capital 1789)
• SC Representatives were… Thomas Sumter, Aedanus Burke, Daniel Huger, William Smith, Thomas Tucker
• SC Senators were… Pierce Butler and Ralph Izard
The First Congress
• Created four departments (aka the first cabinet)
– War, Treasury, State, Attorney General
– Secretary of State-Thomas Jefferson
– Secretary of War-Henry Knox
– Secretary of the Treasury-Alexander Hamilton
– Attorney General-Edmund Randolph
The First Congress
• Important South Carolinians– Thomas Pinckney- ambassador to
Great Britain– Charles Cotesworth Pinckney- France– William Smith- Portugal– John Rutledge- Supreme Court Justice