Essential Questions: What was the Federalist plan for organizing the national government and its finances? What were the Democratic Republicans� primary objections to this plan?
I. Washington heads new government
A. The new government takes shape
1. Dispute over the dignity to attach to office of the president
a. John Adams pushed for flowery, puffed up title
-�His Highness,� �His Mightiness�
b. George Washington insisted on a simple title
B. The First Congress
1. Consistently strengthened new national government
a. Passed a tariff on imports
b. Agreed to a Bill of Rights
-Reflected fear of centralized power
c. Created departments of war, state, and treasury
d. Judiciary Act (1789) established Supreme Court
C. Establishing the nation�s financial plan
1. Responsibility fell to Alexander Hamilton
a. Had a tremendous impact on the making of national government
2. The new country (states/national) owed more than 50 million dollars
3. Hamilton�s plan included the following:
a. Combine all debt into a consolidated national debt
-Foreign debt should be paid immediately
-Taxation and creditors would pay off domestic debt.
b. The Bank of the United States
-Federal government would store money there
-The bank would print and back the national currency
-Private investors would control the Bank (stockholders)
4. Compromised on debt and nation�s capital
D. The rise of political parties and opposition (Federalists vs. Democratic
Republicans)
1. Formed around two key issues: power and size of government
a. Federalists favored strong federal government
-Supported by Hamilton
b. Republicans favored strong state governments
-Supported by Thomas Jefferson
E. Jefferson vs. Hamilton
1. Jefferson (Democratic Republicans�) was a strict constructionist
(government only had powers specified in Constitution)
2. Hamilton (Federalist) was a broad constructionist (government could
make laws it deemed �necessary and proper� to deal with the nation�s
needs)
F. Opposition to government�s whiskey tax threatened more violence
1. Settlers refused to pay the dreaded excise tax on whiskey
a. Whiskey Rebellion was put down in September 1794
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Chapter 6: Foreign Affairs Trouble the Nation
Essential Questions: What were some of the problems facing America between 1793-1800? How were they resolved?
I. The Republic in a World at War, 1793-1800
A. American reaction to the French Revolution and war with Britain.
1. 1778 treaties allied U.S. with France
2. Federalists and Republicans debated the legality of treaty
a. Federalists supported Britain
-They viewed the U.S. as a perfected England
b. Republicans supported the French
-They had no sympathies for monarchies
c. Washington issued official neutrality proclamation in 1793
B. Edmund Genet
1. Sent by French to seek U.S. aid
2. After the neutrality decision, Genet opened France�s Caribbean colonies
to American trade, sabotaging British trade with U.S.
a. Britain responded by confiscating 250 American ships
C. Rising western tensions
1. Growing British/Indian threat in Northwest Territory
a. The Shawnee plotted with the British to drive all settlers out of
the territory
-In 1794, �Mad Anthony� Wayne subdued the Indians
D. Controversy over Jay�s Treaty
1. Designed to ease tensions with the British
a. British agreed to abandon Northwest Territory forts
b. The treaty said nothing about neutrality and maritime violations
c.The British were also allowed to continue fur trade on the
American side of the border
E. Troubles with France
1. France had broken relations with U.S. over Jay�s Treaty
a. Began seizing ships bound for England
2. Federalist dominated Congress undertook wartime measures
a. Alien and Sedition Acts
-Imposed restrictions on immigrants
-Crackdown on opponents critical of government
b. Pushed for a creation of a national army to prepare for war
c. Republicans condemned Federalist actions
F. The Election of 1796 and 1800
1. Washington left office in 1796, refusing to run for re-election
2. In 1796, John Adams (Federalist) defeated Thomas Jefferson
3. In 1800, the Republicans argued that Federalists were using the crisis
with France to increase their power and overthrow the government
a. Jefferson prevailed with a slight majority
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Chapter 6: Jefferson Alters the Nation�s Course
Essential Questions: Why was the U.S. concerned about the Louisiana Territory?
A.. Louisiana Purchase
1. In 1801, Spain ceded Louisiana to France
a. This sparked concern in U.S.
-France was powerful enough to prevent U.S. expansion
-Control of New Orleans would stifle American commerce
-Jefferson sent a delegation to Paris to buy New Orleans
2. Surprisingly, Napoleon offered to sell all of the Louisiana Territory
3. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored Louisiana Territory in 1804
a. Proved that Louisiana Purchase was worth it
-Soon, Americans were settling the southern portions of the Louisiana Territory
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Chapter 6: The War of 1812
Essential Questions: What conditions led to the Embargo Act? What were its effects at home and abroad? Why did the U.S. declare war on Great Britain? What did the war accomplish?
I. The Republic and the Napoleonic Wars, 1804-1815
A. The dilemmas of neutrality
1. In the spring of 1803, Napoleon declared war on Britain
a. Initially, the U.S. tried to trade with both England and France
b. Eventually, all parties became engaged in restrictive measures
-Essex Decision barred U.S. ships from trading with France
-U.S. passed Non-Importation Act, limiting trade with Britain
-British instituted blockade of Europe
-French outlawed all trade with Britain (Berlin Decree)
-British then required inspections of all neutral shipping
-By the end of 1807, all trade with Europe had been banned
B. Problems arose as a result of British and French restrictions on trade
1. British began impressing Americans into service in the Royal Navy
a. Jefferson responded by barring British ships from U.S. Ports
C. Embargo Act of 1807
1. Halted all U.S. trade with foreign countries
a. Disastrous for U.S. economy, especially northeast.
2. Had little impact on British policy
D. The road to war
1. Madison took office in the spring of 1809 and issued an ultimatum,
proclaiming that Britain must revoke the required inspections
a. Britain refused
E. The War Hawk Congress and the War of 1812
1. Led by the War Hawks - a group of young ardent nationalists - it was
decided that the U.S. must finally accept the appalling risks of war
rather than be pushed around and humiliated in front of the world
2. On June 18, 1812, Congress declared war on Great Britain
F. The War (1812-1814)
1. The War with Canada, 1812-1813 (see map)
a. The U.S. expected to defeat the British by invading Canada
-It was disastrous
2. The British Offensive, 1814 (see map)
a. Blockaded much of the American coast, but couldn�t take and
hold any U.S. territory
b. Marched to Washington D.C. and burned the capital
c. Attacked New Orleans and were defeated (after the treaty)
G. The Treaty of Ghent
1. Faced with a military stalemate, Britain agreed to a treaty
a. The treaty halted a war that neither side could win
2. Although the war gained little, America regained her confidence and
self-respect