Chapter 10: Launching The New Ship Of State Flashcards
How long did it take for Americans ppl had risen up and thrown overboard both British yoke and art of confederation?
12 yrs
What was not the best training
for government making?
A decade of lawbreaking and constitution smashing
why was Finances of the infant government
precarious?
Revenue was very small yet the debt was mounting due to interest.
Hard (metal) money was scarce and the paper money was worthless.
The financial situation was the number 1 problem the new nation faced.
When did the Constitution be in effect?
1789
What happened to the population?
Population was doubling about every twenty-five
years
What did the the first official census of 1790 recorded?
4 million people
What were the largest populous cities? in order
Philadelphia numbered 42,000 New York 33,000 Boston 18,000 Charleston 16,000 Baltimore 13,000
What percent was rural?
90%
What percent lived east of the Appalachian Mountains?
5%
What states were heavily concentrated in the trans-Allegheny?
Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio, all
of which were welcomed as states within fourteen
years.
What did foreigners thought of America?
Foreigners thought the Americans were rough and crude people due to the primitive pioneer lifestyle.
Who was elected president?
General Washington, the esteemed war hero, was unanimously drafted as president by the Electoral College in 1789—the only presidential nominee ever to be honored by unanimity.
How did Washington command his followers?
he commanded his followers by strength of character rather than by the arts of the politician.
What was the the temporary capital?
New York City
When did GW took the oath of office?
April 30, 1789
What does GW establish?
THE Cabinet
What department served under the president?
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson,
Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton,
Secretary of War Henry Knox.
Why did many antifederalists had sharply criticized the Constitution drafted at Philadelphia?
for its failure to provide guarantees of individual rights such as freedom of religion and trial by jury.
Why did many states ratify the Constitution?
on the understanding that it would soon be amended to include such guarantees.
How could Amendments to the Constitution could be proposed
in either of two ways?
by a new constitutional convention requested by two-thirds of the states or by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress.
Why did James Madison determined to draft the
amendments himself?
Fearing that a new convention might unravel the narrow federalist victory in the ratification struggle
How was Madison becoming a leading figure?
his intellectual and political skills
What are the Bill of Rights?
Adopted by the necessary number of states in 1791, the first ten amendments to the Constitution, popularly known as the Bill of Rights, safeguard some of the most precious American principles.
What does the Bill of Rights comprise of?
Among these are protections for freedom of religion, speech, and the press; the right to bear arms and to be tried by a jury; and the right to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances. The Bill of Rights also prohibits cruel and unusual punishments and arbitrary government seizure of private property.
What was the ninth amendment?
It declares that specifying
certain rights “shall not be construed to deny
or disparage others retained by the people.”
Why was the ninth amendment put in place?
To guard against the danger that enumerating such rights might lead to the conclusion that they were the only ones protected
What was the tenth amendment?
reserves all rights not explicitly delegated or
prohibited by the federal Constitution “to the States
respectively, or to the people.’’
How was the federalist pendulum swinging back in the anti-federalist direction?
By preserving a
strong central government while specifying protections
for minority and individual liberties
What was Judiciary Act of 1789
It created effective federal courts
The act organized 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.
Who became the first chief justice of the United States
New Yorker John Jay, Madison’s collaborator on The Federalist papers and one of the young Republic’s most seasoned diplomats
Who was the key figure in the new government>
Alexander Hamilton
What was Hamilton’s goal/striving for?
Hamilton set out immediately
to correct the economic vexations that had
crippled the Articles of Confederation.
What was Hamilton’s plan?
His plan was
to shape the fiscal policies of the administration in
such a way as to favor the wealthier groups.
Why did Hamilton’s plan favored the wealthier people?
They, in
turn, would gratefully lend the government monetary
and political support. The new federal regime
would thrive, the propertied classes would fatten,
and prosperity would trickle down to the masses.
What was Hamilton’s first objective?
to
bolster the national credit.
Hamilton could not secure the funds to his risky schemes without what?
Without public confidence
in the government
What is “Funding at par’’?
“Funding at par’’ meant that the federal government
would pay off its debts at face value, plus
accumulated interest—a then-enormous total of
more than $54 million.
How did the people felt about “Funding at par’’
believe infant Treasury incapable of meeting those obligations that government bonds had depreciated to ten or fifteen cents on the dollar.
What was the national debt?
$21.5 million.
What is Assumption?
In Assumption, the federal government would assume the states’ debts, or in other words, the states would simply give their debts over to the federal government.
What was the benefit Assumption?
he reason for assuming state debts was to tie the states together in a common endeavor—to jointly pay off the debt.
What was Massachusetts view on Assumption?
States burdened with heavy debts, like Massachusetts,
were delighted by Hamilton’s proposal.
What was Virginia view on Assumption?
States with small debts, like Virginia, were less
charmed.
What was the compromise on Assumption?
The bargain said that Massachusetts would get the Assumption clause passed. Virginia would see the new national capital on the Potomac River—the site of Washington D.C.
Hamilton was determined to pay what?
the full $75 million debt, plus interest.
What was Hamilton’s view on national debt?
He believed that within
limits, a national debt was a “national blessing’’—a
kind of union adhesive.
The more creditors to whom
the government owed money,____________
the more people
there would be with a personal stake in the success
of his ambitious enterprise.
What was Hamilton’s answer to: Where was the money to come from to pay
interest on this huge debt and run the government?
Hamilton’s first answer was customs duties, derived
from a tariff. Tariff revenues, in turn, depended on a
vigorous foreign trade, another crucial link in Hamilton’s
overall economic strategy for the new Republic.
Hamilton proposed that revenue be made through a tariff (tax on imports).
What was the first tariff law passed by Congress in 1789?
The first tariff law, imposing a low tariff of about
8 percent on the value of dutiable imports, was
speedily passed by the first Congress in 1789, even
before Hamilton was sworn in.
The revenue was designed to erect what?
a low protective wall around infant industries,
which bawled noisily for more shelter than they
received.
What was Hamilton’s view on industry and manufacturing?
Hamilton had the vision to see that the
industrial revolution would soon reach America,
and he argued strongly in favor of more protection
for the well-to-do manufacturing groups—another
vital element in his economic program.
What was the additional internal revenue?
in 1791 secured
from Congress an excise tax on a few domestic
items, notably whiskey.
What was the whiskey tax?
An excise tax on whiskey was imposed to raise a bit more money. This whiskey tax on 7 cents/gallon hit the whiskey-makers in the backwoods who often used whiskey as money.
Hamilton created what?
Bank of the United States
he took as his model the Bank of England.
The Bank of America comprised of what?
a powerful private institution, of which the
government would be the major stockholder and in
which the federal Treasury would deposit its surplus
monies.
how was there a a sound and stable
national currency?
The bank would also print urgently needed
paper money
What was the purpose of the US Bank
(a) store government money, (b) lend to businesses, and (c) print money and thus stabilize currency.
What was against the bank?
Jefferson
Why was he against it?
He was convinced that all powers not
specifically granted to the central government were
reserved to the states, as provided in the about-tobe-
ratified Bill of Rights (see Amendment X). He
therefore concluded that the states, not Congress,
had the power to charter banks.
What is strict interpretation/strict construction?
something must specifically be written into the Constitution in black-and-white for it to be legal.
What was Hamilton’s point of view on bank iusse?
he felt that whatever is not prohibited in the Constitution is permitted. The bank wasn’t specifically prohibited so it was okay.
What is the “Elastic Clause” of Congress?
He brought up the “Elastic Clause” of Congress (AKA the “Necessary and Proper” Clause) that said Congress has the power to do whatever is necessary and proper to carry out its appointed duties. He reasoned that Congress was given the duty of regulating commerce and collect taxes; to properly do this, a national bank was necessary and proper.
What was an example of loose interpretation?
This reliance on the Elastic Clause was also called a “Loose Interpretation” of the Constitution.
What supported the bank?
The most
enthusiastic support for the bank naturally came
from the commercial and financial centers of the
North
What opposed the bank
the strongest opposition arose from
the agricultural South.
When and where was the Bank of US
The Bank of the United States, as created by
Congress in 1791, was chartered for twenty years.
Located in Philadelphia
What sharply challenged
the new national government.
The Whiskey Rebellion, which flared up in southwestern
Pennsylvania in 1794
How did the distillers felt about whiskey tax?
They regarded it not as a tax on a frivolous luxury
but as a burden on an economic necessity and a
medium of exchange.
What was the distillers motto and did what?
“Liberty and No Excise.’’
Boldly tarring and feathering revenue officers, they
brought collections to a halt.
What was the immediate action to the Whiskey rebellion?
With the hearty encouragement of Hamilton,
he summoned the militia of several states.
Despite
some opposition, an army of about thirteen thousand
rallied
What did GW do to the two small-fry convicted culprits.
pardoned them
Why was The Whiskey Rebellion was minuscule?
minuscule—some
three rebels were killed
What was the result of Whiskey rebellion?
George Washington’s government, now substantially
strengthened, commanded a new respect.
What were Hamilton’s financial successes?
funding,
assumption, the excise tax, the bank, the suppression
of the Whiskey Rebellion
What did Hamilton’s financial successes created?
created some political
liabilities.
When and why was The notion of a formal party
apparatus created?
1790s, and when
Jefferson and Madison first organized their opposition
to the Hamiltonian program,
What was the two parties?
Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans and Hamiltonian
Federalists.
How did aving two parties has helped our country
y always given voters a different choice. If a voter doesn’t like the situation in Washington currently, the other party will take opposing views and the voter can vote the new party in. With only one party, there is no 2nd choice.
What was the altercation b/t Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans and Hamiltonian
Federalists.
foreign-policy issues
How did the Jeffersonians felt about the French Revolution
very happy to hear of democracy over-throwing a monarchy.
How did the conservatives felt about the French Revolution
A minority of conservatives were upset over the “mobocracy” and disorder.
What happened to the French Revolution in 1792
In 1792, the French Revolution became more of a world war. In a nutshell, the French Revolution had two arenas: (a) it was a civil war of the French people vs. the French upper classes, but also (b) the French nation vs. nearly every other European nation (the other nations feared similar revolutions in their own countries if the French people pulled it off).
What was the Franco-American alliance of 1778
It bound the United States to help the
French defend their West Indies against future foes,
and the booming British fleets were certain to attack
these strategic islands.
Why did Many Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans wanted to side with France against Britain?
America owed France its freedom,
they argued, and now was the time to pay the debt
of gratitude.
How did Washington feel about alliance during French Revolution
he believed that war had to be avoided at all costs.
The nation in
1793 was militarily weak, economically wobbly, and
politically disunited.
Hamilton and Jefferson agreed on what?
The strategy of
delay
if America could avoid the broils of
Europe for a generation or so, it would then be populous
enough and powerful enough to assert its
maritime rights with strength and success.
What was Neutrality
Proclamation in 1793
This
epochal document not only proclaimed the government’s
official neutrality in the widening conflict
but sternly warned American citizens to be impartial
toward both armed camps.
How did the pro-French Jeffersonians feel about the Neutrality Proclamation
enraged
How did the pro-British Federalists feel about the Neutrality Proclamation
heartened
What was the effect of Neutrality
Proclamation in 1793
An offshoot of the decision was the action of French Citizen Edmond Genêt. He came to Charleston, SC and thought Washington’s decision didn’t reflect the American people’s views. He foolishly thought the Americans would rise up and somehow overturn the neutrality or government. Washington had him replaced.
Washington’s Neutrality Proclamation clearly
illustrates
that self-interest is the basic
cement of alliances.
Why was US Neutrality better for France
France actually might’ve been helped by the neutrality since that prevented a British naval blockade and enabled American foodstuffs to go to France.
And, technically speaking, America didn’t have to honor the Franco-American alliance because France didn’t call upon it to honor it.
What did the Eng government do?
The London government was
reluctant to abandon the lucrative fur trade in the
Great Lakes region and also hoped to build up an Indian buffer state to contain the ambitious Americans.
What is the Indians of the Miami Confederacy
an
alliance of eight Indian nations who terrorized
Americans invading their lands.
What was United States worst defeats in the history of the frontier.
In 1790 and 1791, Little Turtle’s braves defeated
armies led by Generals Josiah Harmar and Arthur St.
Clair, killing hundreds of soldiers
What happened at Battle of Fallen Timbers?
in 1794, when a new army under General
“Mad Anthony” Wayne routed the Miamis at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers, the British refused to shelter
Indians fleeing from the battle.
What wee the terms in Treaty of Greenville?
In the
Treaty of Greenville, signed in August 1795, the confederacy
gave up vast tracts of the Old Northwest,
including most of present-day Indiana and Ohio. In
exchange the Indians received a lump-sum payment
of $20,000, an annual annuity of $9,000, the
right to hunt the lands they had ceded, and, most
important, what they hoped was recognition of
their sovereign status.
What was the problem occurring in the Caribbean with the British Navy?
The British Navy was at war there with France, but also harassed American ships. The Royal Navy seized about 300 U.S. ships and impressed (or kidnapped) many U.S. sailors.
What was Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans reaction to the british attacking them?
were furious. They wanted to either go to war with England or at least halt trade with them.
What was Hamiltonians (Federalists) reaction to the british attacking them?
stayed the course of neutrality. War would do the infant U.S. no good.
Hamilton’s high
hopes for economic development depended on trade with Britain.
Who was sent to London in 1794
John Jay
The results of the “Jay’s Treaty”?
The British did promise to evacuate the chain of posts on U.S. soil
In addition, Britain consented to pay damages for
the recent seizures of American ships. British stopped short of pledging anything about future maritime seizures and impressments or about supplying arms to Indians.
The U.S. would have to pay off its debts to England from pre-Revolution days.
What The reaction of Americans to Jay’s Treaty
as harsh.
Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans especially hated the treaty. They felt that the U.S. just laid down and surrendered to England. They felt that southern farmers would have to pay the debt, but northern merchants would collect the impressment payments. Jay’s effigy (a dummy representing him) was burnt in the streets. impressment payments. Jay’s effigy (a dummy representing him) was burnt in the streets.
Why did Spain moved hastily to
strike a deal with the United States
Fearing that the treaty foreshadowed an
Anglo-American alliance
Pinckney’s
Treaty of 1795
granted the Americans virtually
everything they demanded, including free
navigation of the Mississippi and the large disputed
territory north of Florida.
How many terms did GW ran?
2
WHat was said in his Farewell Address
America should avoid political parties (as he thought them to be divisive).
America should avoid “permanent alliances” with other nations and simply make decisions independently and in America’s own best interest.
List the stuffs that were accomplished under Washington?
The central government,
its fiscal feet now under it, was solidly established.
The West was expanding.
The merchant marine was plowing the seas.
Above all, Washington
had kept the nation out of both overseas entanglements
and foreign wars.
Why could Hamilton not be the next president?
his financial policies, some
of which had fattened the speculators, had made
him so unpopular that he could not hope to be
elected president.
Who won in the presidential campaign of 1796?
John Adams; by the narrow margin of
71 votes to 68 in the Electoral College. Jefferson, as
runner-up, became vice president.*
Why was Adams became president in an uncomfortable situation?
He was something of a “cold fish” New Englander—stuffy, stern, crusty, bookish, stubborn.
He had a vice-president from a totally different political party.
Hamilton hated him. Hamilton headed up the “High Federalists” and sometimes plotted to undermine Adams.
And, the situation with France was only one step shy of busting into war.
What was the XYZ Affair?
Then undercover, Mr. “X”, “Y”, and “Z” made a secret offer. If the U.S. delegates issued an apology from Pres. Adams, gave France a loan, and gave the men a bribe, then the Americans would be allowed to speak with the French official Talleyrand.
What were the War preparations
The Navy
Department was created; the three-ship navy
was expanded; the United States Marine Corps was
established. A new army of ten thousand men was
authorized (but was never fully raised).
How did France feel about war?
France, its hands full in Europe, wanted
no war. An outwitted Talleyrand realized that to
fight the United States would merely add one more foe to his enemy roster Talleyrand therefore let it be known, through roundabout channels, that if the Americans would send a new minister, he would be received with proper respect.
What were the benefits for Adams if there was a war?
If he went to war, Adams had a chance to gain huge popularity, maybe win Florida and Louisiana, and likely win re-election.
What does Adams do in early 1799
he submitted to the Senate the name of a new minister to France. But public opinion— Jeffersonian and reasonable Federalist alike— was favorable to one last try for peace.
What is Hamilton’s view on war?
Hamilton and his
war-hawk faction were enraged. They wanted war!!
What is Napoleon Bonaparte’s plan about America?
He was eager to free his hands of the American
squabble so that he might continue to redraw
the map of Europe and perhaps create a New World
empire in Louisiana.
Convention of 1800?
The Franco-American Alliance was over.
Americans had to pay damages to French shippers.
When Europeans immigrants came what was the relation with the Federalist party?
Most European
immigrants, lacking wealth, were scorned by
the aristocratic Federalist party.
When Europeans immigrants came what was the relation with the Jeffersonians.party?
But they were welcomed
as voters by the less prosperous and more
democratic Jeffersonians.
What was the Alien Act in place?
The Alien acts made it tougher for immigrants to come to the U.S. and become citizens. They had the stated purpose of protecting Americans from foreigners who might come into the country and undermine the U.S. The theory was that the immigrant was more loyal to his home country than the U.S.
What did the Alien Acts do?
They raised the residence
requirements for aliens who desired to become citizens
from a tolerable five years to an intolerable fourteen.
The president was empowered
to deport dangerous foreigners in time of peace and to deport or imprison them in time of hostilities.
What did the Alien Acts violated?
This drastic new law violated the traditional
American policy of open-door hospitality and
speedy assimilation.
What was the Sedition Act?
This law provided
that anyone who impeded the policies of the
government or falsely defamed its officials, including
the president, would be liable to a heavy fine
and imprisonment.
What did the Sedition Act violated?
a direct slap at two
priceless freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution
by the Bill of Rights—freedom of speech and freedom
of the press (First Amendment).
What was the result of the Sedition Act?
Many newspaper editors criticized the law and were thrown in jail (under the Sedition Act’s authority) for doing so.
The most noteworthy was Matthew "Spitting Lion" Lyon who'd criticized Pres. Adams in his writings. 4 months in jail The criticisms were very mild and kind of humorous in a cute way by modern standards.
What was bad of these pro-Federalist laws?
(a) contrary to the welcoming spirit of America and (b) unconstitutional, but were passed by a Federalist Congress, signed by a Federalist president, and upheld by a Federalist-dominated court system.
When would the Sedition Act expire?
in 1801 so that it couldn’t then be used against the Federalists if the Republicans took over.
What happened in Congressional elections of 1798-99?
Although the Republicans fussed, the average person responded well to the Federalists and their laws in the election booth. The Federalists did very well in the Congressional elections of 1798-99.
What was the response to the Alien and Sedition Acts
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Jefferson
secretly penned a series of resolutions, which the
Kentucky legislature approved in 1798 and 1799. His
friend and fellow Virginian James Madison drafted a
similar but less extreme statement, which was
adopted by the legislature of Virginia in 1798.
What did the Resolutions say?
the federal government had overstepped the authority that the states had awarded when it passed the Alien and Sedition Acts.
What was the compact theory?
As applied to America by the Jeffersonians, this concept meant that the thirteen sovereign states, in creating the federal government, had entered into a “compact,’’ or contract, regarding its jurisdiction.
the states had made the federal government, the federal government then makes laws, but since the states made the federal government, the states reserved the right to nullify those federal laws.
What was the Federalist response to Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Many Federalists argued that the
people, not the states, had made the original compact,
and that it was up to the Supreme Court—not
the states—to nullify unconstitutional legislation
passed by Congress.
What was really the purpose of the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions?
Their resolutions
were basically campaign documents
designed to crystallize opposition to the Federalist
party and to unseat it in the upcoming presidential
election of 1800.
What was the real nullification that Jefferson had in view?
the nullification of Federalist abuses.
Who did the Federalist support?
Federalists were supported by the upper classes.
Federalist comprised of who?
They were from the wealthy classes, such as merchants, bankers, manufacturers. They often lived along the eastern seaboard—the older regions that were close to the coast and trade.
Farther inland, few Hamiltonians
dwelled.
What were the views of Federalist?
Federalists were also pro-British in foreign affairs.
Hamiltonian Federalists also advocated a strong
central government with the power to crush democratic excesses like Shays’s Rebellion
They believed that government should support private enterprise, not interfere with it.
Who did the Democratic-Republicans (or just Republicans at this time) support?
supported by the poor and common classes.
What were the views of Democratic-Republicans
~demanded a weak central regime. They believed that the best government was the one that governed least.
~Agriculture, to Jefferson, was the favored branch of the economy.
~ Jefferson advocated the rule of the people.
~ But he did not propose thrusting the ballot
into the hands of every adult white male—only by those men who were literate enough to
inform themselves and wear the mantle of American citizenship worthily.
~Universal education would have to precede universal suffrage.
