THE FIRST PRESIDENT

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

4 BIG Moments•Set up Supreme Court•Established National Bank•Political Parties Emerge• Washington gives parting advice that that continues to influence the U.S.

PRESIDENT WASHINGTON

• In April 1789, George Washington was elected to be the first president of the United States.• Many people were skeptical of the office of

president and Washington knew that the precedent he set would shape how future presidents behaved.

SETTING UP THE COURTS

• Federal Judiciary Act of 1789• A federal court

system w/ the Supreme Court being the highest

• Set number of Supreme Court justices at 6

• John Jay appointed the 1st Chief Justice of Supreme Court

THE CABINET

• Washington’s cabinet included many other famous founding fathers.• John Adams the first vice-president, Thomas

Jefferson as Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton as Secretary of the Treasury, and Henry Knox as Secretary of War.

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

• Predict the financial problems the Washington administration had to deal with.

FINANCIAL PROBLEMS

• Washington mostly focused on foreign affairs and military problems. He left most financial matters to Alexander Hamilton.

• Hamilton’s biggest problem was the growing debt that America owed.

• Hamilton proposed to pay off all of the debt owed, including the debt owed by the states.

Southern states protested because they owed less money than the Northern states. • To make them happy, the government agreed to

build the nation’s new capital on the border of Maryland and Virginia.

BUILDING THE ECONOMY

• Hamilton’s other plans creating a national bank. • Also, Hamilton placed tariff on all manufactured imports.• A tariff is a tax on an import.• This was so that people would buy American made

manufactured goods and build the manufacturing sector of the American economy.

HOW TO INTERPRET THE CONSTITUTION?

• Loose Construction• Supported by

Alexander Hamilton• Congress could do

anything “necessary and proper” the Constitution did not explicitly forbid• Including

establishing a National Bank

• Strict Construction • Supported by

Thomas Jefferson• Congress can ONLY

do what the Constitution specifically states• Jefferson believed

the national bank was unconstitutional

This disagreement over how to interpret the Constitution led to the formation of the first political parties!

PROBLEMS ON THE FRONTIER

Look at the picture below and make a prediction about a major problem that occurred on the FRONTIER.

THE WHISKEY REBELLION

• Farmers on the western frontier rarely had cash money.• They mostly dealt in bartering with one another, especially in the form of

_whiskey.• When Hamilton placed a tax on whiskey, farmers in western Pennsylvania

rebel.• They attacked tax collectors and burned down government buildings.• In response to this, Washington led the Federal army into Pennsylvania and

the rebellion fell apart.• This was very important. It showed Americans that the government would

not tolerate violent rebellion to change laws.

MO’ PROBLEMS ON FRONTIER

• Hint: These guys didn’t get all dressed up (or undressed) for nothing.

SETTLEMENT IN THE WEST

• American settlers were still pushing into the Ohio River Valley. • American Indians claimed that the US had no authority and

constantly attacked settlers.• In 1794, Washington sent an army into Ohio that crushed a large

Indian army. The battle was known as the Battle of Fallen Timbers.• After the battle a treaty gave American settlers all of the land in

Ohio.

STUFF GOING DOWN IN EUROPE

• The American Revolution compared to the French Revolution.

PROBLEMS WITH EUROPE.

• In 1789 the French Revolution began.• By 1793 the French rebels had killed the French king as well

as thousands of others.• The French and British went to war and Americans were

split on which side to support.• Washington however said the US should remain neutral, or

not a pick a side.• He signed treaties with Britain and Spain, keeping the US

out of the war that was involving the major European powers.

• The Guillotine, because sometimes an axe isn’t fast enough.

WASHINGTON’S WARNINGS

WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL

• Washington decided not to seek a third term as president. This precedent would be followed for over 100 years and eventually become a law.

• At his farewell speech, Washington warned of the dangers of political parties as well as the dangers of becoming involved in foreign affairs.

• His farewell address is still read in the Senate every year on his birthday.

QUESTIONS

• Why did Washington know that his presidency would be important?• Why was Alexander Hamilton an important

member of Washington’s cabinet?• How did Hamilton propose raising revenue for the

government and why?• What was the Whiskey Rebellion and why was the

result important?• What two things did Washington warn against in

his farewell address?