THE FEDERALIST ERA: NATIONALISM TRIUMPHANT

1. THE FEDERALIST ERA: NATIONALISM TRIUMPHANT • Border Problems • interstate conflicts immediately reasserted themselves at the end of war • government faced struggle to assert control over territory granted by Treaty of Paris • Great Britain removed forces from 13 states but refused to surrender its outposts on frontier in • southwest, Spanish closed Mississippi River to American commerce

2. Foreign Trade • Americans could trade with European powers, and a Far Eastern trade developed • British import duties reduced American exports to England and its colonies in western hemisphere • British merchants poured inexpensive manufactured goods into United States • Congress could not pay the nation’s debts; states raised taxes to pay their debts; and the entire economy was cash poor

3. states experienced hard times from 1784 to 1786 • retaliatory tariffs on British goods would have dealt with some of problems, but Confederation lacked authority to levy them • a move to grant Congress power to tax imports failed when it did not gain unanimous consent of states

4. The Specter of Inflation • Continental Congress and states paid for Revolutionary War by printing paper money, which resulted in inflation • some states attempted to restore credit by raising taxes and restricting new issues of money • powerful deflationary effect had its greatest impact on debtors, particularly farmers • debtors clamored for the printing of more paper money; some states yielded to pressure resulting in wild inflation

5. Daniel Shays’s “Little Rebellion” • determined to pay off state debt and maintain sound currency, Massachusetts legislature levied heavy taxes resulting deflation leading to foreclosures • in 1786, mobs in western part of state began to stop foreclosures by forcibly preventing courts from holding sessions • Daniel Shays led a march on Springfield preventing state supreme court from meeting • state sent troops, and the “rebels” were routed

6. To Philadelphia and the Constitution • in 1786, delegates from five states met in Annapolis to discuss common problems • Alexander Hamilton, who advocated a strong central government, proposed calling another convention for following year to consider constitutional reform • meeting approved Hamilton’s suggestion, and all states except Rhode Island sent delegates to convention in Philadelphia

7. The Great Convention • remarkably talented group of delegates assembled in Philadelphia to revise Articles of Confederation • framers agreed on basic principles • should be a federal system with independent state governments and a national government • government should be republican in nature, drawing its authority from the people • no group within society should dominate • framers were suspicious of power and sought to protect interests of minorities

8. The Compromises that Produced the Constitution • after voting to establish a national government, delegates faced two problems: what powers should government be granted and who would control it? • first question generated relatively little disagreement • delegates granted central government right to levy taxes, to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, and to raise and maintain an army and navy • second question proved more difficult

9. larger states argued for representation based on population; smaller states wanted equal representation for each state • Great Compromise created a lower house based on population and an upper house in which each state had two representatives • issue of slavery occasioned another struggle and another compromise • three-fifths of slaves were counted for purposes of taxation and representation, and Congress was prohibited from outlawing slave trade until 1808

10. creation of a powerful president was most radical departure from past practice • only faith in Washington and assumption that he would be first president enabled delegates to go so far • delegates also established a third branch of government; the judiciary • founders worried that powerful new government might be misused, so they created a system of “checks and balances” to limit authority of any one branch

11. Ratifying the Constitution • framers provided their handiwork be ratified by special state conventions • this gave people a voice and bypassed state legislatures • new Constitution would take effect when nine states ratified it • Federalists (supporters of the Constitution) and Antifederalists (their opponents) vied for support in state conventions • Federalists were better organized than their opponents

12. the Federalist Papers brilliantly explained and defended proposed new system • most states ratified Constitution readily once its backers agreed to add amendments guaranteeing civil liberties of people against encroachments by national government

13. Washington as President • first electoral college made George Washington its unanimous choice • Washington was a strong, firm, dignified, conscientious, but cautious, president • he was acutely aware that his actions would establish precedent, so he meticulously honored the separation of powers • Washington picked his advisors based on competence and made a practice of calling his department heads together for general advice

14. Congress Under Way • first Congress created various departments and federal judiciary • it also passed first ten amendments to Constitution known as the Bill of Rights

15. Hamilton and Financial Reform • one of its first acts, Congress imposed a tariff on foreign imports • Congress delegated to Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury • he proved to be farsighted economic planner • He suggested that debt be funded at par and that United States assume remaining state debts • Congress went along because it had no choice • Southern states stood to lose, since they had already paid off most of their debts

16. Madison and Jefferson agreed to support Hamilton’s plan in exchange for latter’s support for plan to locate permanent national capital on banks of Potomac River • Hamilton also proposed a national bank • Congress passed a bill creating the bank, but Washington hesitated to sign it • Jefferson argued that Constitution did not specifically authorize Congress to charter corporations or engage in banking • Hamilton countered that bank fell within “implied powers” of Congress

17. Washington accepted Hamilton’s reasoning, and the bank became an immediate success • Hamilton hoped to change an agricultural nation into one with a complex, self-sufficient economy • toward that end, his Report on Manufactures issued a bold call for economic planning • a majority in Congress would not go so far, although many of the specific tariffs Hamilton recommended did become law

18. The Ohio Country: A Dark and Bloody Ground • western issues continued to plague new country • British continued to occupy their forts, and western Indians resisted settlers encroaching on their hunting grounds • Westerners believed that federal government was ignoring their interests • Compounding their discontent was imposition of a federal excise tax on whiskey • Resistance to tax was especially intense in western Pennsylvania

19. Revolution in France • French Revolution and subsequent European wars affected America • Alliance of 1778 obligated United States to defend French possessions in Americas • Washington issued a proclamation of neutrality • France sent Edmond Genet to United States to seek support • Genet licensed American vessels as privateers and commissioned Americans to mount military expeditions against British and Spanish possessions in North America

20. Washington requested that France recall Genet • European war increased demand for American products, but it also led both France and Britain to attack American shipping • larger British fleet caused more damage • American resentment flared, but Washington attempted to negotiate a settlement with British

21. Federalists and Republicans: The Rise of Political Parties • Washington enjoyed universal admiration, and his position as head of government limited partisanship • his principal advisors, Jefferson and Hamilton, disagreed on fundamental issues, and they became leaders around whom political parties coalesced • Jefferson’s opposition to Hamilton’s Bank of the United States became the first seriously divisive issue

22. disagreement over French Revolution and American policy toward France widened split between parties • Jefferson and the Republicans supported France; Federalists backed the British

23. 1794: Crisis and Resolution • several events in 1794 brought partisan conflict to a peak • attempts to collect whiskey tax in Pennsylvania resulted in violence • in July, 7,000 rebels converged on Pittsburgh and threatened to burn the town • the sight of federal artillery and liberal dispensation of whiskey turned them away • Washington’s large army marched westward, when he arrived, the rebels had dispersed

24. Jay’s Treaty • Washington sent John Jay to negotiate treaty with England • American indebtedness to England and fear of Franco-American alliance inclined British to reach accommodation with United States • Jay obtained only one major concession; British agreed to evacuate posts in west • they rejected Jay’s attempts to gain recognition of neutral rights on high seas

25. Jay agreed that America would not impose discriminatory duties on British goods • America would pay pre-Revolutionary debts • terms of treaty raised opposition at home

26. 1795: All’s Well That Ends Well • Washington decided not to repudiate the Jay Treaty, and Senate ratified it in 1795 • Jay’s Treaty became basis for regularization of relations with Britain • Spain, fearing an Anglo-American alliance, offered United States free navigation of Mississippi and right of deposit at New Orleans • this treaty, known as Pinckney’s Treaty, also settled disputed boundary between Spanish Florida and United States

27. Treaty of Greenville, signed with Indians after Battle of Fallen Timbers, opened west to settlement • Before decade ended, Kentucky and Tennessee became states, and Mississippi and Indiana territories were organized

28. Washington’s Farewell • settlement of western and European problems did not end partisan conflict at home • at end of his second term, Washington decided to retire and in his farewell address, he warned against partisanship at home and permanent alliances abroad • The Election of 1796 • Washington’s retirement opened gates for partisan conflict • Jefferson represented Republicans

29. the Federalists considered Hamilton too controversial, so they nominated John Adams for president and Thomas Pinckney for vice-president • Adams won, but partisan bickering split Federalist vote for vice-president, so Jefferson received second highest total and therefore became vice-president • Federalists quarrel among themselves, and Adams was also unable to unite bickering party

30. The XYZ Affair • in retaliation for Jay Treaty, the French attacked American shipping • Adams sent commission to France to negotiate settlement • mission collapsed when 3 French agents (X, Y, and Z) demanded a bribe before making deal; the commissioners refused • Adams released the commissioners’ report, which embarrassed the Republicans

31. Congress, controlled by the Federalists, abrogated the alliance with France and began preparations for war • although a declaration of war would have been immensely popular, Adams contented himself with a buildup of armed forces

32. The Alien and Sedition Acts • Federalists feared that Republicans would side with France if war broke out • refugees from both sides of European war flocked to United States • Federalists pushed a series of repressive measures through Congress in 1798 • Naturalization Act increased residence requirement for citizenship

33. Alien Enemies Act empowered president to arrest or expel aliens in time of declared war • Sedition Act made it a crime “to impede operation of any law,” to instigate insurrection, or to publish “false, scandalous and malicious” criticism of government officials • Federalists attempted to silence leading Republican newspapers

34. The Kentucky and Virginia Resolves • Jefferson did not object to state sedition laws, but believed that Alien and Sedition Acts violated First Amendment; he and Madison drew up resolutions arguing that laws were unconstitutional • Jefferson further argued states could declare a law of Congress unconstitutional • neither Virginia nor Kentucky tried to implement these resolves; Jefferson and Madison were in fact launching Jefferson’s campaign for president

35. Taken aback by American reaction, France offered negotiations, and Adams accepted offer • Adams resisted strong pressure from his party for war • Negotiators signed the Convention of 1800, which abrogated Franco-American treaties of 1778