Federalist Era Part 2

1. Federalist Era Part 2

2. The debate between “strict” and “loose” construction of the Constitution started with Hamilton’s National Bank • The power to create a national bank was not in the Constitution however, Hamilton felt the implied powers of the elastic clause allowed him to • However, strict constructionists favored a narrow interpretation of the Constitution which meant that the gov’t could only do what the Const. specifically says it can • People like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson used this view to oppose the Bank • Loose Constructionists used a freer reading to allowed the government more room to act • Hamilton used this to create the bank Strict vs. Loose Construction

3. The Constitution didn’t give many details on how to the gov’t would actually work • Structure of Government • Constitution only set up a Supreme Court so Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 which set up the federal court system • Set up the first 5 executive departments: State, Treasury, War, Attorney General, & Postmaster General • Today 15 departments and 200 independent agencies • In 1789, Congress started sending bills to committees • This started the committee system we know today where committees review all bills before sending them to the floor of either house Creating the Government

4. Customs in Congress have led to lobbying which people are paid to represent special interest groups These people are called lobbyists and are used to influence legislation and help get people elected who support their group There are regulations against lobbying but it is allowed by the 1st amendment Lobbying

5. From 1789 to 1815, Europe was in constant warfare as a result of the French Revolution that was taking place There was a lot of pressure because of this and Washington and other presidents tried to protect the country Washington supported the very unpopular Jay’s Treaty which was an agreement designed to resolve the conflicts with Great Britain and keep the US out of war In 1793 Washington made a Proclamation of Neutrality that said the US would not take a side in the warfare (including with France, US’s ally) Also in his farewell address in 1796 Washington set a tone for the US with by warning of the danger of entangling alliances and urged the country to continue with a policy of neutrality Foreign Policy under washington

6. After serving only 2 terms, Washington turned down the opportunity to serve a third as president This tradition stayed until the 1940 and 1944 with FDR People upset about this led to the passing of the 22 Amendment that limits the President to 2 terms Serving Two Terms

7. John Adams was the first Vice President and second President • He was a Federalist • He followed Washington’s goal of trying to keep the US out of war • He avoided expanding an undeclared naval war with France • This upset his own party because the Federalists supported Britain and helped lead to his not winning a second term • By avoiding war and ending the alliance with France from the Revolution, Adams kept the country in peace Foreign policy under John Adams

8. Due to the public reaction to the French Revolution (supported by Democratic-Republicans) the Federalists passed the Alien and Sedition Acts • These were designed to weaken the Republicans • The Alien Acts made it more difficult to become a citizen and easier to arrest and deport non citizens • The Sedition Acts made it easier to arrest someone for criticizing the government • These were incredibly unpopularand Jefferson and Madison wrote the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions saying the laws were dangerous to civil liberties and representative government The Alien and Sedition Acts