U.S. History lecture notes Unit 4 A New Nation
USH5e – Explain the importance of the presidencies of George Washington and John Adams including the development of political parties.
USH6 – Analyze the impact of territorial expansion and population growth and the impact of this growth in the early decades of the new nation.
USH7a – Explain the impact of the Industrial Revolution as seen in Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin and the development of interchangeable parts.
I. Presidency of George Washington 1789-1797
A. Cabinet
1. With the new U.S. Constitution in effect, Congress created the Departments of State, Treasury, War and the office of the Attorney General to help President Washington with the operating of the new government.
2. Washington appointed Alexander Hamilton his Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson his Secretary of State.
3. Hamilton and Jefferson had totally opposite views on the role and strength of the new federal government, resulting in the creation of our first two political parties.
B. Political Parties
1. Washington warned against them in his farewell address.
2. Federalists – led by Hamilton
a. Believed central government supreme with loose interpretation of Constitution.
b. Favored manufacturing and trade.
c. Trade with Britain.
d. Pro-tariff – tax on imports – to help manufacturers.
f. Mostly wealthy, educated men from New England and Middle states.
3. Democratic-Republicans – led by Jefferson
a. Feared too strong central government; supported strict interpretation of Constitution.
b. Favored agriculture.
c. Trade with France.
d. Mostly farmers and urban immigrants from rural areas and South
.
C. Key Issues
1. Washington favored non-intervention in Europe with regard to taking sides with either Britain or France, who were at war again. France had undergone its own revolution and fearing war with Britain, Washington said the U.S. was neutral.
2. Instead, trade increased between the U.S. and Britain.
3. The Whiskey Rebellion occurred after Washington’s government persuaded Congress to pass a tax on liquor to help pay for states’ debts from the Revolutionary War.
a. During the rebellion in western Pennsylvania, farmers attacked tax collectors.
b. Washington led a militia of 15,000 men to crush the rebellion in 1794.
c. Significance – showed the president’s constitutional authority to enforce a law; also, some Americans concerned new stronger government would use troops against its own people.
4. Washington chose not to seek a third term; the result was a bitter election in 1796 between Johns Adams (Federalist) and Thomas Jefferson (Democratic-Republican). Adams won narrowly.
II. Presidency of John Adams 1797-1801
A. XYZ Affair
1. France was angry at U.S. trading with Britain and started intercepting U.S. ships going to Britain.
2. President Adams sent negotiators to France – France demanded bribes before they would negotiate, making this known as the XYZ Affair.
3. Results – U.S. went to war with France at sea only – war ended in 1800 and U.S. released from having to support France as an ally.
B. Alien and Sedition Acts
1. To help Adams, Congress pushed through laws that increased requirements to become a citizen and limited free speech and press as well.
a. Congress had passed these laws as Jefferson was supported by immigrants and so any of his supporters would not be able to criticize Adams.
2. Jefferson and James Madison then argued that states could decide whether or not they would enforce federal laws they didn’t agree with – known as states’ rights.
C. Election of 1800
1. Rematch between President Adams and Jefferson. Jefferson actually tied with his vice presidential nominee, Aaron Burr, in the Electoral College.
2. In such cases, the House of Representatives decides the election. Jefferson was voted on as the third president.
III. Presidency of Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809
A. Northwest Ordinance
1. Was passed under the Articles of Confederation in 1787 as a way to organize settlements west of the thirteen states. It created new territory north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River that could later be admitted as states. Also set up the process for how states would be added to the Union – still used today.
2. This law sent surveyors to measure and plot landholdings prior to the arrival of settlers. Land was divided into townships and taxpayer-supported public schools would be started in each township.
3. Banned slavery and indentured servitude in the Northwest Territory.
4. Guaranteed citizens in this new territory certain rights including jury trials, religious freedom and property rights.
B. Marbury v. Madison
1. Before he left office, President Adams appointed many federal judges who serve terms for basically life.
2. Jefferson tried to have these judges removed through impeachment – didn’t work.
3. When the Supreme Court heard the case Marbury v. Madison in 1803, it created the power of judicial review, strengthening the judicial branch.
a. Judicial review – power of the federal and some state courts to declare a law or action by Congress or the president unconstitutional.
C. Louisiana Purchase
1. Jefferson, as a Democratic-Republican, believed everyone should own land.
2. In 1803, Napoleon Bonaparte agreed to sell the entire Louisiana Territory, including New Orleans, to the U.S. for $15 million.
3. Significance – doubled the size of the United States overnight and led to more western expansion.
D. Lewis and Clark
1. In 1804, Lewis and Clark, along with a Native American guide named Sacagwea, explored the new land from the Louisiana Purchase, successfully tracing a path through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
2. Significance – increased American knowledge of Louisiana Territory, including maps of trails, rivers, and mountain ranges; information on Native American tribes west of the Mississippi River; samples taken
of unfamiliar plants and animals.
E. Election of 1808
1. Jefferson retired after two terms. His Secretary of State, James Madison, defeated the Federalist candidate to become our fourth president.
IV. Presidency of James Madison 1809-1817
A. War of 1812
1. The causes of the War of 1812, fought between Britain and the U.S., actually began during Jefferson’s presidency.
2. Causes of the war:
a. Britain was seizing American men to serve in their navy – practice known as impressment.
b. Americans’ attempts to trade with French being interfered with by British.
c. U.S. suspected British helping encourage Native American riots west of the Appalachian mountains.
d. U.S. wanted to take over Canada.
3. The War of 1812 was from 1812-1814 and fought at both land and sea, even leading to the British burning the U.S. Capitol and the White House.
4. It ended in 1814 with no real winner but this was the last time the British and U.S. fought and the reputation of the U.S. grew as a military power.
5. The War of 1812 also led to increased feelings of nationalism, or pride within one’s country.
V. Changes Within the United States Early 1800s
A. Transportation Improvements
1. With more Americans moving west of the Appalachian Mountains during this time period, travel was long and difficult.
2. Private companies built our new roads and waterways. Turnpikes were used, where you paid a fee to use the road, helping pay for the maintenance of the road.
3. In 1807, Robert Fulton’s steamboat made river travel more reliable and upstream travel easier. The steamboat led to a growth in river travel and canal building.
4. Canals, or artificial rivers, allowed for the construction of waterways for barges to move people and goods, and had pathways where horses or mules would pull the barges.
5. The Erie Canal opened in 1825 and was significant because it connected the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. It not only opened up new regions for settlement, it linked these regions with the Atlantic states.
6. The construction of the Erie Canal helped make New York City the largest U.S. city, serving as the link between the agricultural markets of the west and manufactured goods of Europe as well as a key banking and artisan center.
B. Industrialization
1. The Industrial Revolution is the time period in the 1800s where power-driven machines operated by semiskilled or unskilled workers replaced hand tools operated by skilled laborers.
2. Eli Whitney contributed two key inventions – the cotton gin and interchangeable parts.
a. The cotton gin’s invention in 1793 led to more cotton being produced in a day than by hand, leading to the expansion of slavery in the South.
b. Interchangeable parts were first used in the gun-making industry, where large amounts of identical pieces could be mass-produced, cutting costs of goods.
VI. Presidency of James Monroe 1817-1825
A. Monroe Doctrine
1. During President Monroe’s time in office, we expanded west and looked to take over areas within continental North America occupied by other countries.
2. In 1823, he issued the Monroe Doctrine, which said that U.S. would no longer allow Europe to colonize in the Western Hemisphere.
a. Significance – a foreign policy statement that is still used by America today.