New Nation Study Guide by Jessie and Lindsay

1. Review for Life
in the 1790’s

2. Vocabulary
• What was the blueprint for the new
government and when did it go into
effect?
• Who were the original members of
George Washington cabinet and what
was their role?
• What is it called when power is divided
between the states and national

3. Vocabulary Answers
• The Constitution. It went into effect in
the 1789.
• The original members of the George
Washington’s cabinet were Thomas
Jefferson (Sec. State), Henry Knox (Sec.
of War), Edmund Randolph (Att. Gen.),
Alexander Hamilton (Sec. of Treasury)
and Samuel Osgood (Postmaster Gen.)
• Federalism

4. Life in 1790
• If you lived in 1790 how would you get
from place to place?
• Which state had the biggest population
and why? What did it prove?

5. Answers to Life in 1790
• You would travel by boat, horse and
buggy, and by foot.
• Virginia had the most population
because there were a lot of slaves
which counted as 3/5 of a person. This
proved that slavery was a big deal in
the 1790’s

6. Geography of the U.S. in
• Why were the Appalachian a hindrance
to people who wanted to explore?
• Who was the U.S. surrounded by?

7. Answers to Geography of
• The Appalachian Mts. were a hindrance
to explorers because they blocked the
passages to the western territories and
they were filled with Native Americans.
• The U.S. was surrounded by Britain to
the north and Spain to the west and
south.

8. Important People
• Which cabinet member wanted the
federal government to have a lot of
power?
• Who was Washington’s vice president
and how big was his role in the
executive branch?
• Which cabinet member had spent
several years as the U.S. ambassador to
France?

9. Answers to Important People
• Alexander Hamilton
• George Washington’s vice president
was John Adams. His role was not very
large because the vice president only
got to observe congress debates, and
step only if there was a tie in the votes.
• Thomas Jefferson

10. Money Issues
• How did Alexander Hamilton want to
deal with the war debt?
• How did Thomas Jefferson want to deal
with the war debt?
• Why were so many farmers poor after
the war?

11. Answers to Money Issues
• Alexander Hamilton wanted to tax
everyone and create and National Bank
• Thomas Jefferson did not to tax and
create a National Bank to solve the debt.
He wanted the Northern States to pay
back what they owed.
• Farmers were poor because the
government had given them bonds for
their money, but they were scared that
they would not get the money back so
they sold them to speculators for a lower
price.

12. Loose vs. Strict Construction
• Which cabinet member thought that
the government should follow the
Constitution word for word?
• If congress wanted make a law banning
spam in email because the
Constitution granted congress to make
laws that are necessary and proper,
would this be loose or strict
construction?

13. Loose vs. Strict Construction
Answers
• Thomas Jefferson.
• This view would be considered loose
construction because it doesn’t
specifically say that congress can ban
spam in email, but someone could
infer that because it would be
necessary and proper.

14. The National Bank
• What did Alexander Hamilton propose
we use a national bank for?
• Why was a national bank a good idea?

15. Answers National Bank
• Alexander Hamilton said we could use
a national for storing tax money,
loaning money to businesses, and to
help establish a single currency for the
nation.
• A national bank was a good idea
because it would help pay off the war
debt.

16. Foreign Policies
• Why did some people think that we
should help France in the French
Revolution?
• How did Washington choose to deal
with the French Revolution?

17. Answers to Foreign Policy
• People thought the U.S. should help
France in the French Revolution
because we were allies, and France had
been one of the key factors in winning
the Revolutionary war, so we should
help France win theirs.
• Washington chose to stay neutral for
war, because we didn’t have enough
money or supplies, and they couldn’t
risk alienating either of their allies.

18. The Neutrality Proclamation
• In the neutrality proclamation, what
was the punishment for helping either
side in the French Revolution? Why did
George Washington make such a
severe punishment?

19. Answers to the Neutrality
Proclamation
• The punishment for helping either side
of the French Revolution (if you were a
U.S. citizen) was that the U.S. wouldn’t
back the person up if they were
caught, and the U.S. would charge
them with a crime. George Washington
made the punishment severe because
he wanted to make it known that it
would endanger the U.S., and he
couldn’t risk making either side of the
war angry.

20. George Washington and
• How did George Washington deal with
the issue of slavery?
• What did George Washington intend to
do with his slaves once he died?

21. Answers to George Washington
and Slavery
• George Washington didn’t mention
slavery in public at all during his
presidency.
• When George Washington died, he
intended for his slaves to be set free
(but not the ones Martha owned).
However, they got split between family
and friends upon his death.

22. George Washington’s Farewell
Address
• Why did George Washington think that
political parties were a very bad idea?
• What warning did George Washington
give to the public about alliances with
other countries?

23. Answers to George Washington’s
Farewell Address
• George Washington thought that political
parties were a bad idea because they were
starting to be based on where people lived
and not what they believed in.
• George Washington warned the public that
the countries should not make permanent
alliance with other countries and expect
and big favors from other countries
because they weren’t real and the country
should not grow used to expecting favors
from others.

24. ¡THE END!
By Lindsay Buff and Jessie
Klinck