Washington's administration

1. Washington’s
Administration
1789-1797

2. Treaty of Paris, 1783

3. George Washington
1st POTUS
1789 – 1797
The Precedent
President

4. 100% of electoral
vote = unanimous!
Why?
Led Continental Army
during Revolution,
had faith and trust
of the entire nation.

5. Step 1: Pick a Good Title
His Elective Majesty?
His Excellency the
Supreme Commander in Chief?
His High Mightiness,
the President of the United States
and Protector of their Liberties?
His Highness the President
of the United States of America
and Protector of the Rights of the Same?
Mr. President

6. Henry Knox,
Secretary of War
aka “the Muscle”
Step 2: Choose a Cabinet
Thomas Jefferson,
Secretary of State aka
“the Smooth Talker”
Alexander Hamilton,
Secretary
of the Treasury
aka “the Money Man”

7. Step 3: Choose a plan.
Federalists
• Led by Hamilton
• Feared anarchy
more than tyranny
• Elitist, distrusted
common man
• Loose interpretation
• Wanted:
o Strong federal government
to preserve independence
o National debt as
investment in success
o Strong ties with Britain
o US as an industrial,
mercantile power
Democratic Republicans
• Led by Jefferson
• Believed limited government
preserves liberty
• Patrician, trusted
the common man
• Strict interpretation
• Wanted:
o Weak federal government to
preserve liberty
o Against national debt
o Strong ties with France
o US as an agrarian nation

8. Component Pro Con
A) Fed Govt assumes
states’ debt
B) Sells debt to investors
as govt bonds
US builds credit
Investors become
stakeholders in fed govt’s
success
Economic elites control
nation’s finances
Southern states had paid
debts; felt it unfair to
help North
Hamilton’s Economic Plan

9. Component Arguments For It Arguments Against It
Establish natl bank Issue money; handle
taxes, receipts, and other
govt. funds.
Bank investors become
stakeholders in fed govt’s
success
Fear of plutocracy (rule
by the rich)
Is it constitutional?
Hamilton’s Economic Plan

10. Component Arguments For It Arguments Against It
Tariff (tax on imports) Raise money for new
govt
Spur industrial growth by
making US manufactured
goods more competitive
against foreign goods
Southern states import
more, will pay unfair
share of taxes
Hamilton’s Economic Plan

11. Component Arguments For It Arguments Against It
Excise tax on whiskey Sin tax on immoral
product
Will raise significant
funds
Targets poor frontier
farmers who distill corn
into whiskey for
transport
Hamilton’s Economic Plan

12. Price of Southern Agreement =
City of Washington, District of Columbia

13. Washington vs. the Whiskey Rebellion

14. Judiciary Act of 1789
• Six Supreme Court justices;
13 districts in 11 states
• First Chief Justice John Jay
• SCOTUS jurisdiction over all
cases involving a state
• Appellate jurisdiction over
federal circuit court decisions
and state courts challenging
any federal law

15. French Revolution, 1789
50%
Interest
payments of
national debt25%
Military
expenditures
6%
Court life at
Versailles
19%
Running the
country
FRENCH
ANNUAL
BUDGET INTHE
1780s

16. French Revolution, 1789
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
%of Income Spent on Bread
1787
1788

17. French Revolution, 1789
Commoners
3rd Estate
Aristocracy
2nd Estate
Clergy
1st Estate
TheSuggested Voting Pattern:
Voting by Estates
1
1
1
Louis XIV insisted that the ancient distinction of the three
orders be conserved in its entirety.

20. French Revolution
• Help our ally fight Britain?
• Proclamation of
Neutrality, 1793
• “Why … entangle our
peace and prosperity in
the toils of European
ambition …? It is our true
policy to steer clear of
permanent alliances with
any portion of the
foreign world.”
– Farewell Address, 1796

21. Washington’s Foreign Affairs
Treaty With Why Result
Jay’s Treaty
(1794)
Britain Unpaid private debts to
Britain  British forts around
Great Lakes, impressment of
American sailors
Secured NW border,
normalized trade
relations with Britain
Pinckney's Treaty
(1795)
Spain Spain feared close American-
British relations
Defined SW border
with Spanish
territory, opened
Mississippi to trade
Treaty of Greenville
(1795)
coalition of
Native
American
tribes
Little Turtle defeated by Gen.
“Mad Anthony” Wayne at the
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Native Americans
ceded Ohio to US

23. Disputed Territorial Claims Between Spain & US, 1783-1796

24. Indian Land Cessions: 1768-1799

25. Washington’s Legacy
1. First cabinet and other
precedents
2. Judiciary Act of 1789
3. Suppressed Whiskey Rebellion
4. Secured borders and foreign
policy of Isolationism
5. Warned against political
parties
6. Established two-term tradition