George Washington (he did not belong to a political party) was the first president. John Adams was the first vice president (meaning he lost the race against Washington).

• Henry Knox - Secretary of War

• Alexander Hamilton - Secretary of Treasury

• Thomas Jefferson - Secretary of State

• Edmund Randolph - Attorney General

• Alexander Hamilton

  • Hamilton wanted a strong, central government

  • Wanted to promote manufacturing and trade

  • Hamilton thought the government should be controlled by the rich, well-educated elite.

  • Hamilton wanted the United States to be allied with Great Britain.

  • Federalist Party

• Thomas Jefferson

  • Jefferson believed the government should be run by ordinary citizens

  • Supported small, local farming

  • Reasons for Creating Opposition Party

    • Supported small, local farming (reason for creating opposition part) & because they were upset with the Alien and Sedition Acts and "Quasi - War" with France.)

  • Jefferson believed the United States should be allied with France.

  • Democratic-Republican Party

• Part of Hamilton’s plan was a tax on Whiskey. This affected farmers which led to the Whiskey Rebellion because people were unhappy that Whiskey was being taxed. Pennsylvania farmers begin to rebel. They attacked the federal marshal who was enforcing the whiskey tax.

• The national government sent soldiers led by George Washington to stop this rebellion. This showed that the government, under the new Constitution, was able to enforce the laws it made (strong government), while under the Articles of Confederation the government could not enforce the laws it made (weak government).

• The Democratic Republicans compromised with Hamilton’s plan by making the capital of the United States Washington DC (the District of Columbia).

• George Washington was in the middle of this controversy because he advised against political parties and the controversy was happening in the midst of his cabinet members. Because of this controversy, the United States functions around political parties.

• Although some Federalists believed that Adams should break with France and perhaps declare war, he first chose to negotiate.

• The French agents implied that the Americans could have recognition if they would give $250,000 bribe and insure $10 million loan for France.

• The people began to uproar against these outrageous terms.

• To protect the three American envoys, Adams substituted the letters X, Y, and Z for the names of the French agents. Soon the whole episode was dubbed “the XYZ affair”

• Adams called for a stronger navy, and Congress voted to make the navy a separate department to build 40 ships. Congress also tripled the size of the army.

• Although Congress never actually declared war, the Americans captured 90 French vessels by the fall of 1800. Because some fighting did occur, this conflict is sometimes called a “quasi war.”

• Napoleon came into power in France in 1799. Although Adams wanted Napoleon to pay damages for France’s actions against America, Adams settled for a new agreement called the Convention of 1800. He had avoided all-out war, but few people realized his benefit. Most people were angry with this (the Federalists) because they wanted to go to war with France.

• At this time, the French Revolution was happening. French was revolting against Great Britain and to break away from Britain.

• On April 22, 1793, Washington issued the Proclamation of Neutrality. He urged Americans to be “impartial” toward all foreign foes and to cease actions that would involve the United States in foreign wars.

• The United States and Britain disagreed over what rights neutral countries should have at sea. Britain invoked an old law, the Rule of 1756, which said that trade not open in peace could not be opened in war. As a result, Britain seized 250 American ships with their cargo

• The British seized American soldiers and forced them to serve the British. This practice is known as impressment. Impressment is when you seize another countries persons and force them to work for you.

• To avoid war, Washington sent John Jay, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, to head a peace mission to Britain. He chose John Jay because he had no biased opinion.

• The United States agreed to limit trade with France and to pay British citizens what Americans owed them.

• The British agreed to abandon their forts in the Northwest, pay the US for ships seized, and open some ports in the British West Indies to American trade.

• The Jay Treaty (1794) did not really settle the issues of Indian attacks or of neutral rights at sea. Congress and the American public were angry about both Jay and his treaty. This leads to more divide.

• John Adams nominated John Marshall as the new chief justice. Marshall looked for ways to increase the Supreme Court’s influence. Marshall kept the justices out of political campaigns.

• Days before Adams left office, Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1801 which created 16 new circuit judgeship. Because John Adams appointed 58 judges to full time positions late in the night before he left office, these judges have often been called the midnight judges.

• One of Adam’s midnight Judges was Federalists William Marbury.

• James Madison, the new secretary of state, refused to release Marbury’s commission. Marbury sued for his job, because he believed that it was Madison’s duty to deliver the commission.