Chapter 10the Start of the New Nation

In 1788, Congress ratified the Constitution and the new government began.

The House of Representatives chose the first President, George Washington.

• George Washington was inaugurated in 1789 and started his job. People did not know what to expect. Would he be like a king? How would he use his power?

Precedents set by President Washington

• Washington set some very important precedents. A precedent is an example that other people can follow. Washington showed people what a President should be like. Washington was very popular but he didn’t want to be too powerful. He let Congress do most of the work. He stayed President for only eight years.

Washington knew that his job was too big for one man, so he appointed people to help him. They were called his Cabinet.

The President’s Cabinet

• One member of the cabinet was called the Attorney General. He was the President’s lawyer. He helped the President in court. All the other members were called secretaries. One was called the Secretary of State. His job was to help the President with foreign affairs. Another was called the Secretary of the Treasury. His job was to help the President collect the taxes and count the nation’s money. The last one was the Secretary of War. He helped the President manage the armed forces.

The Departments of the Executive Branch

• Each Cabinet member set up his own department of the government. The Attorney General made the Justice Department. The Secretary of State made the State Department. The Secretary of Treasury made the Treasury Department. And, the Secretary of War made the War Department.

Comprehension Check

• What precedents did Washington set that Presidents still follow today?

• What is the President’s Cabinet?• What does each member of the

Cabinet do?

Problems for the new government

• One of the first big problems Washington and his Cabinet had to solve was paying off the nation’s debts. Congress had borrowed a lot of money from people to pay for the Revolutionary War. Now, they had to find a way to pay it back. Alexander Hamilton, the Secretary of the Treasury, convinced Congress to pass a law to raise taxes and pay the debts.

Alexander Hamilton

• Alexander Hamilton also wanted to start a Bank of the United States. He believed that the government of the United States should have its own bank. He thought that the government could use this bank to keep the money it got from taxes. It could also lend that money to businesses to help them grow. This would make the federal government very strong and help business.

Opposition to Hamilton

• Some people tried to stop Hamilton. They said it was bad because it would make the federal government too strong. They said the Constitution did not give the Federal government the power to start a bank.

The Elastic Clause

• But, Hamilton showed them Article I, section 8 of the Constitution. It says the government can make any new laws that are necessary. Hamilton believed this part of the Constitution gives the government the power to do whatever it needs to do. Today, people call this part of the government the elastic clause because it stretches the government’s power. Hamilton convinced Congress to start the Bank of the United States.

Fighting in the frontier

• Another problem the government had was with Americans fighting with Indians on the frontier. Washington sent the army to help the settlers. They forced the Indians to give them more land.

The Whiskey Rebellion

• President Washington also had to stop a rebellion on the frontier. Farmers were fighting the government to stop a new tax on whiskey. Farmers did not like the tax because whiskey was one way they could make more money. This rebellion was called the Whiskey Rebellion.

A New Capital

• While Washington was President, Congress also decided to build a new capital for the government. They named the new city Washington after the first President of the United States.

Comprehension Check

• What problems did the United States government have when it first started?

• What are some of Washington’s achievements as President?

The Election of 1796

• In 1796, America had another election. Washington chose not to be a candidate. He believed that a person should stop being President after eight years.

The First Political Parties

• In the election of 1796, people were still very divided about what kind of government they wanted. Some people wanted a strong federal government. Others wanted a weak federal government.

The Federalist Party

• The people who wanted a strong federal government formed a political party. They called themselves the Federalists. Alexander Hamilton and John Adams were their candidates.

The Democratic Republican Party

• People who wanted a weak federal government started a political party called the Anti-federalists or the Democratic Republican Party. Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr were their candidates.

President Adams 1796-1800

• The Federalists won the election and John Adams became the second President of the United States.

President Adams

• The Federalists used their power to pass strict laws. One of these laws was the Alien Act. The Alien Act said immigrants had to wait 14 years to become U.S. citizens. Another one of these strict laws was the Sedition Act. The Sedition Act made it a crime to criticize the government. People were arrested for printing political newspapers. Adams and Hamilton tried to use this law to arrest the Anti-federalists.

Federalists versus Anti-federalists

• Anti-federalists fought against these new laws because they believed they were unconstitutional. Unconstitutional means that they go against the higher law of the Constitution and break the promises of the Bill of Rights.

Federalists versus Anti-federalists

• The Federalists and Anti-Federalists hated each other so much that they would sometimes fight. Eventually, Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr actually had a fight with guns. Burr actually killed Hamilton!

President Jefferson 1800-1808

• In 1800, there was another election. Thomas Jefferson became the third President of the United States of America.

Comprehension Check

• What were the first political parties in the United States?

• How were these two parties different?• Who was the second President of the

United States and what party was he from?

• Who was the third President of the United States and what party was he from?