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George Washington elected as President
VP - John Adams
Secretary of State - Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of Treasury - Alexander Hamilton -
Tariff of 1789
This law protects trade and raises revenues for the federal government. -
The First Cabinet
The positions are—treasury, war, state, attorney general. -
Judiciary Act
The Judiciary Acts established the U.S. federal judiciary. -
Philadelphia as the nation’s capital
George Washington named Philidelphia the Capital. He and John Adams lived there before the capital was moved to Washington D.C. -
First Bank of United States , 1791-1811
The Revolutionary War left the United States in debt. Alexander Hamilton suggested a central bank to handle the war debt, and to form one standard currency for the states. -
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments in the US Constitution. They granted a number of personal freedoms like freedom of speech. -
Fugitive Slave Law
The law authorized the local governments to capture and return runaway slaves to their owners and impose penalites on anyone who helped them. -
French Revolution - Citizen Genet, 1793
"Citizen" Edmond Charles Genet, a French Minister, came to the US and was promoting the Americans to attack the British. President Washington regarded these actions as a violation to American neutrality. -
Eli Whitney granted patent for the cotton gin, 1794
He and his business partner Phineas Miller put a patent on the cotton gin. They made a lot of them and set them up throughout the south. Problems erupted because they were pricing the gins to high and farmers began making their own cotton gins. Law suits were brought up but they lost them so they came to the conclusion the lower the price on the cotton gin. -
Whiskey Rebellion, 1794
Excise tax on whiskey upset farmers who used whiskey to pay for things. Farmers began to terrorize tax collectors and as a result, George Washington sent federal troops to stop the rebellion. -
Pinckney’s Treaty with Spain, 1795
It granted America the right to navigate the Mississippi River and use the port of New Orleans, and Spain gets Northern boundary of Florida. -
Jay’s Treaty with England, 1795
Britain was intercepting neutral ships and John Jay was sent to negotiate. In the end, Britain had the right to seize cargo in route to France. -
Farewell Address, 1796
In his speech, he warned the people of political parties, foreign alliances, and sectionalism (division between the North and the South). -
John Adams, 1797-1801
Federalist
VP - Thomas Jefferson -
XYZ Affair, 1797
France was seizing American ships headed for Britain. Adams sent Pickney to negotiate, French sent X, Y, and Z. French were trying to get bribes so the negotiations stopped and Adams sets up the Navy to protect our ships. The result was that America turned against France. -
Naturalization Act, 1798
It increased the amount of time necessary
for immigrants to become naturalized citizens in the United States from 5 to 14 years. But it was believed to protect national security and decrease the votes of the Anti-Federalist. -
Alien Act, Sedition Act, 1798
-Alien: the president could deport any immigrant who critizied the government.
-Sedition: publicly criticizing the government was a crime for citizens. -
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions, 1798
Democratic - Republicans criticized the Alien and Sedition Acts, said they were unconstitutional. It was the first time states tried to override the federal government but not the last. Virginia's resolution was that the state government can declare federal law unconstitutional. Kentucky's resolution says that states had the right to nullify federal law. -
"Midnight Appointments"/Judiciary Act of 1801
The Judiciary Act of 1801 created six distinct judicial circuits in order to increase the power of the judiciary.
