Unit 4 Overview

1. Unit 4 Overview Washington to Madison

2. Constitution • George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights • Thomas Jefferson wrote the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom • Both of these were used in the Bill of Rights which was one of the most important acts of Congress during its first session in 1789.

3. George Washington • First President of United States • His Cabinet was made up of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph • Although Washington agreed with a lot of Federalist positions,he did not like parties. He felt they were divisive and when he left office he said so in his farewell speech.

4. George Washington • Alexander Hamilton wanted to build up the U.S. by taking on debt to prove they could pay it off. He was the leader of the Federalist Party • The Tariff of 1789 was passed to raise money to help the new federal government operate • Government bonds were paper notes promising to repay money after a certain amount of time with interest. Hamilton wanted to repay these in full.

5. George Washington • Washington’s farewell address – he warned against foreign entanglements (getting involved in affairs of foreign countries) and sectionalism . • Sectionalism– loyalty to one’s own region, state, or party over your country. • Washington felt that political parties would lead to loyalty to the party over the country.

6. George Washington • Wanted to keep us out of war so we stayed Neutral • He sent John Jay to sign a treaty with Great Britain and the most important part of this treaty is that it prevented war with Great Britain • Jay’s Treaty stated that American merchants would not be discriminated against when they traded with Britain, a status called Most-Favored Nation.

7. George Washington • Pinckney’s Treaty granted the US the right to navigate the Mississippi and to deposit goods at the port of New Orleans. • The area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River became the fastest growing region in the United States.

8. John Adams • Second President of the United States • He was a Federalist, the first political party. • Wanted the National government to be supreme, ruling power to wealthy/educated, government promotes manufacturing, loose interpretation of the Constitution and protective tariffs to protect domestic industries.

9. John Adams • Aliens – people living in the country who are not citizens. Sedition – incitement to rebellion • Adams passed the Alien Act because most of the new immigrants preferred the Democratic-Republicans. (the 2nd political party) • He passed the Sedition Act to keep people from speaking out against his government. • These laws violated the Bill of Rights

10. John Adams • Jefferson and Madison wrote the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions which said that if the government passed a law which was unconstitutional, the states had the right to nullify it. • Nullification – declare it invalid

11. John Adams • France became America’s biggest enemy during Adams’ administration • When the French started to stop our ships and take our goods Adams sent some envoys to speak with the French, but they would not talk to our envoys unless we paid them a $250,000 bribe. • Adams placed this into the American papers without using their names and called them, XYZ. This XYZ Affair angered Americans and the French then decided to negotiate.

12. John Adams • John Marshall was the longest serving and most powerful chief justice of the Supreme Court. • When Adams was leaving office, he appointed many Federalists to federal judgeships. These Midnight judges would lead to the policy of Judicial Review. (Supreme Court can declare laws unconstitutional) • Marbury v. Madison – Marbury sued Madison in the Supreme Court which led to the Supreme Court ‘s power of Judicial Review.

13. Thomas Jefferson • The Third President of the United States • The leader of the Democratic-Republicans • His victory in 1800 was important because it was the first peaceful transfer of power between political parties. • It also changed how people voted for vice-president. The people would now vote for president and vice-president separately.

14. Thomas Jefferson • Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and it doubled the size of the U.S. • Jefferson had a conflict about this purchase, because he wanted the land for the growth of the country so the people would have land, but the Constitution did not give him the right to make this purchase. (strict interpretation) • He chose the “necessary and proper” clause, a loose interpretation, just as Hamilton had in order to start the Bank of the US. This was an Implied power.

15. Thomas Jefferson • He chose Lewis and Clark to explore this new land and they had a Shoshone named Sacagawea join them and become their guide and interpreter • France sold this land for $15 million because they were at war with Britain and needed the money. • The British were in need of sailors so they attacked American ships and kidnapped our sailors to become British sailors. This was known as Impressments.

16. Thomas Jefferson • In order stop this without going to war, Jefferson passed an Embargo Act, which stopped trade between our two countries. • The Embargo Act hurt the U.S. more than it did the British. This Act was passed in 1807 after a British ship fired on an American ship. • The British would eventually stop Impressments after the war was over since they would no longer need the extra sailors.

17. James Madison • The fourth President of the United States. • The War of 1812 was fought during his administration. • The causes of the war were – Britain interferes with American shipping, Britain provides arms (weapons) to American Indians, and the British force American sailors to serve in their navy.

18. James Madison • During the War of 1812, Frances Scott Key wrote “The Star Spangled Banner” • The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. • After the treaty was signed, the Battle of New Orleans was fought and this battle helped to destroy the Federalist party as well as make a hero out of Andrew Jackson and led to Nationalism – Feelings of strong patriotism