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Washington's Presidency

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Washington's Presidency The Federalist Presidential Administrations (1789-1801) The First Electoral College As of December 15th, 1788, 11 of the Original Thirteen States had ratified the Constitution (Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York) and thus were eligible to select Electors for the election of the First President of the United States. Sixty-Nine electors were appointed from 10 states (New York failed to appoint electors in time) Breakdown of the First Electoral College State # of Electors How Appointed state divided into electoral districts and electors Delaware 3 elected by public in districts Pennsylvania 10 elected by voters statewide New Jersey 6 Appointed by State Legislature Georgia 5 Appointed by State Legislature Connecticut 7 Appointed by State Legislature 2 chosen by state legislature, rest chosen from Massachusetts 10 leading vote receivers in each Congressional District Maryland 6 elected by voters statewide South Carolina 7 Appointed by State Legislature New Hampshire 5 elected by voters statewide state divided into electoral districts and electors Virginia 10 elected by public in districts Appointed by State Legislature (but the New York 0 Legislature was deadlocked, and so no one was chosen in time) The First Election Electors voted for two individuals on the ballot (for 138 total votes cast), and with no campaigning, the electors could vote for whomever they felt would do a good job in this unprecedented position. The results were as follows: George Washington (Va.), 69 votes John Adams (Mass.), 34 votes John Jay (NY), 9 votes Robert Harrison (Md.), 6 votes John Rutledge (SC), 6 votes John Hancock (Mass.), 4 votes *George Clinton (NY), 3 votes Samuel Huntington (Ct.), 2 votes John Milton (Ga.), 2 votes James Armstrong (Ga.), 1 vote Benjamin Lincoln (Mass.), 1 vote *Edward Telfair (Ga.), 1 vote (* denotes Anti-Federalist) The First Congress • The first US Senate sat 22 Senators (20 Federalists and 2 Anti-Federalists) • The first House of Representatives sat 59 Representatives (48 Federalists and 11 Anti-Federalists) • Congress was supposed to meet for the first time at Federal Hall in NYC on March 4th 1789, but due to travel difficulties, the first Congress sat in session for the first time in April 1789 (the House on April 1st with the first order of business being the election of Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania as the first Speaker of the House, and the Senate on April 6th with the first order of business being the election of John Langdon of New Hampshire as the first President pro tempore of the Senate) Election Certification and Inauguration • With both Houses meeting in legal session on April 6th, the Congress certified the election of George Washington as the first President of the US and John Adams as the first Vice President • On April 30th, George Washington was Inaugurated as the First President of the United States (Chancellor of New York Robert Livingston administered the oath of office) Washington’s Inauguration Washington’s First Inauguration Fellow Citizens of the Senate and the House of Representatives. On the one hand, I was summoned by my Country, whose voice I can never hear but with veneration and love . .On the other hand, the magnitude and difficulty of the trust to which the voice of my Country called me . .[I]t would be peculiarly improper to omit in this first official Act, my fervent supplications to that Almighty Being who rules over the Universe . No People can be bound to acknowledge and adore the invisible hand, which conducts the Affairs of men more than the People of the United States.. [T]hat the foundations of our National policy will be laid in the pure and immutable principles of private morality; and the pre-eminence of a free Government, be exemplified by all the attributes which can win the affections of its Citizens, and command the respect of the world. .[I]t will remain with your judgment to decide, how far an exercise of the occasional power delegated by the Fifth article of the Constitution is rendered expedient at the present juncture by the nature of objections which have been urged against the System, or by the degree of inquietude which has given birth to them.. I should renounce every pecuniary compensation.. .. Washington’s First Cabinet • Secretary of State – Thomas Jefferson (Va.) • Secretary of the Treasury – Alexander Hamilton (NY) • Secretary of War – Henry Knox (Mass.) • Attorney General – Edmond Randolph (Va.) • Postmaster General – Samuel Osgood (Mass.) [Never officially a Cabinet Post] Precedents set in Washington’s First Term • Washington selected the title of “Mr. President,” rather than “Your Highness” as a way to seem as one of the people • Formal state dinners show the trappings of Government, but without Royal affectations • Capital of United States to be built in time at a properly and thoughtfully selected location to be determined; NYC and Philadelphia each act as temporary Capital (NYC Mar 4 1789 – Dec 5 1790; Phila. Dec 6 1790 – May 14 1800) Jefferson vs. Hamilton Jefferson Hamilton Jeffersonian Policies (Anti-Federalists) - also Hamiltonian Policies (Federalists) - also known as known as Democratic-Republicans Federalists Federal Gov't must be strong to focus progress - Power should be used rarely by central gov't - main job of Gov't is to forward notions of states should be stronger than Federal progress and industry Small farms and towns as ideal American Cities as ideal - growth of country depends upon situation - allows for personal relationships expansion of population Ordinary citizens only need guidelines to live Government should be run by wealthy and their lives - no need for government to have any educated - people who have the knowledge to real role in our lives aid us in progressing towards future Constitution must be used as is directed - there Constitution was written by men who could not is no room for interpretation - any powers not have imagined all situations to arise - the specifically stated in Constitution belongs to Constitution must be considered to be "flexible states and elastic" with implied powers The Judiciary Act of 1789 • While it is true that the Constitution framed the Judicial Branch, there was no real concrete plan to determine how the branch would actually work • Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789, which called for the following: . A Supreme Court made up of 1 Chief Justice and 5 Associate Justices (this would eventually be increased to 8 Associate Justices) . 3 Federal Circuit Courts . 13 Federal District Courts It also allowed cases heard in State courts to be appealed to Federal Courts when Constitutional issues were raised Financial Issues trouble the Nation • According to the 1790 Report on the Public Credit, Alexander Hamilton calculated that the US National debt stood at $77 million ($40 million in debt to domestic lenders/former soldiers, $12 million in foreign debt, and $25 million in debts owed by the states) • Hamilton’s plan to pay down the debt required the following steps: . An issuance of new bonds to replace the old bonds already in circulation (or a purchase of the bonds, held by people who could not afford to wait, at market value – usually 1/5th of face value) . Establishment of a tariff designed to collect money solely to pay off the national debt . No governmental borrowing of money until 4% of the national debt was paid off . The establishment of the [First] Bank of the United States, which would issue paper money and be the financial face of the US government • Even with the austerity measures in place, the Annual National Budget saw fully 40% of annual spending directed to paying down the debt Washington D.C. • The biggest difficulty in convincing the states to buy into the Federal Government’s debt plan was the fact that several southern states were effectively debt free (agrarian states such as the Carolinas and Virginia were able to pay down their debts faster due to tariffs placed cash crops during the Confederacy period) • In order to convince these states to get on board, Hamilton convinced President Washington to establish a new Capital city in the south. Land was taken from both Virginia and Maryland (on the banks of the Potomac River), and a plan was designed by Pierre L’Enfant and Benjamin Banneker to build a majestic capital city. The Whiskey Rebellion • In an effort to increase the amount of money brought in by taxation, Hamilton proposed (and Congress passed) an excise tax on Whiskey, but refused to impose a tax on land sales to speculators (such as President Washington). • Most distillers of whiskey were western farmers of small farms who grew corn and could not make money by selling the corn before it rotted, so instead distilled whiskey and sent that east for profit for $16 per keg of whiskey. • The new tax angered these farmers, who refused to pay the tax collectors, and threatened to rise up in rebellion (like Nathaniel Bacon or Daniel Shays). • However, President Washington called up 12,950 federal soldiers (militia members from the states of New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia), marched to western Pennsylvania, and scattered the “rebels” without any loss of life – showing the nation that armed uprisings would be stopped by the power of the Federal Government • 150 rebel leaders were arrested, with two being convicted of Treason. President Washington pardoned the two leaders, John Mitchell and Philip Weigel, reasoning that both men had been swept up by the fervor of the region, and were not the actual initiators of the pseudo-insurrection. The French Revolution • France, which had been suffering from the worst famine in recent memory, was suffering from great economic woes due to the lavish spending of the King and Queen, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette • When the Estates-General was convened to meet, at first the First and Second Estates (the Nobility and the Clergy) refused to work with the Third Estate and so the Third Estate began to work on its own to create a new constitution for France.
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