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Chapter 5: The Federalist Era: Nationalism Triumphant

Terms

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Federalist Party
This party was formed during Washington's first administration in the heat of conflict over Hamilton's proposals to salvage the finances of the new republic. Under the leadership of George Washington and the intellectual guidance of Alexander Hamilton, this political party envisioned policies that would promote a thriving union based on a mixed economy of agriculture and manufacturing, a strong central banking system, opposition to widespread suffrage, and alliance with Britain—all to be directed by a strong national government. But opposition to the War of 1812 and the Hartford Convention of 1814 ensured a dive in the party's popularity. In the election of 1816, the party fielded a candidate for president for the last time.
Philadelphia Convention
Responding to calls for a stronger and more energetic national government, 55 delegates met in the summer of 1787 to draft a new constitution to replace the ineffective Articles of Confederation. The product that was created here, the Constitution of the United States, was ratified in 1788. It replaced the Articles of Confederation as the governing document for the United States, and transformed the constitutional basis of government from confederation to federation, also making it the world's oldest federal constitution.
Virginia Plan
This plan set the agenda for much of the Constitutional Convention. The plan was believed to have been written chiefly by James Madison. It was devised as a means to correct and enlarge the Articles of Confederation. Although the plan underwent many modifications, key principles like the separation of powers and bicameralism, and key institutions like the executive and judicial branches, clearly originated in this plan. It is most remembered now for its rejected proposal that representation within the national legislature be based solely on population.
Federalists
This term applied to those who advocated ratification of the Constitution; they were centralizing nationalists who were convinced that America's survival required the new, stronger government outlined in the Constitution.
Citizen Genet
In 1793 he was dispatched to the United States to promote American support for France's wars with Spain and Britain. His goals in were to recruit and arm American privateers which would join French expeditions against the British. He also organized American volunteers to fight Britain's Spanish allies in Florida. His actions endangered American neutrality in the war between France and Britain, which Washington had pointedly declared in his Neutrality Proclamation.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
After the Federalist-dominated Congress adopted the Alien and Sedition Acts, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the leaders of the Democratic-Republican Party, responded by secretly authoring these papers. The resolutions suggested that the United States was a compact, much like that formed under the Articles of Confederation, and that states had the right, even the duty, to stop unconstitutional federal actions. Southerners like John C. Calhoun would later transform this vague doctrine of interposition into the doctrines of nullification and secession.
funding
In his Report on Public Credit in 1791, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton recommended that the national debt be funded at par. This meant calling in all outstanding securities and issuing new bonds of the same face value in their place, and establishing an untouchable sinking fund to assure payment of the interest and principal of the new bonds.
Judiciary Act of 1789
Article Three of the United States Constitution created the Supreme Court and gave Congress the power to establish inferior courts. This landmark statute was adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress. The law established the U.S. federal judiciary: it set the number of Supreme Court justices at six: one Chief Justice and five Associate Justices; it established a circuit court and district court in each judicial district; and it created the office of Attorney General.
checks and balances
The Constitution contains ingenious devices of countervailing power. These checks on centralized power balance the authority of government between the co-equal branches of the presidency, Congress, and the Supreme Court. This is sometimes called the separation of powers.
New Jersey Plan
When James Madison offered the Virginia plan at the Constitutional Convention, calling for proportional representation in Congress, James Paterson responded with this plan, hoping to protect the less populous states. This plan called for equal representation for each state in a unicameral legislature. The controversy was resolved in the Great Compromise.
Whiskey Rebellion
Hamilton, unmoved by the plight of the farmers, convinced President George Washington to call up the militia and make a show of force against the farmers. The farmers chose not to fight, but the militia occupied some western Pennsylvania counties for months. This rebellion tested the principles of representative government and the powers of taxation in the new nation.
Washington's Farewell Address
President Washington decided not to seek reelection in 1796. Near the end of his term he delivered this address that warned the nation against the harmful effects of rivalry between political parties, and against the dangers of permanent alliances with foreign nations.
Bank of the United States
In 1791 Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed the creation of this to store government funds, collect and expend government revenue, and issue common currency to serve as a national medium of exchange. Hamilton defended this institution as "necessary and proper" and therefore constitutional. Strict constructionists, like Jefferson and Madison however, believed it to be unconstitutional.
loose construction
Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton held this view of the Constitution claiming that Congress had the authority to pass all laws that were proper (implied powers). Unless the Constitution specifically forbade national legislation (Article I; section 9), then Congress had the authority ubnder the elastic clause of the Constitution. This interpretation of the Constitution would expand the power of the new national government.
President George Washington
After the new government was organized, he was unanimously chosen to be president. He assumed the office of president on April 30, 1789, acutely aware that everything he did established a precedent. He hoped to prevent the rise of divisive partisanship and sectionalism by appointing the most talented people available to his Cabinet. Before he left office in 1797, the nation had a sound currency, adequate tax revenue to meet government expenses, an internationally respected credit rating, an adequate network of sound banks, and the start of a tax system designed to aid the development of manufacturing and maritime commerce. He decided not to seek reelection in 1796, thereby establishing the tradition of two terms for the presidency upheld until Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to a third term in 1940.
Pinckney's Treaty
Also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo, this 1795 treaty established commercial relations between Spain and the United States, granted the United States free navigation of the Mississippi River through Spanish territory, and fixed the boundaries of Louisiana and Florida.
Federalist Papers
Alexander Hamilton, with the help of James Madison and John Jay wrote this--a brilliant series of essays explaining and defending the national government created by the Constitutional Convention of 1787. These essays serve as a primary source for interpretation of the Constitution, as they outline the philosophy and motivation of the proposed system of government. According to historian Richard B. Morris, they are an "incomparable exposition of the Constitution, a classic in political science unsurpassed in both breadth and depth by the product of any later American writer."
3/5 Compromise
Southerners wanted to count slaves as part of their overall population as a way to increase their representation in Congress. Northern delegates opposed to slavery generally wished to count only the free inhabitants of each state. This was the compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which a fraction of the population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives.
Shay's Rebellion
This was an armed rebellion of western Massachusetts farmers to prevent state courts from foreclosing on debtors unable to pay their taxes in1786-7. Fears generated by this rebellion helped to convince states to send delegates to the Constitutional Convention that met in Philadelphia in 1787.
Battle of Fallen Timbers
Beginning in 1790, a coalition of American Indians under Miami chieftain Little Turtle defied efforts by the U.S. government to remove them from their lands. The Miami scored two major victories against the US Army. The government responded by dispatching Gen. Anthony Wayne, a distinguished veteran of the American Revolution, to deal with the uprising. In 1794, Wayne confronted the main force of the Miami at this battle. Though Wayne lost 33 dead and 100 wounded, the Miami villages were destroyed. The defeat of the Indians led to the signing of the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, which ceded much of present-day Ohio to the United States, paving the way for the creation of that state in 1803.
President John Adams
He was one of the lawyers who agreed to defend the British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre. At the Second Continental Congress in 1775, he pressed for a complete break with England . In 1778, he was sent to Europe to obtain a treaty of alliance with France. Later, he returned to France and in concert with Franklin and John Jay, negotiated the Treaty of Paris (1783) with Great Britain to end the revolution. He was elected the first vice president of the United States. In 1796, he overcame Hamilton's opposition to his candidacy to win a narrow victory for the presidency. Vilified by the Republicans for not vetoing the Alien and Sedition Acts, he was defeated for reelection by Jefferson in 1800.
John Jay
His involvement in the First Continental Congress drew him into full-time public service. He was elected president of the Second Continental Congress on December 10, 1778. Along with Ben Franklin and John Adams, he successfully negotiated the terms of the Treaty of Paris in 1783. Convinced that the Articles of Confederation did not provide a strong enough central government, he wrote five Federalist Papers in support of the new Constitution. President George Washington named him to be the first chief justice of the Supreme Court. Washington then asked him in 1794 to negotiate a treaty with Great Britain that recognized U.S. neutrality rights. His success was limited. The treaty he returned with bought time and helped avoid a war, but it did not contain British acceptance of American neutrality rights or halt the impressment of American seamen. He resigned as chief justice in 1795 to become governor of New York.
strict construction
Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson held this view of the Constitution claiming Congress was limited to making only laws that were necessary. Unless powers were specifically delegated to the Congress by the Constitution, the powers should be reserved to the states or to the people. This interpretation of the Constitution would limit the power of the new national government.
Alien and Sedition Acts
In 1798 the Federalist Congress passed these four acts to attack the Republican party and suppress dissent against Federalist policies. The Acts curtailed freedom of speech and the liberty of foreigners resident in the United States. Democratic-Republicans maintained that the acts were an unconstitutional weapon to suppress political dissent, and the acts themselves proved wildly unpopular.
federal system
This term describes a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and constituent political units (like states or provinces). The Constitution embodies this principle, as opposed to the confederation established under the Articles.
XYZ Affair
Peace commissioners sent to France by President Adams in 1797 were insulted by their French counterparts' demand for a bribe as a condition for negotiating with American diplomats. America's tender sense of national honor was outraged by this episode and Federalists increased demands for war against France.
The Great Compromise
This plan was proposed by Roger Sherman of Connecticut at the 1787 Constitutional Convention to resolve differences between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. It called for creating a national bicameral legislature: in the House of Representatives places were to be assigned according to a state's population (proportional representation) and filled by popular vote; in the Senate, each state was to have two members (equal representation) elected by its state legislature.
Critical Period
This term, coined by John Quincy Adams, refers to the 1780's, a time right after the American Revolution where the future of the newly formed nation was in the balance. Large amounts of debt, high taxes, foreign affairs, domestic issues, and military concerns were some of the problems Americans faced shortly after the Revolution. These concerns prompted calls for a more vigorous national government that eventually resulted in the Constitution in 1787.
Electoral College
Specified in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, this group elects the nation's president. It was a compromise worked out during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that allowed small and large states, and Federalists and Antifederalists, to feel that their interests were being met. It placed power in the hands of the states by allowing state delegates to choose the president. It is an important invention of the early republic and signifies the Founding Fathers' distrust of popular sovereignty by keeping the presidency out of the reach of direct democracy.
Bill of Rights
This term refers to the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. James Madison, considered the "father of the Constitution," guided the amendments through the new Congress. The amendments were ratified by the requisite number of states on December 15, 1791 and went into effect on March 1, 1792. The amendments protect individual liberties and states' rights against the power of the national government.
Jay's Treaty
John Jay negotiated a treaty with Britain in 1794 in which the British agreed to evacuate posts in the American northwest and settle some maritime disputes. Jay agreed to accept Britain's definition of America's neutral rights. The terms of the treaty provoked a storm of protest, but it was ratified in 1795.
Anti-Federalists
They were a loosely organized group that arose after the American Revolution to oppose the Constitution and the strong central government that it created. They feared the potential of strong governments to infringe on the liberties of the people and the rights of the states.
Report on Public Credit
This was the first of three major reports on economic policy issued by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton on the request of Congress. The report analyzed the financial standing of the United States. Hamilton proposed a remarkable set of policies for handling the debt problem. All debts were to be paid at face value. The Federal government would assume all of the debts owed by the states, and it would be financed with new U.S. government bonds paying about 4% interest.
James Madison
He is often called the "Father of the Constitution" for his critical role in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. In addition to his remarkable contributions at the Constitutional Convention, he dedicated his life to public service: he authored many of the Federalist Papers; he crafted and sponsored the Bill of Rights; he joined Jefferson in founding the Democratic-Republican Party; he drafted the Virginia Resolves; (as Secretary of State) he guided the successful negotiations for the Louisiana Purchase; and (as president) he successfully guided the United States through the War of 1812.
elastic clause
This clause in the Constitution grants Congress the right to pass all laws "necessary and proper" to carry out the powers specifically granted to Congress by the Constitution. This clause was the source of Hamilton's implied powers doctrine and has been used by "loose constructionists" to increase the powers of the national government.
Alexander Hamilton
During the American Revolution, he helped lead the assault at Yorktown that resulted in a British surrender. In the 1780s, he became a vocal critic of the Articles of Confederation, condemning them for their ineffectiveness. At the Constitutional Convention, he, with such notables as James Madison and Benjamin Franklin pushed for a powerful executive and federal supremacy. He rallied support for the new constitution through writing of several articles that, along with those of Madison and John Jay, became known as the Federalist Papers. With the Constitution ratified and Washington elected, he was appointed secretary of the treasury. As Treasury Secretary, he immediately confronted the main problem facing the new government, namely its finances. In building support for his program, Hamilton created the Federalist Party. In 1804, he was killed in a duel with his political nemesis, Aaron Burr.
Democratic-Republican Party
This political party was organized in the 1790s and became the first opposition party in US history. Following the ideas of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, this party was opposed to a strong central government and a central bank and supported strict construction of the Constitution and the predominance of agriculture in the economy. In 1800, Jefferson was elected president after a bitter political campaign against Adams. For the first time, power was transferred peacefully from one faction to another.

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