GW-Domestic Policy-2019-notes

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Stony Brook University *

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101

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Political Science

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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pptx

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Uploaded by DeanDanger10243

GW & “the Unwritten Constitution” • As the first president, Washington established a number of precedents that his successors followed. • He tolerated political parties . • He used a cabinet of advisers to assist him (all the Secretaries of the departments) • He retired after 2 terms (made mandatory by the 22 nd Amendment in 1951 • He gave a farewell address .

GW’s & American Community • GW believed America was born as an empire. • Americans were one people (not a collection of peoples). • He believed the U.S. needed a powerful central to pursue national interests. • He referred to state governments as “wretched fragments of Empire.” • Commanding the Continental Army proved to him that Americans could come together in a common cause. • Soldiers’ willingness to fight without pay and in terrible conditions suggested the Spirit of 1776 was a real, unifying force.

Economic Context • The U.S. owed France, Spain, and the Netherlands a lot of money and needed revenue. • To address this problem, Treasury Secretary Hamilton secured the passage of an excise tax on Whiskey in 1791. • The money would be used to pay down the national debt AND fund national projects-- like road building , military development , and industrial growth . • Small (frontier) distillers had to pay a higher rate than large (urban) distillers. • The tax had to be paid in specie (coin), which farmers did not have. • Farmers turned their crops into whiskey because it was easier to transport jugs of whiskey than crops given poor roads.

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The Whiskey Rebellion • Angry frontier farmers-- especially those in Western Pennsylvania--refused to pay the tax. • They tarred and feathered tax collectors. • Sporadic violence broke out in which people on both sides were killed. • They burned homes and barns. • Determined to avoid another Shays’ Rebellion, Washington urged farmers to stop resistance and pay the tax. • When they refused, he gathered a 13,000-man force (from 4 states) and marched them into Pennsylvania to meet the rebels. • End of rebellion . Not a shot was fired.

Effects : Factional Divisions Grew • Few resisters were arrested, and Washington pardoned the two rebels convicted of treason. • But the event accelerated the development of competing political parties with different ideologies. • Federalists (led by Hamilton & supported by Washington) emphasized industry , order , and federal supremacy . • Republicans (led by Jefferson and Madison) emphasized agriculture , liberty , and states’ rights .

Competing Visions of American Community • Washington viewed the U.S. from a top-down perspective. • The country was a national entity that had to increase its national power. • Jefferson viewed the U.S. from bottom-up perspective. • The country was an interconnected web of political ties radiating upward: local state federal • Partisanship and violence in Congress resulted! • In 1798, Federalist Roger Griswold called Republican Matthew Lyon a “scoundrel”, causing Lyon to spit in Griswold’s face. • Weeks later, Griswold attacked Lyon with a cane, and Lyon defended himself with fire tongs--on the Senate floor!

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