BR: T3D9 Which of the amendments from the Bill of Rights do YOU think is MOST important? Explain! In a bit, we will be presenting our PSAs for the Bill of Rights. Have those ready to go!

U.S. History Ch. 8.1 The First President

First President Washington was hoping to enjoy retirement. Instead, he was elected the first President of the United States under the new constitution in April 1789. (John Adams got the 2nd most votes, so that meant he was VP; this rule later changed) He knew that people would be watching closely. He didn’t want to come across as just another tyrant, like King George III of Britain. So, he set about leading the way by establishing precedents, or traditions, that most presidents have followed to this day, including going by the title of Mr. President, rather than His Excellency, His Highness, or some other high and mighty title. The next thing he did was establish the first departments of the Executive Branch, with Congress. They were: The State Department, to handle foreign relations The Treasury Department, to deal with money matters The War Department, to handle the defense of the U.S. The Office of Attorney General, to manage legal affairs & Lastly, the Office of Postmaster General, to manage post offices

New Cabinet Appointees The leaders of these departments became known as secretaries. Washington chose who would lead his cabinet, as it became known, and here were his choices: Secretary of State – Thomas Jefferson Secretary of the Treasury – Alexander Hamilton Secretary of War – Henry Knox Attorney General – Edmund Randolph Postmaster General – Samuel Osgood This precedent is still followed today; when a new president is elected, they will appoint new cabinet heads for each of these executive departments (there are many more such departments today). However, Congress still has to approve them VID

Judiciary Act of 1789 Congress couldn’t agree on how to create a new federal court system. The Judiciary Act of 1789 tried to solve those differences of opinion: It created 13 federal court districts and other courts to serve the nation. State laws remained, but federal courts could overturn them. These districts have changed over time. The Supreme Court would be the final authority on most issues. John Jay was appointed by Washington as the first Chief Justice. How does this work today? VID The Bill of Rights was also passed, presented by James Madison at this time, as we have thoroughly discussed. BILL of Rights PSAs

Bill of Rights PSAs (~15 min total) We will start by having each group come up and present & explain their Amendment(s) for about 1 minute, as follows: 1st; 2nd; 3rd; 4th; 5th; 6th & 7th; 8th; 9th & 10th; etc. Afterwards, we’ll have a vote; you get 2 votes, but neither can be for your OWN PSA. Then, we’ll have a runoff election (top choices will be voted on). Democracy in ACTION, baby! The final winning PSA & group will get an all-expenses paid trip to Mr. Wright’s Candy Machine! Hoorah!* *This means one quarter per student (sorry, I’m a teacher and poor, for Pete’s sake!) May the best PSA win!

Financial Issues Ok, so sadly, the country still had one big problem: the national debt (hey…so do WE! 😅). Alexander Hamilton, the secretary in charge of this stuff…what is it…? Yes! So he proposed the federal government pay off all of the debts the states owed…thus guaranteeing their allegiance to the national gov. It was messy though. Bonds, or basically government I.O.U.s, had been issued for the American Revolution. While waiting to be paid, many of the original bond holders (average American citizens trying to help out their country) had sold these bonds at cheap prices to speculators, or investors hoping to make money off of them one day. Hamilton now proposed that the federal government pay the face value of those I.O.U.s; the speculators would get rich, and the original bond holders felt betrayed. The Southern states also didn’t like the idea, because they had less debt than the north, but all states were being asked to pay an equal share to fund this buyoff. The solution? Place the new capital in the South, between Maryland & Virginia, aka the District of Columbia / D.C.

Building the Economy Other ideas that Hamilton had to help build a strong National Economy included a national bank, the Bank of the United States. The stock for this proposed bank would be owned by both private investors and the federal government. At this time, there were only 8 other banks, and they were all created by state governments. Not everyone agreed with the idea (especially Thomas Jefferson), but ultimately Congress and the President agreed, and the First National Bank was created. VID Hamilton also felt that manufact- uring and trade would boost our economy, like it had Britain’s. He proposed a tariff, or tax on imported goods, which would encourage people to buy American products.

Last but not least…Taxes Southerners didn’t like the idea, as they had little such industry to protect, but in the end some lower tariffs were approved, and during the 1790s, 90% of the national debt was paid off in part with these tariffs. Taxes were also approved, to make interest payments on national debt interest, as well as pay for other things. Congress, at Hamilton’s suggestion, created many new taxes, to help fund the increased federal government spending. One was a tax on whiskey, which would be problematic. These proposals however divided the country. Some believed (like Thomas Jefferson) that they would create a country that was dominated by the wealthy and a federal government, rather than simple farmers. Was he right?

HW Nothing! If you still need to finish your PSA, get that done! Otherwise, enjoy the day off!