Chapter 8.1 Washington takes Office

I. First President April 1789 Washington traveled to New York, the nations capital to begin his term as president The U.S. was excited to have him as president since he was a war hero with great leadership qualities

A. The Executive Branch The constitution only provided an outline to run the country so Washington’s first job was to organize government Congress began setting up gov. jobs like treasury, state dept, war dept. etc… the president would assign a leader or secretary for each department and of course they were war friends of Washington, this group will become the presidents cabinet

B. Establishing the Judiciary The court system was created which was made up of 6 justices who ran the court system Lady Justice represents our judicial System. She is blindfolded to show that Our gov. does not look at the social or Economic status of a person and she is Holding the scales to show the weighing Of both or 2 sides of a story

II Nations first major economic crises The revolution left the new country in debt They owed nearly 52 million which the gov. tried to pay back by issuing bonds to be purchased with the promise of repayment with interest Many invested in America because they showed promise by winning the war but they also were taking a big risk

The new government was running on nothing, they couldn’t even afford to pay to move the president to the capital, Washington had to borrow money from his friends

II. Hamilton’s Financial Plan Alexander Hamilton the Treasurer created a 3 part plan for the United States 1. Government would pay all state and national debt 2. they would open a national bank for gov. funds 3. They would impose high taxes to raise money for the government

A. Paying Debt Paying this would be hard but Washington wanted the world to know that the U.S. was good on their word that they pay their debts Many states helped by paying their own debts especially in the south, how ???? For this the U.S. was planning on building a new capital in the South (what could this be related too)

B. A National Bank Second part of Hamilton’s plan was creating a national bank This would protect the U.S. money and allow them to issue more paper money for the people Many feared that this was giving to much power to the gov. but Hamilton pointed out that the Constitution states that they can do “whatever is necessary and proper” for the safety and benefit of the country

C. High Tariff Tax Final part of Hamilton’s plan was to tax on all imported goods which would raise more money for our government This helps the industrial north but not the farming south because they make their own goods

III. The Whiskey Rebellion In 1791 Congress created a tax on whiskey that was made and sold in the U.S. Since it was a popular drink they decided to make money off the Americans This does just the opposite and creates a terrible revolt against the leaders of the country

Many back country farmers made extra money by making the whiskey from the corn they grow They resented the tax and compared this to the British rule in the revolution They also refused to pay the tax They rebelled and even burned down homes of those trying to collect the tax This becomes known as the Whiskey Rebellion

Washington responds quickley He sent a Militia to Pennsylvania to control the rebels When the rebels heard of the 13,000 troops coming they scattered and ran knowing what kind of man Washington was This was the first test of leadership and Washington makes good on his name and handles it, also shows that rebells wont be tolerated

Ticket Out the Door!!!! What issues led to the first major national economic crises and how did the U.S. try to get out of this? Compare and contrast to our economic issues today???