1. Washington’s Presidency
“We are in the wilderness without a single footstep to guide us”
-James Madison, 1789

2. Judiciary Act of 1789
Congress created the Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and five associate justices (currently there are 8 associate justices)
Congress created federal circuit courts and federal district courts.
Congress reinforced that federal laws were the “supreme laws of the land”
-State court decisions could be appealed to a federal court when Constitutional issues were raised.

3. Executive Branch Congress created three executive departments
1. Department of State (foreign affairs) – Washington picked Thomas Jefferson as his first Secretary of State
2. Department of War (military) – Henry Knox
3. Department of the Treasury–Alexander Hamilton

4. Hamilton vs. Jefferson
Hamilton favored a strong central government led by an elite upper class focused on consumers and industry.
Jefferson wanted strong state and local government with a focus on citizen participation and agriculture

5. Bank of the United States
Alexander Hamilton proposed that a national bank be established to issue paper money and handle tax receipts.
Opponents (including James Madison) claimed the Constitution did not authorize Congress to create the bank. This issue helped to start the battle between those favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution (and a weak federal gov’t) and those who would allow a loose interpretation (creating a strong central gov’t).
 Hamilton claimed the “elastic clause” gave Congress the power to establish the bank.
Eventually, Hamilton convinced Washington and a majority of Congress to create the Bank of the United States.

6. District of Columbia
In order to improve relations with the south, Hamilton suggested moving the nations capital from New York City to a new city on the Potomac.
Virginians like Madison and Jefferson supported the idea and in 1790 Congress passed a bill authorizing the construction of a capital city on the Potomac.

7. The Whiskey Rebellion
During Washington’s second term, Hamilton convinced Congress to pass an excise tax on the production of Whiskey. (revenue tax)
Most Whiskey producers were frontier farmers. They rebelled against the tax by beating up tax collectors and refusing to pay
Hamilton and Washington called up 15,000 militiamen to forcefully put down the rebellion.
The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated the resolve of the new government to enforce federal law.