1. Washington’s Presidency
APUSH Unit 2

2. First Term – Economic Issues
Focus =
Cabinet Members
Secretary of State
Secretary of Treasury
Hamilton’s Economic Plan:
Washington’s first term focused primarily on economic issues.
Focus = Economic Issues
Cabinet Members
Secretary of State = Jefferson
Secretary of Treasury = Hamilton
2. Hamilton’s Economic Plan:
Promote national economic self-sufficiency
Gain support of commercial classes
Pay off outstanding foreign debt. Encourage manufacturing and industrialization
Maintain perpetual debt (assume state debt) – commercial class would buy bonds from the government
Establish a national bank
Govt. would own one portion of stock, individuals would own another portion
Would tie rich business men to the government
Place a tax on whiskey and have high protective tariff on imported goods

3. Outcome of Hamilton’s Program
Deepened political factions:
Cabinet Tension:
Deepened political factions
South upset with economic plan.
Saw plan as benefiting wealthy and unconstitutional.
Washington signed economic bill into law.
Cabinet Tension: Jefferson and Hamilton at odds with one another

4. Washington’s Farewell Address
HIGH DEBT
FACTIONS
Country must
avoid the following
FOREIGN
ENTANGLEMENTS
REGIONALISM
Discussed many different issues and concerns:
#1 – a weak central government needs to be avoided at all costs b/c it leads to 5 main problems.
#2 – The U.S. should avoid all foreign entanglements unless it was to protect it’s own security (isolationist perspective)
#3 – Factions or political parties will weaken a government. While inevitable, people must work together rather than against one another.
#4 – The U.S. must avoid high debt, which will weaken the government because it will be dependent on those it borrows money from. Reminiscent of what happened under the Articles of Confederation.
#5 – Regionalism. Americans must avoid associating with one another based more on where they live geographically rather than as Americans as a whole. Fearful that regional differences will lead to division. In many ways, this foreshadows the problems that will arise between the North, South and West leading ultimately to the Civil War.
WEAK CENTRAL
GOVERNMENT
DISUNITY