1. Our Early Presidents…

2. The First Three… George Washington 1789-1797 John Adams 1797-1801
Thomas Jefferson

3. George Washington- #1 Elected as our first president of United States
He was a great leader and well respected hero of the American Revolution
Americans felt he had a strong character, was honest, and full of patriotism.
Perfect role model for new nation

4. Important People that helped Washington…
Vice President- John Adams
Secretary of Treasury- Alexander Hamilton
Secretary of State- Thomas Jefferson
Secretary of War- Henry Knox
Attorney General- Edmund Randolph
First Lady/Wife- Martha Washington

5. Events from Washington’s Presidency…
1789- Congress passes the Judiciary Act
Creates the Supreme Court
Washington makes John Jay the first Supreme Court Chief Justice (head judge)

6. Hamilton’s great idea…
We are in debt from the war and need to find a way to cover our taxes
Hamilton believes we need a National Bank to stabilize our economy and help with debt
1791- Congress agrees and charters the Bank of the United States
The bank received taxes, was a place for deposits, loaned out money for development, and issued our paper money

7. WE ARE NOT INVOLVED…
1793- The French Revolution begins (similar to the American Revolution)
French want our help…What to do???
1793- Proclamation of Neutrality issued by Washington
Told the world that the United States would NOT take sides with countries at war
Washington thought this would be safe for such a young country

8. Should the United States have helped out the French?
Think about the American Revolution and how they helped us…

9. Lasting effects of Washington’s Presidency…
Created a Cabinet of Advisors… every president after him does this too
Only serves 2 terms as president…”I am not a king, only a president. The people are the country’s true leaders”

10. Second President- John Adams
Ran for the Federalist Party and wins a narrow victory over Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is elected as his vice president even though he is from a different political party, the Democratic-Republicans
Many saw him as hard working, honest, and intelligent.

11. XYZ Affair… (nothing to do with pants)
1798- French officials (aka X,Y, and Z) tried to bribe our American diplomats on a peace seeking mission.
Adams feared war might break out over this incident
Adams does create a large navy and army but is able to avoid war over this insult
French
Americans

12. Alien and Sedition Acts… not from Mars or Venus
In response to the incident with France and a possible war
Congress passed this law in 1798 that said
President could remove any foreign resident for “treasonous behavior”
Made it illegal for citizens to “write, print, utter, or publish” any false/ hostile words against the government
Citizens could not plot against any government actions

13. What is wrong with the Alien and Sedition Acts?
Do you think they are fair?

14. Wait a minute!!! Keep thinking …
How does the Alien and Sedition Acts violate the Bill of Rights?

15. Election of 1800- Big Issues…
Adams runs for re-election, Jefferson, Burr, and Pinckney run against him.
Jefferson and Burr won 73 electoral votes each while Adams won 65 and Pinckney won 64.
TIE FOR PRESIDENT…
WHAT TO DO???

16. How do we handle this???
There was nothing in the Constitution about what to do…
So they sent the issue to the House of Representatives for a vote which resulted in another tie…and for 30 more times after that!!
Finally, so many people refused to vote overall and Jefferson ended up winning
Because of this the 12th amendment was passed in 1803 creating a separate ballot for President and Vice President to avoid ties

17. Third President- Thomas Jefferson
Jefferson was a Democratic- Republican Party Candidate…believes in less government control over issues
Wanted the people to be in charge
Wanted to be fair

18. Important people for Jefferson…
Secretary of State- James Madison
Chief Justice of Supreme Court- John Marshall
Rival- Alexander Hamilton

19. 1803- Marbury vs. Madison VERY IMPORTANT CASE!!!
Established Judicial Review… gave the Supreme court its power of declaring laws unconstitutional.
What Happens…
Marbury sues Madison saying that he Madison illegally stopped Marbury from getting his job as a federal judge as was his right under the Judicial Act of 1789
The court rules that the Judicial Act was WRONG and did not follow the Constitution therefore it was invalid or illegal
This is the FIRST time the supreme court has done this

20. 1803- Louisiana Purchase- Land anyone???
France needs money to fight a war and offers to sell us some land
This DOUBLES the size of the United States and gives us the control of the Mississippi and Port of New Orleans for trade
Jefferson is able to purchase the land owned by France at the price of $15 million dollars
This is called the LOUSIANA PURCHASE