CH10 – Launching the New Ship of State

Time Frame: 1789-1800

Objectives: At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• State why George Washington was pivotal to inaugurating the new federal government.
• George Washington’s Precedents — History.com Video
• Rediscovering George Washington . Multimedia: Circular Letter to States | PBS
• Describe the methods and policies Alexander Hamilton used to put the federal government on a sound financial footing.
• Hamilton’s Financial Plan [ushistory.org]
• SparkNotes: Alexander Hamilton: Secretary of the Treasury I: 1788–1791
• Explain how the conflict between Hamilton and Jefferson led to the emergence of the first political parties.
• Federalist Party — History.com Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts
• United States History – Hamilton vs. Jefferson
• Describe the polarizing effects of the French Revolution on American foreign and domestic policy and politics from 1790 to 1800.
• Office of the Historian – Milestones – 1784-1800 – The United States and the French Revolution
• The Effects of the French Revolution on American Politics | eHow.com
• Explain the rationale for Washington’s neutrality policies, including the conciliatory Jay’s Treaty and why the treaty provoked Jeffersonian outrage.
• Save Our History — George Washington’s Greatest Challenges — History.com Videos
• Describe the causes of the undeclared war with France, and explain Adams’s decision to seek peace rather than declare war.
• American President: John Adams: Foreign Affairs
• Foreign Policy Under John Adams
• Describe the poisonous political atmosphere that produced the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions.
• The Alien and Sedition Acts [ushistory.org]
• Alien & Sedition Acts-University of Idaho-University of Idaho
• Bill of Rights Institute: Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
• Describe the contrasting membership and principles of the Hamiltonian Federalists and the Jeffersonian Republicans, and how they laid the foundations of the American political party system.
• faculty.polytechnic.org/gfeldmeth/chart.feddr.pdf– Comparison of two parties on different issues
• SparkNotes: Political Parties: The American Two-Party System

Assignments

• Washington Presidency Chart (PDF)