The Young Republic (1788-1815)

1. George Washington (1789-1797) only president to not identify with a political party

   • Vice President: John Adams

   • Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson

   • Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton

Key Components:

Judiciary Act (1789): established the structure of the federal court system and created the position of attorney general.

Tariff of 1789: placed Great Britain and France on an equal playing field in regard to shipping, raw products delivered to American ports, and manufacturing.

Whiskey Rebellion (1799): the first test of federal authority in the United States, people rebelled against the new excise tax proposed by Alexander Hamilton.

French Revolution-Citizen Genet (1793): forced the United States to formulate a consistent policy on the issue of neutrality.

Jay Treaty with England (1795): an agreement by the United States and Great Britain with the intention of preventing war between the two nations.

Pinckney Treaty with Spain (1795): resolved territorial conflicts between the United States and Spain, granted American ships the right of free navigation in the Mississippi River, and duty-free transport through the port of New Orleans.

Washington’s Farewell Address (1796): a letter written by George Washington to the people after his 20 years of public service to the United States. after this letter he retired to his home in Virginia.

First Bank of the United States (1791-1811): collected tax revenues, secured government funding, made loans to the government, transferred government deposits through the bank's branch network, and paid the government's bills. idea was heavily endorsed by Alexander Hamilton.

2. John Adams (1797-1801) only federalist president

   • Vice President: Thomas Jefferson

Key Components:

XYZ Affair (1797): an incident between France and the United States that resolved in an undeclared naval Quasi-War.

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798): raised the citizen residency requirements for citizenship from 5 years to 14 years. also authorized the president to deport “aliens” and permitted arrest, deportation, and imprisonment during the war.

Naturalization Act (1798): helped promote the increase of requirements for citizenship from 5 years to 14 years. it also increased the Declaration of Intention from 3 years to 5 years.

• Declaration of Intention: the record where an applicant for United States citizenship declared to become a citizen and denounced their allegiance to a foreign government.

“Midnight Judges” (1801): people appointed by Adams to quickly fill any vacant judicial positions with people who supported the Federalist party and Adams.

Kentucky (Jefferson) and Virginia (Madison) Resolutions (1798): these resolutions condemned the alien and sedition acts as unconstitutional. they claimed that because these acts overstepped federal authority under the constitution, they should become null and void.

3. Thomas Jefferson (1801-1809) republican

   • Vice President: Aaron Burr, George Clinton

   • Secretary of State: James Madison

Key Components:

Marbury v. Madison (1803): established the principle of judicial review.

• Judicial Review: the power of the federal courts to declare executive and legislative acts unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase (1803): the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15,000,000. this roughly doubled the United States’ size and helped to expand westward.

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1805): they explored western territory and brought back information about the climate and Native American tribes. this inspired Americans and got them excited about westward expansion.

12th Amendment (1804): specifies that there’s a separate election of the president and vice president by the electoral college.

Embargo Act (1807): closed United States ports to all exports and restricted imports coming from Great Britain.

Non-Intercourse Act (1809): allowed world trade to resume with the exclusion of trade with Great Britain and France.

4. James Madison (1809-1817) republican

   • Vice President: George Clinton, Elbridge Gerry

   • Secretary of State: James Monroe

Key Components:

Macon Act (1810): stated that if either Britain or France agreed to observe the neutrality of the United States, the U.S. would resume trade with that country and then place an embargo on the other, the French ended up agreeing

Berlin and Milan Decrees: a blockade in which neutrals and allies were not allowed to trade with the British

Orders in Council: forbade French trade with Great Britain, its allies, or neutrals, and instructed the Royal Navy to blockade French and allied ports

“War Hawks” (1811-1812): led by Henry Clay, pressed for military confrontation to readdress American grievances

War of 1812: fought between the United States and Great Britain from 1812 to 1815. The causes of the war included British impressment of American sailors, trade restrictions, and British support of Native American tribes. The war ended in a stalemate, with no significant territorial changes.