Daniel O’Bryan

10/20/08 History

Early Presidents Test

George Washington

The most accomplished president during the first presidencies was

b y far the presidency of George Washington. Almost every decision made

during his two terms was made correctly. Throughout his domestic

problems, foreign affairs, and frontier issues his ability to reason was

almost flawless. And at the end of his second term George Washington

gave America the best gift any president could.

The new American Government was in a remarkably primitive state.

But Washington's performance in those early years was both surefooted

and brilliant. Departments of State, War, and Treasur y were established,

along with the office of the Attorney General, each headed by a trusted

presidential choice. This set up the roll if the cabinet and it stayed this

way for many years to come. Washington’s goal was balance in these

appointments that checked their strength. A Supreme Court was created,

headed by a chief justice and justices, who were chosen by the President

and approved by Congress. Also Washington received ten amendments to

the Constitution from Congress that became known as the Bill of Rights.

The biggest problem after the revolution, however, was money.

During the war for independence, the United States was loaned a great
deal of money from foreign countries, especially France. Washington

looked to his advisors, and especially Hamilton for an answer.

The young country’s financial problems were from both domestic

and foreign debts from the war. Treasur y Secretar y Alexander Hamilton

laid plans for governmental financing with tariffs and a tax on liquor.

Much of this revenue was used for paying war debts. Hamilton also

proposed a national bank to centralize the nation's financial base.

A tax on whiskey was one of the key elements of Hamilton's

program. This taxation enraged many citizens, and resistance to the

whiskey tax boiled over in western Penns ylvania with attacks on tax.

Washington was alarmed by the Whiskey Rebellion, seeing it as a threat to

the nation's existence. In an extraordinary move designed to demonstrate

the federal government's power, the President ordered militia from several

other states into Pennsylvania to keep order. He then traveled to the site

of the troubles to personally to help with the training of the troops and to

lend his encouragement to the militia. The rebellion collapsed quickly

with little violence, and the resistance movements disbanded. Later,

Washington pardoned the men convicted of treason in the matter.

In 1789, the French Revolution sent shock waves across the

Atlantic. Many Americans, remembering of French aid during their own

struggle for independence, supported returning the favor. At the same

time, the British were once again persuading Native Americans to attack

settlers in the West, hoping to disrupt the growing nation. American anger
in response to these attacks served gave support for aiding France in any

conflict with England . Washington was very much against any such

foreign entanglement, considering his countr y too weak and unstable to

fight another war with a major world power. His stance in neutrality in

foreign wars set another precedent for years to come.

Britain announced that it would seize any ships trading with the

French, including American ships By the following year, tensions with

Britain were so high that Washington had to stop all American shipments

overseas. An envoy was sent to England to attempt reconciliation.

The President's strong decision in response to the British actions

was to seek a diplomatic solution. But the envoy to England, John Jay,

negotiated a weak treaty that hurt the freedom of trade and failed to

compensate Americans for slaves taken by the British during the

Revolution. Worst of all, the treaty did not address the British practice of

impressment. Congress approved the treaty with the exception that trade

barriers imposed by England be lessened. Washington, while dissatisfied

with elements of the treaty, signed it nonetheless.

For the first time, members of the government openly criticized

Washington. While this no doubt led to some hard feelings, it was also a

milestone. The new found government chose sides, verbally berated their

President, everyone was heard, and the government remained standing. It

was the first example of the public criticism that would be essential to the

survival of American democracy for over two centuries.

 Frontier issues were not as prominent during Washington’s

presidencies as the other first three presidents. Washington learned that an

American force had been defeated by a Native American uprising in the

Northwest Territor y that killed over 600 American soldiers and militia.

The President ordered the Revolutionar y War veteran General "Mad"

Anthony Wayne to launch a new expedition against a group of tribes led

b y Chief Little Turtle. Wayne spent months training his troops to fight

using forest warfare in the style of the Indians before marching boldly

into the region. After constructing a line of forts, Wayne and his troops

crushed the Indians in the Battle of Fallen Timbers. Defeated, the Native

Americans, gave large portions of Indian lands to the United States and

then moved west.

Although it was his for the taking, Washington never considered

running for a third term. Over four decades of public service had left him

exhausted physically, mentally, and financially. He happily handed the

office to his successor, John Adams. B y ceding office after two terms,

Washington helped ensure a regular and orderly transfer of power. His

two-term limit set a custom that would stand for a century and a half

John Adams
 Out of the first four presidents John Adams’s presidency was the

largest let down. John Adams was one of the greatest men in his time but

his presidency could be viewed as a train wreck. Although it did not help

that Jefferson, Adams’ VP, was stabbing him in the back, Adams made

some truly stupid mistakes during his time in office.

President Adams's style was largely to leave domestic matters to

Congress and to control foreign policy himself. As a result of his style,

much of his domestic policy was intertwined with his foreign policy.

On the heels of the XYZ Affair , there were many negative feelings

toward the French. Sensing this mood in the public and identifying an

opportunity to crush the Democratic-Republican Party of Thomas

Jefferson, the Federalist-dominated Congress drafted and passed the Alien

and Sedition Acts during the spring and summer of 1798. Adams signed

the legislation into law. These acts were made up of four pieces of

legislation that became the most bitterly contested domestic issue during

the Adams presidency.

To pay for the militar y measures it enacted during the XYZ crisis,

the Federalist Congress enacted heavy new stamp and house taxes.

Farmers in eastern Penns ylvania rioted and attacked federal tax collectors.

They believed that the new taxes were designed to support a large

standing army and navy, which they opposed.

In response to the Federalists' use of federal power, Democratic-

Republicans Thomas Jefferson and James Madison secretly drafted a set of

resolutions. These resolutions were introduced into the Kentucky and

Virginia legislatures in the fall of 1798. Jefferson and Madison argued

that since the Constitution was created by a compact among the states, the

people, speaking through their state legislatures, had the authority to

judge the legitimacy of federal actions. Hence, they pronounced the Alien

and Sedition Acts null and void.

Although no other states formally supported the resolutions, they

mostly agreed with the Democratic-Republican opinion. The resolutions

also raised the issue of states' rights and the constitutional question of

how conflict between the two authorities would be resolved

Adams's presidency was consumed with problems that arose from

the French Revolution, which had also been true for Washington. Initially

popular with virtually all Americans, the French Revolution began to

arouse concerns among the most conservative in the United States after

the beheadings that occurred in 1792. Adams had observed the coming of

the French Revolution while living in France and Great Britain, and he

immediately realized its potential for terror and anarchy. His hesitance

was soon confirmed.

The great danger for the United States began in the spring of when

Great Britain, the principal source of American trade, joined the many

European nations against France. Although the Washington administration

proclaimed American neutrality, a crisis developed when England sought

to prevent U.S. trade with France. Numerous raids occurred on the seas, as
ships of the Royal Navy seized American ships and cargoes and to

impressed American sailors who had allegedly “deserted the British navy”.

Cries for war with Britain were widespread by 1794. Believing that war

would be disastrous, President Washington sent John Jay to London to

seek a diplomatic solution. The result was Jay's Treaty, signed in 1794.

The treaty improved U.S.-British relations. France, interpreting the treaty

as a newly formed alliance between the United States and an old enemy,

retaliated by ordering the seizure of American ships carrying British

goods. This threw Adams into a foreign crisis that lasted for the duration

of his administration. At first, Adams tried diplomacy by sending three

commissioners to Paris to negotiate a settlement. However, France

insulted the American diplomats by first refusing to officially receive

them. He then demanded a $250,000 personal bribe and a $10 million loan

for his financially strapped country before he would begin peace

negotiations. This episode, known as the XYZ affair, sparked a white-hot

reaction within the United States.

Adams responded by asking Congress to appropriate funds for

defensive measures. These included the creation of the Navy, improvement

of coastal defensives, and the creation of a national army.

Incidents with France soon took place on the high seas. Historians

call this undeclared war the Quasi-War crisis. Some Americans who hated

the French Revolution, hoped for war to save Great Britain and destroy

the revolutionaries in France. However, President Adams sought a

peaceful solution, if it could be had on honorable terms for the United

States. His goal was to demonstrate American resolve and, he hoped, bring

France to the bargaining table. By the time the commissioners reached

Paris late in 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte had become the head of the French

government. After several weeks of negotiation, the American envoys and

Napoleon signed the Treaty of Mortefontaine (Conference of 1800), which

released the United States from its Revolutionary War alliance with

France and brought an end to the Quasi-War.

Like with Washington, frontier issues did not play a large part in the

presidency of John Adams. The Louisiana Territory was not yet founded

and with the Native Americans moving west there was little conflict on

the Frontier.

The Alien and Seditions Acts were definitely the low point of the

Adams Administration. Adams was a brilliant man but his presidency was

one we wished had a better outcome.