The Federalist Era 1789-1801 Foreign Affairs, the rest of Washington's Presidency

• Foreign Affairs
  • Intro: make sure that we know at least three arguments that Hamilton and Jefferson had domestically, because now we are going to learn about arguments they had internationally. The arguments that they were having only got worse with international affairs, until eventually Thomas Jefferson resigned
  • The French Revolution
    • 1789 broke out the same year George Washington became president. Started on July 14, 1789 with the storming of the Bastille, which was an armory and jail for the political prison.
    • What revolutionaries wore: the sans culottes (long pants without silk stockings) the bone rouge (the red cap) and the tricolor flag.
    • Three Phases of the Revolution
      • Phase 1 was lead by the middle class. Bourgeois wanted a constitutional monarchy like the British. Wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Man, which had lots of similar ideas to the Declaration of Independence. Most people were enamored of the French wanting to be like the US.
      • Phase 2 was lead by Robespierre and his followers, the Jacobins. This period was called the Reign of Terror because of the invention of the guillotine by a doctor, who wanted to make executions more humane. Killed Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette and abolished the Catholic Church. By this phase, 90% of people in the US hated the French Revolution.
      • The Wars of the French Revolution1793-1799: Austria attacked to stop the spread of the Revolution, but the French Revolutionaries kicked them out. GBR tried to stop the Revolution from spreading.
        • What position would America take on the Wars of the French Revolution? Would America honor the Treaty of Alliance of 1788, created after the Battle of Saratoga. No. George said that we did not have sufficient funds or troops to help and issued the Proclamation of Neutrality 1793. Hamilton was really happy, and Jefferson was upset. Right away France tested America's neutrality. They sent Genêt to land in the Boston harbor, and received a large and popular arrival.
          • Genêt issued the Letters of Marquis, which gave permission to American privateers to attack British ships under the French flag. The Little Democrat was a ship that almost caused lots of trouble for the American government and inflicted the most damage on British ships.
          • Genêt started recruiting forces to fight in the was against the Spanish in Florida.
          • He told the peole to put preassure on the pres to pay back the debts they owed France
          • Started republican clubs, which were jacobin clubs
        • Finally George Washington told Genêt to shut up or get out, and Genêt chose to shut up for fear of getting his head cut off in the 3rd phase of the French Revolution. Genêt ended up marrying the daughter of the governor of New York's daughter and lived happily ever after. Jefferson resigned in late 1793, and Washington politely accepted his resignation.
  • Anglo-American Relations
    • The British testing Washington's Neutrality
      • First Issue: The British were still in the forts in America. The British would trade guns and alcohol with the Indians and encourage them to attack the Americans.
        • The Miami Confederacy was now armed with guns, and their goal was to not let the Americans take over the rest of Ohio. Governor Arther St. Claire of Ohio was ambushed by Native American chiefs Little Turtle and Blue Jacket on the Wabash river. The governor was killed as well as his troops.
        • The Native Americans thought that the Americans would be intimidated by this ambush, but it made them really angry.
        • Battle of Fallen Timbers "Mad" Anthony Wayne attacked the Indians in the exact same way the Indians attacked the Americans.
        • Led to the treaty of Greenville in 1795: Indians would give up lots of land in Ohio, and stop talking to the British.
      • Second Issue: Impressment- when the British captured American sailors, they forced them to serve in the British navy. As many as 300 sailors were taken from American boats to fight the French.
    • George Washington sends John Jay to GBR to negotiate in 1794 to avoid a war.
      • Thomas Jefferson wanted war with the British, but the Federalists did not because it would mess up the trade in Hamilton's financial plans.
      • Hamilton sent a letter to London containing everything that Jay was going to try and negotiate. Hamilton was scared that Jay would start a war.
      • Jay's Treaty 1794: British would leave their American trading posts, and pay back damages for their ship damages. Americans were required to pay back pre revolutionary war debts, did not receive compensation for slaves, and were required to pay back factors. The South was furious but it kept the peace.
  • Pinckney's Treaty (San Lorenzo): it was immensely successful! Spain gave up lots of things in this treaty because they thought that Jay's Treaty allied GBR and the US.
    • use of the Mississippi river and the right of deposit
    • 31 degrees land they were given
    • Spanish said that they would get control of their Indians, the Seminoles
• The Rest of Washington's Presidency
  • The Two Party System: caused by the reaction to Jay's Treaty
    • The Federalists and the Anti-Federalists were two political factions not parties. They existed over the sole issue of ratifying the Constitution. Antifederalist was not a political party.
    • Democratic Republicans vs. The Federalists
      • Democratic Republican Beliefs:
        • wanted alliance with the French
        • more concentrated in the South
        • planters, yeoman farmers, and other lower class jobs. In the North they were craftspeople, shop owners
        • strict interpretation of the Consitution
        • weaker central government, and supported the 10th amendment
      • Federalist Beliefs:
        • alliance with the British for trade purposes, Hamilton's fiscal program
        • concentrated in the north especially NE like NY. lived mostly in coastal cities.
        • merchants, lawyers, bankers, doctors, educated people
        • loose interpretation of the Constitution
        • wanted strong government, strong presidency, and supported the elastic clause.
  • George Washington's farewell address.
    • established the 2 term tradition
    • Alexander Hamilton actually wrote George's Farewell address, and warned against 3 things
      • political parties because they will tear the country apart
      • permanent, entangling alliances because they will drag you into a war every time
      • sectionalism. think of the country first before the state
  • Washington's accomplishments
    • under his presidency established the financial system
    • 3 states were added: Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee
    • got into 0 wars
    • Parson Weems wrote a biography of George Washington that turned him into a god, almost.