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Remaining Neutral
The American Revolution seemed to inspire the French. By July of 1789, citizens of Paris attacked the Bastille, a prison that was a symbol of royal power. This started the French Revolution and led to the beheading of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1793. Some Americans thought that they should fight with the French, while others thought it was best to remain neutral. George Washington claimed that America would remain neutral and would not take any part in this revolution. -
Settling the Debt
Alexander Hamilton was the secretary of the treasury so he was responsible for paying off the national debt. Over all, the United States owed about $52 million to other countries in result of the Revolutionary War. Hamilton made most of the decisions about how to pay off the war debt which led to a bigger decision to be made. Hamilton, Jefferson, and James Madison decided to move the national capital to Philadelphia in 1791 for 10 years. -
Jefferson Opposed Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson started to disagree about the authority of the central government. Hamilton wanted a strong government while Jefferson wanted more say for the citizens. Hamilton promoted manufacturing and business and suggested that government should award a prize to companies that made excellent products. Jefferson on the other hand, was worried about depending too much on business. Jefferson and Hamilton had very different views on the government. -
Conflict in the Northwest Territory
The Americans kept taking land from the Native Americans without listening to their protests. Eventually the Native Americans started to fight back. Chief Little Turtle defeated two American armies and attacked a supply train. The American troops were strong because of the warm summer and defeated the Native Americans. The Treaty of Greenville was signed, and gave the Americans territory they wanted and the Native Americans $20,000 worth of goods. -
A National Bank
More and more people started to know about Hamilton and Jeffersons disagreements. Hamilton wanted to start a national bank so peoples money would be safer. Jefferson and Madison had other ideas. They thought that have a national bank would give the federal government too much power. George Washington and congress agreed with Hamilton though so a bank was established in February of 1791. -
The Whiskey Rebellion
The government needed to make money somehow so they put a tax on American-made whiskey in 1791. The western states were very upset because farmers were more common there. The farmers crops were often made into whiskey and was used as money in that region. The farmers felt like that tax was aimed directly at them. A rebellion happened but was shut down quickly by George Washington. Washington sent an army of around 13,000 men in 1794. Luckily, the Whiskey Rebellion ended without any fighting. -
Jay's Treaty
The British still wanted revenge on the Americans after the war so they captured American ships and helped the Native Americans fight the settlers. Washington wanted to remain neutral along with many other people so he sent Chief Justice John to work out a compromise in London. The compromise was Jay's Treaty which declared that the British would pay the damages on American ships and would abandon forts on the northwestern frontier. -
Pinckney's Treaty
Spain decided to close the New Orleans port which hurt American economy very much. The American economy relied on trading and one of the main trading paths went through the New Orleans port. Washington sent Thomas Pinckney to discuss this problem with Spanish officials. Manuel de Godoy, the Spanish minister, agreed with Pinckney to reopen the port and agreed to Pinckney's Treaty. This benefitted America very much and Washington was very pleased with the outcomes of the treaty.