Summary
Highlights
George Washington, the first and only unanimously elected president, established crucial precedents for the executive branch. He created a cabinet of advisors (State, War, Treasury, Justice) to help execute laws, demonstrating the Constitution's flexibility and the principle of checks and balances. Additionally, Washington set the precedent of a two-term limit, voluntarily stepping down after eight years, a tradition upheld until Franklin Roosevelt and later codified by the 22nd Amendment. In his farewell address, he warned against entangling foreign alliances and the divisive nature of political parties and sectionalism.
Though the Constitution gave little attention to the judiciary, Congress addressed this by passing the Judiciary Act of 1789. This act established a three-tiered federal court system: 13 district courts, three federal courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court as the final authority on constitutional matters, initially with six justices. This structure has largely endured since its creation.
Despite the framers' distrust of political parties (or 'factions'), two distinct groups emerged: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. The Federalists, led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a stronger federal government, while the Democratic-Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson, advocated for more state power. These parties formed due to significant disagreements on various issues.
A major point of contention was economic policy, particularly Hamilton's proposal for a national bank. Hamilton, as Secretary of the Treasury, sought to strengthen the national economy by having the federal government assume all state debts from the Revolutionary War. He argued this would improve the nation's credit and cited the 'necessary and proper clause' for the bank's constitutionality. Democratic-Republicans opposed this, viewing it as a federal power grab and unconstitutional.
The Whiskey Rebellion highlighted the debate between liberty and order. Hamilton's whiskey tax, aimed at raising revenue, led to protests by Western Pennsylvania farmers in 1792-1794. Washington's forceful federal response, federalizing militias to suppress the rebellion, demonstrated the new government's ability to maintain order, unlike under the Articles of Confederation. However, Democratic-Republicans criticized this as an tyrannical overreach against legitimate grievances.
Foreign policy was another divisive area. Democratic-Republicans supported aiding French revolutionaries, while Federalists feared involvement would harm trade and that the revolution had become too radical. Washington issued a neutrality proclamation, siding with the Federalists. Further division arose with the actions of French ambassador Citizen Genêt, who openly defied U.S. neutrality by recruiting Americans to support France. To de-escalate tensions with Britain, John Jay negotiated Jay's Treaty, which offered some trade concessions but failed to resolve core issues, angering Democratic-Republicans and contributing to future conflict.
The debate over federal-state power intensified with the Alien and Sedition Acts passed under President John Adams. The Alien Act allowed the president to imprison or deport non-citizens criticizing government policy, while the Sedition Act criminalized criticism of the government. Adams and Federalists viewed these as necessary for security against perceived French subversion and to ensure a stable society. Democratic-Republicans, however, saw these acts as massive federal overreach and infringements on liberties, leading to the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions which argued for states' rights to nullify unconstitutional federal laws, a concept that would resurface later in U.S. history.