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The constitution is ratified (June 21, 1788)

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The constitution is ratified (June 21, 1788)

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The constitution was to be the new governing body of the US following the failures of the Articles of confederation. After some back and forth between the federalists and anti-federalists on what to add and its interpretation, they were able to agree to ratify it along with 10 amendments to guarantee rights. (source: Ratification of the Constitution - US Constitution - LAWS.com)

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George Washington is inaugurated (April 30, 1789)

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George Washington is inaugurated (April 30, 1789)

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On April 30th, 1789, George Washington was inaugurated as America's first president. After the constitution was ratified, cementing an executive branch, the first presidential election was held, and George Washington secured the presidency. (source: George Washington's First Inaugural Address, April 30, 1789 | National Archives)

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First bank of the US is chartered (February 25,1791)

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First bank of the US is chartered (February 25,1791)

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As a part of Alexander Hamilton's plan for structuring the government, he proposed a national bank be set up. This would be done in order to issue currency, provide a safe place to store funds, offer facilities for commercial transactions, and act as a fiscal agent. It was ultimately approved of and the first one was chartered 2/25/1791. (source: The First Bank of the United States | Federal Reserve History)

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The War for Independence was over, but all was not well. The United States of America, a name the new country had adopted under the Articles of Confederation, was beset with problems. The 1780s saw widespread economic disruption. The new nation's leaders had their work cut out for them: reestablishing commerce and industry, repaying war debt, restoring the value of the currency, and lowering inflation.

One prominent architect of the fledgling country - Alexander Hamilton, the first secretary of the Treasury under the new Constitution - had ambitious ideas about how to solve some of these problems. One of those was creating a national bank. In December 1790, Hamilton submitted a report to Congress in which he outlined his proposal. Hamilton used the charter of the Bank of England as the basis for his plan. He argued that an American version of this institution could issue paper money (also called banknotes or currency), provide a safe place to keep public funds, offer banking facilities for commercial transactions, and act as the government's fiscal agent, including collecting the government's tax revenues and paying the government's debts.

Not everyone agreed with Hamilton's plan. Thomas Jefferson was afraid that a national bank would create a financial monopoly that might undermine state banks and adopt policies that favored financiers and merchants, who tended to be creditors, over plantation owners and family farmers, who tended to be debtors. Such an institution clashed with Jefferson's vision of the United States as a chiefly agrarian society, not one based on banking, commerce, and industry. Jefferson also argued that the Constitution did not grant the government the authority to establish corporations, including a national bank. Despite the opposing voices, Hamilton's bill cleared both the House and the Senate after much debate. President Washington signed the bill into law in February 1791.

The Bank of the United States, now commonly referred to as the first Bank of the United States, opened for business in Philadelphia on December 12, 1791, with a twenty-year charter. Branches opened in Boston, New York, Charleston, and Baltimore in 1792, followed by branches in Norfolk (1800), Savannah (1802), Washington, D.C. (1802), and New Orleans (1805). The bank was overseen by a board of twenty-five directors. Thomas Willing, who had been president of the Bank of North America, accepted the job as the new national bank's president.

The Bank of the United States started with capitalization of $10 million, $2 million of which was owned by the government and the remaining $8 million by private investors. The size of its capitalization made the Bank not only the largest financial institution, but the largest corporation of any type in the new nation. The bank's sale of shares was the largest initial public offering (IPO) in the country to date. Many of the initial investors were foreign, a fact that did not sit well with many Americans, even though the foreign shareholders could not vote. The IPO did not offer shares for immediate delivery but rather subscriptions, or "scrips," that acted as a down payment on the purchase of bank stock. When the bank subscriptions went on sale in July 1791, they sold so quickly that many would-be investors were left out, prompting fierce bidding in the secondary market for scrips.

The Bank acted as the federal government's fiscal agent, collecting tax revenues, securing the government's funds, making loans to the government, transferring government deposits through the bank's branch network, and paying the government's bills. The bank also managed the U.S. Treasury's interest payments to European investors in U.S. government securities. Although the U.S. government, the largest shareholder, did not directly manage the bank, it did garner a portion of the bank's profits. The Treasury secretary had the authority to inspect the bank's books, require statements of the bank's condition as frequently as once each week, and remove the government's deposits at any time for any reason. To avoid inflation and the appearance of impropriety, the Bank was forbidden from buying U.S. government bonds.

In addition to its activities on behalf of the government, the Bank of the United States also operated as a commercial bank, which meant it accepted deposits from the public and made loans to private citizens and businesses. Its banknotes (paper currency) most commonly entered circulation through the loan process. It extended more loans and issued more currency than any other bank in the nation because it was the largest financial institution in the United States and the only institution holding federal government deposits and possessing branches throughout the nation. Banknotes issued by the Bank of the United States were widely accepted throughout the country. And unlike notes issued by state banks, Bank of the United States notes were the only ones accepted as payment of federal taxes.

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                      by 
Andrew T. Hill

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Alexander Hamilton's grand experiment in central banking began in 1791 to assist a post-Revolutionary War economy and ended 20 years later.

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The whiskey rebellion was an uprising of farmers and distillers in Pennsylvania against a new tax on whiskey. It marked the first time federal troops were sent in to quell an uprising. This event cemented the sentiment that the federal law was the law of the land, and the government has the power to enforce it. (source: Whiskey Rebellion: Definition, Causes & Flag - HISTORY)

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What Caused the Whiskey Rebellion?

During the American Revolution, individual states incurred significant amounts of debt. In 1790, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton pushed for the federal government to take over that debt. He also suggested an excise tax on whiskey to prevent further financial difficulty.

President George Washington was opposed to Hamilton's suggestion of a whiskey tax. In 1791 Washington journeyed through Virginia and Pennsylvania to speak with citizens about their views. Local government officials met the idea of a whiskey tax with enthusiasm, and Washington took this assurance back to Congress, which passed the bill.

But protests against the new tax began immediately, arguing that the tax was unfair to small producers. Under the new law, large producers paid the tax annually at a rate of six cents per gallon, and the more they produced, the further the tax breaks.

Small producers, however, were stuck with paying nine cents per gallon in taxes. Farmers took further issue because only cash would be accepted for tax payment.

Whiskey Tax Violence

The law was immediately a failure since refusals to pay the taxes were as common as intimidation against the officials hired to collect them. Excise officers sent to collect the tax were met with defiance and threats of violence. Some producers refused outright to pay the tax.

Perhaps inevitably, violence broke out. On September 11, 1791, excise officer Robert Johnson was riding through his collection route in western Pennsylvania when he was surrounded by 11 men dressed as women. The mob stripped him naked and then tarred and feathered him before stealing his horse and abandoning him in the forest.

Johnson recognized two men in the mob. He made a complaint and warrants were issued for their arrest. A cattle drover named John Connor was sent with the warrants, and he suffered the same fate as Johnson. He was tied to a tree in the woods for five hours before being found. In response, Johnson resigned his post, fearing further violence.

Incidents escalated over the next few years. In 1793, the home of Pennsylvania excise officer Benjamin Wells was broken into twice. The first time, a mob of people forced their way in and assaulted Wells' wife and children.

The second incident involved six men in disguises who attacked Wells while he was at home. The intruders demanded Wells' account books at gunpoint and insisted he resign his position.

Feeling unrepresented in Congress, the citizens of Western Pennsylvania gathered their own assembly with three to five representatives per county. While radical members pushed for open rebellion, moderates like Hugh Henry Brackenridge and future Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Albert Gallatin urged conciliatory measures.

Attack on Bower Hill

In the summer of 1794, federal marshal David Lenox began the process of serving writs to 60 distillers in western Pennsylvania who had not paid the tax. On July 14, Lenox accepted the services of tax collector and wealthy landowner John Neville as a guide through Allegheny County.

On July 15, they approached the home of William Miller, who refused to accept his summons. An argument ensued, and when Lenox and Neville rode off, they were face-to-face with an angry mob, armed with pitchforks and muskets-some in the crowd were believed to be drunk.

Someone had told the mob that federal agents were dragging people away, but Lenox and Neville were allowed to pass once that was understood to be untrue. Nonetheless, a shot was fired as the two men rode away.

Whiskey Rebellion Flag

On the morning of July 16, Neville was asleep in his home, Bower Hill, when he was awakened by a crowd of angry men-some of whom had been served summons the previous day.

The men claimed that Lenox needed to come with them because there was a threat to his life. Neville didn't believe the men and ordered them off his property. When the mob refused to move, Neville grabbed a gun and shot at the crowd, striking and killing Oliver Miller. In retaliation, the mob shot back at the house.

Neville made it inside the house and sounded a signal horn, after which he heard the sound of his enslaved persons attacking the crowd with firearms. Six members of the mob were wounded before they fled with Miller's body. By evening, the mob had reconvened for a meeting with a group of other people who declared revenge on Neville.

It was around this time that a flag, which has come to be known as the Whiskey Rebellion Flag, was first flown by participants in the uprising. The flag features 13 stars (for the 13 original colonies) with an eagle holding a red and white ribbon on a background of dark blue.

The Destruction of Bower Hill

On July 17, 1794, as many as 700 men marched to drums and gathered at Neville's home. They demanded his surrender, but Major James Kirkpatrick, one of 10 soldiers who had come to the property to help defend it, answered that Neville was not there. In fact, Kirkpatrick had helped Neville escape the house and hide in a ravine.

The mob demanded that the soldiers surrender. When that request was refused, they set fire to a barn and the dwellings of enslaved people. The Neville women were allowed to flee to safety, after which the mob opened fire on the house.

Following an hour of gunfighting, the mob's leader, James McFarlane, was killed. In a rage, the mob set fire to other buildings and the soldiers soon surrendered as the Bower Hill estate burned to the ground.

A Threat to Pittsburgh

Less than a week later, the mob met with local dignitaries who warned that Washington would send a militia to strike them down and they had to strike first. Wealthy landowner David Bradford, along with several other men, attacked a mail carrier and discovered three letters from Pittsburgh expressing disapproval of the attack on Neville's property.

Bradford used these letters as an excuse to encourage an attack on Pittsburgh, inciting 7,000 men to show up at Braddock's Field, east of the city.

The city of Pittsburgh, fearing violence, sent a delegation to announce that the three letter writers had been expelled from the city and to offer a gift of several barrels of whiskey.

As the day ended, the crowd had drunk deeply from the barrels and weren't inspired to descend on Pittsburgh with any fury, instead gaining permission to march through Pittsburgh peacefully.

Washington Sends the Militia

With signs that the rebels were hoping to reignite the conflict and believing it was linked to unrest in other parts of the country, Hamilton wanted to send troops to Pennsylvania, but Washington opted for a peace envoy instead.

The peace envoy failed. Washington met with his cabinet officials and presented evidence of the violence to Supreme Court Justice James Wilson, who ruled a military response was justified under the auspices of the Militia Acts of 1792. Washington assumed emergency power to assemble more than 12,000 men from the surrounding states and eastern Pennsylvania as a federal militia.

Washington met first with the rebels, who assured him the militia was not needed and that order had been restored. Washington opted to retain the military option until proof of submission was apparent.

The large and well-armed militia marched into western Pennsylvania and was met with angry citizens but little violence. When a rebel army didn't appear, the militia rounded up suspected rebels instead.

However, the rebellion's instigators had already fled, and the militia's prisoners weren't involved in the rebellion. They were marched to Philadelphia to stand trial regardless. Only two men were found guilty of treason, and both were pardoned by Washington.

Why The Whiskey Rebellion Was Important

The federal response to the Whiskey Rebellion was widely believed to be a critical test of federal authority, one that Washington's fledgling government met with success.

The whiskey tax that inspired the rebellion remained in effect until 1802. Under the leadership of President Thomas Jefferson and the Republican Party (which, like many citizens, opposed Hamilton's Federalist tax policies), the tax was repealed after continuing to be almost impossible to collect.

Sources

The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution. Thomas P. Slaughter.
Failures of the Presidents. Thomas J. Craughwell.
Whiskey Rebellion. National Park Service.
Gallatin: A Voice of Moderation During the Whiskey Rebellion. National Park Service.
About the Whiskey Rebellion Flag. Americanflags.com.

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Whiskey Rebellion: Definition, Causes & Flag

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The Whiskey Rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government.

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Proclamation of neutrality (April 22, 1793)

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Proclamation of neutrality (April 22, 1793)

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The proclamation of neutrality was signed into effect by president Washington. It set the precedent of how america approaches all foreign affairs for the next several administrations, neutrality. This also set the ground for future tension between the US and France (source: https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/neutrality-proclamation/)

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Jay's treaty was a treaty signed between the US and Britain. This treaty saw the British cede the northwest territories to the US, end its discrimination against US commerce, and grant trading privileges in Britain. It also set up joint use of the Mississippi river. (source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Jay-Treaty)

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Pinckney's treaty was signed between Spain and the US to resolve tensions along their border in the south. It allowed for free navigation of US ships up the Mississippi river and the US gained ownership of New Orleans. (source: https://history.state.gov/milestones/1784-1800/pickney-treaty)

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Spanish and U.S. negotiators concluded the Treaty of San Lorenzo, also known as Pinckney's Treaty, on October 27, 1795. The treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States. It resolved territorial disputes between the two countries and granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River as well as duty-free transport through the port of New Orleans, then under Spanish control.

Prior to the treaty, the western and southern borders of the United States had been a source of tension between Spain and the United States. The U.S. border extended to the Mississippi River, but its southern stretch remained in Spanish territory, and Spanish officials, reluctant to encourage U.S. trade and settlement in a strategic frontier area, kept the Mississippi River closed to American shipping. Moreover, both Spain and the United States claimed portions of the present-day states of Alabama and Mississippi, and earlier negotiations to resolve the territorial disputes had broken off inconclusively. The Spanish government maintained several forts in the disputed territories, and could also count on indigenous resistance to U.S. attempts to survey or encroach upon Native American lands. U.S. citizens from the southern states and frontier areas found Spanish policies restrictive, and wanted the U.S. Government to renegotiate its positions.

Prior to 1789, Spanish policy had focused on keeping American trade and settlement in frontier areas to a minimum, and so neither Spanish colonial officials nor policymakers in Madrid were interested in granting the concessions that U.S. negotiators had attempted to obtain earlier. However, Spanish interests changed during the wars of the French Revolution. Spain joined the other European monarchies in war against France in 1793, but by 1794 Spanish forces experienced defeats in the Caribbean and Europe. Spanish King Charles IV, uninterested in managing political affairs, had earlier handed political and diplomatic responsibilities to his prime minister, Manuel de Godoy. Godoy sought to extract Spain from its alliance with its traditional enemy Great Britain, and to restore peace with France. Godoy's policy was not without risks, as antagonizing the British would put Spanish colonies in the Americas at risk.

While Spanish diplomats sought to shift Spanish alliances, U.S. diplomat John Jay arrived in London to negotiate a treaty with Great Britain. Spanish officials feared that Jay's negotiations would result in an Anglo-American alliance and an invasion of Spanish possessions in North America. Sensing the need for rapprochement, Godoy sent a request to the U.S. Government for a representative empowered to negotiate a new treaty. President George Washington selected South Carolinian Thomas Pinckney, who had been serving as United States minister to Great Britain.

Pinckney arrived in Spain in June of 1795, and negotiations proceeded swiftly. Spain's political and military position had weakened under its defeats and war expenses, while population growth in Kentucky and Tennessee, combined with a shortage of European ships to sustain trade with Louisiana, made Spanish officials amenable to a change in restrictive Spanish trade policies. Godoy offered to accept the 31st parallel as the U.S.-Florida border as well as the right to free navigation of the Mississippi, which Americans west of the Appalachians supported enthusiastically. In return, Godoy requested that the United States commit to an alliance with Spain.

Pinckney rejected the alliance, and after further consultation Godoy provided the same offer without the necessity of the alliance. Nevertheless, negotiations came to an impasse as the Spanish continued to insist on their right to require duties for goods passing through Spanish-held New Orleans. Pinckney threatened to leave without signing a treaty unless the Spanish dropped duties on American trade passing through New Orleans. The next day, Godoy agreed to Pinckney's demands, and the two negotiators signed the treaty on October 27, 1795. The final treaty also voided Spanish guarantees of military support that colonial officials had made to Native Americans in the disputed regions, greatly weakening those communities' ability to resist encroachment upon their lands.

The Treaty of San Lorenzo enabled and encouraged American settlers to continue westward expansion, and made frontier areas more attractive and lucrative. Consequently, it was popular with the American public, especially in the West and South. Since Thomas Pinckney was associated with the Federalist Party, the treaty served to bolster the Federalists outside of their New England stronghold and give the party a stronger base in areas where it had traditionally been weak. Diplomatically, the treaty marked a reverse in Spanish policies that attempted to maintain a strong buffer region in North America, while placing the United States in a stronger position in relation to European powers compared to the U.S. concessions made in Jay's Treaty.

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Milestones: 1784-1800 - Office of the Historian

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Washington's farewell address (September 19, 1796)

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Washington's farewell address (September 19, 1796)

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At the end of his second term, George Washington crafted a farewell address with his cabinet for the nation. In it he warned the nation about the formation of political parties and the sectionalism of the states. (source: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/Washingtons_Farewell_Address.pdf)

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The election of 1796 took place between federalist John Adams and Democrat-Republican Thomas Jefferson. This is regarded as the first election with political parties. At the end of it Adams was elected president but by constitutional protocol Jefferson was the VP. This led to the passing of the 12th amendment, separating the ballot. (source: https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1796)

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

United States presidential election of 1796, American presidential election held in 1796, in which Federalist John Adams defeated Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson.

American presidential election, 1796 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Rise of the political party system

The election of 1796 marked the emergence of the political party system in the United States. In the previous elections of 1789 and 1792, George Washington won unanimous support with no party affiliation, but over the course of his presidency a strong political divide had formed around the fiscal policy of Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton and others who favoured a loose interpretation of the Constitution and a strong central government formed the Federalist Party in 1791. Their opponents, favouring a strict interpretation of the Constitution and states' rights, rallied around Thomas Jefferson. Though Jefferson maintained that the party system was unfavourable, he formed his own party, later to become known as the Democratic-Republican party.

Political issues in the 1790s began to be viewed along these party lines, and the rift between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans was furthered by foreign policy disputes. In 1796, though there was not yet a clear procedure for selecting partisan candidates, informal and secretive caucuses were held for the parties' congressional delegations to choose presidential and vice presidential nominees. The Democratic-Republicans chose Jefferson, and the Federalists nominated Vice Pres. John Adams. Neither party was able to decide on a vice presidential candidate. At the time, however, the Constitution-not having anticipated the rise of the party system-stated that the candidate with the second highest total of votes would become vice president.

Though unfamiliarity with contested presidential elections and the indirectness of the electoral system led to low public interest, the election was closely fought-in part because of the rapidly forming party divide. The result was a narrow victory for Adams, who carried 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68. Adams swept the northeast, while Jefferson won much of the south and west. Under the original electoral system devised under the Constitution (not changed until the Twelfth Amendment in 1804), Jefferson became Adams's vice president-a situation that, owing to their conflicting political parties, proved difficult for the Adams administration.

Collection of David J. and Janice L. Frent

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For the results of the previous election, see United States presidential election of 1792. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1800.

Results of the 1796 election

The results of the 1796 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.

presidential candidate

political party

electoral votes

popular votes*
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

*Electors were chosen by legislatures in many states, not by popular vote.

Source: United States Office of the Federal Register.

John Jay
Independent-Federalist

5

John Henry

Independent

2

Samuel Johnston

Independent-Federalist

2

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney
Independent-Federalist

1

Amy Tikkanen, Corrections Manager.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

United States presidential election of 1796

date

participants

related topics

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united states presidential election of 1796

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US presidential election of 1796 | Candidates, Results, & Facts

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US presidential election of 1796, American presidential election held in 1796, in which Federalist John Adams defeated Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson. Adams received 71 electoral votes to Jefferson's 68. The election was especially notable for marking the emergence of the political party system.

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The XYZ affair was a diplomatic standoff between France and the US over america's neutrality during a war between them and Britain. President Adams sent three representatives to France to negotiate a peace, but France secretly sent three delegates to the US to ask for a bribe in order to do so. This angered the US and calls of war started. (source: https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-xyz-affair)

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A diplomatic incident between the United States and France in 1797 outraged Americans and led to an undeclared war.

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Quasi-war with France (July 7, 1798-September 30,1800)

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Quasi-war with France (July 7, 1798-September 30,1800)

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The quasi-war was a conflict between american ships and french privateers in the Caribbean over their continued harassment of american shipping in the region. It ended with several dozen privateers captured and america reasserting its right to free trade. (source: https://ussconstitutionmuseum.org/major-events/the-quasi-war-with-france/)

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The alien and sedation acts were a series of four laws passed in anticipation for a war with France. It placed a wait of 5-14 years on foreign-born Americans to gain citizenship. The sedation act made government criticism illegal. (source: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/alien-and-sedition-acts#:~:text=Citation%3A%20An%20Act%20Concerning%20Aliens,Record%20Group%2011%3B%20National%20Archives.)

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Virginia and Kentucky resolutions (November 16, 1798)

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Virginia and Kentucky resolutions (November 16, 1798)

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The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions were measures passed by the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky to protest the passing of the Alien and sedation acts by the federalist-dominated federal government. It set the precedent for state legislatures to have the ability to nullify federal legislation if they deemed it unconstitutional. (source: Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions | Definition, Authors, Significance, & Facts | Britannica)

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, (1798), in U.S. history, measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky as a protest against the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts. The resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson (then vice president in the administration of John Adams), but the role of those statesmen remained unknown to the public for almost 25 years.

Written anonymously by Jefferson and sponsored by his friend John Breckinridge, the Kentucky resolutions were passed by that state's legislature on November 16, 1798. Jefferson's principal arguments were that the national government was a compact between the states, that any exercise of undelegated authority on its part was invalid, and that the states had the right to decide when their powers had been infringed and to determine the mode of redress. The Kentucky resolutions thus declared the Alien and Sedition Acts to be "void and of no force."

The resolutions crafted by Madison, while the same in substance as Jefferson's, were more restrained. Passed by the Virginia legislature on December 24, 1798, they affirmed state authority to determine the validity of federal legislation and declared the acts unconstitutional.

The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were primarily protests against the limitations on civil liberties contained in the Alien and Sedition Acts rather than expressions of full-blown constitutional theory. Later references to the resolutions as authority for the theories of nullification and secession were inconsistent with the limited goals sought by Jefferson and Madison in drafting their protests.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Adam Augustyn, Managing Editor, Reference Content.

Learn More in these related Britannica articles:

United States: The Federalist administration and the formation of parties

...in turn called forth the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions, drafted respectively by Madison and Jefferson, which invoked state sovereignty against intolerable federal powers. War with France often seemed imminent during this period, but Adams was determined to avoid issuing a formal declaration of war, and in this he succeeded....

James Madison: The father of the Constitution

...inspired him to draft the Virginia Resolutions of that year, denouncing those statutes as violations of the First Amendment of the Constitution and affirming the right and duty of the states "to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil." Carefully worded to mean less legally than they seemed to...

...he wished to oppose the Kentucky and Virginia resolutions, which claimed that the states could determine the constitutionality of federal laws. During his successful electoral campaign, he made his last speech, a moving plea for American unity. He died at his home, Red Hill, before he was to have taken...

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Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions | Definition, Authors, Significance, & Facts

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Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions, in U.S. History, measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky in 1798 as a protest against the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts. The resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson, but their roles remained unknown to the public for almost 25 years.

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The election of 1800 was significant for a number of reasons. For one it was the first instance of a peaceful transition of power. Second it resulted in a tie between Jefferson and his running mate. This led to the passing of the 12th amendment, separating electoral college votes for president and vice president. (source: The Election of 1800 – Pieces of History (archives.gov)

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Anyone who is a fan of the hit musical Hamilton knows the song "Election of 1800." It depicts an infamous election that ultimately led us to change our Constitution.

By 1800, the nation's first two political parties were beginning to take shape. The two major candidates for President were the Federalist President, John Adams, and the Democratic-Republican candidate, Thomas Jefferson.

When the electors cast their votes, the result was a tie. But the tie wasn't between Adams and Jefferson (Adams received 65 electoral votes). It was between Jefferson and his running mate, Aaron Burr, who both received 73 votes.

This happened because the Constitution did not distinguish between President and Vice-President in the votes cast by each state's electors-it simply said the top vote-getter became President; the second Vice-President.

According to the Constitution, when two candidates receive a majority of the electoral votes but are tied, the House of Representatives decides who becomes President. So, the decision who would become the next President-Jefferson or Burr-rested with the Federalist-controlled House of Representatives.

Many Federalists saw Jefferson as their principal opponent, and even though they knew Jefferson was running for President, they decided to support Burr.

But prominent Federalist Alexander Hamilton was faced with a dilemma. Even though Jefferson's principles were in direct opposition to his own, Burr, according to Hamilton, had no principles at all. (In the musical we hear Hamilton sing, "Jefferson has beliefs. Burr has none.")

As the House of Representatives prepared to vote, Hamilton used his influence to support Jefferson. He wrote several letters outlining the dangers of a Burr Presidency and urged fellow Federalists to vote for Jefferson.

In this letter to Representative Harrison Gray Otis of Massachusetts, Hamilton wrote:

"Burr loves nothing but himself; thinks of nothing but his own aggrandizement, and will be content with nothing, short of permanent power in his own hands. No compact that he should make with any passion in his breast, except ambition, could be relied upon by himself. How then should we be able to rely upon any agreement with him. Jefferson, I suspect, will not dare much. Burr will dare every thing, in the sanguine hope of effecting every thing."

On February 17, 1801, after 36 ballots, the House of Representatives elected Thomas Jefferson to be our nation's third President.

The tie vote in the election pointed out problems with the Electoral College system. The framers of the Constitution had not anticipated such a tie, nor had they considered the possibility of the election of a President or Vice President from opposing parties.

The 12th Amendment, which was ratified in 1804, corrected some of the system's problems by providing for separate Electoral College votes for President and Vice President.
You can see the 1800 electoral tally and learn more about the 12th Amendment in the For more information about the Electoral College, please visit the Federal Register's U.S. Electoral College web page. To read Hamilton's correspondence, visit the National Archives website Founders Online. We were live and talking about constitutional amendments and the election process! Visit our YouTube Channel to watch Christine Blackerby, co-curator of "Amending America," and Jessie Kratz, historian of the National Archives, take us through the exhibit and talk about Presidential elections, amendments, and the Electoral College. National Archives exhibit "Amending America," which is in Lawrence F. O'Brien Gallery in Washington, DC, through September 4, 2017.

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Anyone who is a fan of the hit musical Hamilton knows the song "Election of 1800." It depicts an infamous election that ultimately led us to change our Constitution. By 1800, the nation's first two political parties were beginning to take shape.

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Marbury vs. Madison was a supreme court case between William Marbury and James Madison. This case set the precedent of judicial review, the ability of the supreme court to reject congressional decisions. (source: Marbury v. Madison | Background, Summary, & Significance | Britannica

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In 1803 the Louisiana territory. previously under French rule, was purchased by the Jefferson administration for $15 million. This was America's first large territorial acquisition. (Source:  United States and France conclude the Louisiana Purchase - HISTORY)

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Lewis and Clark Expedition (May 14,1805-September 23,1806)

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Lewis and Clark Expedition (May 14,1805-September 23,1806)

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The Lewis and Clark expedition was an expedition of the newly acquired Louisiana territory led by Meriwether lewis and william clark. The goals included finding a water link between the Columbia and Mississippi rivers and map lands west of St. Louis, their starting point. (source: https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/lewis-clark)

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The Chesapeake incident was a naval battle between the HMS Leopard and the USS Chesapeake off the coast of Virginia. This came about after several British sailors defected to the US after being ordered to blockade french ships from america, with the British captain of the leopard being ordered to retrieve them. In the end the Chesapeake bay surrendered and four defectors were taken to Halifax for trial. (source: https://www.masshist.org/beehiveblog/2013/06/the-chesapeake-leopard-incident-and-the-war-of-1812/)

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The embargo act of 1807 was passed under Jefferson's administration that enacted a general embargo on ALL foreign trade in order to prevent conflict with Britain and France. In the end it only acted to hurt the american economy and was revoked soon after. (source: https://www.thoughtco.com/embargo-act-of-1807-1773316)

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The Embargo Act of 1807 was an attempt by President Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. Congress to punish Britain and France for interfering with American trade while the two major European powers were at war with each other.

The law, which was passed after sailors from the USS Chesapeake were impressed by officers from the British ship HMS Leopard, ultimately failed to achieve its objective.

In short, the action backfired.

By barring American ships from using European ports, it only stifled American trade. And the law wound up doing more damage to American merchants than to European governments.

Jefferson had hoped that the law would prevent a war between the United States and Britain. The Embargo Act, which was passed in December 1807, did prevent open warfare for a time. But in some ways it was also a precursor to the War of 1812.

Response to the Embargo

With the embargo in place, American exports declined by 75 percent, and imports declined by 50 percent. American merchants, who had been gaining in prosperity, were dealt a severe setback.

Yet Britain and France, locked in the Napoleonic Wars, were not greatly damaged by the loss of trade with Americans. So the embargo was clearly having a negative impact on Americans.

The western states in the Union were relatively unaffected. But some parts of the country were hit hard.

Cotton growers in the South lost their British market. And merchants in New England suffered.

In fact, discontent was so widespread in New England that there was serious talk by local political leaders of seceding from the Union, decades before the Nullification Crisis or the Civil War.

And one result of the embargo was that smuggling increased across the border with Canada.

And smuggling by ship also became prevalent. So the law was not only ineffective, but it was difficult to enforce.

It served to make Jefferson fairly unpopular near the end of his presidency. There were sustained economic effects that did not change until the end of the War of 1812.

End of the Embargo

The embargo was repealed by Congress early in 1809, just days before the end of Jefferson's presidency. It was replaced by a less restrictive piece of legislation, the Non-Intercourse Act, which prohibited trade with Britain and France.

The newer law was no more successful than the Embargo Act had been. And relations with Britain continued to fray until, three years later, President James Madison obtained a declaration of war from Congress and the War of 1812 began.

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A Law Jefferson Intended to Punish Other Nations Backfired

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The Embargo Act of 1807 was an attempt by President Thomas Jefferson and the U.S. Congress to punish Britain and France for interfering with American trade while the two major European powers were at war with each other.

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The election of 1808 saw the victory of Democrat-republican James Madison over Federalist Charles Pinckney. It was around this time the federalist party began to collapse and fade into obscurity. (source: https://thehistoryjunkie.com/presidential-election-of-1808-facts-and-outcome/)

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The war of 1812 was a military conflict between the US and Britain over issues such as British impressment of american sailors and other violations of American maritime rights. (source: https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812)

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Major causes of the war

The tensions that caused the War of 1812 arose from the French revolutionary (1792-99) and Napoleonic Wars (1799-1815). During this nearly constant conflict between France and Britain, American interests were injured by each of the two countries' endeavours to block the United States from trading with the other.

American shipping initially prospered from trade with the French and Spanish empires, although the British countered the U.S. claim that "free ships make free goods" with the belated enforcement of the so-called Rule of 1756 (trade not permitted in peacetime would not be allowed in wartime). The Royal Navy did enforce the act from 1793 to 1794, especially in the Caribbean Sea, before the signing of the Jay Treaty (November 19, 1794). Under the primary terms of the treaty, American maritime commerce was given trading privileges in England and the British East Indies, Britain agreed to evacuate forts still held in the Northwest Territory by June 1, 1796, and the Mississippi River was declared freely open to both countries. Although the treaty was ratified by both countries, it was highly unpopular in the United States and was one of the rallying points used by the pro-French Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, in wresting power from the pro-British Federalists, led by George Washington and John Adams.

After Jefferson became president in 1801, relations with Britain slowly deteriorated, and systematic enforcement of the Rule of 1756 resumed after 1805. Compounding this troubling development, the decisive British naval victory at the Battle of Trafalgar (October 21, 1805) and efforts by the British to blockade French ports prompted the French emperor, Napoleon, to cut off Britain from European and American trade. The Berlin Decree (November 21, 1806) established Napoleon's Continental System, which impinged on U.S. neutral rights by designating ships that visited British ports as enemy vessels. The British responded with Orders in Council (November 11, 1807) that required neutral ships to obtain licenses at English ports before trading with France or French colonies. In turn, France announced the Milan Decree (December 17, 1807), which strengthened the Berlin Decree by authorizing the capture of any neutral vessel that had submitted to search by the British. Consequently, American ships that obeyed Britain faced capture by the French in European ports, and if they complied with Napoleon's Continental System, they could fall prey to the Royal Navy.

The Royal Navy's use of impressment to keep its ships fully crewed also provoked Americans. The British accosted American merchant ships to seize alleged Royal Navy deserters, carrying off thousands of U.S. citizens into the British navy. In 1807 the frigate H.M.S. Leopard fired on the U.S. Navy frigate Chesapeake and seized four sailors, three of them U.S. citizens. London eventually apologized for this incident, but it came close to causing war at the time. Jefferson, however, chose to exert economic pressure against Britain and France by pushing Congress in December 1807 to pass the Embargo Act, which forbade all export shipping from U.S. ports and most imports from Britain.

The Embargo Act hurt Americans more than the British or French, however, causing many Americans to defy it. Just before Jefferson left office in 1809, Congress replaced the Embargo Act with the Non-Intercourse Act, which exclusively forbade trade with Great Britain and France. This measure also proved ineffective, and it was replaced by Macon's Bill No. 2 (May 1, 1810) that resumed trade with all nations but stipulated that if either Britain or France dropped commercial restrictions, the United States would revive nonintercourse against the other. In August, Napoleon insinuated that he would exempt American shipping from the Berlin and Milan decrees. Although the British demonstrated that French restrictions continued, U.S. Pres. James Madison reinstated nonintercourse against Britain in November 1810, thereby moving one step closer to war.

Britain's refusal to yield on neutral rights derived from more than the emergency of the European war. British manufacturing and shipping interests demanded that the Royal Navy promote and sustain British trade against Yankee competitors. The policy born of that attitude convinced many Americans that they were being consigned to a de facto colonial status. Britons, on the other hand, denounced American actions that effectively made the United States a participant in Napoleon's Continental System.

Events on the U.S. northwestern frontier fostered additional friction. Indian fears over American encroachment coincidentally became conspicuous as Anglo-American tensions grew. Shawnee brothers Tecumseh and Tenskwatawa ( The Prophet) attracted followers arising from this discontent and attempted to form an Indian confederation to counteract American expansion. Although Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock, the British commander of Upper Canada (modern Ontario), had orders to avoid worsening American frontier problems, American settlers blamed British intrigue for heightened tensions with Indians in the Northwest Territory. As war loomed, Brock sought to augment his meagre regular and Canadian militia forces with Indian allies, which was enough to confirm the worst fears of American settlers. Brock's efforts were aided in the fall of 1811, when Indiana territorial governor William Henry Harrison fought the Battle of Tippecanoe and destroyed the Indian settlement at Prophet's Town (near modern Battle Ground, Indiana). Harrison's foray convinced most Indians in the Northwest Territory that their only hope of stemming further encroachments by American settlers lay with the British. American settlers, in turn, believed that Britain's removal from Canada would end their Indian problems. Meanwhile, Canadians suspected that American expansionists were using Indian unrest as an excuse for a war of conquest.

Under increasing pressure, Madison summoned the U.S. Congress into session in November 1811. Pro-war western and southern Republicans ( War Hawks) assumed a vocal role, especially after Kentucky War Hawk Henry Clay was elected speaker of the House of Representatives. Madison sent a war message to the U.S. Congress on June 1, 1812, and signed the declaration of war on June 18, 1812. The vote seriously divided the House (79-49) and was gravely close in the Senate (19-13). Because seafaring New Englanders opposed the war, while westerners and southerners supported it, Federalists accused war advocates of expansionism under the ruse of protecting American maritime rights. Expansionism, however, was not as much a motive as was the desire to defend American honour. The United States attacked Canada because it was British, but no widespread aspiration existed to incorporate the region. The prospect of taking East and West Florida from Spain encouraged southern support for the war, but southerners, like westerners, were sensitive about the United States's reputation in the world. Furthermore, British commercial restrictions hurt American farmers by barring their produce from Europe. Regions seemingly removed from maritime concerns held a material interest in protecting neutral shipping. "Free trade and sailors' rights" was not an empty phrase for those Americans.

The onset of war both surprised and chagrined the British government, especially because it was preoccupied with the fight against France. In addition, political changes in Britain had already moved the government to assume a conciliatory posture toward the United States. Prime Minister Spencer Perceval's assassination on May 11, 1812, brought to power a more moderate Tory government under Lord Liverpool. British West Indies planters had been complaining for years about the interdiction of U.S. trade, and their growing influence, along with a deepening recession in Great Britain, convinced the Liverpool ministry that the Orders in Council were averse to British interests. On June 16, two days before the United States declared war, the Orders were suspended.

Some have viewed the timing of this concession as a lost opportunity for peace because slow transatlantic communication meant a month's delay in delivering the news to Washington. Yet, because Britain's impressment policy remained in place and frontier Indian wars continued, in all likelihood the repeal of the Orders alone would not have prevented war.

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War of 1812 | History, Summary, Causes, Effects, Timeline, Facts, & Significance

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War of 1812, conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights. It ended with the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty of Ghent. Learn more about the causes, effects, and significance of the War of 1812 in this article.

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During the war of 1812, British troops marched into Washington DC and burned several government and public buildings as a result of american burnings in British Canada.
(source: https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/August_Burning_Washington.htm#:~:text=On%20August%2024%2C)

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On August 24, 1814, as the War of 1812 raged on, invading British troops marched into Washington and set fire to the U.S. Capitol, the President's Mansion, and other local landmarks. The ensuing fire reduced all but one of the capital city's major public buildings to smoking rubble, and only a torrential rainstorm saved the Capitol from complete destruction. The blaze particularly devastated the Capitol's Senate wing, the oldest part of the building, which was honeycombed with vulnerable wooden floors and housed the valuable but combustible collection of books and manuscripts of the Library of Congress, then located in the Capitol building. Heat from the intense fire reduced the Senate chamber's marble columns to lime, leaving the room, in one description, "a most magnificent ruin." Quickly, President James Madison arranged for Congress to meet temporarily at Blodgett's Hotel when it returned to session in September, and the business of Congress continued uninterrupted. The following year, the Senate moved to the Brick Capitol, a large red-brick structure built to accommodate Congress temporarily. Not until 1819, after a major reconstruction project, did the Senate again meet in the historic Old Senate Chamber in the U.S. Capitol.

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On August 24, 1814, as the War of 1812 raged on, invading British troops marched into Washington and set fire to the U.S. Capitol, the President's Mansion, and other local landmarks. The ensuing fire reduced all but one of the capital city's major public buildings to smoking rubble, and only a torrential rainstorm saved the Capitol from complete destruction.

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The treaty of Ghent was signed between the United States and Great Britain in the town of Ghent, Belgium to formally end the war of 1812. (source: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/treaty-of-ghent)

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The battle of New Orleans was an attempt by  British forces to deliver one last blow to the Americans despite the treaty of Ghent already being signed (formal ending to war of 1812).  The result was an American victory after British forces were whittled down. (source: https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/battle-of-new-orleans)

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1816 Election (November 1-December 4, 1816

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1816 Election (November 1-December 4, 1816

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The election of 1816 saw the final time the Federalist party put up a candidate for a presidential election and Democrat-Republican James Monroe secured the presidency (source: https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1816)