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First president
George Washington was the first president to be elected in the United States -
The Whiskey Rebellion
America put a tax on whiskey and farmers in Pennsylvania and other frontier areas did not like that because it was very special to them, it was even used as a type of currency sometimes. in 1794 the whiskey tax opposition was so strong the rebels were attacking tax collectors. Washington did not like this so he gathered an army. The army went through Pittsburgh and the rebellion soon ended. -
Jays Treaty
Representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed Jays Treaty to make peace and settle the issues between the two countries. -
Washington's Farewell Address
In Washington's farewell address he said he would not be seeking a third term. In the address he talked gave advice for future generations and his years of experience. -
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Republicans such as Jefferson and James Madison believed that the Sedition Act was a violation to freedom of speech. They believed the state should make that judgement and argued that the states and the right to judge if laws agreed with the Constitution. If a state decided that the law was unconstitutional then they would "null and void" which meant discontinue the law. The Alien and Sedition Act were null and void because they were unconstitutional. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The federalists used war crisis to make more laws. The size of the army grew and taxes went up to support the army and navy. Also the four Alien and Sedition acts, the alien act and alien enemies act let the president have the power to arrest and deport citizens that were not from America. The Naturalization act Increased the age from 5 to 14 years a person has to wait to become a citizen. It was illegal to criticize the government in any way possible, you would be fined or jailed. -
The Louisiana Purchase
Napoleon didn't want to only sell New Orleans to the United States, but he wanted to sell Louisiana too. Monroe and Livingston offered Napoleon $15 million for the Louisiana purchase. When Jefferson heard of this offer he was unsure because he did not want to spend that much of public money. He got over the worrying and approved of the sale. And that's how the United States grew just like the national debt. -
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Jefferson wanted the new Louisiana purchase to be searched so he chose Meriwether Lewis, and he chose William Clark as his companion officer. They wanted to search for river routes to the western ocean, find Native Americans living in the territory, and to gather information about the natural resources. After a year they hired a French-Canadian and his wife as interpreters. The expedition lasted 2 years and 4 months. It reached the Pacific Ocean by 1805 and returned east by September 1806. -
The Embargo of 1807
Jefferson wanted to punnish Britain and France so he made the Embargo Act, which made it so trading was restricted. This Act largely unaffected the French or Britain. Many Americans hated the embargo, especially New Englanders who made their living through trade. They had to smuggle goods into Britain and other countries. Jefferson had no choice but to use the small navy to enforce the law. The embargo ruined his second term and he retired after the term.
