The Beginning of the American Government

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The Beginning of the American Government
Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary
Content Source Americas History (Henretta,
Brody, Dumenil) Images as cited.
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The Constitution expanded the dimensions of
American political life. Previously voters had
elected local and state officials, now, they
chose national leaders as well.
Inauguration Button
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The Federalists swept the election of 1788,
winning forty-four seats in the first House of
Representatives only eight Anti-federalists won
election.
Electoral Map Of 1789
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As expected, members of the Electoral College
chose George Washington as president, John Adams
received the second highest number of electoral
votes, and he became vice president.
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Once the military savior of his country,
Washington now became its political father. At
fifty-seven, the first president was a man with
great personal dignity.
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Recognizing that he would he would be setting
precedents for his successors, Washington
proceeded cautiously.
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Washington adopted many of the administrative
practices of the Confederation and asked Congress
to reestablish the existing executive
departments Foreign Affairs (State), Finance
(Treasury), and War.
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He did introduce one important innovation The
Constitution specified that the president needed
the consent of the Senate to appoint major
officials, but Washington insisted that only he,
not the Senate, could remove them, ensuring the
presidents control over the executive branch.
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To head the Department of State, Washington chose
Thomas Jefferson. For Secretary of Treasury, he
turned to Alexander Hamilton.
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hamjeff/index.htm
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Then the new president designated Jefferson,
Hamilton, and Secretary of War Henry Knox as his
cabinet.
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hamjeff/index.htm
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The Constitution had created a supreme court but
left a Congress the task of establishing the rest
of the national court system.
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Because the Federalists wanted strong national
institutions, they enacted the far-reaching
Judiciary Act in 1789. The act established a
federal district court in each state and provided
three circuit courts to hear appeals from the
districts, with the Supreme Court having the
final say.
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nant-tip-accessing-legal-services/
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The Judiciary Act also allowed appeals to the
Supreme Court of federal legal issues that arose
in the courts of various states.
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This provision ensured that national judges would
have the final say on the meaning of the
Constitution.
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udge_92795.html
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The Federalists kept their promise to add a
declaration of rights to the Constitution. James
Madison, now a member of the House of
Representatives, submitted a list of nineteen
amendments to the first Congress.
James Madison
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Ten were approved by Congress and ratified by the
states in 1791. These ten amendments, known as
the Bill of Rights, safeguard fundamental
personal rights, including freedom of speech and
religion, and mandate trial by jury and other
legal procedures that protect individual citizens.
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ial-media-bill-of-rights.html
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By easing Anti-federalists concerns about an
oppressive national government, the amendments
secured the legitimacy of the Constitution.
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lank-constitution
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However, they did not resolve the core issue of
federalism, the proper balance between national
and state power. That issue would divide the
nation until the Civil War.
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