The new republic
George Washington became the first president of the United States after winning the Election of 1778. He won by a unanimous vote in the Electoral College, and quickly established the first Cabinet. He was a very powerful and influential figure, and his strong leadership united his people and made them feel safe and confident while facing the many issues of their young nation.
The Whiskey Rebellion occurred in 1794 in Pennsylvania, when Alexander Hamilton's high excise tax (1791) led to the taxation of whiskey. Whiskey was extremely prevalent, and was even used as currency in some regions. The tax caused widespread outrage, and many people in Pennsylvania refused to pay the tax collectors. In July of 1794, the rebels got violent and attacked the home of a tax inspector. President Washington quickly assembled an army of 13,000 men to march to Pennsylvania and put down this rebellion. However, the rebels had all gone home by the time the army arrived. This event showed the power of the strong central leadership, and how easily a sizable army could be assembled. Though many Americans liked this powerful central government, the Jeffersonians felt that it was using a "sledgehammer to crush a gnat."
Soon after John Adams was elected president in 1796, he sent an envoy to France to talk with Foreign Minister Talleyrand about preventing a war. However, they were stopped by three French diplomats, who demanded $250,000 to merely speak to Talleyrand. This encounter, later known as the XYZ Affair, created a mass anti-French hysteria. As the painting shows, Americans felt that the Europeans were taking advantage of America (the woman), and the American people united against the French. However, John Adams chose to go against his own party and not go to war, which he knows would keep him from being reelected, but at least it would prevent war with France.
The area highlighted in yellow is the land that the United States bought in the Louisiana Purchase. On April 30, 1803, France offered the United States almost 828,000 square miles for just $15 million, which doubled the land of the country for a very low price. Though this new land would be hard to manage, it looked very good for Thomas Jefferson's administration, and opened up a free and valuable market. This vast, unexplored land allowed many adventurers, notably Lewis and Clark, to adventure into the unknown and make many new discoveries.
On July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr, the Vice President of Jefferson in his first term, had a duel with Alexander Hamilton. They had built up a strong dislike for each other over the years, and when Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel, he could not refuse. The common etiquette was for both men to fire into the air, and Hamilton, who shot first, did just that. However, Burr shot to kill, and hit Hamilton in the lower abdomen, which eventually killed him the next day. Though the intentions of Burr were unclear, he nevertheless killed a brilliant man, as well as the Federalist Party's last hope of leadership. This lack of opposition led to almost all Americans rallying behind the Democratic-Republicans, and Thomas Jefferson won the Election of 1804 relatively easily.