Events of Washington's presidency

1. REVOLUTIONS,
TREATIES, AND
REBELLIONS
GW #2

2. • Starting in 1789, during Washington’s presidency, a rebellion was taking
place in France
• The French Revolution was a revolt of the people against their king. The
people overthrew the monarchy and created their own republican
government.

3. • In 1793, France went to war with
Great Britain and other countries.
• Americans were divided – some
wanted to support France, some
Great Britain. Others wanted to
remain neutral.
• Congress was divided as well.
FYI: In 1791 King Louis fled, only to be
recaptured and guillotined in 1793. The French
revolutionaries declared war on all the
monarchies of Europe, and invaded the Austrian
Netherlands, declaring war on Britain on 1st
February 1793. ... Britain heavily subsided a
series of alliances against the French.

4. FYI:
- At some point around 1789, when
being told that her French subjects
had no bread, Marie-Antoinette
(bride of France's King Louis XVI)
supposedly sniffed, “Qu'ils
mangent de la brioche”—“Let
them eat cake.”
- Nine months after the execution
of her husband, the former King
Louis XVI of France, Marie-
Antoinette followed him to the
guillotine.

5. • France sent an ambassador to
the United States. Edmond
Genet asked President
Washington to help France
fight England by sending
American privateers to attack
their British enemies.
• Wanting to remain neutral,
Washington issued the
Neutrality Proclamation
which stated that the U.S.
would not take sides with any
European countries that were
at war.

6. • Once again, Jefferson and Hamilton were in disagreement.
- Jefferson thought the U.S. should support the French because
France supported the U.S. during the Revolution
- Hamilton hoped to strengthen trade with Britain, so he favored
supporting the British
• Feeling that Hamilton had too much influence on foreign policy and that he was
interfering with Jefferson’s role as Secretary of State, Jefferson resigned from
the cabinet in 1793.

7. • In 1791, Congress had passed a tax on whiskey as part of Hamilton’s plan to
raise funds to pay the federal debt.
- People were angry about the tax. Made from corn, whiskey was a
valuable commodity. Farmers felt that the tax was aimed
specifically at them.
- In 1794, farmers in Pennsylvania protested the tax, refusing to pay and
tarring & feathering tax collectors
- This protest became known as the Whiskey Rebellion
- George Washington himself led an army against the rebellion, which
ended without a battle in November 1794

9. OTHER KEY EVENTS DURING
WASHINGTON’S PRESIDENCY:
• Jay’s Treaty – 1794 – an agreement
negotiated by Chief Justice John Jay to
work out disputes between the British
and the U.S. about land in the
Northwest, and debts the U. S. owed
• Pinckney’s Treaty – 1795 – named for
ambassador Thomas Pinckney, this
treaty settled border and trade
disputes with Spain

11. • Conflicts with Native
Americans in the Northwest
Territory included the 1794
Battle of Fallen Timbers
• In 1795, the Treaty of
Greenville was signed by the
Native Americans and the
U.S. government. It gave the
U.S. Indian lands in the
Northwest Territory, and
guaranteed that U.S. citizens
could travel safely through
the region

12. • In September 1796,
George Washington
delivered his Farewell
Address after two terms
as president
• In his speech he
expressed the need for
political unity. He warned
the nation to work out its
differences and to protect
its independence