The document summarizes the presidencies of the first three US presidents - George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. It outlines key events and accomplishments of their terms, including Washington establishing precedents like the cabinet system, Adams passing the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, and Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase doubling the size of the US. Critical court cases like Marbury v. Madison that established judicial review also occurred during these early administrations.

1. Our Early Presidens:
Washington, Adams, and Jefferson
Mrs. Bermudez

2. The First Three…
1. George Washington 1789-1797
2. John Adams 1797-1801
3. Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809

3. George Washington- #1
 Elected as our first president of the United States
 He was a great leader and well respected hero of the
American Revolution
 Americans felt he had a strong character, was honest,
and full of patriotism.
 Perfect role model for new nation

4. Important People that helped
Washington…
 Vice President- John Adams
 Secretary of Treasury- Alexander Hamilton
 Secretary of State- Thomas Jefferson
 Secretary of War- Henry Knox
 Attorney General- Edmund Randolph
 First Lady/Wife- Martha Washington

5. Quick Check #1
 Who was the first Secretary of the Treasury?
Alexander Hamilton

6. Events from Washington’s
Presidency…
 1789- Congress passes the Judiciary Act
 Creates the Supreme Court
 Creates a federal court system for nation
with three levels
 Washington makes John Jay the first
Supreme Court Chief Justice (head judge)

7. WE ARE NOT INVOLVED…
 1793- The French Revolution begins (similar to the
American Revolution)
 French want our help…What to do???
 1793- Proclamation of Neutrality issued by
Washington
 Told the world that the United States would NOT
take sides with countries at war
 Washington thought this would be safe for such a
young country

8. Washington says goodbye…
 Washington decides NOT to run for a third
term, he says he is a President, not a King
 1796/1797- Washington’s Farewell
Address- He warns the United States
against..
1. Foreign Entanglements- STAY NEUTRAL
and out of foreign problems
2. Political Parties- STAY UNITED, don’t get
split apart

9. Lasting effects of Washington’s
Presidency…
 PRECEDENTS- an action or a decision
that serves as an example for later
generations
 Big precedents set by Washington:
1. Created a Cabinet of Advisors… every
president after him does this too
2. Only serves 2 terms as president…”I am not
a king, only a president. The people are the country’s
true leaders”

10. Second President- John Adams
 Ran for the Federalist Party and wins a
narrow victory over Jefferson
 Thomas Jefferson is elected as his vice
president even though he is from a different
political party, the Democratic-Republicans
 Many saw him as hard working, honest, and
intelligent.

11. XYZ Affair… (nothing to do with pants)
 1798- French officials (aka X,Y, and Z) tried to bribe
our American diplomats on a peace seeking mission.
 Adams feared war might break out over this incident
 Adams does create a large navy and army but is
able to avoid war over this insult

12. XYZ Affair… (nothing to do with pants)
 What country asked the United States for money in
return for a treaty and alliance?
FRANCE!

13. Alien and Sedition Acts…not from Mars or Venus
 In response to the incident with France and
a possible war
 Congress passed this law in 1798 that said
1. President could remove any foreign resident
for “treasonous behavior”
2. Made it illegal for citizens to “write, print,
utter, or publish” any false or hostile words
against the government or its politics
3. Citizens could not plot against any
government actions

14. Discussion: What is
wrong with the Alien and
Sedition Acts?
Do you think they are fair?

15. Wait a minute!!! Keep
thinking …
How does the Alien and Sedition Acts
violate the Bill of Rights?

16. Election of 1800- Big Issues…
 Adams runs for re-election,
Jefferson, Burr, and Pinckney run
against him.
 Jefferson and Burr won 73 electoral
votes each while Adams won 65 and
Pinckney won 64.
 TIE FOR PRESIDENT…
WHAT TO DO???

17. How do we handle this???
 There was nothing in the Constitution about
what to do…
 So they sent the issue to the House of
Representatives for a vote which resulted in
another tie…and for 30 more times after
that!!
 Finally, so many people refused to vote
overall and Jefferson ended up winning
 Because of this the 12th
amendment was
passed in 1803 creating a separate ballot for
President and Vice President to avoid ties

18. Third President- Thomas Jefferson
 Jefferson was a Democratic-
Republican Party
Candidate…believes in less
government control over
issues
 Wanted the people to be in
charge
 Wanted to be fair

19. Important people for Jefferson…
 Secretary of State-
James Madison
 Chief Justice of
Supreme Court- John
Marshall
 Rival- Alexander
Hamilton

20. 1803- Marbury vs. Madison
 VERY IMPORTANT CASE!!!
 Established Judicial Review… gave the
Supreme court its power of declaring laws
unconstitutional.
 What Happens…
 Marbury sues Madison saying that Madison illegally stopped
Marbury from getting his job as a federal judge as was his right
under the Judicial Act of 1789
 The court rules that the Judicial Act was WRONG and did not follow
the Constitution therefore it was invalid or illegal
 This is the FIRST time the supreme court has done this

21. 1803- Louisiana Purchase-
Land anyone???
 France needs money to fight a war and offers to sell
us some land
 This DOUBLES the size of the United States and
gives us the control of the Mississippi and Port of
New Orleans for trade
 Jefferson is able to purchase the land owned by
France at the price of $15 million dollars
 This is called the LOUSIANA PURCHASE

22. Some fun facts…
 What cost $15,000,000 million in 1803 would
now cost $204,768,579.15 in 2009.
 It came down to less than 3 CENTS and
ACRE!!!!
 An acre is about ¾ of a football field…
imagine all that land for less than 3 CENTS!!!