George Washington Takes Office

US History – The Rise of Political Parties and the Era of Jefferson, 1789-1809

In this course, Professor John Pinheiro (Aquinas College) explains the causes and effects of policy debates in the early republic. We start by looking at George Washington's presidency - explaining how it came about and summarising some of the key events that occurred during it. We then turn to discuss the first political ideology of the period - Hamiltonianism. After this, we turn to examine the competing ideology to Hamiltonianism - Jeffersonianism. We then examine how these two competing ideologies, as well as international events, fed the growth of political parties in this period. In the penultimate module, we turn to examine how Thomas Jefferson tried to achieve his political aims with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. In the final module, we turn to examine the Supreme Court and see how the Federalists used this institution to influence politics well after their political demise.

George Washington Takes Office

In this module, we look at George Washington's presidency - explaining how it came about and summarising some of the key events that occurred during it. We will focus on: (i) the origins of the presidency and how George Washington became the first executive; (ii) George Washington's first cabinet; (iii) the domestic and international events that affected Washington's presidency; and (iv) Washington's second administration.