In 1789, bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia took the oath of office as the first president of the United States. He and leaders like Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton helped to shape the new country under the Constitution.

One of the first major actions during his administration was the ratification of ten amendments to the Constitution known as the bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia. In addition to protecting specific individual rights, these amendments protected the powers of states by reserving those not specifically given to the Federal government. The rights granted in the bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia were especially important to Americans. These rights include freedom of: religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition (pg. 244)

Another key event during this time period was the establishment of a federal bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia through the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1789. Under this act state laws would remain, but federal courts would have the power to reverse state decisions with the bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia becoming the final authority on constitutional issues.

Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, faced the task of dealing with the nation’s bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia problems. The national bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia was growing and the country needed a way to pay its debts and make its economy stronger. Hamilton developed a plan that included the creation of a national bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia, payment of the national debt, bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia on imported goods, national taxes. His plan was not popular with everyone, especially Americans in the bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia and the western frontier.

During this time period the nation’s capital moved from New York City to Philadelphia. George Washington selected a site for a special district between bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia and bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia that would eventually become Washington, DC. bankBenjamin BannekerBill of Rightscourt systemdebtfinancialFirst AmendmentGeorge WashingtonMarylandSouthSupreme CourttariffsVirginia helped to complete plans for the national capital when the original architect, Pierre L’Enfant was removed from the project.