George Washington

National Road Reaches Wheeling, Demonstrating Federal Infrastructure Capability Despite Constitutional Debates

1818-08-01 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 6/10

The National Road, also known as the Cumberland Road, reaches Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia) on the Ohio River after seven years of construction, completing the first federally funded interstate highway in American history. President Thomas Jefferson had promoted the road to support westward …

U.S. Congress Thomas Jefferson George Washington Henry McKinley infrastructure internal-improvements westward-expansion constitutional-interpretation

Quasi-War Enables Military-Industrial Expansion and Permanent Navy Establishment

1798-07-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

Congress authorizes attacks on French warships and effectively declares an undeclared naval war against France, establishing the foundation for permanent American military expansion and the military-industrial complex. The Quasi-War begins after French privateers attack over 316 American merchant …

President John Adams Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Stoddert U.S. Congress George Washington French privateers military-expansion naval-buildup institutional-capture defense-spending permanent-military

Whiskey Rebellion Establishes Federal Power to Suppress Domestic Dissent with Military Force

1794-08-07 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President George Washington issues a proclamation declaring western Pennsylvania whiskey protests to be treasonous acts that amount to “levying war against the United States,” establishing the precedent for federal military suppression of domestic economic dissent. The crisis stems from …

George Washington Alexander Hamilton Western Pennsylvania farmers U.S. Militia federal-power taxation military-force class-conflict democratic-resistance

Slave Trade Act of 1794 Prohibits American Ships from International Slave Trade

1794-03-22 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 6/10

Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Slave Trade Act of 1794, prohibiting American ships from being used in the international slave trade and making it illegal to build, outfit, equip, or dispatch vessels for slave trading purposes. The Act represents an early federal …

U.S. Congress George Washington American ship owners slavery institutional-corruption slave-trade limited-reform

Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 Creates Federal Enforcement Apparatus for Slavery

1793-02-12 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, federal legislation enforcing the Constitution’s Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) by authorizing slaveholders and their agents to pursue freedom seekers across state lines and establishing …

U.S. Congress George Washington Federal judges Slaveholders Freedom seekers slavery institutional-corruption fugitive-slave-act federal-complicity due-process-violation

First Bank of the United States Establishes Financial Elite Capture Pattern

1791-02-25 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

President George Washington signs legislation creating the First Bank of the United States, establishing a national bank chartered for twenty years despite fierce constitutional opposition from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton’s proposal creates an …

Alexander Hamilton Thomas Jefferson James Madison George Washington U.S. Congress institutional-capture financial-system constitutional-conflict elite-corruption banking-power

Naturalization Act Restricts Citizenship to Free White Persons Creating Racial Caste System

1790-03-26 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 9/10

Congress passes and President George Washington signs the Naturalization Act of 1790 (1 Stat. 103), the first federal law establishing uniform rules for granting United States citizenship through naturalization. The Act limits naturalization eligibility to “free white person(s)… of good …

First Congress George Washington racial-exclusion citizenship immigration institutional-racism legal-framework +1 more