The First Five Years (1790-1795)
The first five years after the ratification of the Constitution and the coronation of King Alexander I were like tumbling off a waterfall – rough but exhilarating. The leaders of the new nation set to work with religious gravity, each act heavy in its symbolic purpose, positively dripping with first-ness.
These years were lived in the wake of the lengthy Constitutional Convention that succeeded it, and that Constitution resembled the one from your native timeline in many ways. The main difference, of course, was the establishment of a monarchy without an (explicit) aristocracy. James Madison helped to engineer the Three-Fifths Compromise which would look quite familiar to you, and though Hamilton was initially tempted to push a One-Half Compromise he quickly came around to Madison’s idea. He considered his economic programs tantamount in creating a cohesive nation and was willing to give Southerners more representative clout in exchange for their taxes.
The existence of both a King and a President complicated things when a Residence Act was proposed in 1790. Two political centers were intended to be built within Philadelphia, one for the Congress and one for the King, but Hamilton himself was reticent to spend money on fancy buildings with debt to pay off and an economy to stabilize. The revised Residence Act would stipulate that Congress would meet at Congress Hall until they created a more suitable replacement and that the King would live in his own private residence until a palace could be built. Hamilton House wouldn’t even be started until the late years of the next decade, and as time soldiered on the “temporary” Congress Hall became permanent. This epitomized both the unity and the duality of the country, with the King simultaneously part of the governing body and aloof from it.
Hamilton himself was in love with New York City and didn’t want to leave it, but he recognized the eventual necessity of having a royal residence. Most Southerners, even those who had been brought into the Federalist fold by Jefferson’s fall from grace, were loathe to accept a capital in New York City. Hamilton was unwilling to place his capital in the South, and a proposal to carve out a bit of land from Maryland and Virginia was shot down from all sides. The idea of taking land from the states to create a Royal Estate just stank of aristocracy, and Hamilton himself doubted his ability to fit in amongst the Southerners. Jefferson had the upbringing of a plantation owner but Hamilton had grown up poor and illegitimate, and doubted that living amongst the Southerners would do anything but offend them further. Instead, he spent time traveling throughout the country promoting his economic policies and trying to gain a reputation as a true King of the People. Alexander I learned much from Washington, and he recognized that one of George's greatest strengths was his humility. Alexander I was a good deal more arrogant than his late mentor, but he understood that at least the appearance of modesty would serve him better than kingly bluster.
The early years saw the creation of the American Mint, the success of the Coinage Act, and the establishment of the American Postal Service. Vermont was added as the 13th state of the American Kingdom in March, prompting what historians at the time were already prematurely calling the “Rhode Island Crisis.” Rhode Island was the last state of the former colonies to accept the federal powers of the American government or Alexander I’s coronation, and they had boycotted the Constituional Convention. Tensions were high for the four months before Rhode Island accepted Alexander Hamilton as their King and the American government as their ruling body, and people tried to forget their earlier panic. Though the Americans were loathe to attack a compatriot, the independent government of Rhode Island didn’t like the prospect of being surrounded by foreign powers and decided they were better off in the union.
America’s first serious conflicts came in 1791 as well. The Republican party that had formed despite Hamilton’s most ardent wishes protested the lack of a Bill of Rights within the Constitution. The Federalist government had excluded it in fear that rights that hadn’t been specifically enumerated would be implied not to exist. James Madison initially called a potential Bill of Rights a “parchment barrier” that would only grant illusory protection against tyranny, but even Hamilton realized he and the Federalists had miscalculated. Madison drafted the Bill of Rights and they were soon signed into action.
1793 left the nation grieving as news came of Thomas Jefferson’s execution under Robespierre's Reign of Terror. Even Alexander Hamilton, Jefferson’s most bitter rival, was reportedly extremely disturbed by Jefferson’s death. He didn’t like the man, to be sure, but Hamilton could hardly a world without his rival. France’s estimation in the eyes of America began to fall dramatically, an example of a Revolution gone wrong, and their own Revolution began to look a little rosier in comparison. In your native timeline, Washington signed the Proclamation of Neutrality, but King Alexander I signed no such document. Instead, he and the rest of the country eyed France warily, giving vague promises of neutrality without an official declaration. America's independence would have been extinguished like a cinder underfoot without the help of the Kingdom of France, but the King of France wore his crown no longer. The American government refused to continue paying back their debts to the French, stating that they were owed to the
Kingdom of France, not the new Revolutionary government. Neither government is very fond of the other. Americans hear the streets of France are being paved with blood, but the French think America is worse. According to Jefferson, the country was compromised by aristocrats at its inception, and the American Kingdom stands as a symbol of corrupted Republican ideals.
The Whiskey Excise Act proved a more immediate concern, implemented soon after the Rhode Island Crisis in August 1791. Hamilton was in need of more revenue but felt that import tax had been raised as high as it possibly could, making a domestic tax the only solution. The “Whiskey Tax” was intended to be a luxury tax that few would object to, but object they did. The tax allowed distillers to pay by the gallon or through a flat free, favoring big business over small. Hamilton was in favor of seeing larger American business, but small-scale distillers were less keen on the idea, as were the farmers West of the Appalachian mountains who often used whiskey as a bartering tool. Many veterans numbered amongst those who refused to pay, and Hamilton had no desire to incite violence against fellow patriots. The government tried diplomatic means to little success, with tax collectors tarred and feathered by disgruntled farmers. The conflict simmered as time went on until it reached a rolling boil in 1794, when rebels attacked American tax collectors and forced them to surrender their comission. Hamilton knew that this was the time to exercise the government’s authority, and though the President was technically Commander-in-Chief, he asked Adams’ permission to lead the militia to quell the revolt. When the rebels heard that the King himself was riding on horseback at the front of over 10,000 troops, they dispersed before Alexander I could even arrive. About 20 men were arrested in the aftermath, though most were acquitted or given presidential pardon soon after. The authority of the government had been affirmed without the need for bloodshed that would undermine popular opinion, and appeasing his opponents was still more important than Hamilton would’ve like to admit.
The Jay Treaty was signed in 1794, largely the work of Secretary of State John Jay, with only minor opposition from the relatively small faction that still supported France over Britain. Most Republicans lost their taste for francophilia when their ideological champion lost his head to the guillotine. Their independence had been won, most thought, and now was the time to stand alongside Britain on equal footing. With a few concessions on either side, the Jay Treaty was the beginning of amicable relations and prosperous trade between the two nations.
Adams was on difficult political footing during his first term in office – unlike Washington, Adams did not have the luxury of unanimous support, before or after taking office. He was widely criticized early on, but 1794 was a good year for the Federalists with the success of the Jay Treaty and Hamilton’s charismatic dispersal of the Whiskey Rebels. Adams reaped the benefits of the country’s growing sentiment for his party’s policies and was elected for a second term in 1795.