[6] Also, Federalists spread rumors that Anti-Federalists plotted to elect Richard Henry Lee or Patrick Henry president, with George Clinton as vice president. Mount Vernon is owned and maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, a private, non-profit organization. North Carolina, Rhode Island, and New York abstained from the process; the former two states had not ratified the Constitution, and the latter was in the midst of an internecine legislative conflict. This time, the field was narrow. (a) Only six of the 11 states eligible to cast electoral votes chose electors by any form of popular vote. States had varying methods for choosing presidential electors. As it did in 1789, the United States still uses the Electoral College system, which today gives all American citizens over the age of 18 the right to vote for electors, who in turn vote for the president. In addition, New York was unable to participate in the election, as the legislature had not passed a bill in time to appoint its eight electors. Many Democratic-Republicans would have preferred to nominate Thomas Jefferson, their ideological leader and Washington's Secretary of State. The Washington Post ran with it the first day, as if it were true. The results of the 1789 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table. Aaron Burr, New Yorks attorney general, was briefly considered as a Republican candidate as well but ultimately ceded to Clinton. The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only. Under this system, each elector cast two votes: the candidate who received the greatest number of votes (so long as they won a majority) became president, while the runner-up became vice president. Another uncertainty was the choice for the vice presidency, which contained no definite job description beyond being the President's designated successor and presiding over the Senate. (b) Less than 1.8% of the population voted: the 1790 Census would count a total population of 3.0 million with a free population of 2.4 million and 600,000 slaves in those states casting electoral votes. All Rights Reserved. Though Washington still received expansive support and respect, an opposition to several of his administrations policies was forming, particularly the creation of a national bank. Though all states allowed some rudimentary form of popular vote, only six ratifying states allowed any form of popular vote specifically for presidential electors. Mount Vernon Ladies Association. Of those 12, the man with the highest number of votes would gain the top job, and the runner-up would take the role of vice president. The process began with each state having to choose its electors by January 7th, 1789. Spend the day with us! Commenting on his re-election, Washington proclaimed, "I am again called upon by the voice of my country to execute the functions of its chief magistrate. United States presidential election, 1792, Last edited on 23 February 2023, at 01:14, 179293 United States House of Representatives elections, List of 1792 United States presidential electors, "National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present", "1792 President of the United States, Electoral College", "A New Nation Votes - VA US President Race - Nov 00, 1792", "The Electoral Count for the Presidential Election of 1789", "A Historical Analysis of the Electoral College", A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns, 1787-1825, Presidential Election of 1792: A Resource Guide, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1792_United_States_presidential_election&oldid=1141036351, state is divided into electoral districts, with one elector chosen per district by the voters of that district, each elector appointed by the state legislature, two Congressional districts chose five electors each; the remaining two districts chose three electors, each elector chosen by majority vote of voters in Congressional district, if an insufficient number of electors are chosen by majority vote from a Congressional district, remaining electors would be appointed by the state legislature, each elector chosen by majority vote of voters statewide, if an insufficient number of electors are chosen by majority vote, runoff is held between the top 2, This page was last edited on 23 February 2023, at 01:14. From the mansion to lush gardens and grounds, intriguing museum galleries, immersive programs, and the distillery and gristmill. Paullin, Charles O. Her father found a note on the floor asking for a $20,000 ransom. (Two electors from Maryland and two from Virginia neglected to vote; the New York State Legislature was deadlocked and no electors were appointed from that state.) In some states, there was a nominal religious test for voting. Skeptics observe that Armstrong received his single vote from a Georgia elector. "I walk on untrodden ground," was a frequent comment he made in the days leading up to his first inauguration. Those secondary votes allowed for the first vice president and would determine the direction of domestic politics for years to come. Retrieved October 28, 2022. Aware that he would be closely scrutinized, Washington self-consciously chose clothing and household furnishings that would convey a particular message about his style and character. The recipient of the most votes would then become president, and the runner-up vice president. The popular vote totals used are the elector from each party with the highest vote totals. 1. Roosevelt's decision to break the precedent set by George Washington was made in July 1940, as the United States neared its entry into World War II. . Almost seven years later, there is still no evidence. The election took place following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. The book now resides within The Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. The remaining 35 electoral votes were split among 10 candidates, including John Jay, who finished third with nine electoral votes. (Two electors from Maryland and one from Vermont were absent and did not vote.) On November 5, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt won a third term in officean unprecedented act that would be barred by a constitutional amendment a decade later. Discover what made Washington "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen". Strange, Fun and Weird Facts about US Presidents. In 1792, Washington received all 132 electoral votes, winning each of the fifteen states. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Under the Articles of Confederation, which were ratified in 1781, the United States had no head of state. The vote totals of Virginia appear to be incomplete. George Washington had wished to retire at the end of his first term in office. 12 other men were on the ballot for that first election in 1789. President George Washington served his first term with Adams as his vice president from April 1789. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. The other six chose electors through some form involving a popular vote, though in only two states did the choice depend directly on a statewide vote. Web. Suffering from diminished physical abilities, Pres. Chernow, Ron (2004). Each state is allowed to choose as many electors as it has senators and representatives in Congress. The next highest total was that of Founding Father John Jay, who got nine of the second choice votes compared with six for both R.H. Harrison and John Routledge. One of the ragged legions of gold and silver prospectors who combed the Rocky Mountains searching for fortune in the 1860s,AlferdPacker also supplemented his meager income read more, On January 7, 1891, Zora Neale Hurston, novelist and folklorist, is born inNotasulga, Alabama. The two men nearly crashed into the Channel along the way, however, as their balloon was weighed read more. John Jay was similar to John Adams regarding his influence in politics and foreign affairs. The Constitution established an Electoral College, based on each state's Congressional representation, in which each elector would cast two votes for two candidates, a procedure modified in 1804 by the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment. Washington also did not run unopposed for the second election. We don't accept government funding and rely upon private contributions to help preserve George Washington's home and legacy. Suffering from diminished physical abilities, Pres. Independent. 3 (September 2006): 373-390. After the war, he becamefirmly established in New Yorks small artistic community. "The First Elections Under The Constitution." The sitting took place on October 3, 1789, probably in the president's official residence on Cherry Street in New York. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty. Congress did not officially count the Electoral College until February 13, 1793. For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1792. George Washington, as the first president, was well aware of the great responsibility of defining the American presidency. (b) Two electors from Maryland and one elector from Vermont did not cast votes. (2002). (b) Pre-Twelfth Amendment electoral vote rules obscure the intentions of the voters(c) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements. Washingtons position as a commander in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain placed him in high esteem. As instructed in Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist was sworn in to preside, read more, Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon, becoming the first to cross the English Channel by air. (c) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements. The disaster, the worst mining catastrophe in Oklahomas history, was mainly due to the mine owners emphasis on profits over safety. Voters cast ballots to choose state electors; only white men who owned property were allowed to vote. American Presidential Campaigns and Elections. No other president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead. In most states only white men, and in many only those who owned property, could vote. A student of pop culture and the arts, he wrote about popular (and semipopular) Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Members of the U.S. Congress, though, cant be electors. Source: A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns 1787-1825[10], The Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, provided that the state legislatures should decide the manner in which their Electors were chosen. Washington Papers. The executive function of government remained with the legislative similar to countries that use a parliamentary system. We don't accept government funding and rely upon private contributions to help preserve George Washington's home and legacy. Learn more abouthow George Washington shaped the role and function of the President of the United States. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Electoral rules of the time required each presidential elector to cast two votes without distinguishing which was for president and which for vice president. On the evening of January 7, 1955, the curtain at the Metropolitan Opera in New York rises to reveal Marian Anderson, the first African American to perform with the Met. It was held from Friday, November 4 to Wednesday, December 7, 1796. George Washington was the first President of the United States. Your email address will not be published. Despite fears that Fidel Castro, whose rebel army helped to overthrow Batista, might have communist leanings, the U.S. read more, In his final State of the Union address before Congress, President Harry S. Truman tells the world that that the United States has developed a hydrogen bomb. They find this improbable because Armstrong of Pennsylvania was not nationally famoushis public service to that date consisted of being a medical officer during the American Revolution and, at most, a single year as a Pennsylvania judge. At that moment, the Chancellor of the State of New York, Robert Livingston, the person who administered the oath to the first chief executive, exclaimed, "Long live George Washington, President of the United States! As with the previous presidential election, each elector voted for two candidates. In 1792, the second presidential election, George Washington was unanimously re-elected president of the United States. Michaelsen, William B. ", D. Jason BerggrenGeorgia Southwestern State University. ", On April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City, the first capital of the United States, Washington took the presidential oath of office. The distribution of the electoral vote between the four runners-up showed a high degree of party discipline, with only two electors voting contrary to the majority in their state. (b) One electoral district failed to choose an elector. Washington was clad in a brown suit of American manufacture, but he wore white stockings and a sword after the fashion of European courts. Answer (1 of 5): At the founding of the Republic, it was not expected that anyone would run for President. After winning the Revolutionary War and helping set up the new government for his country at the Constitutional Convention, George Washington'sthoughts turned away from battlefields and assembly halls to a much more modest arena-- his home at his Mount Vernon estate -- and the opportunity of "living and dying a private citizen on my own farm.". Following the ratification of the Constitution by the necessary nine states in July of 1788, Congress set January 7 of the following year as the date by which states were required to choose electors. United States presidential election of 1789, American presidential election held on Feb. 4, 1789, in which George Washington was unanimously chosen as the first president of the United States by electors from 10 of the 13 extant states. He was also one of the anonymous writers responsible for the Federalist Papers in the lead-up to the creation of the United States Constitution. Shade, William G., and Ballard C. Campbell. [4] Congress took twenty-eight days to assemble. Citizens of the new nation showed up in droves. Dinkin, Robert J. United States presidential election of 1792, American presidential election held in 1792, in which George Washington unanimously won a second term as president of the United States. Craig R. Coenen. As commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Washington had proven masterful at balancing the strategic and political demands of the office. 46. Florida Gov. As expected, George Washington won the . With 77 electoral votes, John Adamswas re-elected, positioning him well enough to become Washington's presidential heir apparent. He received the congressional notification about his win on April 16th before taking part in the first-ever inauguration on April 30th. University of Virginia. 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial HighwayMount Vernon, Virginia 22121. Mount Vernon is owned and maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, a private, non-profit organization. (e) Two electors from Maryland did not vote. (a) New York's legislature did not choose electors on time. Voting in Revolutionary America: A Study of Elections in the Original Thirteen States, 17761789. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Washington also did not run unopposed for the second election. Discover the Home of George and Martha Washington. Required fields are marked *. Adams received the support of New England, South Carolina, and the Mid-Atlantic states (excepting New York), while Clinton carried New York and most of the South. Washington appeared on all 69 ballots, while nearly half the voters cast their second vote for John Adams, who was duly elected vice president. George Washington was unanimously elected for the first of his two terms as president and John Adams became the first vice president. The candidates were Chief Justice John Jay, a Hamiltonian, and incumbent George Clinton, the party's vice presidential nominee. The remaining 35 electoral votes were split among 10 different candidates, including John Jay, who finished second with nine electoral votes. Major General William Howe Howe directed British troops during the early years of the war. "Alexander Hamilton". George Clinton was the only anti-Federalist candidate to receive votes (3). However, this would have cost them the state of Virginia, as electors were not permitted to vote for two candidates from their home state and Washington was also a Virginian. The vote totals of Kentucky and Virginia appear to be lost. We don't accept government funding and rely upon private contributions to help preserve George Washington's home and legacy. The path to the presidency, and the task of leading a new nation, was uncharted territory for which there was no precedent. United States presidential election of 1792, A History of U.S. Presidential Elections in Maps. This is also how John Adams ended up as our first vice president. "I walk on untrodden ground," was a frequent comment he made in the days leading up to his first inauguration. These men would cast their votes just under a month later, on February 4th. The Washington Library is open to all researchers and scholars, by appointment only. Mount Vernon is owned and maintained by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association of the Union, a private, non-profit organization. Omissions? Boller, Paul, Jr. Presidential Campaigns. John Adams. The retired general said that he had "no wish which aspires beyond the humble and happy lot of living and dying a private citizen" at his Mount Vernon farm. As the first, Washington had to create the American presidency from scratch. Three states, however, did not contribute to the vote total. On Feb. 4, 1789, electors convened in 10 states to cast their ballots. (Four remaining votes were cast for Jefferson and one for Burr.) Federalist. Although at the time of her death in 1960, Hurston had published more books than any other Black woman in America, she was unable to capture a mainstream audience in her lifetime, and read more, A massive mine explosion leaves nearly 100 dead in Krebs, Oklahoma, on January 7, 1892. On Democracy. Three states eligible to do so declined due to political tensions at the time North Carolina, Rhode Island, and New York. The Democratic-Republican Party, which had organized in opposition to the policies of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, supported Clinton for the position of vice president. Source: United States Office of the Federal Register. Indeed, that alone explains his willingness to endure eight years in the vice presidency, an office devoid of power. Unanimously elected twice, President George Washington helped shape the office's future role and powers, as well as set both formal and informal precedents for future presidents. As per the terms of the unamended constitution, each elector was permitted two votes for president, with a majority of "the whole number of electors appointed" necessary to elect a president. The vice-presidential vote split between John Adams (34), John Jay (9), Robert Harrison (6), and John Rutledge (6). Presidential candidates of the 21st century spend millions of dollars winning the endorsements of their parties and mounting nationwide campaigns. (d) As the New York legislature failed to appoint its allotted eight electors in time, there were no voting electors from New York. Donald Trump. According to Article II of the Constitution, each elector in the Electoral College possessed two votes. Your email address will not be published. Armonk, NY: Sharpe Reference, 2003. People were so concerned about a President who would try to take too much power, that anyone who tried to obtain the job would not be considered. A Whig who sympathized with the Americans, Howe took over as the commander in chief of the British Army in 1776. (g) The identity of this candidate comes from The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections (Gordon DenBoer (ed. Because Washington was from Virginia, then the largest state, many assumed that electors would choose a vice president from a northern state. He won the Presidents job based on his influence and experience. In New York, the race for governor was fought along these lines. But Washington's tremendous popularity was not transferable to Adams across the country, as the Vice President lost the South. The 17881789 United States presidential election was the first quadrennial presidential election. 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