Wednesday, February 13, 2008

1789

United States presidential election, 1789


United States presidential election, 1789

Presidential election results map. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state.

Incumbent
None

Successor
George Washington

The United States presidential election of 1789 was the first presidential election in the United States of America. Elections held in this manner were described by Article II, Sec. 1, Clause 3 of the newly established Constitution. Before this time, the United States had no Presidential office but instead invested limited power in the unelected office of President of the United States in Congress Assembled under the Articles of Confederation. This position was the chair of the United States Congress and can be best compared to the current position of the Speaker of the House or the President of the Senate.

For all intents and purposes, George Washington ran unopposed for election as President. Under the system then in place, each voting elector cast two votes, and the recipient of the greatest number of votes was elected President, providing they equaled or exceeded half the total number of electors. The runner-up became Vice President. At that time, the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution had not been passed and thus the electoral system for that era differs from most elections. Washington was now very popular, as he successfully presided over the Philadelphia Convention and made the US, which was weakened by the Articles of Confederation, much stronger through the new US Constitution.

The recipient of 34 electoral votes, John Adams of Massachusetts, finished second in voting and as such was elected Vice President of the United States.

Contents

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[edit] The Candidates

The electors unanimously chose Washington to be President
The electors unanimously chose Washington to be President

[edit] General election

In the absence of conventions, there was no formal nomination process. The framers of Constitution had presumed that Washington would be the first President, and once he agreed to come out of retirement to accept the office, there was no opposition to him. Individual states chose their electors, who voted all together for Washington when they met.

Electors used their second vote to cast a scattering of votes, many voting for someone besides Adams less out of opposition to him than to prevent Adams from matching Washington's total.

Only ten states out of the original thirteen cast electoral votes in this election. North Carolina and Rhode Island were ineligible to participate as they had not yet ratified the United States Constitution. New York failed to appoint its allotment of eight electors because of a deadlock in the state legislature.

[edit] Results

[edit] Popular vote

Slate Popular Vote(a), (b), (c)
Count Percentage
Federalist electors 35,866 92.4%
Anti-Federalist electors 2,952 7.6%
Total 38,818 100.0%

Source: U.S. President National Vote. Our Campaigns. (February 11, 2006).

(a) Only 6 of the 10 states casting electoral votes chose electors by any form of popular vote.
(b) Less than 1.3% 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 in this election.
(c) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.

[edit] Electoral vote

Presidential Candidate Party Home State Popular Vote(a), (b), (c) Electoral Vote(d), (e), (f)
Count Percentage
George Washington (none) Virginia 38,818 100.0% 69
John Adams (none) Massachusetts — — 34
John Jay (none) New York — — 9
Robert H. Harrison (none) Maryland — — 6
John Rutledge (none) South Carolina — — 6
John Hancock (none) Massachusetts — — 4
George Clinton (none) New York — — 3
Samuel Huntington (none) Connecticut — — 2
John Milton (none) Georgia — — 2
James Armstrong(g) (none) Georgia(g) — — 1
Benjamin Lincoln (none) Massachusetts — — 1
Edward Telfair (none) Georgia — — 1
Total 38,818 100.0% 138
Needed to win 35

Source: Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996. Official website of the National Archives. (July 30, 2005).

(a) Only 6 of the 10 states casting electoral votes chose electors by any form of popular vote.
(b) Less than 1.3% 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 in this election.
(c) Those states that did choose electors by popular vote had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements.
(d) The New York legislature failed to appoint its allotted 8 electors in time, so there were no voting electors from New York.
(e) Two electors from Maryland did not vote.
(f) One elector from Virginia did not vote and another elector from Virginia was not chosen because an election district failed to submit returns.
(g) The identity of this candidate comes from The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections (Gordon DenBoer (ed.), Univ of Wisconsin Press, 1984, p. 441). Several respected sources, including the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress and the Political Graveyard, instead show this individual to be James Armstrong of Pennsylvania. However, primary sources, such as the Senate Journal, list only Armstrong's name, not his state. Skeptics observe that Armstrong received his single vote from a Georgia elector. They find this improbable because Armstrong of Pennsylvania was not nationally famous—his 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.

[edit] Breakdown by ticket

Presidential Candidate Running Mate Electoral Vote
George Washington John Adams 34
George Washington John Jay 9
George Washington Robert H. Harrison 6
George Washington John Rutledge 6
George Washington John Hancock 4
George Washington George Clinton 3
George Washington Samuel Huntington 2
George Washington John Milton 2
George Washington James Armstrong 1
George Washington Benjamin Lincoln 1
George Washington Edward Telfair 1

[edit] Electoral college selection

Method of choosing Electors State(s)
each elector appointed by the state legislature Connecticut
Georgia
New Jersey
New York (a)
South Carolina
  • two electors appointed by state legislature
  • each remaining elector chosen by state legislature from list of top two vote-getters in each congressional district
 Massachusetts
each elector chosen by voters statewide; however, if no candidate wins majority, state legislature appoints elector from top two candidates New Hampshire
state is divided into electoral districts, with one elector chosen per district by the voters of that district Virginia (b)

(a) New York's legislature deadlocked, so no electors were chosen.
(b) One electoral district failed to chose an elector.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

Books
  • Jenson, Merrill, et al., eds. (1976–1989). The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788–1790. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0-299-06690-8.
Web sites

[edit] External links

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