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In 1789, the first presidential election, George Washington was unanimously elected president of the United States. With 69 electoral votes, Washington won the support of each participating elector. No other president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead.
- Ratified The Constitution
Howard Chandler Christy's interpretation of the signing of...
- John Jay
John Jay New York Historical Society An important Federalist...
- John Adams
The plan was postponed, however, when George Washington was...
- John Hancock
It is likely that he saw himself as a candidate for the post...
- Constitutional Convention
In 1787, George Washington was persuaded to attend the...
- New York City
New York City played an important role in the public life of...
- Mount Vernon
Around the same time, he added 178 acres from Simon Pearson...
- Continental Army
William Sharp, "George Washington, Commander in Chief of Ye...
- Ratified The Constitution
- Overview
- The first presidential election
- Results of the 1789 election
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.
Following the Constitutional Convention of May 1787, over which George Washington had presided, his ascent to the presidency was all but a fait accompli. As commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, Washington had proven masterful at balancing the strategic and political demands of the office. His persistence and devotion to his men and his perpetual mindfulness of the ideals for which they were fighting won him the respect and loyalty of many. As a result, his signature on the new Constitution was a deciding endorsement for some of those who had opposed federalization.
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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. Those chosen would cast their votes a month later, on February 4. Washington was loath to leave the comforts of Mount Vernon, but his fellow Founding Fathers viewed his acceptance of the presidency as a foregone conclusion. On Feb. 4, 1789, electors convened in 10 states to cast their ballots. 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. Of the 72 electors, all but three cast their ballots (electors voted for two candidates). Washington appeared on all 69 ballots, while nearly half the voters cast their second vote for John Adams, who was duly elected vice president. The remainder of the votes were divided among 10 other candidates.
On April 16, after receiving congressional notification of the honour, Washington set out from Mount Vernon, reaching New York City in time to be inaugurated on April 30 . His journey northward was a celebratory procession as people in every town and village through which he passed turned out to greet him, often with banners and speeches and in some places with triumphal arches. He came across the Hudson River in a specially built barge decorated in red, white, and blue. The inaugural ceremony was performed on Wall Street, near the spot now marked by John Quincy Adams Ward’s statue of Washington. A great crowd broke into cheers as Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall, took the oath administered by Chancellor Robert Livingston and retired indoors to read to Congress his inaugural address. Washington was clad in a brown suit of American manufacture, but he wore white stockings and a sword after the fashion of European courts.
For the results of the subsequent election, see United States presidential election of 1792.
The results of the 1789 U.S. presidential election are provided in the table.
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- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
For example, Hamilton aimed to ensure that Adams did not inadvertently tie Washington in the electoral vote. [8] Also, Federalists spread rumors that Anti-Federalists plotted to elect Richard Henry Lee or Patrick Henry president, with George Clinton as vice president. However, Clinton received only three electoral votes. [9]
- 46.6%
- 12.3%
- 8.2%
- 100%
- As the first, Washington had to create the American presidency from scratch. George Washington, as the first president, was well aware of the great responsibility of defining the American presidency.
- Washington's presidential campaign cost zero dollars-- because he did absolutely no public campaigning. Presidential candidates of the 21st century spend millions of dollars winning the endorsements of their parties and mounting nationwide campaigns.
- Washington did not really want to be president. After winning the Revolutionary War and helping set up the new government for his country at the Constitutional Convention, George Washington's thoughts 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."
- Washington is the only president to have been unanimously elected by the Electoral College. In both the election of 1789 and 1792 Washington received all votes from the Electoral College.
The presidency of George Washington began on April 30, 1789, when Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1797. Washington took office after the 1788–1789 presidential election , the nation's first quadrennial presidential election, in which he was elected unanimously by the Electoral College .
Aug 26, 2024 · The US Presidential Election of 1789 was the first presidential election to take place after the ratification of the United States Constitution. Held on 4 February 1789, it resulted in the unanimous election of George Washington (l. 1732-1799) as the first president of the United States, with John Adams (l. 1735-1826) elected as the first vice president.
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Feb 1, 2024 · John Adams was named on 34 ballots, which made him the first Vice President. Washington became the first President of the “Virginia Dynasty.” Election of 1789 Significance. The Election of 1789 was a landmark moment in United States history that saw the election of George Washington as the first President of the United States.
