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  U.S. President
RACE DETAILS
Parents > United States > U.S. Executive
OfficePresident
HonorificPresident - Abbr: President
Type General Election
Filing Deadline January 07, 1789 - 12:00pm Central
Polls Open February 04, 1789 - 06:00am Central
Polls Close February 04, 1789 - 08:00pm Central
Term Start March 04, 1789 - 12:00pm
Term End March 04, 1793 - 12:00am
ContributorBarack O-blame-a
Last ModifiedChronicler July 08, 2010 09:50pm
Data SourcesPresidential Elections Since 1789 (Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press, 1983), p. 141; The Presidential Game, pp. 27-40 [Link] ; Gordon DenBoer, ed., The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections 1788-1790 (University of Wisconsin Press, 1984).
Description

Results of the Popular Vote of 1788-1789

As expected, Presidential Electors pledged to George Washington were elected throughout the nation on 1/7/1789. In the six states with a popular election, Federalist Electors won by a 41-3 margin. In CT and GA, the legislature chose the Electors. In SC, the legislators were authorized to meet in Charleston on the appointed date and make the choice; about 30% of the legislators bothered to appear. In NJ, the Governor appointed the Electors.

Lobbying the Electors

The lopsided defeat of the Anti-Federalists led to the first round of political intrigue in casting the electoral votes. Alexander Hamilton, who had managed Washington’s campaign, realized that if Electors in New England held back some votes from Washington, it was possible that Adams could be elected president and Washington VP. He corresponded with associates in other states about this issue, and a plan was developed. Hamilton dispatched men to each state to lobby the Electors to withhold a few votes from Adams to ensure his second place finish. Samuel B. Webb, Hamilton’s surrogate in CT, did not arrive on the scene until the date of the meeting of the Electors.

The Electoral Vote

The Presidential Electors met in the various state capitals on 2/4/1789 to cast the electoral vote. Unlike elections in the twenty first century, the Electors included a large number of the leading political leaders and thinkers of the day, in

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NEXT GENERAL ELECTION
  PartyFederal Won12/05/1792
NameGeorge Washington Votes132 (50.00%)
Term03/04/1793 - 03/04/1797 Margin55 (+20.83%)
PRIMARY/OTHER SCHEDULE

CANDIDATES
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Name General and Commander in Chief George Washington Ambassador John Adams Convention Delegate John Jay Robert H. Harrison Del. John Rutledge Gov. John Hancock Convention Delegate George Clinton
PartyFederal Federal Federal Federal Federal Federal Anti-Federal
Campaign Logo
Certified Votes 69 (50.00%) 34 (24.64%) 9 (6.52%) 6 (4.35%) 6 (4.35%) 4 (2.90%) 3 (2.17%)
Margin0 (0.00%) -35 (-25.36%) -60 (-43.48%) -63 (-45.65%) -63 (-45.65%) -65 (-47.10%) -66 (-47.83%)
Predict Avg.0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
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MORE CANDIDATES
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Name Gov. Samuel Huntington John Milton James Armstrong Benjamin Lincoln Del. Edward Telfair  
PartyFederal Federal Federal Federal Anti-Federal  
Campaign Logo  
Certified Votes 2 (1.45%) 2 (1.45%) 1 (0.73%) 1 (0.73%) 1 (0.73%)  
Margin-67 (-48.55%) -67 (-48.55%) -68 (-49.28%) -68 (-49.28%) -68 (-49.28%)  
Predict Avg.0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%  
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EVENTS
Start Date End Date Type Title Contributor
Apr 21, 1789 09:00am Apr 30, 1789 09:00pm Inauguration 1st Presidential Inaugural (Washington)  Chronicler 

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