Okla-homey
2/4/2008, 07:31 AM
February 4, 1789: George Washington is elected president
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/41472/2004527889094532240_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004527889094532240)
219 years ago on this day in 1789, 69 Electors cast their ballots to elect Lieutenant General George Washington the first president of the United States. As the former leader of the Continental Army and chairman of the Continental Congress, Washington possessed the necessary credentials for the presidency, if not the enthusiasm.
After months of appearing to sidestep, and even outright rejecting the idea of assuming the presidency, Washington reluctantly accepted Congress’ decision. Runner-up John Adams became Washington’s vice president.
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate should choose from them by ballot the Vice President. -- Art II, sec. 1 Superseded by XII Amendment in 1804.
In the absence of conventions, there was no formal nomination process. There also was no public campaigning because of the relative irrelevance of the popular vote prior to the passage of the XII Amendment in 1804.
http://aycu23.webshots.com/image/44422/2004523094709698374_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004523094709698374)
President Washington in his black velvet presidential duds
Individual states chose their electors. A few states held a general election to derive the wish of the people from the popular vote. Most states didn't and just went with the desire of the state legislature. The state legislature method was the case in five of the most populous states (NY, MA, NJ, VA & SC). In the end, only 38,000 or less than 1.3% of the total population voted in the 1789 election.
Pennsylvania, plus a few small states did choose electors by popular vote, but they had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements. Generally, only white men could vote, and in most places, if a man didn't own a certain amount of real estate, he couldn't vote. That put the potential popular electorate at well under a half million in a country that then had a total free population of 2.4 million.
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/40996/2004501475451816889_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004501475451816889)
At any rate, the electors ultimately voted unanimously for Washington when they met on their first vote (for the presidency).
Electors used their second vote (for a VP) 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.
As an aside, 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.
Washington’s reluctance to serve as president stemmed in part from the fact that becoming president would place him squarely in the middle of a raging legislative debate regarding the character of the new government, a conflict that persisted to the end of his second term.
http://aycu20.webshots.com/image/41859/2001828448329780317_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001828448329780317)
President Washington. Even though dressed as a civilian, as commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy, he still liked to sport a sword.
Washington dreaded presiding over a fragile young nation that already appeared to be dividing along partisan lines. He also expressed concern over his advancing age. In his memoirs, he wrote that on the eve of his inauguration he felt more like “a culprit who is going to the place of his execution” than a national hero.
His letters at the time reveal his trepidation and reluctant sense of duty. Nevertheless, he knew he had earned the nation’s trust and respect while leading the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and that it was now relying on him once again.
Washington’s humility meshed well with the new nation’s democratic sensibilities. Fearing any comparison to the monarchal government from which American had just been liberated, an aging Washington took care to avoid any physical or symbolic references to European monarchs from the beginning of his term, including ordering his tailor to make his inauguration suit out of simple broadcloth. (Later on, as he settled in to the presidency, Washington took to wearing slightly more presidential black velvet.)
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/41604/2004598363449246936_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004598363449246936)
Washington's inauguration in NYC
When the Senate proposed that he be called by the official title “His Highness the President of the United States of America and the Protector of Their Liberties,” an embarrassed Washington opted for the more modest address of “Mr. President.”
The first “Mr. President” embarked on a week-long journey from his estate at Mount Vernon to his inauguration in New York without his wife, Martha, who chose to stay at home.
During a presidency in which the role of the president was still evolving and under constant scrutiny, Washington periodically revealed his longing for a return to a more relaxed life at his beloved Mount Vernon and still managed to keep close tabs on the farm, sending detailed instructions for the estate’s maintenance.
http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/41630/2004541203198030698_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004541203198030698)
George and Martha's tomb out back at Washington's beloved plantation Mt. Vernon.
http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/44221/2001854426855582103_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001854426855582103)
http://aycu33.webshots.com/image/41472/2004527889094532240_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004527889094532240)
219 years ago on this day in 1789, 69 Electors cast their ballots to elect Lieutenant General George Washington the first president of the United States. As the former leader of the Continental Army and chairman of the Continental Congress, Washington possessed the necessary credentials for the presidency, if not the enthusiasm.
After months of appearing to sidestep, and even outright rejecting the idea of assuming the presidency, Washington reluctantly accepted Congress’ decision. Runner-up John Adams became Washington’s vice president.
In every case, after the choice of the President, the person having the greatest number of votes of the electors shall be the Vice President. But if there should remain two or more who have equal votes, the Senate should choose from them by ballot the Vice President. -- Art II, sec. 1 Superseded by XII Amendment in 1804.
In the absence of conventions, there was no formal nomination process. There also was no public campaigning because of the relative irrelevance of the popular vote prior to the passage of the XII Amendment in 1804.
http://aycu23.webshots.com/image/44422/2004523094709698374_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004523094709698374)
President Washington in his black velvet presidential duds
Individual states chose their electors. A few states held a general election to derive the wish of the people from the popular vote. Most states didn't and just went with the desire of the state legislature. The state legislature method was the case in five of the most populous states (NY, MA, NJ, VA & SC). In the end, only 38,000 or less than 1.3% of the total population voted in the 1789 election.
Pennsylvania, plus a few small states did choose electors by popular vote, but they had widely varying restrictions on suffrage via property requirements. Generally, only white men could vote, and in most places, if a man didn't own a certain amount of real estate, he couldn't vote. That put the potential popular electorate at well under a half million in a country that then had a total free population of 2.4 million.
http://aycu37.webshots.com/image/40996/2004501475451816889_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004501475451816889)
At any rate, the electors ultimately voted unanimously for Washington when they met on their first vote (for the presidency).
Electors used their second vote (for a VP) 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.
As an aside, 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.
Washington’s reluctance to serve as president stemmed in part from the fact that becoming president would place him squarely in the middle of a raging legislative debate regarding the character of the new government, a conflict that persisted to the end of his second term.
http://aycu20.webshots.com/image/41859/2001828448329780317_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001828448329780317)
President Washington. Even though dressed as a civilian, as commander-in-chief of the Army and Navy, he still liked to sport a sword.
Washington dreaded presiding over a fragile young nation that already appeared to be dividing along partisan lines. He also expressed concern over his advancing age. In his memoirs, he wrote that on the eve of his inauguration he felt more like “a culprit who is going to the place of his execution” than a national hero.
His letters at the time reveal his trepidation and reluctant sense of duty. Nevertheless, he knew he had earned the nation’s trust and respect while leading the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War and that it was now relying on him once again.
Washington’s humility meshed well with the new nation’s democratic sensibilities. Fearing any comparison to the monarchal government from which American had just been liberated, an aging Washington took care to avoid any physical or symbolic references to European monarchs from the beginning of his term, including ordering his tailor to make his inauguration suit out of simple broadcloth. (Later on, as he settled in to the presidency, Washington took to wearing slightly more presidential black velvet.)
http://aycu05.webshots.com/image/41604/2004598363449246936_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004598363449246936)
Washington's inauguration in NYC
When the Senate proposed that he be called by the official title “His Highness the President of the United States of America and the Protector of Their Liberties,” an embarrassed Washington opted for the more modest address of “Mr. President.”
The first “Mr. President” embarked on a week-long journey from his estate at Mount Vernon to his inauguration in New York without his wife, Martha, who chose to stay at home.
During a presidency in which the role of the president was still evolving and under constant scrutiny, Washington periodically revealed his longing for a return to a more relaxed life at his beloved Mount Vernon and still managed to keep close tabs on the farm, sending detailed instructions for the estate’s maintenance.
http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/41630/2004541203198030698_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2004541203198030698)
George and Martha's tomb out back at Washington's beloved plantation Mt. Vernon.
http://aycu22.webshots.com/image/44221/2001854426855582103_rs.jpg (http://allyoucanupload.webshots.com/v/2001854426855582103)