popular vote totals in presidential elections

Creating the American Presidency, 1775-1789. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1988. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2000. 'Presidential Difference in the Early Republic: The Highly Disparate Leadership Styles of Washington, Adams, and Jefferson,' Presidential Studies Quarterly 36, no. With a hand on the Bible, a 'sacred volume' borrowed from a local Masonic lodge and subsequently known as the 'George Washington Inaugural Bible,' he said, 'I, George Washington, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.' 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!'īoller, Paul, Jr. 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. Though filled with great anxiety, Washington reported for duty 'in obedience to the public summons' and explained that 'the voice of my Country called me.' Upon hearing the news of his decisive election, Washington set out from Mount Vernon to take his place in presidential history. Five candidates split the remaining seven votes. Other candidates receiving multiple electoral votes were John Jay (9), Robert Harrison (6), John Rutledge (6), John Hancock (4), and George Clinton (3). Being from Massachusetts, Adams’ election provided the administration a regional balance between the South and North. ambassador to Great Britain, finished with 34 electoral votes and became the first vice president of the United States. Behind Washington, John Adams, who most recently had served as the first U.S. The candidate with the second most votes in the Electoral College, whether a majority or a plurality, was elected vice president. The candidate who received a majority of the votes was elected president. Washington ascended to the presidency with practical experience, having served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and president of the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.Īccording to Article II of the Constitution, each elector in the Electoral College possessed two votes.

He was both a national hero and the favorite son of Virginia, the largest state at the time. Washington was both an obvious first choice for president and possibly the only truly viable choice. After a quorum was finally established, the Congress counted and certified the electoral vote count on April 6. North Carolina and Rhode Island were unable to participate because they had not yet ratified the Constitution.

New York, however, failed to field a slate of electors. Ten states cast electoral votes: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia. On February 4, 1789, the Electoral College convened. No other president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead.īetween Decemand January 10, 1789, the presidential electors were chosen in each of the states. With 69 electoral votes, Washington won the support of each participating elector. In 1789, the first presidential election, George Washington was unanimously elected president of the United States.

Popular vote totals in presidential elections