Election of 1789 NO CONVENTION. NO PLATFORMS. NO NOMINATIONS. The first presidential election occurred in the states which ratified the Constitution on the first Wednesday of January, the 7th, 1789, and on the first Wednesday of February following the electors made choice for President and Vice-President. The selection of candidates to be voted for by the electors chosen included Washington, but no agreement was reached as to what candidates were to be voted for. The names of those voted for are given in the table below. TEN STATES ONLY VOTED, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and New York not voting at this election. Electors were chosen by the legislatures in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, and South Carolina. The result of the vote, as counted on April 6, 1789, was NOTE. The voting at this time by the electors was according to the old clause of the Constitution (art. II, sec. 2), which required the electors to vote for two persons, the one receiving the majority to be President, and the one receiving the next greatest number to be Vice-President. The President elect and Vice-President elect were notified of their election by special messengers of the Senate. During this period Congress was divided politically as follows: Election of 1792* No CONVENTIONS. NO PLATFORMS. No NOMINATIONS. Party organization had just begun. Those acting under the general name of Anti-Federalists, although having many minor differences, were now (spring of 1792) united into one party, taking the name of Democratic-Republican. The Federalist and Democratic-Republicans both supported President Washington for a second term. For Vice-President, the Federalists supported John Adams, of Massachusetts. The Democratic-Republicans supported George Clinton, of New York. The election occurred on November 6, 1792. Electors were chosen by the legislatures in Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont. * Previous to the election in 1792, Congress passed an act (March 1, 1792) regulating the holding of elections for the selection of President and VicePresident, which act fixed the succession in the office in case of death or disability. |