George Washington

The political landscape during George Washington’s time was
much differernt than it is today, particularly as it relates
to the election process. There were no organized political
parties, though groups developed which later became
institutionalized following Thomas Jefferson’s victory in
the 1800 election. Further, there were no primaries,
caucuses, or party nominating conventions as we know them. Rather, members of Congress would meet to determine favorites. Those choices were then transmitted to presidential
electors, who were originally appointed by state legislatures.
When said electors met in January 1789, they were to
select two candidates, with the top vote-getter becoming
president and the runner-up designated as vice president.
As a result of the first election for president under the
Constitution, Washington carried all ten states that
voted (New York did not send its selection in time and neither
North Carolina nor Rhode Island had ratified the Constitution yet). Washington appeared on the ballot of all 69 electors.
Since John Adams polled the second-most votes with 34,
he became vice president.
It is interesting to note that the latter procedure had
two inherent flaws which were exposed in the 1800
First, without the team-ticket concept, it was possible for
for two candidates to tie in the electoral vote count, forcing
the House of Representatives to select the winner by
a one-vote-per-state method. Second, the original arrangement
left the possibility that two candidates from different groups or
parties could end up serving together as pressident and vice
president. The former flaw above was fixed by the ratification
of the 12th Amendment, and the latter by the maturation of
the political party system.
In Washington’s day, there was no 24-7 spin cycle of news.
Further, it was considered unseemly to actively campaign for
office. Rather, surrogates did most of the direct marketing of
the candidate. Finally, the winner of the election would often
have to wait for months before taking office, as the presidential
inaugural was set for March 4 (later changed to January 20
by the 20th Amendment).
What has remained consistent over time is the view that
the electors got it right by selecting Washington unanimously
in the 1789 and 1792. The American presidency, defined
by the ambiguity of the chief executive’s authority and
the dynamic impact of each occupant to the office, owes
its successful start to the popularity and effectiveness of
George Washington’s eight years at the helm.

Source: Statistics on electoral and state vote count from THE COMPLETE BOOK OF PRESIDENTS, by William DeGregorio, and PRESIDENTS: EVERY QUESTION ANSWERED, by Carter Smith.

Posted by: Dr. Samuel B. Hoff, Delaware State University