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U.S. Presidential Election: 1788
December 15, 1788 – January 10, 1789
138 electoral votes of the Electoral College
69 votes possible for each candidate
35 electoral votes needed to become President
Winners:
George Washington, President
John Adams, Vice President
Electoral vote 69
States involved 10
New York had ratified the Constitution but its legislature failed to appoint Presidential electors on time.
North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified.
Vermont governed itself as a republic.
1788 United States presidential election
It was held, from December 15, 1788 to January 10, 1789, under the new Constitution ratified in 1788.
The Constitution, in Article II, Section 1, provided that the state legislatures should decide the manner in which their Electors were chosen. Different state legislatures chose different methods.
For an explanation of the Electoral College, click here.
All 69 electors cast one vote for Washington, making his election unanimous. Adams won 34 electoral votes and the vice presidency. The remaining 35 electoral votes split among 10 different people. Washington was inaugurated in New York City in April 1789 about two months after the First Congress convened.
Nominees
George Washington: retired General and former Commander of the Continental Army
Home State: Virginia
John Adams, former Minister to Great Britain from Massachusetts
John Jay, United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs from New York, former President of the Continental Congress
John Rutledge, former Governor of South Carolina
John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts, former President of the Continental Congress
Samuel Huntington, Governor of Connecticut, former President of the Continental Congress
Benjamin Lincoln, former U.S. Secretary of War from Massachusetts
Major General Benjamin Lincoln
Home State: Massachusetts
George Clinton, Governor of New York
Robert H. Harrison Maryland
John Milton Georgia
James Armstrong Georgia
Edward Telfair Georgia
Electoral Count
The New York legislature failed to appoint its allotted 8 electors in time, so there were no voting electors from New York.
Two electors from Maryland did not vote.
One elector from Virginia did not vote and another elector from Virginia was not chosen because an election district failed to submit returns.
138 electoral votes of the Electoral College
69 votes possible for each candidate
35 electoral votes needed to become President
George Washington 69 (maximum possible)
John Adams Massachusetts — 34
John Jay New York — — 9
Robert H. Harrison Maryland — 6
John Rutledge South Carolina — 6
John Hancock Massachusetts — 4
George Clinton New York — 3
Samuel Huntington Connecticut — 2
John Milton Georgia — 2
James Armstrong Georgia — 1
Benjamin Lincoln Massachusetts — 1
Edward Telfair Georgia — 1
Vote Count = 138
Popular Vote = 58 = 42 percent
Non-Popular Vote = 80 = 58 percent
Connecticut - Legislative selection - 7
Georgia - Legislative selection - 5
New Jersey - Legislative selection - 6
South Carolina - Legislative selection - 7
Delaware - Popular Vote by District - 3
Virginia - Popular Vote by District - 10
Maryland - Popular Vote overall - 6
Pennsylvania - Popular Vote overall - 10
Massachusetts - Hybrid system - 10
New Hampshire - Hybrid system - 5
It took two months for Washington to be notified that he had been elected before spending one week traveling from Virginia to New York for inauguration.
