United States Election of 1789

The election of 1789 was one of the greatest elections in U.S. history, yet it would have never occured without the vote of one state into the Union.

Let us travel to one year previous, specifically at the Capitol Building in Williamsburg, Virginia, where an important debate was taking place. One hundred and sixty-eight delegates were meeting to vote on whether they should ratify the U.S. Constitution. James Madison, the author of the newly-made Constitution, was fighting for his prized document against the greatest orator the Revolution had ever known: Patrick Henry. Henry felt that the Constitution took away too much power from the states, and, to add some bias, he did have some influence over the creation of the Articles of Confederation. This battle of voice and logic would be decisive, as the President-to-be, George Washington, was from Virginia. If Virginia did not ratify the U.S. Constitution, the new nation would be leaderless, creating a power vacuum in American society.

Then, in 1788, both men clashed at each other for the first of many national battles over legislation. However, at the end of the Virginian Constitutional Convention, Madison’s logic one over Henry’s eloquence on a vote count of 89 “yea” and 79 “nay”. Thus, George Washington could now be in the running for 1789.

The Election of 1789 turned out to be the first and one of two unanimous elections, both of which leaned towards Washington. However, an evil precedent was set within this election: the separate election of the {resident and Vice President. In 1796, this combination turned out to be disastrous for the young United States, nearly tearing her apart into civil war.