what year was george washington elected president

As the presiding officer of Congress, Hanson was responsible for initiating a number of programs that helped America gain a world position. His friend Henry Lee provided a famous eulogy for the father of the United States: “First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.From 1781 to 1782 he was “President of the United States in Congress Assembled” under the Articles of Confederation. In 1797, he finally began his long-awaited retirement at Mount Vernon. In 1792, he was unanimously reelected but four years later refused a third term. There is scarcely any part of my conduct which may not hereafter be drawn in precedent.” He successfully implemented executive authority, making good use of brilliant politicians such as Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson in his Cabinet, and quieted fears of presidential tyranny. Of his presidency, he said, “I walk on untrodden ground. The president then retired indoors to read Congress his inaugural address, a quiet speech in which he spoke of “the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” The evening celebration was opened and closed by 13 skyrockets and 13 cannons.Īs president, Washington sought to unite the nation and protect the interests of the new republic at home and abroad. The inaugural ceremony was performed on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street, and a large crowed cheered after he took the oath of office. On April 30, he came across the Hudson River in a specially built and decorated barge. (In 1804, this practice was changed by the 12th Amendment to the Constitution, which ordered separate ballots for the office of president and vice president.) The individual receiving the greatest number of votes was elected president, and the next-in-line, vice president.

Constitution, the states appointed a number of presidential electors equal to the “number of Senators and Representatives to which the state may be entitled in Congress.” Each elector voted for two people, at least one of whom did not live in their state. Constitution, were chosen by popular vote, legislative appointment, or a combination of both four weeks before the election.Īccording to Article Two of the U.S. The electors, who represented 10 of the 11 states that had ratified the U.S. John Adams of Massachusetts, who received 34 votes, was elected vice president. George Washington, the commander of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, is unanimously elected the first president of the United States by all 69 presidential electors who cast their votes.

What year was george washington elected president