George Washington, The Winner of First Presidential Election
Posted on | Rabu, 02 Maret 2011 | No Comments
George Washington is the first president of United State which elected in 1789. There was no popular vote in the first presidential election of 1789. The electoral college members chose from a group of candidates. Each college member cast two votes with the candidate receiving the most votes becoming president and the runner-up becoming vice-president. George Washington was unanimously elected by the 69 electors. John Adams came in second and became the first Vice-President. Washington is a member of the Federalist Party but was immensely popular as a war hero and was an obvious choice as the first president for both federalists and anti-federalists.
In 1792 election, George Washington was able to rise above the politics of the day and carry every electoral vote - 132 from 15 states - to win a second term. John Adams, as runner-up, remained the Vice President. Washington did not run a third time. He retired to Mount Vernon. He was again asked to be the American commander if the US went to war with France over the XYZ affair. However, fighting never occurred on land and he did not have to serve. He died on December 14, 1799 possibly from a streptococcal infection of his throat made worse from being bled four times.
