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The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a variety of material associated with the presidential election of 1789, including manuscripts, letters, broadsides, and government documents. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the presidential election of 1789 that are available throughout the Library of Congress Web site. In addition, it provides links to external Web sites focusing on the 1789 election and a selected bibliography.
1789 Presidential Election Results [1]
| Presidential Nominee |
Electoral College |
| George Washington |
69 |
| John Adams |
34 |
| John Jay |
9 |
| Robert H. Harrison |
6 |
| John Rutledge |
6 |
| John Hancock |
4 |
| George Clinton |
3 |
| Samuel Huntington |
2 |
| John Milton |
2 |
| James Armstrong |
1 |
| Benjamin Lincoln |
1 |
| Edward Telfair |
1 |
Library of Congress Web Site | External Web Sites | Selected Bibliography
A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875
This collection consists of published congressional records of the United States of America from 1774 to 1875.
- On September 13, 1788, the Confederation Congress passed an election ordinance, which set the date for choosing electors (January 7, 1789), electing the president (February 4, 1789), and beginning the new government under the Constitution (March 4, 1789). The ordinance was reported in the Journals of the Continental Congress.
- On April 6, 1789, the Electoral College votes for the presidential election of 1789 were counted by a joint session of Congress and reported in the Annals of Congress, as well as in the House Journal and Senate Journal.
Documents from the Continental Congress and the Constitutional Convention, 1774 to 1789
The Continental Congress Broadside Collection (256 titles) and the Constitutional Convention Broadside Collection (21 titles) contain 277 documents relating to the work of Congress and the drafting and ratification of the Constitution.
- By the United States in Congress assembled, September 13, 1788, "RESOLVED, That the first Wednesday in January next, be the day for appointing Electors in the several States, which before the said day shall have ratified the said Constitution, that the first Wednesday in February next, be the day for the Electors to assemble in their respective States, and vote for a President; and that the first Wednesday in March next, be the time, and the present Seat of Congress the place for commencing Proceedings under the said Constitution."
George
Washington Papers
The complete George Washington Papers collection from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 65,000 documents.
A selection of items related to the 1789 presidential election includes:
- David Humphreys to George Washington, September 28, 1787, "What will tend, perhaps, more than any thing to the adoption of the new System, will be an universal opinion of your being elected President of the United States, and an expectation that you will accept it for a while." [Transcription]
- George Washington to Marquis de Lafayette, April 28, 1788, "In answer to the observations you make on the probability of my election to the Presidency (knowing me as you do) I need only say, that it has no enticing charms, and no fascinating allurements for me. [Transcription]
- Alexander Hamilton to George Washington, September 1788, "It cannot be considered as a compliment to say that on your acceptance of the office of President the success of the new government in its commencement may materially depend. Your agency and influence will be not less important in preserving it from the future attacks of its enemies than they have been in recommending it in the first instance to the adoption of the people." [Transcription]
- George Washington to Alexander Hamilton, October 3, 1788, "Now, if I am not grossly deceived in myself, I should unfeignedly rejoice, in case the Electors, by giving their votes in favor of some other person, would save me from the dreaded Dilemma of being forced to accept or refuse." [Transcription]
- George Washington to Benjamin Harrison, March 9, 1789, " I will therefore declare to you, that, if it should be my inevitable fate to administer the government (for Heaven knows, that no event can be less desired by me; and that no earthly consideration short of so general a call, together with a desire to reconcile contending parties as far as in me lays, could again bring me into public life) I will go to the chair under no pre-engagement of any kind or nature whatsoever." [Transcription]
- John Langdon to George Washington, April 6, 1789, "I have the honor to transmit to your Excellency the information of your unanimous election to the Office of President of the United States of America." [Transcription]
- George Washington to John Langdon, April 14, 1789, Acceptance of Presidency, "Having concluded to obey the important and flattering call of my Country, and having been impressed with an idea of the expediency of my being with Congress at as early a period as possible; I propose to commence my journey on thursday morning..." [Transcription]
- The Diaries of George Washington. Vol. 5. Donald Jackson and Dorothy Twohig, eds. The Papers of George Washington. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1979. - The Presidency and the New England Tour, April, October--December 1789.
James Madison Papers, 1723 to 1859
The Madison Papers consist of approximately 12,000 items, spanning the period 1723-1859, captured in some 72,000 digital images.
A selection of items related to the 1789 presidential election includes:
- James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, October 8, 1788, "There is no doubt that Genl. Washington will be called to the Presidency. For the vice Presidency, are talked of principally Mr. Hancock & Mr. Adams. Mr. Jay or Genl. Knox would I believe be preferred to either, but both of them will probably chuse to remain where they are. It is impossible to say which of the former would be preferred, or what other Candidates may be brought forward." [Transcription]
- James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, October 17, 1788, "As the President will be from a Southern State, it falls almost of course for the other part of the Continent to supply the next in rank." [Transcription]
- James Madison to Edmund Randolph, October 28, 1788, "The public mind seems not to be yet settled on the Vice President. The question has been supposed to lie between Hancock & Adams." [Transcription]
- Alexander Hamilton to James Madison, November 23, 1788, "On the whole I have concluded to support Adams; though I am not without apprehensions on the score we have conversed about. My principal reasons are these—First He is a declared partisan of referring to future experience the expediency of amendments in the system (and though I do not altogether adopt this sentiment) it is much nearer my own than certain other doctrines. Secondly a character of importance in the Eastern states, if he is not Vice President, one of two worse things will be likely to happen—Either he must be nominated to some important office for which he is less proper, or will become a malcontent and possibly espouse and give additional weight to the opposition to the Government." [Transcription]
- James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, December 8, 1788, "General Washington will certainly be called to the Executive department. Mr. Adams, who is pledged to support him, will probably be the vice president." [Transcription]
- James Madison to George Washington, March 5, 1789, "On our Journey hither we have fallen in with the Bearer of the Electoral Votes of Georgia. They are unanimous as to the President and are all thrown away on Individuals of the State as to the Vice President." [Transcription]
- James Madison to Edmund Randolph, May 10, 1789, "No question has been made in this quarter or elsewhere as far as I have learned, whether the Genl. ought to have accepted the trust. On the contrary Opinions have been unanimous & decided that it was essential to the Commencement of the Government, and a duty from which no private considerations could absolve him." [Transcription]
Thomas Jefferson Papers, 1606 to 1827
The complete Thomas Jefferson Papers from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 27,000 documents.
A selection of items related to the 1789 presidential election includes:
- Thomas Jefferson to William Carmichael, August 12, 1788, "Another defect, the perpetual re-eligibility of the same president, will probably not be cured during the life of General Washington. His merit has blinded our countrymen to the dangers of making so important an officer re-eligible. I presume there will not be a vote against him in the U.S." [Transcription]
- John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, January 2, 1789, "The new Government has my best Wishes and most fervent Prayers, for its Success and Prosperity: but whether I shall have any Thing more to do with it, besides praying for it depends on the future Suffrages of Freemen." [Transcription]
- William S. Smith to Thomas Jefferson, February 15, 1789, "It is Generally believed here and in the middle states, that Mr. Adams will be the Vice President, he had the unanimous Vote of Massachusetts and New Hampshire and 5 out of 7 of the electors of Connecticut. That he had not the whole there, originated from an apprehension, that if the state of Virginia should not vote for General Washington that Mr. A. would be President, which would not be consistant with the wish of the country and could only arise from the finese of antifœdral Electors with a View to produce confusion and embarass the operations of the Constitution..." [Transcription]
- John Adams to Thomas Jefferson, March 1, 1789, "In four days, the new Government is to be erected. Washington appears to have an unanimous Vote: and there is probably a Plurality, if not a Majority in favour of your Friend." [Transcription]
- Thomas Jefferson to William Carmichael, March 4, 1789, "Genl. Washington, tho’ with vast reluctance, will undertake the presidency if called to it, and there was no doubt he would be so called." [Transcription]
The American Presidency Project: Election of 1789 
The American Presidency Project Web site presents election results from the 1789 presidential election.
Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington: Presidential Election of 1789
The Mount Vernon Estate's Web site contains an essay on the presidential election of 1789.
Founders Online
The National Archives, through its National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), has entered into a cooperative agreement with The University of Virginia Press to create this site and make freely available online the papers of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison.
A New Nation Votes: American Election Returns, 1787-1825
A searchable collection of election returns from 1787 to 1825. The data were compiled by Philip Lampi. The American Antiquarian Society and Tufts University Digital Collections and Archives have mounted it online with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Jensen, Merrill and Robert A. Becker, eds. The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788-1790. 4 vols. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976-1989. [Catalog Record]
Cunliffe, Marcus. "Elections of 1789 and 1792," in History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-2008, eds. Gil Troy, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., and Fred L. Israel. 3 vols. I, 1-28. New York: Facts On File, 2012. [Catalog Record]
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr., Fred L. Israel, and David J. Frent, eds. The Elections of 1789 & 1792 and the Administration of George Washington. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers, 2003. [Catalog Record]
Notes
1. Presidential Elections, 1789-2008. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2010), 206.
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