THE FEDERALIST SUPREMACY, 1789-1801
Books for Study and Reading
References.--Higginson's Larger History, 309-344; Eggleston's United States and its People ch. xxxiv (the people in 1790); McMaster's School History, ch. xiv (the people in 1790).
Home Readings.--Drake's Making of the West; Scribner's Popular History, IV; Coffin's Building the Nation; Bolton's Famous Americans; Holmes's Ode on Washington's Birthday; Seawell's Little Jarvis.
CHAPTER 19
ORGANIZATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
The first way of electing President. Constitution, Art. II, §I; McMaster, 170-171.
Washington and Adams.
192. Washington elected President.--In the early years under the Constitution the Presidents and Vice-Presidents were elected in the following manner. First each state chose presidential electors usually by vote of its legislature. Then the electors of each state came together and voted for two persons without saying which of the two should be President. When all the electoral votes were counted, the person having the largest number, provided that was more than half of the whole number of electoral votes, was declared President. The person having the next largest number became Vice-President. At the first election every elector voted for Washington. John Adams received the next largest number of votes and became Vice-President.
[Illustration: FEDERAL HALL, 1797. Washington took the oath of office on the balcony.]