With Early Voting now open, let's take a look at election history.
History of the Presidential Election
The United States presidential election of 1788–89 was the first quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Monday, December 15, 1788, to Saturday, January 10, 1789. It was conducted under the new United States Constitution, which had been ratified earlier in 1788. In the election, George Washington was unanimously elected for the first of his two terms as president, and John Adams became the first vice president.
Before this election, the United States had no chief executive. Under the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1781, the national government was headed by the Confederation Congress, which had a ceremonial presiding officer and several executive departments, but no independent executive branch.
The enormously popular Washington essentially ran unopposed. The only real question was the choice for vice president. Under the system then in place, each state was to choose a number of electors equal to its representation in Congress. Each elector would have two votes: the candidate who received a majority of the votes would become president and the runner-up vice president. All 69 electors cast one vote for Washington. Their second votes were divided between eleven other candidates; John Adams received the most and was elected vice president. The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1804, would change this procedure, requiring each elector to cast distinct votes for president and vice president.
Candidates
No political parties existed at the time of the 1788–89 presidential election. Candidates were either Federalists, meaning they supported the ratification of the Constitution, or Anti-Federalists, meaning they opposed ratification. These groups were not established political parties, however, and were united in supporting Washington for president.
Washington's immense popularity made the question of who would be the first president only a technical one. The real race was for the vice presidency, which was contested by nine individuals of varying prominence in the United States. However, because the voting procedure of the time did not distinguish between votes for president and vice president, all were technically candidates for president along with Washington.
Electors were chosen by the individual states, and each cast one vote for Washington. The electors used their second vote to cast a scattering of votes: while Adams won a plurality of these votes, a majority of the 69 electors voted for a candidate other than Adams. This was due largely to a scheme perpetrated by Alexander Hamilton, who feared that Adams would tie with Washington, throwing the election to the House of Representatives and embarrassing Washington and the new Constitution. Thus, Adams received only 34 of 69 votes, with the remaining 35 ballots split between ten other candidates.
Upcoming Events:
Burleson Friends Festival (Fall Track Meet for Special Athletes)
November 8 at BHS
Opportunity to Volunteer
More info to follow
ChristmasParade of Lights
Saturday, December 3, 2016 at 6:00pm
Kerr Middle School.
Theme: "Blanket Burleson."
Our Rotarians will be walking alongside Santa's sleigh collecting new blankets
Please NO SANTA CLAUSES as Santa will be riding in the Parade!
We have also partnered with the City of Burleson's Mayor's Youth Council to collect canned foods.
