United States presidential election, 1792
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The United States presidential election of 1792 was the second presidential election in the United States, and the first in which each of the original 13 states appointed electors (in addition to newly added states Kentucky and Vermont).
As in 1789, President George Washington ran unopposed for a second term. Under the system in place then and through the election of 1800, each voting elector cast two votes—the recipient of the greatest number of votes was elected President, the second greatest number Vice President. As with his first term, Washington is considered to have been elected unanimously.
The recipient of 77 electoral votes, John Adams of Massachusetts, finished second in voting and was therefore elected Vice President of the United States.
General election
Campaign
By this time, a party division had emerged between the Federalists led by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, who desired a stronger federal government with a leading role in the economy, and the (Democratic) Republicans led by Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Representative James Madison, who favored states rights and opposed Hamilton's economic program.
The elections of 1792 were the first ones to be contested on anything resembling a partisan basis. In most states the congressional elections were recognized in some sense, as Jefferson strategist John Beckley put it, as a “struggle between the Treasury department and the republican interest.” In New York, the race for governor was organized along these lines. The candidates were Chief Justice John Jay, a Hamiltonian, and incumbent George Clinton, who was allied with Jefferson and the Republicans.
Although Washington had been considering retiring, both sides encouraged him to remain in office to bridge factional differences. However, the Republicans and the Federalists contested the Vice Presidency, with incumbent John Adams as the Federalist nominee and George Clinton as the Republican nominee.
Results
The Electoral College once again chose Washington unanimously. John Adams was again elected Vice President as the runner-up, this time getting the vote of a majority of electors. George Clinton won only the votes of Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, his native New York, and a single elector in Pennsylvania. Thomas Jefferson won the votes of Kentucky, newly separated from Jefferson's home state of Virginia. A single South Carolina elector voted for Aaron Burr.
Popular vote
| Slate | Popular Vote(a) | |
|---|---|---|
| Count | Percentage | |
| Federalist electors | 9,478 | 71.1% |
| Republican electors | 3,854 | 28.9% |
| Total | 13,332 | 100.0% |
Source: [U.S. President National Vote]. [Our Campaigns]. (February 11, 2006).
(a) Popular vote figures are suspect because (1) only 6 of the 15 states chose electors by any form of popular vote, (2) pre-Twelfth Amendment electoral vote rules obscure the intentions of the voters, and (3) those states that did choose electors by popular vote often restricted the vote via property requirements.
Electoral vote
Source: [Electoral College Box Scores 1789–1996]. [Official website of the National Archives]. (July 30, 2005).
(a) Popular vote figures are suspect because (1) only 6 of the 15 states chose electors by any form of popular vote, (2) pre-Twelfth Amendment electoral vote rules obscure the intentions of the voters, and (3) those states that did choose electors by popular vote often restricted the vote via property requirements.
(b) Two electors from Maryland and one elector from Vermont did not cast votes.
Breakdown by ticket
{| class="wikitable" ! Presidential Candidate ! Running Mate ! Electoral Vote |- | George Washington | John Adams | 77 |- | George Washington | George Clinton | 50 |- | George Washington | Thomas Jefferson | 4 |- | George Washington | Aaron Burr | 1
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Electoral college selection
{| class="wikitable"
! Method of choosing Electors
! State(s)
|-
| state is divided into electoral districts, with one Elector chosen per district by the voters of that district
| Kentucky
Virginia
|-
| each Elector chosen by voters statewide
| Maryland
Pennsylvania
|-
|
- two Congressional districts chose five Electors each; the remaining two districts chose three Electors each
- each Elector chosen by majority vote of voters in Congressional district
- if an insufficient number of Electors are chosen by majority vote from a Congressional district, remaining Electors would be appointed by the state legislature
- each Elector chosen by majority vote of voters statewide
- if an insufficient number of Electors are chosen by majority vote, runoff is held between the top 2n vote-getters, where n is the number of vacancies remaining
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See also
References
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