Our first Presidential election began Monday December 15, 1788 and ended Saturday January 10^th, 1789. There was the Federalist Candidates and Anti-Federalist Candidates.

The Federalist Candidates were:

John Adams, the former Minister of Great Britain from Massachusetts
John Jay, The United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs from New York
John Rutledge, the former Governor of South Carolina
John Hancock, Governor of Massachusetts
Samuel Huntington, Governor of Connecticut
Benjamin Lincoln, Former US Secretary of War from Massachusetts
George Washington, Former Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army from Virgina

Opposing Candidates were:

Anti-Federalist Candidates:

George Clinton, Governor of New York  

Since there was no political parties there was no nomination process, no primary election. Since Washington had agreed to come out of retirement when asked to be the first President those who wrote the Constitution figured there would no opposition. However they were not sure who would be the Vice-President. Our Constitution stated the first Vice President would be the runner-up of the Presidential election.

Electors were chosen by individual states with each one casting one vote for Washington and their second vote was scattered amongst with the rest of the candidates with John Adams 34 of the 69 second electoral votes. This made him the first Vice President of the United States of America.

Our first election was not perfect, go figure. Even then rumors spread there was a plot started by the Anti-Federalist to elect Richard Henry Lee or Patrick Henry president over Washington. Their choice for the vice president was George Clinton. It is believed the rumors were started by people who were sympathetic to the Federalist and didn’t want to see Clinton as the first President. The funny part of this is with all the distance between people and the time it took to travel from place to place, still the rumor mill worked and the propaganda spread enough to influence the election. Clinton only received 3 electoral votes because it is believed people thought a vote for Clinton was a vote against George Washington.

Although there were 13 states at the time only 10 cast their electoral votes. Since North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the United States Constitution they were ineligible to participate in the election. New York had 8 electors but due to a deadlock in the state legislature they failed to appoint their allotment so they were not represented in the election. Even though Washington was their President when all was said and done.

At the time there were 169 electoral votes to be had. A candidate needed only 35 to win. George Washington came in first with 69 Electoral College and John Adams was second with 34 and that is how we elected our first President and Vice President.

It’s sad they don’t teach American History in schools the way they did when I was younger. Children today are clueless about what this country had to do in order to become the Nation we are today. How and why the first settlers came to this land, all the struggles they went through to settle this land, all the battles fought on our soil, all the blood spilled, all the lives sacrificed so we can have the freedoms we are blessed with today.

If I could interview our founding fathers today I believe they would disappointed at the turn of events in this country. They fought to get away from tyranny, they stood their ground and developed a Constitution like no other to ensure the countries safety and well-being. The country they loved is now filled with hate, fear, disrespect, and propaganda spread to do even more harm. Some people who are influential in the government are so far left they are socialist but will lie to your face and say they are not, they are for the American people. The Democratic Party has lost its way. They have those who openly admit they believe in socialism, others who admit they are fans of Karl Marx, and then the few who are afraid of where this line of thinking is leading their party. A few who are willing to stand up and still fight for the freedoms we have in this country by seeing things are done according to our Constitution.

Of course there are those socialist who interpret the Constitution as they see fit and throw it out there as their shield to cast doubt and fear. To cause unrest and fighting among the people of this great nation. I think our fore fathers would remind us of the struggles they went through to keep this form of government out of this country. They would want us to open our eyes and realize we are the stronger power. The government they set up was done to enrich this country, build it to be stronger and better than any other. They would remind you of the hard lives they had under British Rule both in the mother land and in their newly adopted country. Proud men who could no longer support the tyranny their families had to endure so they stood up for their beliefs, they fought a 6 year long war and in the end they were the victor. In the end 13 colonies stood alone yet strongly united. Afraid but brave enough to push forward and work for a better government, a better life for all.

As I said 3 of the 13 colonies were not represented in the first election due to their own fault and still they recognized George Washington as their first President. They got behind their President and gave him a chance to do the work that needed to be done. He was elected for a second term by all 13 colonies being represented. Perhaps today we should take a page from the history books and learn to stand up for our flag, our country and OUR PRESIDENT.

President Donald J. Trump isn’t just the president to those who voted for him. He is the President to all Americans and we need to ban together and stand up for our flag, country and PRESIDENT.  We need to give him a chance to turn this around and stop looking for trouble where there isn’t any. You may not like the way he talks but you have to admit he knows business and he is working hard to learn the office of President. If we keep looking for trouble around every corner then we will find it. If we, as a nation, stand behind our President and look towards a brighter tomorrow, we will find it. Nothing worthwhile ever comes easy. Life is a struggle but we must never forget our government works for us. It should never work against us. We should not be moving backwards but looking towards a brighter future.

It is our responsibility as American Citizens to fight for our rights, to make our government know we are not going to sit back and allow socialism to take our freedoms away. We are Americans before anything else and that means we do not give up without a fight. Open up a history book and read, be inspired by some of the great names in history. Be reminded about what American Pride really is.

Education is the way to teach all Americans the importance of being UNITED. The importance of standing strong behind OUR PRESIDENT. You don’t have to like him you just have to make sure he does what he has promised and give him the chance to do so. I didn’t vote for Obama but he was still my President whether I liked him or not. I did vote for President Trump as I have said many times, but to those of you who did not and who feel he is not your President, you are the ones hurting this great nation. You are the ones who are responsible for the unrest. Open your eyes and stand behind your President so he can get on with getting the job done instead of dealing with all the negativity and propaganda.

May God Bless this Great Nation and may he lead President Trump in his fight to “Make America Great Again.”