The election of George Washington was weirder than you think

The first U.S. presidential election in 1789 had none of the features Americans associate with elections today: no campaigning for the office, no political parties or conventions, no primary elections. Election Day was in January rather than November. The Electoral College was taken seriously rather than being treated as a formality. This was the only election in which a state was disqualified from participating. And there was only one issue at stake: whether the Constitution itself should be scrapped.
The final results of the election were that George Washington received 69 electoral votes and John Adams 34, making them president and vice president, respectively. John Adams should have received at least 49 votes, but many of the electors who wanted to vote for him voted for other people instead because of a scheme that Alexander Hamilton helped create. So instead of Adams receiving 71% of the electoral vote as he would have, he only received 49%.
0:00 Introduction
0:35 Why 1789? Why not 1776?
2:59 The procedure for electing the president
6:41 How the states chose their electors
8:54 The major election issue
9:58 The New York debacle
12:04 What the anti-federalists wanted
16:46 The plot to prevent Adams from accidentally becoming president
17:31 Electoral College results
20:10 Conclusion
FOOTNOTES
DHFFE = The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 4 vols. (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1976-89)
[1] Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1969), pages 128-132
Jere R. Daniell, Experiment in Republicanism: New Hampshire Politics and the American Revolution, 1741-1794 (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1970), page 210
[2] Neal R. Peirce, The People’s President: The Electoral College in American History and the Direct-Vote Alternative (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968), pages 39-48
Lawrence D. Longley, The Electoral College Primer 2000 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999), pages 18-19
[3] New Hampshire: The New Hampshire Election Law, 12 November 1788, DHFFE 1:790
Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Election Resolutions, 20 November 1788, DHFFE 1:510
[4] Gordon S. Wood, The Creation of the American Republic, chapter 13
Jere R. Daniell, Experiment in Republicanism, pages 210-214
Gordon S. Wood, Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789-1815 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), pages 15, 35
The image shown here is the mural “The Anti-Ratification Riot in Albany, 1788” created in 1935 by David Cunningham Lithgow, located in Milne Hall at the University at Albany.
[5] Alexander Hamilton to James Madison, 23 November 1788, DHFFE 4:95
William Tilghman to Tench Coxe, 2 January 1789, DHFFE 4:125
Alexander Hamilton to James Wilson, 25 January 1789, DHFFE 4:148
[6] James Madison to Thomas Jefferson, 8 December 1788, DHFFE 4:109
Edward Carrington to James Madison, 19 December 1788, DHFFE 4:115
Pennsylvania Gazette (Philadelphia), 31 December 1788, DHFFE 4:122
A Marylander, Maryland Gazette (Baltimore), 2 January 1789, DHFFE 4:126
Marcus Cunliffe, “Elections of 1789 and 1792” in History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-2001, vol. 1, edited by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. (Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2002), page 15
[7] Tench Coxe to Benjamin Rush, 13 January 1789, DHFFE 4:140
Alexander Hamilton to James Wilson, 25 January 1789, DHFFE 4:148
Wallace & Muir to Tench Coxe, 25 January 1789, DHFFE 4:149-150
Tench Coxe to Benjamin Rush, 2 February 1789, DHFFE 4:160
Marcus Cunliffe, “Elections of 1789 and 1792” in History of American Presidential Elections, 1789-2001, vol. 1, pages 13-15
John Ferling, John Adams: A Life (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1992), pages 298-299
Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton (New York: Penguin, 2004), page 272
[8] William Stephens Smith to Thomas Jefferson, 15 February 1789, DHFFE 4:178
John Trumbull to John Adams, 17 April 1790, DHFFE 4:290
[9] Benjamin Rush to Tench Coxe, 19 January 1789, DHFFE 4:144
Benjamin Rush to Tench Coxe, 5 February 1789, DHFFE 1:401
[William Bradford, Jr., to Elias Boudinot], 7 February 1789, DHFFE 4:168
Federal Gazette (Philadelphia), 9 February 1789, DHFFE 4:172
[10] William Tilghman to Tench Coxe, 25 January 1789, DHFFE 4:149
William Tilghman to Tench Coxe, 9 February 1789, DHFFE 4:172
Benjamin Rush to Tench Coxe, 11 February 1789, DHFFE 4:173
Elbridge Gerry to John Adams, 4 March 1789, DHFFE 4:190
[11] Georgia's throwaway votes:
James Seagrove to [Samuel Blachley Webb], 2 January 1789, DHFFE 2:438
James Madison to George Washington, 5 March 1789, DHFFE 2:478
[12] John Adams to John Trumbull, 7 April 1790, DHFFE 4:290-291
John Adams to John Trumbull, 25 April 1790, DHFFE 4:291-292
John Adams to Mercy Otis Warren, 20 July 1807, DHFFE 4:292-293
John Ferling, John Adams: A Life, page 299
John Patrick Diggins, John Adams (New York: Times Books, 2003), page 42
Ron Chernow, Alexander Hamilton, pages 272-273

[@iammrbeat]

I'm so happy the algorithm recommended this to me. My video about this election is not nearly this good.

[@andrewvirtue5048]

Mr. Beat for Governor!

[@dirty_deeds3523]

Love that my favorite history Channel loves it as much as I do!

[@pedrotasca9733]

Mr beast!! Give money me

[@jtb3797]

The most humble comment

[@mrsatire9475]

Mr. Beat for president

[@CMoore-Gaming]

I think it is a bit ironic that even an election with "no political parties" had two dominate factions strategizing amongst themselves.

[@tommylitz4543]

Federalists VS Democratic-Republicans

[@Janzer_]

it's how human being view life. this vs that.

[@garythecyclingnerd6219]

I don’t blame them for not knowing all first past the post voting systems result in 2 factions over time. It’s inevitable. But we could amend it to the ranked choice option which would be much more fair

[@chrisf9156]

Not ironic at all when the Electoral College is determined by a majority and the built in failsafe is the Representatives in Congress also by majority. The system is very much set up for a 2-party system.

[@Zyn_Smooth6]

There was always two parties, the federalists, and the anti-federalists

[@crazylegz324]

Anybody can learn history but not everyone can lecture like this guy

[@MystikalDemon]

that's a bar

[@SLVYER1]

Think about choosing the giant cannibal man with wooden teeth, over educated scholars. God bless America.

[@Seiddac1776]

Extreme knowledge being displayed. Can’t be done without him having a full grasp of this entire era. He’s awesome

[@Unknown-jt1jo]

According to his bio, he's taught at the university level for a decade. He also did his PhD, during which he probably also taught some classes. He has a lot of experience.

[@TheRealWattLife]

Unfortunately no there are very few people who truly understand history.

[@pfcspencer11b]

Weve been fighting the same rural vs. urban, local vs. federal government arguments since our country's inception.

[@jaygarcia6338]

it's almost like it was flawed from the beginning 😭😭

[@pfcspencer11b]

@@jaygarcia6338 or to the rational mind, from the dawn of time power has been consolidated in urban centers and amongst the ruling class of those centers and our constitution was supposed to eliminate this because its always used to trample on the rights of the individual. Then morons got involved.

[@woozie___]

And around the world before our country was even a thought

[@jonathanc3001]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@jaygarcia6338there’s supposed to be conflict so that a middle ground is reached. Conflict does not mean flawed.

[@SurvivingAnotherDay]

@@jonathanc3001wrong. Authoritarian communism is the only solution to this countries problems.

[@JMSouchak]

I seriously love how often you mention that people today take all these events for granted.

[@nakenmil]

It's kind of funny how in the first election they IMMEDIATELY starting gaming the rules, lol.

[@multivision3646]

You know I’ve begun to accept that this is human nature. The ground rules should be designed to accommodate the gaming of itself.

[@nakenmil]

@@multivision3646 Unfortunately, yes. Rules must be robust enough to disincentivize too much strategizing. How to do that is clearly that difficult part, as we can see centuries later.

[@Dacky1989]

Yup the Nation has been dirty and corrupted from George Washington to George Floyd and beyond

[@chicken29843]

@@multivision3646 probably not possible while keeping the government functional. We could do better though. Cutting corporations out of campaign funding would be a nice step. Would like to see term limits on Congress and and a change to the presidential term. 1, 6 year term for a president, no chance at reelection no bullshitting or getting cold feet or doing crazy shit to get reelected. Supreme court should also probably not be a lifetime appointment

[@bigchedds8389]

@@multivision3646 it's not human nature. If that was the case they would have allowed everyone to vote during this election. Unfortunately they only allowed those who were already benefiting from the system to vote... Check out shays rebellion. It was a simple tax revolt (propaganda in America goes away back) that escalated after Massachusetts government turned a blind eye to citizens concerns (like them losing their land because of unbearable taxation...) George Washington actually held the opinion that this revolt needed to be stopped because movements pointing out the flaw inherent in the system tend to gain traction among the public... youll also find Massachusetts hired a private army to suppress the tax revolt since the the governor (James Bowdoin) couldn't get militia due to the articles of confederation. Oh and you'll notice ratification talks (introduction of big government/centralized power) began the same year as shays rebellion (tax revolt) 1787. Edit: and a few years after ratification was finalized you'll find one man now had the power to fall up armed men at a moments notice. Which George Washington used during the whiskey rebellion (another tax revolt.)

[@MarkHalberstram]

This video is a testament to the fact that interesting history clearly and competently told is more than enough to hold an audience’s attention. No jokes, gimmicks or jump cuts, just concise storytelling. I love it.

[@haamulubechooka6908]

Precisely 👏

[@exisfohdr3904]

Precisely, storytelling. Storytelling 101: Tell a story to influence the thoughts of others in an effort to impact a specific social/political behavior. Clear biases were definitely demonstrated, although some would see them only as subtle. For something that happened that long ago, there were too many projected insights into the "feelings" of the described persons. I'm pretty sure I didn't see any reference to any documents verifying fears. I am also pretty sure no one alive today was alive back then as well. I'm not saying specific events didn't happen, or that things didn't happen specific ways. I'm just pointing out the underlying faults of storytelling.

[@MarkHalberstram]

@@exisfohdr3904 Sure, but all history is storytelling. Historians make inferences based on incomplete knowledge and, where they place the events in a greater context, their own prejudices seep into the process as well. But I don’t think that’s necessarily cynical, certainly not in this instance, or makes history generally any less important or enjoyable to learn about.

[@exisfohdr3904]

@Marcus Halberstram the more enjoyable or entertaining something is, the more embellishments were likely used; making the overall experience less about knowledge, and more about influence.

[@MarkHalberstram]

@@exisfohdr3904 There comes a point where you’re so committed to pure historic information that even engaging with historians is pointless and you should just consult primary sources.

[@owenwillard5409]

i really did not expect to watch the whole video, but the way you tell this story is so enticing. it’s not flashy or too exciting, but it really holds on to your attention and is concise and well comunicated.

[@premodernist_history]

Thanks!

[@DaRealKakarroto]

As an Austrian, this was quite interesting and enjoyable. I'm still startled by the fact that Mozart completed over 40 symphonies before the US had an elected president though, I never looked at it with that perspective. Shows again how young the US actually is ...

[@zionismisterrorism8716]

The US has the longest serving government. Other countries like Austria kept getting occupied or revolutions.

[@seewhativescene]

10 of the first 12 Presidents owned enslaved human beings- including Washington ​@@zionismisterrorism8716

[@seewhativescene]

US declared freedom from Britain in 1776- didn't "abolish" Slavery until 1865- nearly 100 yrs ​@@zionismisterrorism8716

[@jonathanmccann1343]

To us Mozart seems like ancient history, the age of your nation molds your perspective

[@urphakeandgey6308]

The whole "USA is very young" is kind of misleading, but it depends how you count the age of a nation. If you count from when the current government took power, most European nations would technically be super young. Some not even 100 years old. Problem is, no European (let alone most people) would count it like that. Although, the USA never had this issue as someone pointed out. I also think the whole "Americans have no culture" thing is misleading too. I'm sure someone will laugh at this example, but American Football is an American cultural phenomenon. Almost no one else in the world cares about it, yet there are Americans of all ethnicities that watch that stuff religiously. How can you deny that as a cultural phenomenon? Americans also heavily "Americanize" imported foods. I find it funny when people complain about Americans "having no culture," but then in the same breath whinge about how we're "doing it wrong." Yeah... Because it's American now. Just look at "Chinese Food" and pizza. It's a bit ridiculous to deny that as part of American culture now when it has been so heavily modified to the American palette. I think Europeans just like to deny aspects of American culture because we don't observe it in a traditional way like they do. It seems fair to say American culture is lacking in traditions, but not culture. At least IMHO.

[@hatman123466]

The way he seems legitimately devastated for John Adams not getting as many votes as he thought he would 😂

[@whittneykelly7220]

I maintain that John Adams, even perhaps over George Washington, was the sole founding father who truly "got" that the US Constitution and our democracy were finite and who truly spent most of his life attempting to reason his way into a better system of government than the one his family left in England and that he helped create here. I'm devastated for him too!

[@noneofyourbusiness747]

@@whittneykelly7220 The US constitution as finite? That would be awful. Of course we need amendments, otherwise slavery would still be legal, for example. These people could not fathom what modern society would look like, or it's requirements.

[@Raydensheraj]

John Adams....I really dislike his authoritarianism concerning his legislations allowing him to imprison "critical members of the free press" and immigrants. In my unimportant opinion...his Son was the greatest gift he gave America. And of course him defending the Brits when he knew (thru his radicalized brother) how certain people would look at him as "British" apologist. But his core principle of trying to copy the British Christian Monarchy and their government make him anything but flexible or progressive. He was the original conservative that wanted Washington to be addressed as "Excellency" by the House/Senate....of course the Anti Federalists went bonkers and voted the idea down.

[@busimagen]

@@Raydensheraj It was not _his_ legislation. The President doesn't create legislation, the Congress does, and they are the ones who passed the acts, and John Adams was very reluctant to sign them, and delayed, but was eventually pressured into doing so.

[@kunmwas9437]

I felt for him too 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@ZALMOXIS743]

Way easier to pay attention to a lecture when the speaker isn't reading off a script, but actually knows his shit. Well done

[@MostlyPonies1]

There are too many generic fact channels on KZbin that have some hired host reading from a script. This channel's a nice hidden gem.

[@dmtmediabrothers]

Agreed. Funny how i could care less in highschool or college but this was cool to listen to.

[@austin8775]

He talks so slow it sounds like he is reading a document with tiny writing

[@exisfohdr3904]

Well, at least where the speaker appears to know their stuff. Often times, the more entertaining something is, the farther from the truth it is.

[@Tmanaz480]

@Austin , slow compared to whom? Ben Shapiro? His pace is fine, and his enunciation is perfect so he sounds good all the way up to 2x speed.

[@WilhelmPetersen]

I am an American and I found this fascinating to think of the colonies as separate countries

[@Unknown-jt1jo]

They were still united under the Articles of Confederation, but it was a very weak association.

[@debbiewilson9712]

Like Africa. That's the closest I can think it being like

[@lachesachairulanam9137]

​​@@debbiewilson9712 I think EU or ASEAN, but ASEAN doesn't have any joint military agreement.

[@artofthepossible7329]

You can thank the 1860s for that.

[@klaytone6105]

You must live up north

[@myradioon]

His inauguration was just as weird, it was postponed. They made several Washington Inaugural Coat Buttons which are highly sought after. Some of them were made for the "false start" Inauguration.

[@debbiewilson9712]

Wow. Very interesting

[@slouch186]

Glad to know that politics was just as conniving, strategic, and "messy" back then as it is today. I sort of figured it had to have been, but rarely have I heard anyone go into the details like this.

[@Darkfawfulx]

It goes even further, all the way to Rome.

[@konstantincvetanovic5357]

Yes always messy and strategic. But not always as corrupt as today.

[@TwixtheWizard]

Whatever you do don't look at a collection of German and Italian states that existed between 962 and 1806

[@seewhativescene]

​He owned slaves, former President trump declared war on half the citizens @@konstantincvetanovic5357

[@seewhativescene]

That has NOTHING at all to do with AMERICAN HISTORY, read the room ​@@TwixtheWizard

[@andycbutler]

That was really great- you presented the material so clearly. Thank you & I hope you do more of these in the future.

[@Panthers1521]

I am blown away. Thank you so much for this video.

[@callmekirkland8]

It's so interesting to hear about "strategic voting" in 1789 because we, as Americans, still do it today in some form during the primaries. Thanks for the great video.

[@premodernist_history]

Thanks! Yeah, when I was working on the video I kept thinking how modern all of this sounds.

[@bswearer]

There was a lot of strategy in the 1800 Election, particularly by the "Democratic-Republicans" (aka Jeffersonians aka Anti-Federalists... I find "anti-administration" most accurate) and especially when it came to exploiting the Electoral appointment systems in the states. Madison and Monroe were key influencers in the push for states to move away from district voting to legislatures appointing block slates, essentially "party" winner-take-all. That way they could maximize majorities, for instance getting all pro-Jefferson Electors in VA and essentially disenfranchising regional Federalist minorities who would previously at least get a couple of Federalist Electors. In fairness, Madison and Monroe saw this vulnerability illustrated in a couple of New England states (though not originally intended for such exploitative aims) and realized how effective it would become to securing a Jefferson win in 1800. Granted, there were still massive controversies in SC and GA, which to some extent had Adams "cheated" out of being reelected. But hey, we got Louisiana, the British got our debt, and the French (really, Europeans in general) got their decade of wars financed. Nothing new under the sun...

[@wildfire9280]

If only they had single transferable vote back in 1789.

[@orionsghost9511]

Definitely sounds like the roots of rigged voting.

[@nathanlevesque7812]

political sabotage is an American tradition

[@tomblaise]

As an American and History enthusiast I was surprised by how little I knew about this time period. Thank you for the very informative and enjoyable video.

[@premodernist_history]

Thanks, I'm glad you liked it.

[@jhonwask]

I, as well was surprised and intrigued.

[@ke11yke11z]

Hamilton at his finest ☺️

[@notaraven]

I remember a passing mention from history class that the vice presidents were the runner ups but never on how much of a mess this was. The strategy and almost conspiratorial efforts to win this election is also quite fascinating.

[@ke11yke11z]

@Alan Hagerty I agree with Jefferson. I'm grateful that the runner-up is not automatically the vice president. The president has to work with the vice president. If the president has a say in who they're working with there's more of a propensity for the president to work more effectively with the vice president

[@johandjerf9054]

Man I just gotta say you make the highest quality historical content on KZbin I've seen so far. Never stop!

[@Gobothechairman]

I'm absolutely fascinated with your channel. An instant favorite indeed. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@mattolson6718]

I like this guy’s style. No bias. Just straight history

[@pewpewpandas9203]

Boom: False. All history is biased. Even when people are trying their best to be objective, they still determine which sources to use (and which not to) and how to tell the story. Some tellings are obviously more biased than others, but you should always be aware of and look for bias.

[@pewpewpandas9203]

@@brianboisguilbert6985 Lol yeah, cuz that's just called being a good historian

[@dougo753]

@@brianboisguilbert6985 exactly, he could have gone on a rant about how only white men could vote at that time, but he stuck to the main facts of consequence to the very first election alone.

[@endokrin7897]

This is the first video of this gentleman's that I've seen, and I've subscribed. I can't STAND history that's told with a(n) (obvious) bias. Of course, some will say that there is ALWAYS bias, but this guy does a good job of just the facts. Had he talked about white men and landowners having the vote, it would open up the door for bias, especially in the comments. Anyways, this video was more than informative enough without getting into details like who had the right to vote. Not everything needs to be marinated in social causes. And my mentioning of social causes doesn't mean I lean one way or another. I just want to learn without being exposed to opinions! I'll form my own options soon enough

[@joshcarter137]

@@dougo753 objective history is multifaceted and layered. The “facts of consequence” should include the realities of all people. It was consequential that the people who were allowed to voice their opinion were exclusively only white men, just as it was consequential who was NOT included. All of the information included in this video is legitimate, but that doesn’t mean that this video captures every consequential detail. The real world is way too complex for that! Race and gender and class warfare are useful lenses through which to study history for many reasons, one of which is that they can be a great way to study how power maintains itself in our societies. Could be worth exploring, anyway!

[@TheUltraHumano]

In the recently released "The Dawn of Everything", Graeber and Wengrow emphasize that, looking back from the present, historical events seem to us as sort of inevitable. They urge us to think differently, to think about the roads not taken or about what might have been. Videos like this show us that idea in action: nowadays, the US constitution seems for a lot of people like it was "manifest destiny" from the start. Nothing farther from the truth, as you have so clearly explained. Thank you for this effort.

[@TBFSJjunior]

One reason why I like alternative history channels here on yt

[@kaleb749]

Very very true! It really puts things like current labor movements into a new light

[@ReflectedMiles]

It also gives one pause to think of whether Americans really would have wanted the results of a United States with a structure that looked much more like the EU does now, and how many states would have done their own version of Brexit at some point through history, leaving who-knows-how-much destruction of cooperation and common identity in their wake.

[@johnny14980]

Very great point and I think about this a lot. Kinda like how he mentioned that NY didn't come to a consensus in time for the vote. What a disaster! lol. obviously wasn't supposed to happen and honestly, if I was a part of that I would've been doubting if this whole "United States" thing is gonna work. We definitely need to reframe our thinking when it comes to this stuff because it was just a bunch of regular ass dudes (extraordinary and intelligent, but regular nonetheless) that came up with all of this. And people that take huge risks today, not knowing if they'll work or not, will be regarded also as just "how things went down", even though it'll only be because they chose to do things their way.

[@LazySillyDog]

Imagine the country today without a inflated federal government. Turns out they were right about what would happen 🤷‍♂️

[@bryannacaldwellsoccer]

Thank you for your videos, Perfect balance of pace, detail, graphics. Really enjoyable!

[@DA-bp8lf]

Thank you for the education! 😊 Something my High School Government teachers failed at. 👏👏👏

[@StephenGillie]

6:30 Thank you for putting Longtudinal History events onto your timeline. Seeing worldwide historical events really puts history into context and makes it so much more vivid.

[@melissaschramp7969]

As a history teacher currently covering the new republic-era of the United States, this video was very timely! I teach about how different the Electoral College voting system was before the 12th amendment, but never really thought about how the system led to the strategic voting that you talk about in this video! I especially didn't think about how the system affected the candidates, particularly how throw-away votes hurt John Adams' feelings! Thank you for such a thought-provoking video--looking forward to the follow-up!

[@josephmastroianni1560]

Work for Boston media starts Monday. 1 man called us an enemy 2.24.17. Media. It started a revolution. I'm just a regular person in Boston media. Quincy Ma. City of PRESIDENTS #Boston2024

[@nicolethompson8613]

The HBO John Adams series does a nice job of showing his heartbreak from that election.

[@bigpimpmoneyjuice]

It also kinda demonstrates the ranked choice voting scheme weakness in how strategic voting can impact those results

[@Delgen1951]

@@bigpimpmoneyjuice yelp

[@user-fm7yo2qc4c]

This is perhaps the finest video I have seen describing the "birthing pains" of the American electoral college. Aside from being amazingly concise and informative, this dude has an excellent radio voice.

[@im1sickpup269]

Great video, thank you for posting this.

[@salsa83]

So glad I discovered this no nonsense channel. You are very informative sir!

[@premodernist_history]

Thanks!

[@neli.a]

@@premodernist_history Now let’s do a history of the Bill of Rights ( 12 were ratified, but oops only 10 filed? ) Many Americans have no points of reference, history of the drafts or the compromises that framers were forced to make.

[@grantforester1864]

I always read that Washington got 100% of the vote, but I didn’t know our system was so wild before the 12th amendment. This video makes me understand why the Election of 1824 was so chaotic

[@TheRenegade...]

That was because there were too many candidates for one to get a majority, not because there was fear of the wrong person becoming president

[@pjabrony8280]

1824 was after the 12th Amendment.

[@SwayPromo]

It’s still wild 😂

[@Rob_Enhoud]

I recall being taught something similar, with Washington winning every state in the nation. This is only partially true with 3 exceptions. New York didn't vote for any candidate, Washington tied with John Jay in Delaware, and Washington tied with Robert Harrison in Maryland. Unlike today where most states have a winner take all election where their electors vote for the same candidate, the state electors not only could vote for different candidates, they almost needed to vote differently for the system to work.

[@pjabrony8280]

@@Rob_Enhoud In 1792, Washington did win every state in the nation, which by then was 15 (Vermont and Kentucky had been admitted).

[@Critguards]

Excellent and thank you for the citations that is a rare thing to see but it certainly well meet!

[@NeillWylie]

I'm a Scotsman and find this fascinating. I'm hoping that we can escape the tyranny of the British some day also.

[@hazeluzzell]

Tyranny is a bit strong…

[@nickxii]

I'm an Englishman & I also hope to evade the tyranny of the British gov, we need a total overhaul the people should represent us not these posh mfs and tbf the royals have no place in modern society either

[@InfinitePlain]

As a Scotsman you should know what British means.

[@nickxii]

@@InfinitePlain please enlighten me

[@NeillWylie]

@@InfinitePlain The best part of you run down the crack of your mothers rear and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress. Let me explain to you why this is the case. Here is the definition of "British" right form a book called the dictionary. If you were aware of this book, you'd appear less of a "reprobate" which can also be found in the same book. See number 2. British adjective 1. relating to Great Britain or the United Kingdom, or to its people or language. "the British government" 2. of the British Commonwealth or (formerly) the British Empire.

[@thejustifier6602]

1789 was a revolutionary time in history. Something like a republic with early democratic features hadn’t really been done before at this large a scale. There was a lot of debate that lead to the system that we have. The Federalist papers and Antifederalist papers are where we can trace the concepts for the constitution and bill of rights.

[@premodernist_history]

It was a crazy time. They were definitely in uncharted waters.

[@stupideunuchs6513]

Do you have proof.

[@thejustifier6602]

@@stupideunuchs6513 there are no federalist papers obviously

[@sabin97]

not exactly at that large of a scale, but it was already done at a very large scale, by thte previous empire. yes i mean the roman empire. of course the usakistani empire has both more people and more territory, but the roman empire was also pretty large and populated. and it was the first democracy. the system you have was acceptable for the time in which it was conceived. today it's extremely flawed. it allows for 22% of the population to impose their will on 78% of the population.

[@uncommon_name9337]

Not to mention that they saw a really bad example with what was happening in revolutionary France at the time, they wanted to avoid fucking it up.

[@TonyG_Film]

Just discovered your channel. Two periods in history that fascinate me: The American Revolution & the founding of the US Constitution and WW2. Thank you for this video. Looking forward to learning more.

[@kangel1561]

Wow! Just came across your video today and I'm impressed with your information, but also how well you presented it. New subscriber! Thank you!

[@numinasarcadia1717]

As a Swede, this is fascinating. It’s quite the long process too. America is always very grand about things I feel

[@sabin97]

if you love america, you will love this. america isnt just usakistan. it's everything from alaska to tierra del fuego and nearby archipielagos. it's far more diverse than you might imagine.

[@texmj123]

@@sabin97 I'm pretty sure he means America as in the country United States of America. Not the continent

[@mirzaahmed6589]

@@sabin97 just let it go.

[@mirzaahmed6589]

It's not "grand", it just makes sure all viewpoints are listened to.

[@sideofguac]

Hahaha, I think I see where you're coming from, and am similarly amused. The irony of how we put on airs of being unpretentious in this way. And then the balloon banners and marching bands come out. Like, it couldn't just be an unceremonious collective clerical task. No, we need a GRAND COMMITTEE to meet, and then an EVEN GRANDER COMMITTEE formed from all of those, and a STILL GRANDER CONGLOMERATE OF COMMITTEES and nerdy old dudes in powdered wigs get all hot and bothered over it and need to step out for some air before they swoon at all the grandiosity

[@coreyqueen8218]

This content makes me so happy. No theme songs, no jokes or thrills, just a guy with a great voice giving me great historical information. Thank you so much!!!

[@ay9240]

Sus

[@-LiveFreeorDie]

Please do more videos on American history, I'm obsessed with the way you present and format your lectures!

[@ChrisTallant]

This was amazing. Please make many more!

[@marktaylor8659]

I think this is the most succinct explanation of the first election and its results I've ever heard. Thanks for sharing this.

[@MasterOfTheLemons]

I love your style of explanation. You speak so clearly and plainly, and even define certain terms that other educators might take for granted. You made me realize that, while I had a fuzzy idea of who the framers were, I couldn't actually describe it clearly until you spelled it out. Very accessible presentation, while also diving deep into the history and logistics of the election! Quite enjoyed this, your casual, layman's tone mixed with your unmistakable knowledge and familiarity with the topic makes for a great video!

[@ChristopherNFP]

Your clarity of speaking is fantastic. Please dont change it. You articulate each word clearly. The speed of delivery is perfect.

[@metroidsboy]

First time seeing a video by this channel, very impressed, well done! Definitely subscribing, keep up the great work!!

[@thejacobite7880]

Such an excellent explanation of information & history in a very well done timeline.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

Australian here, and made it to the end. I think American elections and American politics are fascinating because of just how weird they are. You guys do it differently to everybody else, and there always seems to be some kind of intrigue involved. You're the oldest of the "modern" democracies, a category that Australia also fits into, so it's interesting to see how things were done before there were other, similar nations to base things on. It was all really innovative and new.

[@ziloj-perezivat]

@The Joker Nobody cars.

[@colinbisasky1134]

An Aussie gave me a good run down on your system. He was at the time a senator's aid/staffer/whatever you would call him. It's interesting you're parliamentary like UK/Canada, but with a few important features borrowed from the US constitution (but without adopting presidential democracy in any way). Like the Senate being equal among the states, having only part of it elected at a time; and it seems to have some power to check the government a bit, that the Senate of Canada and the UK House of Lords do not possess. This is, of course, assuming I understood him correctly.

[@Pushing_Pixels]

@@colinbisasky1134 Yes. Our constitution was formed in the late 19th century, and only came into force in 1901. So the framers of our constitution had the benefit of having multiple examples of different systems we could base it on. In the end we chose a hybrid system, with our lower house based on the UK's House of Commons, and our Senate based on the US Senate. Like the US we are a federation of constituent states, so states rights was a consideration. Like the US we ended up with unequal representation in the Senate, with less populated states having the same number of Senators (giving voters in those states disproportionate power compared to other voters).

[@onewordhereonewordthere6975]

If this tax deduction the Aussies and Rebel s both have, isn't at least queer 😏 501 C 3 . NON PROFIT. 🤔 THE WORLD IS RAN BY EVIL ! MOST CAN'T GRASP ✔️🔚

[@Haveyouseenmymom]

Cubone xD

[@interior.imperial1]

It's really sad that a lot of Americans don't know about the Confederation-era and that America was a sort of EU-esque collection of states after 1776. As an American, it's pretty humbling to realize that the Constitution and our Framers' ideas for the national government was made essentially by throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what stuck.

[@bswearer]

A confederation of states, which would still accurately be classified as a nation or country. The USA was founded in 1776 and henceforth has remained the USA, albeit with various alterations in the form of governance over its developmental evolution.

[@daniellenm395]

Anyone who paid attention in their high school government class will have a basic idea of all this. Problem is, most kids didn’t

[@bradenharris8718]

In a recent study, 1 in 6 American teenagers couldn't name the first president of the United States. More than 50% of the teenagers who didn't know guessed that Abraham Lincoln was the first president. Those same teenagers when asked about Abraham Lincoln didn't know WHY Abraham Lincoln was such an important president and what he did but they knew he had a statue and they had heard of him so ergo he must be the first president. They ALSO thought that Black Americans were "freed" during the civil rights era of the 1960s and THAT'S what they thought the civil rights movement was about. Not equal rights, not to stop segregation, no???mmmmmmn bbb hbut Freedom from slavery. They thought that Americans still had slaves in the 1960s. That should be all the information anyone needs about the current state of America and it's education system.

[@bruhism173]

Funny enough that's how its gonna be during the 2nd Big funni

[@bruhism173]

@@bradenharris8718 goddamn, it seems I'm more educated than most Americans, and it was all self taught, literally 0 of it was taught to me by the school and I had go out of my way to defy the schools to keep studying history and got introuble for it, I don't regret it at all, George Washington Gang.

[@TheMysticPete]

Great work, as always!

[@arthurmorgan6703]

Thank you very much for this video. I'm amazed by how much I still do not know about my own country's history and how the electoral process works. Very interesting and informative. Subscribed!!

[@teenietiff19]

I learned more about elections in the first five minutes of this video than I did through high school.

[@lynnwoodcarter3486]

Did u know the 13 colonies were in fact brown aka African Americans

[@teenietiff19]

@@lynnwoodcarter3486 I have not. But I am enjoying learning actual history as opposed to the whitewashed way we learned about it in schools. And passing that knowledge on.

[@jonathanc3001]

Sounds like you didn’t pay much attention in high school then

[@jonathanc3001]

@@lynnwoodcarter3486what are you even trying to say? Lol

[@teenietiff19]

@@jonathanc3001 I graduated with a 3.7 gpa I think I paid plenty of attention. Lmao.

[@VoicelessGaming]

I loved the way this was detailed and informative without any info that didnt need to be there. Honestly i thought this would have been one of those older videos that got tons of views but I was definitely wrong. You deserve more attention if you produce these types of videos.

[@sunmoonstarrays]

well done 👍 easy to understand and straight to the points that matter 💜

[@jeremybaumeister215]

Just came across your channel and I'm binge watching. Fantastic work. Please keep it up

[@armaansahgal6449]

I love this video so much. We have this tendency to project our current assumptions (or tbh the assumptions of historians at different points in time) onto historical time periods at the expense of the nuanced reality of the not-so-distant past. We need more content like this on KZbin!!

[@transversed]

Thank you for this channel! I started with this video and was immediately hooked. I’ve always wanted to delve deeper into what you call “premodern” history but haven’t come across any sources as approachable as this. I look forward to seeing more videos from you.

[@MusicalMoonMan2]

Wow, I learned so much. I find this kind of stuff very interesting. Definitely going to share this video. Keep up the great content! -Matt

[@ApocalyptoX1]

I love cool history! Thank you for sharing. Interesting perspective, and detail. Nicely done.

[@Adelphos12]

It's always interesting to me when history is presented in an in-depth way like this; it shows that many of the problems we're dealing with in the present day, have been problems since their inception.

[@cedricknarsiso4044]

I've always Said this to friends that disagree with the way elections work here "it's a bug it's a feature"

[@davidturoff8017]

Many of the problems are baked into the cake of tyranny. Check out article 1 section 8, the commerce clause, the general welfare clause. We the people didn’t have a say in the acceptance of the BS. It’s always been about them, the ruling class.

[@ballhawk387]

Weirder, and much, much more complicated than i thought, even being well aware that history tends to be much less tidy than we tend to think. Great content, very interesting.

[@roddyboethius1722]

Thank you for this

[@joshp4536]

Just got recommended this video. Instantly subscribed. Awesome content!

[@Atombombmother]

Most schools/textbooks simply teach that "everyone agreed Washington would be president" and move on. But there were a lot of interesting details that foreshadowed the problems with the EC and emerging party system that culminated in the disastrous election of 1800

[@leoalvarez8722]

Good stuff. I'd be interested to hear more about the Articles of Confederation and the eight men who preceded Waahington as head of state.

[@brucebradburyIII]

You are the absolute best at this

[@jupitercrash777]

Loved watching this and learned a lot.

[@ellwoodblue5453]

Love the video and it's amazing to see how differnt(how the electoral college was picked)/similar(the behind the scenes to control power) the elections were. I havent seen this much detail on elections. I would love to hear about more of the older elections of american history. Love the video. Thanks for the upload

[@liambell1432]

I just wanna say I loved this video. Part of the reason is obviously the topic is interesting and explained well, but also just the way you talk and go through the story is very engaging. Your voice and tone are soothing but not monotonous. You sound invested in what you're talking about, and it doesn't come across stiff or scripted. Add in the simple, easy-to-digest visuals and this is exactly what I look for in educational videos, especially ones on historical topics. I'm glad this video is getting a lot of views because I'm hoping for a lot more videos in the future!

[@1_Fish.2_Fish.Red_Fish.]

The entire delivery of this video is on point.

[@kaleb749]

This was super fun! It’s jaw-dropping to discover how much of my nation’s history is never taught, and just how much historical context hindsight bias has wiped from our textbooks and brains.

[@nannettehuffman8397]

And he did this in 20 minutes! Lol

[@rpraetor]

Wait until you learn just how much of it was a compromise to maintain slavery!

[@koolademasta]

They did teach this in public school, but unfortunatly a lot of people sleep through it lol! My wife knows nothing about the Alamo and we live in San Antonio.... and I'm like THEY TAUGHT US THIS!! ha, some people just don't care to learn history, but prefer other subjects

[@gushernandez25]

One thing that is never taught is to discover and learn outside of class.

[@samsonsoturian6013]

We like to pretend our democracy an ideology rather than just a historic accident that was idolized.

[@CharleyBrown69]

This was great! This is a great channel! This is what kids should be watching in school. Not the crazy stuff they are watching in todays world. I would have made sure I had this guys classes as many times as possible in college. Knowledge is power. Thank you sir.

[@jean-clauded5823]

Thank you very much for insightful information I never knew. I am thankful that youtube recommended this to me.

[@niggaplease8119]

Thank you so much My Dear Brother…You will never be forgotten for this

[@westophateforever]

🫶 the video i didn’t know i needed ! thank you for passing on this knowledge 🙏

[@ricardocardenas186]

Great video! It taught me a lot of things I didn't know about. I'm not an American, but my parents instilled in me a love of all things political and historical. Thank you for your dedication, and for sharing your knowledge!

[@Colemanreese08]

Great video! Graphics are perfect, not over done, and the information is concise.

[@The762nato]

Excellent presentation and an aid to my studies on American history . Thank You .

[@jacksondodd8835]

Absolutely fascinating!!! You should definitely keep growing your KZbin channel!

[@ivanvz]

As a Brazilian concerned with election logistics in general, and Brazilian elections in particular, besides being interested in history, I came to the end of the video thinking that we have a lot to learn from how things were done in the past and elsewhere.

[@Cjnw]

Let's hope that you win the next FIFA World Cup!

[@einzelwolf3437]

Bolsanaro won

[@ivanvz]

@@einzelwolf3437 He could've won. His attempt to buy out the people with last-minute social spending got him close, but it also blew up the country's budget for 2022 and 23. Like it or not, he will probably be prosecuted in the next 2-3 years and prevented from running for public office for a long time.

[@ct6852]

How much of the country supported the riot?

[@SkySumisu]

@@ct6852 According to a poll done six days later, 81% of the population was against it, and 18% were in favor (1% couldn't answer for sure). Even among Bolsonaro's supporters, only 37% of them were in favor of what happened. Bear in mind that this poll had N=600, so the percentages of approval may be even less, those were HIGHLY unpopular.

[@gunman155555678]

You make very good videos, thank you for taking the time to create this.

[@lctriguy69]

This is a really fantastic video. Great job.

[@SamWinchester000]

I'm honestly very hyped for another video regarding the next election. What you have explained in your video, the details about how which state chose their electors and how their individual political fighting was, is the kind of information you would never get on KZbin or the Internet, "even not on Wikipedia", the information you can only find in ultra complex and deep literature. And that is amazing.

[@8646aaron]

Enjoyed this. Very original in that it shows in depth a part of history that people only discuss the highlights of.

[@vzshadow1]

Thanks for this great video.

[@headishome8452]

Very informative, thank you for the video.

[@glenn.albert]

History is always more complex that you think. Thank you for sharing this.

[@bradenadams1761]

This was fantastic! Please keep the content coming.. My 7 great grandfather (John Adams) is someone I love to learn more about!

[@CalebPierceFun]

Thank you for taking the time to create this video

[@JakeWitmer]

You did a great job with this.

[@BiffanyRN]

Wow. I am lucky to have happened across your channel. Loved every video and hate that there are not thousands for me to binge. I just learned more in the last few hours than I did in my high school history class

[@joetrinkle2553]

Very well done. I crave this kind of content. I hope you create regularly.

[@notmemeoftheweek6674]

I've been watching your channel since that time traveling checklist for the medieval period. This one was fascinating and gave so much insight to things I hadn't seen considered. I thought it was just a simple 100% vote from the electoral college to elect Washington but this shows so much more of the story. I love the small details such as the scheme to make sure John Adams wasn't accidentally elected. It is comical to see just how human the founding fathers were and how many mistakes they made. My favorite part was when New York missed the deadline to vote due to the disagreement on how they should vote. It's just funny to think how loosely structured the government really was at the very start of our country compared to where it is today.

[@emongral]

Thank you, that was very interesting.

[@Vyt3x]

This is the first video on this subject I've seen that isn't heavily biased or opinionated. Thank you.

[@richd6362]

This was a very informative video. I wasn't aware of all of the different processes the states used to choose Electors. Will you do a video on the 1800 election where Jefferson and Burr tied in the Electoral College?

[@EfrainFigueroa-vp3qr]

Great information and Thank you

[@wombatburrito5896]

I swear I could fall asleep to anything you read . Totally not a diss. I love your tone and inflection. Also your non nonsense way of explaining things. It comforts me. Thanks buddy for making this interesting but also bland in a good way.

[@artphotoscamp5788]

I recently read both Washington and Adam's biographies. Washington knew of his inescapable future. And like you stated candidate self promotion was not a norm then. About Adam's reaction. His disappointment later became the almost powerless position Vice would actually be. Enjoyed your presentation!

[@LeftoverPat]

Which Biographies? I'm reading David MucCullough's Adams one now!

[@artphotoscamp5788]

@@LeftoverPat that is the book. Very well done. Made me like Adam's more and Jefferson way less.

[@BS-vx8dg]

This was great. Like most people who remember their history classes from college, the first half was old news to me, but it was done concisely enough that I stayed with it for the main show, which for me were the incredible details about New York and New Hampshire and Maryland and the Anti-Federalist plot-that-wasn't. Great, great stuff.

[@michaelbayer5094]

And the real conspirator and manipulator was Hamiliton. No wonder Adams distrusted him, Jefferson hated him, and Burr shot him (considering all Hamilton's scheming it seems inevitable someone would shoot him).

[@conlawmeateater8792]

@@michaelbayer5094 he deserved to be shot in that duel either Aaron burr. He was a big pusher for banking too. The bank of united states during the early 1790s.

[@gailowens1925]

Thank you for this video. I was unaware of the initial way electors voted for both President and Vice Presidents were chosen! I thought I had a well rounded understanding of how our government was developed and agreed to! Nice to learn new information.😊

[@ryanholmes7297]

Doing my part for the algo. Good quality material in this video, good job.

[@c.m.bigler]

What a pleasant surprise! I thought the ghost in the machine only had the ability to suggest videos of the inane variety. Great video....content & technically speaking, it was well done in every aspect. You've earned yourself a meritorious follow from me, good sir.

[@ripleyhrgiger4669]

Your teaching method and presentation style is entertaining, intriguing(makes me want to keep learning), and very well presented in a manner that works for my ADHD. I feel like I can just fall into your lesson and not want to stop listening. You're a wonderful teacher. Thank you for working hard to make these videos for us!

[@premodernist_history]

Thanks!