1788–89 United States presidential election in New Hampshire
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December 15, 1788 (popular vote)
January 7, 1789 (legislature) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results
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| Elections in New Hampshire |
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A presidential election was held in New Hampshire on December 15, 1788, and January 7, 1789, as part of the 1788–89 United States presidential election. Federalists outpolled their competitors in the first round of voting. The New Hampshire General Court subsequently chose five electors from among the 10 leading candidates, who voted for George Washington and John Adams.[1]
Washington was widely expected to be the first choice of the Electoral College in the first elections held under the Constitution of the United States. Some uncertainty persisted concerning the choice of the first vice president, however, due partly to the electoral system established by Article II of the Constitution. Under this system, each elector voted for two candidates; the candidate with the largest majority was elected president, and the runner-up vice president. With Washington likely to become president, many observers expected Adams to receive the other vote of most of the electors. Some, such as Alexander Hamilton, feared Adams's popularity would be so great as to result in a tied vote, throwing the election to the United States House of Representatives. Hamilton believed this event would be deeply embarrassing to the new government and personally intervened with the electors to urge them not to vote for Adams.[2]
The leaders of the state's major political factions had declared a temporary truce in 1788 in order to jointly support ratifying the Constitution.[3] In the absence of organized parties, the election was in effect a local contest between favorite sons.[4] Several tickets were proposed including the names of prominent citizens, without indicating for whom the candidates would vote if elected. None of the candidates won a majority in the first round, sending the election to the General Court.[5] Following a lengthy standoff with the upper chamber, the House of Representatives dropped its demand to choose the electors on a joint ballot of both houses. Voting proceeded separately in the Senate and the House of Representatives; the five candidates with the most popular votes were appointed by the legislature.[6] The electors met subsequently on February 4 and voted unanimously for Washington and Adams.[7]
General election
[edit]Summary
[edit]New Hampshire chose five electors on a statewide general ticket. Early election laws required voters to elect each member of the Electoral College individually, rather than as a block.[8] The following table compares the sum of the votes for the leading Federalist and Anti-Federalist electors to give an approximate sense of the statewide popular vote.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federalists | George Washington | 1,759 | 91.52 | |
| Anti-Federalists | George Washington | 163 | 8.48 | |
| Total | George Washington | 1,922 | 100.00 | |
| Total votes | 1,922 | 100.00 | ||
Results by county
[edit]Complete returns are missing for most townships. This table compares the votes for the leading Federalist and Anti-Federalist electors in each county based on partial returns.
| County | George Washington Federalists |
George Washington Anti-Federalists |
Margin | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| Cheshire | 21 | 60.00% | 14 | 40.00% | 7 | 20.00% | 35 |
| Grafton | 96 | 90.57% | 10 | 9.43% | 86 | 81.14% | 106 |
| Hillsborough | 95 | 65.97% | 49 | 34.03% | 46 | 31.94% | 144 |
| Rockingham | 308 | 94.48% | 18 | 5.52% | 290 | 88.96% | 326 |
| Strafford | 68 | 48.57% | 72 | 51.43% | -4 | -2.86% | 140 |
| TOTAL | 588 | 78.30% | 163 | 21.70% | 425 | 56.60% | 751 |
Electors
[edit]Complete returns are missing for most townships. The joint committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives reported a total of 20,142 votes between all the candidates.[10] Phil Lampi identifies 80 candidates who received at least one vote in any of the 21 townships with surviving returns, in addition to 9,527 scattering votes. Between five and 10 candidates received votes in the majority of townships surveyed; in no township was the number of candidates greater than 25.[9] The following table shows the statewide totals for the 10 leading candidates as recorded in the published proceedings of the General Court; the votes for the remaining candidates are based on the incomplete township returns.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federalists | Benjamin Bellows | 1,759 | 8.73% | |
| Federalists | John Pickering | 1,364 | 6.77% | |
| Federalists | Ebenezer Thompson | 1,063 | 5.28% | |
| Federalists | John Sullivan | 872 | 4.33% | |
| Federalists | John Parker | 851 | 4.23% | |
| Unknown | John Dudley | 718 | 3.56% | |
| Federalists | Joshua Wentworth[b] | 667 | 3.31% | |
| Unknown | Nathaniel Folsom | 589 | 2.92% | |
| Unknown | Ebenezer Smith | 543 | 2.70% | |
| Unknown | Joseph Cilley[c] | 528 | 2.62% | |
| Federalists | Christopher Toppan | 164 | 0.81% | |
| Anti-Federalists | Joseph Badger Jr. | 96 | 0.48% | |
| Unknown | Robert Wallace | 94 | 0.47% | |
| Federalists | Timothy Farrar | 75 | 0.37% | |
| Federalists | John Bell[b] | 65 | 0.32% | |
| Unknown | Woodbury Langdon | 60 | 0.30% | |
| Federalists | Abiel Foster | 47 | 0.23% | |
| Federalists | Pierce Long[b] | 47 | 0.23% | |
| Unknown | Benjamin Fellows | 46 | 0.23% | |
| Unknown | Ebenezer Flanders | 46 | 0.23% | |
| Unknown | Timothy Walker | 46 | 0.23% | |
| Unknown | John MacCleary | 45 | 0.22% | |
| Federalists | Thomas Bartlett | 44 | 0.22% | |
| Federalists | John Calfe | 43 | 0.21% | |
| Unknown | John McDuffee | 33 | 0.16% | |
| Unknown | George Reed | 32 | 0.16% | |
| Unknown | Stark | 31 | 0.15% | |
| Unknown | Charles Johnston | 29 | 0.14% | |
| Unknown | Decan James Hosley | 28 | 0.14% | |
| Federalists | Francis Worster | 28 | 0.14% | |
| Federalists | Samuel Livermore | 28 | 0.14% | |
| Unknown | Bezaleel Woodward | 27 | 0.13% | |
| Unknown | John Woodbury | 27 | 0.13% | |
| Unknown | Phillips White | 27 | 0.13% | |
| Unknown | Jacob Abbott | 25 | 0.12% | |
| Unknown | Moses Dow | 25 | 0.12% | |
| Unknown | Nathaniel Adams | 23 | 0.11% | |
| Anti-Federalists | Nathaniel Peabody[d] | 23 | 0.11% | |
| Anti-Federalists | Charles Barrett | 22 | 0.11% | |
| Unknown | John Dailey | 21 | 0.10% | |
| Unknown | Moses Chase | 21 | 0.10% | |
| Unknown | John S. Sherburne | 21 | 0.10% | |
| Federalists | Jonathan Freeman | 19 | 0.09% | |
| Unknown | Bartlet | 19 | 0.09% | |
| Anti-Federalists | Archebald MacMurphey | 16 | 0.08% | |
| Anti-Federalists | Joshua Atherton | 16 | 0.08% | |
| Unknown | Ebenezer Freeman | 13 | 0.06% | |
| Federalists | Elisha Payne | 13 | 0.06% | |
| Unknown | Peter Green | 13 | 0.06% | |
| Federalists | Benjamin West | 12 | 0.06% | |
| Unknown | John Stark | 12 | 0.06% | |
| Federalists | Amos Shepard | 11 | 0.05% | |
| Unknown | Dame | 10 | 0.05% | |
| Unknown | Daniel Tilton | 9 | 0.04% | |
| Unknown | John Duncan | 9 | 0.04% | |
| Federalists | William Simpson | 9 | 0.04% | |
| Unknown | Scilly | 8 | 0.04% | |
| Unknown | Matthew Thornton | 8 | 0.04% | |
| Unknown | John Stevens | 7 | 0.03% | |
| Unknown | John Bellows | 6 | 0.03% | |
| Unknown | Buckminster | 6 | 0.03% | |
| Unknown | D. Langdon | 6 | 0.03% | |
| Unknown | Samuel McClintock | 6 | 0.03% | |
| Unknown | Merrill | 6 | 0.03% | |
| Unknown | Jonathan Gove | 5 | 0.02% | |
| Unknown | Richard Bartlett | 5 | 0.02% | |
| Unknown | McConnell | 5 | 0.02% | |
| Federalists | Paine Wingate | 5 | 0.02% | |
| Unknown | Runnels | 3 | 0.01% | |
| Unknown | Francis Smith | 2 | 0.01% | |
| Unknown | Robert Means | 2 | 0.01% | |
| Federalists | Simeon Olcott | 2 | 0.01% | |
| Unknown | T. Adams | 2 | 0.01% | |
| Unknown | Ammi Ruhamah Cutter | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Unknown | Daniel Rindge | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Unknown | John Bradley | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Unknown | John Duncan | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Federalists | John Taylor Gilman | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Unknown | Richard M. Hogg | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Unknown | Simeon Alcott | 1 | 0.00% | |
| Federalists | Jeremiah Smith | — | — | |
| Unknown | John Stephens | — | — | |
| Write-in | 9,527 | 47.30% | ||
| Total votes | 20,142 | 100.00% | ||
Electoral College
[edit]| Presidential candidate | Party | Home state | Electoral vote[e] |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Washington | Independent | Virginia | 5 |
| John Adams | Federalists | Massachusetts | 5 |
| Total votes | 5 | ||
Source: A New Nation Votes: American Election Results, 1787–1825. American Antiquarian Society.[15]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ↑ Vote totals in italics are based on partial returns from 21 townships.
- 1 2 3 Federalist candidate for the New Hampshire Senate in 1788.[12]
- ↑ Anti-Federalist partisan during Washington's second term.[13]
- ↑ Anti-Federalist candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1788.[14]
- ↑ Each elector voted for two candidates.
References
[edit]- ↑ Jensen & Becker 1976, p. 770.
- ↑ Cunliffe 2002, pp. 7, 12–13.
- ↑ Daniell 1970, p. 213.
- ↑ Turner 1983, p. 113.
- ↑ Jensen & Becker 1976, pp. 799–801.
- ↑ Cunliffe 2002, p. 16.
- ↑ Jensen & Becker 1976, p. 773.
- ↑ Lampi n.d.
- 1 2 3 Lampi 2012.
- ↑ Jensen & Becker 1976, p. 816.
- ↑ Lampi 2012; Center for the Study of the American Constitution n.d..
- ↑ Kaminski, John P.; Schoenleber, Charles H.; Reid, Jonathan M.; Saladino, Gaspare J.; Flamingo, Margaret R.; Moore, Timothy D.; Fields, David P., eds. (2017). "The Documentary History of the Ratification of the Constitution" (PDF). asset.library.wisc.edu. The State Historical Society of Wisconsin. p. 315. Retrieved May 12, 2026.
- ↑ Scales 1921, p. 57.
- ↑ Jensen & Becker 1976, p. 857.
- ↑ Lampi 2012a.
Bibliography
[edit]- Center for the Study of the American Constitution (n.d.). "Alphabetical List of State Convention Delegates" (PDF). University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- Cunliffe, Marcus (2002). "Elections of 1789 and 1792". In Schlesinger, Arthur M. Jr.; Israel, Fred L. (eds.). History of American Presidential Elections, 1789–2001. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers. pp. 1–56.
- Daniell, Jere R. (1970). Experiment in Republicanism; New Hampshire Politics and the American Revolution, 1741–1794. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
- Jensen, Merrill; Becker, Robert A., eds. (1976). The Documentary History of the First Federal Elections, 1788–1790. Vol. 1. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press.
- Lampi, Philip J. (n.d.). "Electoral College". A New Nation Votes. American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved April 19, 2026.
- Lampi, Philip J. (2012a). "1789 President of the United States, Electoral College". A New Nation Votes. American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
- Lampi, Philip J. (2012). "New Hampshire 1788 Electoral College". A New Nation Votes. American Antiquarian Society.
- Scales, John (1921). Life of Gen. Joseph Cilley. Manchester, NH: Standard Book Company.
- Turner, Lynn Warren (1983). The Ninth State: New Hampshire's Formative Years. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.
State and district results of the 1788–89 United States presidential election | ||
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