The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-04-10
THE FIRST
The Counting Of the Votes for President One
Hundred Years Ago.

The Counting of the Votes for President One
Hundred Years Ago.
Washington Special to New York Sun.
The 9th of April, 1889. was q memorable
day In our history, although it's hundreth
ton of any kind. On that day the First
Congress for the first time obtained a quo
rum in both branches, and in its presence
the votes for the first President were
opened, counted and declared. The Consti-
tuition as it then existed expressly declared
that on the opening and counting of the
certificates of the electors 1.-The person hav-
ing the greatest number of votes shal be
the President" The taking of the pre-
scribed oath was to be a preliminary to
the execution of his Office" after this
official declaration.
Why April 6 should have taken the place
of March 4 in this final act of the election
OF the hrst President must always be the
cause of some wonder, although the facts
are well enough known. To begin with,
that was the era of the stage coach, not of
steam travel, and the roads had been bad.
The mails from New York, the seat of gov
eminent, to Philadelphia were. in those
days, ~semi-weekly, and then tri-weekly as
summer came on. But this will not wholly
account for the fact that the First Con-
March 4, did not get a quorum until four
weeks later, Wednesday, April l, and the
Senate not till Monday, April 6. The
truth is that the closing months
OIL ll6 OlQ uulO0, whose termination,
or transformation rather, had been in pros
pect for a year and a half had given the
Continental Congress loose habits of at
tendance and legislation. After declaring
the independence of the colonies and sue
cessfuliy conducting a long war, during
which it had raised and supported large
armies and founded a new nation. that
body had dwindled away in the autumn
and winter of 17SS so quietly that the date
of its actual demise is not agreed upon. 1t
was often, at the end, without a quorum.
There was also a curious reluctance in some
quarters to make the final plunge into the
new system, and even New York did not
choose electors for the first President,
fed the Constitution, and with ten other
States had entered into the new Union.
Whatever the relation of physical to
other Obtacles on the 4th of March which
had been greeted in New York, the capital,
with the firing of cannon and the sringing
of bells, only eight members presented
themselves in the Senate, and thirteen in
the House. During the subsequent weeks
these bodies occupied themselves with the
m~onotonous duty of adjourning from day
to day, meanwhile sending ont circulars
urging the absent members to come for
ward. 1t is noticeable that although the
start, having eight out of twenty-five men,
bers, the House, which only had thirteen
out of fifty-nine, was first to secure its or
ganization. 1t was able to secure a Speak
4 CT anu Il OleTk Oh lut lSU VI ApT1l, anu Uucu
proceeded to business.
When it did get together this First Con-
greSS was found to contain many we'll
known and able men. New Hampshire
sent ichOlas Gilman to the House. Massa-
chusetts had a strong delegation led by
Fisher Ames. George Thatcher. Theodore
Sedgw1ck and Elbridge Gerry. Connecti-
cut sent Jonathan Trumbull. jeremiah
Wadsworth and Roger Sherman. New
York had present .Egbert Benson, John
Lawrence and William Floyd. Pennsyl-
vania contributed among Others George
Clymer, Thomas Fitzsimmons, and Peter
n Frederick A. Muhlenburg-the last
named the first Speaker of the House.. New
President of the Continental Congress.
Delaware was. represented. by vining,
and Maryland by Daniel Carroll.
The chief representative from Viz
Carolina. like 'i Rhode Island, was
unrepresented. Among the members from
South Carolina was. General Sumter. the
renowned partisan leader, while Baldwin
and Jackson went from Georgia. Many of
the members had sat in the old Congress,
and probably their familiarity with its
| later habits of dilatoriness had much to do
with the delay in organizing the new gov
eminent.
The Senate was conspicuously q collec-
tion of well-known men. 1t included Gov.
John Langdon of New Hampshire. elected
its President for the purpose of counting
the votes; Caleb Strong of Massachusetts,.
Oliver Ellsworth and W., S. johnson of
King of New York, William Paterson of
| New Jersey, Robert Morris ofSPennsyl-
vania, George Read of Delaware. Charles
Carroll of Carrollton,. Md; Richard H.
Lee OF Virginia, Ralph lizard and Pierce
Butler of South Carolina, and William Few
of Georgia.
When the votes were opened before the
Senate and House on that memorable 9th
of April. by John Langdon, it was found
that the entire sixty-nine had been thrown
for Washington as President. Of the Sec
ond series of votes, to determine the Vice
president, John Adams had thirty-fOur;
| John Jay, nine; r. H. Harrison, then Chief
Justice of Maryland. and John Rutledge, of
South Carolina, six each; John Hancock,
four; George Clinton, three; Samuel Hunt
ingtOn, of Connecticut. and John Milton, of
| Georgia, two each; James Armstrong and
Edward Telfair, each of Georgia, and Gen.
Benjamin Lincoln, of Massachusetts, one
each. Adams was therefore declared elect
ell. To conclude these ceremonies, a COM
mittee. consisting of Messrs. Paterson,
johnson, Lee and Ellsworth, prepared a
| certificate of election, which LangdOn
signed and scaled, and then the following
letter was dispatched:
NEW YORK, April g., 1889.
Sir-I have the honor to transmit to your Ex-
cellency the information of your unanimous
election to the Office of President of the United
States of America. Suffer me, sir. TO indulge
the hope that so suspicious a mark of public
considered as a sure pledge of the affection and
support you are to expect from a free and en-
lightened people. q
| / am, sir, with sentiments Of respect, your
| obedient, humble servant, JOHN LANGDoN.
To His Excellency. George Washington, esq.
This wound up that portion of the du-
ties of the famou day. LangdOn promptly
sent off his letters by special messengers to
Washington and Adams. informing them of
&Io,~ NJ E.o-n
| New York for Mount Vernon the next day,
April z, and arrived there a week later.