The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1908-08-20
wAsHNGToN's CANDIDACY.
Political Strife Was More Rancorol:s In
the Early Days Than New.


Editor National Tribune: In your
issue of July Is your article on persist
ent seekers of the Presidency was very
good, but there We're some DISCREPANCIES
in it. You should aim to the exact truth
in telling history You say there were
10 other candidates for the Presidency
besides George Washington. l never
heard of such thing before. 1 looked
it up and found on page 221, Harper',
History, that George Washington was
unanimously chosen as President; also
same on page 232. 1 never heard be-
fore1that Washington had so many OPP
posers politically.-Ray S. Ball, Huron,
Ohio.
Our correspondent should remember
that the Revolution was a pretty badly
assorted assemblase of all those who
were opposed to the exactions of the
mother country upon the Colonies. Each
Colony had It's own ambitions and griev-
ances, its own favorite sons, and its Own
way of redressing its grievances AS a
rule. the Colonies had little affection
for each other, and were only held to-
gether by the necessity of all uniting in
resistance to the wrongs inflicted upon
them by England. Washington's lead
ership was from the first compromise.
and 1t brought about the opposition and
sometimes active enmity of other Colo
mes, anu tfle dHlDiliOE Oh men VINO IeIt
that they were better fitted to lead than
he. The New England Colonies felt
that they had ADLER men than any of
the others, but they waived their claims
for Putnam, Pomeroy, Green. Gates and
others in order to secure the powerful
influence of Virginia by putting Wash
ington at the head.
New York had General in Schuyler
whom they thought with truth was
one time Washington came dangerously
near being displaced by the famous
Conway Cabal, led by Thomas Conway,
an Irish soldier, VINO had been Colonel
in the French army, and rose in the
Continental army to the rank of In
spector-G General.
After the Revolution Washington's
candidacy for the Presidency was
strongly opposed by the leading men
of his State. Jefferson. Patrick Henry,
Edmund Randolph, Madison, Monroe
and others were more or less opposed
to him, and Jefferson's enmity never
ceased. 1t was one of the severest
trials of Washington's official life. New
erthelcss, like Lincoln, when elected he
invited Jefferson and other opponents
into his official family, and endeavOred
to show no distinction between those
who were his opponents and his friends.
L HIS 10 pIit VI HIS SltdltSt GIdlIiS 10
greatness, becarse in the inchoate con-
dition that the Government of the coun-
try then was it was exceedingly ncces-
sary to have all factions represented
At the first election. which was held
under the old plan of voting for two
men. with the highest becoming Presi-
dent and the other Vice President, there
were, besides Washington, John Adams
John Jay, r. II. Harrison. John Rut-
fndur Inlr frtl
Samuel Huntingdon, John Milton, James
Armstrong, Benjamin Lincoln and Ed
mund Telfair. Like politicians in all
ages. each one of these men had more
or less hope that he would receive the
most votes and become President For
tunately the good sense of the electors
predominated, and they saw clearly that
Washington's fitness for the position far
exceeded that of any other man. and
they gave him 50 votes, or all that were
cast. The next greatest number that
any other man received was 81 votes
for John Adams. with the other candi-
dates running down from nine to one
In Washington's second election John
Adams, George Clinton, Thomas Jeffer-
son and aaron Burr appeared as cand-
dates. with Washington receiving 1872
votes to Adams's II. and so for George
Clinton, Thomas Jefferson four votes
fiction that Washington was everywhere
held with the same acclaim that we now
give him, but this was very far from
the truth. In some of the States the
Tories were actually in the majority
and these were strongly reinforced by
those who were dissatisfied with the
practical results of the war and the
way that the new Government had been
formed Even such a sturdy patriot as
John Hancock was so stirred that, as
Governor of Massachusetts, he declined
to meet Washington when the latter
made his tour thru the country. The
States We're then a disconnected chain
of Colonies along the sea shore, with
communication very difficult and infre-
quent, and no central point of union.
and with the people devoured with jeal-
ousies and antagonisms dating from the
time of the first settIement.-Editor
National Tribune.
First Shot Into Charleston.
Editor National Tribune: In Picket