during the earliest years of the united states who nominated the candidates for president
United States presidential election, 1788–89 In the absence of political parties, there was no formal nomination process. The framers of the Constitution had presumed that Washington would be the first president, and there was no opposition to him since George Washington was widely seen as "essential to the successful operation of the new government."[according to whom?] The nation was undivided, regardless of national beliefs or affiliations, in its decision of Washington as president, so it was of little curiosity to the nation that he won unanimously during the 1788â€“89 election. Alexander Hamilton, a devoted advocate of George Washington, stated to Washington that "...the point of light in which you stand home and abroad will make an infinite difference in the respectability in which the government will begin its operations in the alternative of your being or not being the head of state." Alexander Hamilton's letter to Washington is an attempt to persuade him to leave retirement on his farm in Mount Vernon, Virginia to run for the presidency, exemplifying the unanimous nature of George Washington's position as a candidate in the first election.