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Note: The election began on June 1, but due to the Independence War it took some time to collect and count the votes. The official result was announced on July 9, and George Clinton assumed office immediately. Subsequent elections, until 1820, happened during the last week of April, the term beginning on July 1. Some votes were also cast for Philip Livingston and Chancellor Robert R. Livingston although they were not candidates.
There were no parties yet, the Democratic-Republican and Federalist Parties appeared in 1789, until then the candidacies were personal. Besides, due both to the still raging war and to the novel concept of elections instead of appointment, there was no election campaign at all. Only some political active men of the time wrote letters, endorsing the one or other candidate or guessing the outcome. Clinton’s victory was a complete surprise to them, the feeling of the political class having been that the decision would be between Schuyler and Jay.
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