WI Washington died between ratification and the first election

As I understand it the intention was always that Washington be the first President.

He coudl have been say thrown from a horse and killed before the election.

Who is the first President?

I like the idea of Ben Franklin but....
 
Franklin's health was in much too far a decline to run for President: he barely made it through the Constitutional Convention, as it were.

Without Washington, it would be pretty chaotic. I'd think it would settle down to the contests of OTL 1796 and 1800, Adams vs Jefferson (assuming Jefferson decides to return from France to run). So, perhaps John Adams.
 
Adams would be the logical choice for the proto-Federalists, Hamilton hasn't established himself enough to be a threat to his plans, even indirectly. John Jay has a chance. Jefferson is in Paris, and depending on when Washington dies he might not get back in time. IOTL the Anti-Federalists wanted George Clinton to be VP, so he's got a chance.
 
You know, thinking about it, the more interesting question would be what would the effect be on the country as a whole without Washington guiding the ship of state for the first 8 years under the Constitution. He was such a stable rock, and nearly everyone loved and trusted him. Whoever became President in his stead would have to contend with the factionalism of the latter half of the 1790s without Washington's setting the bounds of what was acceptable political behavior. I would fear for the survival of the United States beyond that first decade.
 
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