By: History.com Editors

1792

George Washington exercises first presidential veto

History.com Editors

Published: November 16, 2009

Last Updated: February 18, 2025

George Washington exercises the first presidential veto of a Congressional bill on April 5, 1792. The bill introduced a new plan for dividing seats in the House of Representatives that would have increased the amount of seats for northern states. After consulting with his politically divided and contentious cabinet, Washington, who came from the southern state of Virginia, ultimately decided that the plan was unconstitutional because, in providing for additional representatives for some states, it would have introduced a number of representatives higher than that prescribed by the Constitution.

What Is Veto Power?

What power does the U.S. Constitution grant the president over laws passed by Congress? Learn more about the purpose of veto power and how presidents have used it.

After a discussion with the president, Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter that votes for or against the bill were divided along perfectly geographical lines between the North and South. Jefferson observed that Washington feared that a veto would incorrectly portray him as biased toward the South.

In the end, Jefferson was able to convince the president to veto the bill on the grounds that it was unconstitutional and introduced principles that were liable to be abused in the future. Jefferson suggested apportionment instead be derived from arithmetical operation, "about which no two men can ever possibly differ.” Washington’s veto sent the bill back to Congress. Though representatives could have attempted to overrule the veto with a two-thirds vote, Congress instead threw out the original bill and instituted a new one that apportioned representatives at “the ratio of one for every thirty-three thousand persons in the respective States.”

Washington exercised his veto power only one other time during his two terms in office. In February 1797, the former commanding general of the Continental Army vetoed an act that would have reduced the number of cavalry units in the army.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on April 5th

1614

Pocahontas marries John Rolfe

Pocahontas, daughter of the chief of the Powhatan confederacy, marries English tobacco planter John Rolfe in Jamestown, Virginia. The marriage ensured peace between the Jamestown settlers and the Powhatan tribe for several years.

1774

Benjamin Franklin writes “An Open Letter to Lord North”

On April 5, 1774, Benjamin Franklin writes an open letter to Great Britain’s prime minister, Frederick, Lord North, from the Smyrna Coffee House in London. It was published in The Public Advertiser, a British newspaper, on April 15, 1774.

Benjamin Franklin.

1859

Charles Darwin sends first three chapters of “On the Origin of Species” to his publisher

Naturalist Charles Darwin sends his publishers the first three chapters of On the Origin of Species, which will become one of the most influential books ever published.

1862

Siege of Yorktown begins

Union forces under General George McClellan arrive at Yorktown, Virginia, and establish siege lines instead of directly attacking the Confederate defenders.

1895

Writer Oscar Wilde arrested in England

Writer Oscar Wilde is arrested after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.

1918

First stage of German spring offensive ends

On April 5, 1918, General Erich Ludendorff formally ends “Operation Michael,” the first stage of the final major German offensive of World War I.

1933

FDR creates precursor to Civilian Conservation Corps

On April 5, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order creating an agency called "Emergency Conservation Work." This would later be subsumed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), an innovative federally funded organization that put tens of thousands of Americans to work during the Great Depression on projects with environmental benefits.

1945

Gen. MacArthur and Adm. Nimitz given new commands

On April 5, 1945, in preparation for planned assaults in the Pacific theater of World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur is placed in command of all U.S. ground forces and Adm. Chester Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. naval forces. This effectively ended the concept of unified commands, in which one man oversaw more than one service from more than one country in a distinct region.

General Douglas MacArthur

1951

Rosenbergs sentenced to death for spying

The climax of the most sensational spy trial in American history is reached when a federal judge sentences Julius and Ethel Rosenberg to death for their roles in passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. Although the couple proclaimed their innocence, they were executed in June 1953.

1955

Winston Churchill retires as prime minister

Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through the crisis of World War II, retires as prime minister of Great Britain.

Churchill April 1939: British Conservative politician Winston Churchill. (Photo by Evening Standard/Getty Images)

1968

James Brown calms Boston following the King assassination

As city officials in Boston, Massachusetts, are scrambling to prepare for an expected second straight night of unrest after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., soul artist and entertainer James Brown helps keep the peace by the sheer force of his music and his personal charisma.

1974

Stephen King’s first novel, “Carrie,” is published

On April 5, 1974, Stephen King, a Maine high school teacher who had been writing on evenings and weekends, sees his first full-length novel, Carrie, published. The release by Doubleday & Co. becomes a bestseller and inspires a movie of the same name. For King, Carrie kicks off a phenomenal writing career, one in which he would come to be known worldwide as the Master of Horror.

1976

Business magnate and famed aviator Howard Hughes dies

Howard Robard Hughes, one of the richest men to emerge from the American West during the 20th century, dies while flying from Acapulco to Houston.

1984

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar breaks NBA all-time scoring record

On April 5, 1984, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scores the 31,420th point of his career, breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record, which had been held by Wilt Chamberlain. Abdul-Jabbar's record remained unbroken for 38 years.

1992

Abortion rights advocates march on Washington

A march and rally in support of reproductive justice for women draws several hundred thousand people to demonstrations in Washington, D.C. One of the largest protest marches on the nation’s capital, the pro-choice rally came as the U.S. Supreme Court was about to consider the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania state law that limited access to abortions. Many abortion rights advocates feared that the high court, with its conservative majority, might endorse the Pennsylvania law or even overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that made abortion legal.

1994

Grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain dies by suicide

Modern rock icon Kurt Cobain dies by suicide on April 5, 1994. His body was discovered inside his home in Seattle, Washington, three days later by Gary Smith, an electrician, who was installing a security system in the house. Despite indications that Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, killed himself, some skeptics questioned the circumstances of his death and pinned responsibility on his wife, Courtney Love.

Kurt Cobain

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Citation Information

Article title
George Washington exercises first presidential veto
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 23, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
February 18, 2025
Original Published Date
November 16, 2009

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