Penelope
Diamond Member
- Jul 15, 2014
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The initial impact was to give slave states additional weight. The infamous constitutional provision counting slaves as three-fifths of a person for the purpose of apportioning Representatives in Congress (and apportioning electoral votes) was designed to favor Southern states. Slaves could not vote, but they could give their owners extra power in both congressional and presidential elections. It is no accident that slave owning Virginians served as President for 32 of the nation’s first 36 years.
http://www.every-vote-equal.com/sites/default/files/eve-4th-ed-forward-anderson-web-v1.pdf
Opponents of direct election often point to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in drafting the Constitution. No question, the Founders had incredible wisdom and foresight, but they were dealing with a much different society and the Electoral College was designed for the realities of the 18th century. The landmass of the country was huge; travel and communication were arduous and primitive; and education was limited at best. Lack of information about possible presidential candidates among the general public was a very real consideration. Also, there were issues involving slavery. At the time, 90% of the slave population lived in the South. Since the slaves could not vote, without the weighted vote of the Electoral College, the South faced electoral domination from Northern states. While not the first choice of any Founder, the Electoral College system solved these tricky considerations with a compromise that allowed them to complete the monumental task of creating our country’s Constitution.
http://www.every-vote-equal.com/sites/default/files/eve-4th-ed-forward-bayh-web-v1.pdf
As you can see we no longer have slaves, and we no longer have a communication or education problem.
http://www.every-vote-equal.com/sites/default/files/eve-4th-ed-forward-anderson-web-v1.pdf
Opponents of direct election often point to the wisdom of the Founding Fathers in drafting the Constitution. No question, the Founders had incredible wisdom and foresight, but they were dealing with a much different society and the Electoral College was designed for the realities of the 18th century. The landmass of the country was huge; travel and communication were arduous and primitive; and education was limited at best. Lack of information about possible presidential candidates among the general public was a very real consideration. Also, there were issues involving slavery. At the time, 90% of the slave population lived in the South. Since the slaves could not vote, without the weighted vote of the Electoral College, the South faced electoral domination from Northern states. While not the first choice of any Founder, the Electoral College system solved these tricky considerations with a compromise that allowed them to complete the monumental task of creating our country’s Constitution.
http://www.every-vote-equal.com/sites/default/files/eve-4th-ed-forward-bayh-web-v1.pdf
As you can see we no longer have slaves, and we no longer have a communication or education problem.