The Creation and History of the Electoral College
The Electoral College is today a topic of some controversy, largely because its detractors either do not understand its purpose, or even the purpose of government itself, or are simply opposed to our form of government. The Framers of the Constitution were in general agreement as to the purpose of government, which is to protect our lives, our liberty, and our property. Their differences were more in how best to achieve those goals.
Many issues were quite contentious at the Constitutional Convention of 1787, but in the end the method of selecting the president of the United States — through what is called the Electoral College — drew broad agreement, both at the convention and in the ratification conventions in the states. As Alexander Hamilton expressed it, this method may not have been perfect, but it was “excellent.”
The term “Electoral College” does not actually appear in the Constitution, but was adopted later as a good description of the system the Founding Fathers created wherein state-selected electors choose the president of the United States.
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