Electoral College

With the surge of controversy surrounding the recent election, the United States has rekindled the Electoral College debate. However, this isn't the first time that a tight election has resulted in unclear or contested results. Nor is it the first time the Electoral College has made a president out of the popular vote loser. In the over two hundred years since its construction, the Electoral College has demonstrated its shortcomings with more than its share of mishaps. Is this system a tribute to democracy and the brilliance of its creators or is it an archaic tradition that should be eliminated?

In order to fully understand the workings of the Electoral College we must first look at its origins. What were the founding fathers considering when they created this system for electing our president? We must go back to the days where people still got around on horseback. In 1787, the nation was made up of only thirteen states and four million people. Crude transportation and communication were all that connected the country, making a national campaign unrealistic. Also, keep in mind that these thirteen states were all protective of their own rights and distrustful of any national government. The saying was "The office should seek the man, the man shouldn't seek the office (Kimberling 1)."