Over The Course Of American History, The Electoral College

Over the course of American history, the electoral college has frequently been a controversial portion of the American political system, especially in with the recent election of Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Clinton lost the election, despite winning the popular vote by roughly three million votes. This election’s outcome although unique in its politics, isn’t at all rare within U.S. Political History, winning the election without the popular vote previously occurred four times. Recently, this has sparked notable discussion of the abolition of the electoral college, a move that would greatly benefit American politics. While some would argue the foundation of the college are sound, the actual origins are actually erroneous, and†¦show more content†¦When the direct election of a national leader was first posed at a national convention in Philadelphia, the father of the Constitution, James Madison denied the request. He said in his justification, â€Å"The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of Negroes.† In plain language if a direct democracy was put in place, the North would outnumber the South, because slaves, who were roughly half of the South couldn’t vote. Though the electoral college, allowed for southern states to count its forty percent of their slaves, in the calculation of its population, hence its electors. Essentially, the electoral college is a dated, non-functional system designed for a time in the United States where owning another human was acceptable. On this merit alone the college must go. In addition to the argument of the electoral college being justified in existence on dated principle, it isShow MoreRelatedThe Electoral College Is A Democracy1012 Words   |  5 Pagesgovernment? 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