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From: 87064023@sdcc3.UUCP ({|lit)
Newsgroups: net.legal
Subject: Re: Electoral college
Message-ID: <2582@sdcc3.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Dec-84 21:58:28 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcc3.2582
Posted: Thu Dec 20 21:58:28 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Dec-84 03:07:05 EST
References: <301@bonnie.UUCP> <6782@watdaisy.UUCP> <196@harvard.ARPA>
Organization: U.C. San Diego, Academic Computer Center
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> 
> I understand (as well as it's possible to understand, I guess!) how the
> electoral college system works.  But can anyone explain why this system
> was created?

	A quick reading of the political correspondence of the time
reveals that the authors of the constitution were faced with a
dillemma: how to place the electoral process in the hands of the
populace while avoiding the "inevitable" effects of "the tyrrany of
numbers".  Their solutions was to let the populous elect those who
would elect the president.
	An interesting side note is that the authors of the
constitution did not think anyone would *EVER* get a majority of the
Electoral College votes, and expected that most elections would fall
to the House of Representatives.  In this way, they would again be
protected from "the folly of popular whim" by having only
congressmen cast ballots for the president.  This would also have
served to make the president more beholden to Congress (since the
house would have to re-elect him).  Only the birth of national
political parties foiled this plan.  (Wallace came close to forcing
the election to the House in the 1960's, however).