WHY OUR FOUNDERS GAVE US
THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE
SEE: http://newswithviews.com/Nelson/kelleigh374.htm; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
By Kelleigh Nelson
November 28, 2016
NewsWithViews.com
"The
ordaining of laws in favor of one part of the nation, to the prejudice
and oppression of another, is certainly the most erroneous and mistaken
policy. An equal dispensation of protection, rights, privileges, and advantages,
is what every part is entitled to, and ought to enjoy." —Benjamin
Franklin on Electoral College
President
Trump, I was disheartened to hear you say that we should do away with
the electoral college when you wouldn’t have won the election, despite
millions of illegal's voting for Hillary, had we not been given the college
by our founders. What those wonderful and brilliant statesmen gave us
is crucial to preserve freedom and preventing a tyrant from getting elected.
These are some of the important reasons the founders gave us the electoral
college! Please refresh yourself on this important part of our Constitution
which has kept us from mob rule since 1787.
Although
the preamble to the Constitution begins with “We the people,”
the word “democracy” (mob rule) is not mentioned in the Declaration
of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution, or the
Bill of Rights. Even the Pledge of Allegiance is “to the Republic
for which it stands.” We are supposed to be a nation of laws, “rule
of law” rather than “mob rule.” Read on…
Creation
of the Electoral College
The
Electoral College was created for two reasons.
The
first purpose was to create a buffer between population centers and the
rest of the country.
The
second, as part of the structure of the government that gave smaller less
populated states a voice in the selection of President.
Without
the electoral college giving a voice to the smaller states, the large
populated areas (as those on both coasts) would always elect the president.
Today, those areas are heavily populated with welfare recipients, sanctuary
cities, and we cannot discount illegal alien voters, who vote largely
democratic for the free stuff they receive from the federal government.
The electoral college is a buffer that allows all states to have a voice.
America
is a Constitutional Republic Based on Laws
One
of the inherent weaknesses in a government based ONLY
on the will of the people is the potential for mob rule.
This was often the downfall of direct democracies, where all the people
decided on public matters directly rather than through representatives.
We were created as a representative Republic, NOT A DEMOCRACY!
In designing the electoral college, the founders sought to insulate the
selection of president from the convulsions of the multitudes. The college
was essentially an extra layer of security helping to guarantee that the
president would be a truly capable individual.
Upon
exiting the Constitutional Convention Benjamin Franklin was approached
by a group of citizens asking what sort of government the delegates had
created. His answer was: "A republic, if you can keep it."
In creating
the basic architecture of the American government, the Founders struggled
to satisfy each state’s demand for greater representation while
attempting to balance popular sovereignty against the risk posed to the
minority from majoritarian rule from larger population states.
Our
Constitution clarifies the Electoral College in Article
2, Section 1, Clause 2, and in part states:
Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.
The
product of the Founders’ compromise has been well balanced and enduring,
and we would be wise to leave it intact, despite what Soros and the Democrats
would like to do to it.
The
First Reason for the College
The
first reason that the founders created the Electoral College may be difficult
to understand today. The founding fathers were afraid of direct election
to the Presidency. They feared a tyrant could manipulate public opinion
and come to power. Alexander Hamilton wrote about it in the Federalist
papers. I know they were right!
Hamilton
defends the process for selecting the president. He argues that the system
of an electoral college ensures that “the sense of the people”
will play a key role in selecting the president, while, at the same time,
affording “as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder.”
It was believed that electing the president directly, without the intermediate
step of the electors, might lead to instability. Hamilton argues that
electors will be protected from bias since they do not hold any
other political office and are separated from electors from other states.
Hamilton believed that this system would best ensure that the president
was a man of great virtue and ability, which has not always been the case,
but has undoubtedly kept us somewhat protected.
They
believed that with the Electoral College no one would be able to manipulate
the citizenry. It would act as check on an electorate that might be duped.
Hamilton and the other founders did not trust the population to
make the right choice. (We have seen this many times in the past,
which proved our founders right, and they didn’t have radio or television
influence in the late 1700s.)
The
founders also believed that the Electoral College had the advantage of
being a group that met only once and thus could not be manipulated over
time by foreign governments or others. Brilliant men of letters, oh how
I wish they were here today!
The
Second Reason for the College
The
electoral college is also part of compromises made at the 1787 Convention
to satisfy the small states. The United States Constitution was made by
and for the states, and the founders wanted each state to have a voice
in elections.
Under
the system of the Electoral College each state had the same number of
electoral votes as they have senators and representatives in Congress,
thus no state could have less than three.
Again,
the Electoral College system was drafted by the states to empower the
states, so as to preserve regional identity and protect small
states from the domination of the larger ones.
The
Daily
Caller states it even better than I ever could:
Although the Framers guaranteed a “Republican form of government” to the states (Article 4, Section 4), the rights of states are under attack. Their jurisdiction in issues ranging from the death penalty to healthcare standards to the regulation of firearms have become subject to federal mandates. Presidents swear an oath to “preserve and protect the Constitution,” and that must include a firewall to shield our republic from the deception of “democratic” national elections.The Founders understood that democracy was important, but they knew that if it wasn’t tempered by a republican system, majority rule could lead to tyranny. Thomas Jefferson wisely admonished future generations of voters that, “Measures are too often decided, not according to the rights of the minor party, but by the superior force of an overbearing majority.”
Conclusion
The
founders of America’s Republic, the authors of our Constitution,
were men not only of letters, but of bravery and fortitude who gave us
a document like no other document ever given to any nation. We need the
electoral college, the inclusion of same in our Constitution was a brilliant
addition. God certainly must have given those men a vision of our future
for this measure to have been added to protect us.
These
men were undoubtedly led by God to preserve the freedoms and liberties
they fought to attain. May the Good Lord above help us to do the same,
and may our new president take time to study the American Constitution
he will soon take an oath to preserve, protect, and defend.