In today’s society, politics are everywhere and control everyday functions. Politics are meant to be discussed in the professional setting with poised attitudes regarding pressing issues. However, politics are often the clown of the American political circus. Politics are the most popular subject of discourse in the media, the workplace, and everyday discussion.
“An old litigator’s joke goes as follows. If you have the facts, argue the facts; if you have the law, argue the law; if you don’t have the facts and you don’t have the law, then bang on the table and shout” (Thompson).
Many people today use the third option of the litigator’s joke because most are ill-informed due to these jokes and opinions displayed in the media.
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When discussing or commenting about politics, Americans tend to shout and become aggressive just like a lion being tamed in the circus ring. In a perfect world, people would have more focus and dignity like an elegant tightrope walker when communicating about politics. The headline acts of today’s politics include impeachment of the United States President, climate change, abortion, and gun control. These headline acts tend to be the star of the political circus but several acts perform under the big top.
A dated yet, prevalent act in the current political circus is the Electoral College. No, this is not an institution where circus clowns get elected into governmental positions. The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines the Electoral College as “a body of electors that elects the president and vice president of the U.S.” (Electoral College). This tool is used in the American political process and it has every fan cheering, booing, or somewhere in between. The effect of the Electoral College on the American political process is demonstrated through its evolution, impacts, and future.
The birth of the Electoral College first began in 1787 at the Philadelphia Convention. The Philadelphia Convention, also known as the Constitutional Convention, the Federal Convention, or the “Great Convention of Philadelphia”, took place from May 25, 1787, to September 17, 1787. The original intention of the Philadelphia Convention was to address issues of the time regarding the governing of the United States of America.
Following the United States of America’s independence from Great Britain in 1776, the United States was operating under the Articles of Confederation. The Philadelphia Convention was held to revise the Articles of Confederation. However, many delegates, including James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton, had motives to develop a new form of government rather than revise and undertake the problems the current government had already established.
While attending the Philadelphia Convention the delegates spent several, long months debating, deliberating, and discussing issues that the current government system had while also developing a new form of government that the United States of America would soon operate under.
The issues that were discussed at the Philadelphia Convention were State vs Federal powers, executive powers, commerce, and slavery. All of these issues that were discussed were centralized around one central idea that would soon be known as the Electoral College.
The Philadelphia Convention at first had the intentions to address and amend the Articles of Confederation, which had caused to develop a weak and faulty national government. At the Philadelphia Convention, several plans were introduced, discussing how the United States government should function and operate.
The plans that were introduced were the Virginia Plan, Plan of Charles Pinckney, New Jersey Plan, and Hamilton’s Plan. Each plan outlined how the entire governmental system, including how the President of the United States was elected. Although multiple plans were addressed at the Philadelphia Convention, the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan were the most functional and prominent when debating the new form of government.
The Virginia Plan was first developed before the start of the Philadelphia Convention. The Delegates from Virginia met together before the Philadelphia Convention and developed the Virginia plan while utilizing James Madison’s ideas. The Virginia Plan, also called the Large State Plan was presented by Virginia Governor, Edmund Rudolf on the fifth day of the Philadelphia Convention. This plan consisted of proposing a bicameral legislature, the three branches of government, and criticisms of the Articles of Confederation.
According to their plan, both houses of the legislature would be determined proportionately. The lower house would be elected by the people, and the upper house would be elected by the lower house. The executive would exist solely to ensure that the will of the legislature was carried out and would, therefore, be selected by the legislature. The Virginia Plan also created a judiciary and gave both the executive and some of the judiciary the power to veto, subject to override. (New World Encyclopedia)
This plan was the very first plan proposed at the Philadelphia Convention and soon after another plan was brewing amongst the delegation.
Following the introduction of the Virginia Plan, the motion was made to adjourn the Philadelphia Convention to contemplate and process the logistics of the plan. New Jersey Delegate, William Paterson, realized that under the Articles of Confederation all States were equal and the Virginia Plan made the small states vulnerable by limiting their power by implementing two houses of legislature that were proportionate with each state’s population.
Paterson’s New Jersey Plan was much closer to the original intentions of the Philadelphia Convention, which was to amend the Articles of Confederation rather than completely drop them.
Under the New Jersey Plan, the current Congress would remain… An executive branch was also to be created, to be elected by Congress. The executives would serve a single term and be subject to recall on the request of state governors… The less populous states were adamantly opposed to giving most of the control of the national government to the larger states, and so proposed an alternate plan that would have given one vote per state for equal representation under one legislative body. (New World Encyclopedia)
With this being a new plan introduced at the Philadelphia Convention after the Virginia Plan was introduced, there was resentment from the creators and supporters of the Virginia Plan. Although debate lasted for many months there was finally a conclusion made on July 16, 1787.
“At the time of the Philadelphia Convention, no other country in the world directly elected its chief executive, so the delegates were wading into uncharted territory… the fledgling nation had just fought its way out from under a tyrannical king” (Roos).
The outcome of the Philadelphia Convention would have the greatest effect on the American political process than any other historical event regarding the Electoral College. Two delegates from Connecticut, Oliver Ellsworth, and Roger Sherman, developed the Connecticut Compromise and proposed it at the Philadelphia Convention on July 16, 1787.
The Connecticut Compromise, more commonly known as the Great Compromise consisted of a combination of the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. The Connecticut Compromise “proposed a bicameral legislature with proportional representation in the lower house and equal representation of the states in the upper house. All revenue measures would originate in the lower house” (Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica).
This compromise allowed the lower house to be in favor of the larger states by the number of representatives per state in the lower house was determined by a state’s population. This was similar to the proposal in the Virginia Plan. The compromised also used part of the New Jersey Plan by developing an upper house that allowed two seats per state regardless of size nor population. Although the Connecticut Compromise failed at first, it was settled and approved on July 23, 1787.
In late July, the drafting of the United States Constitution began. Two committees were appointed to develop the United States Constitution. The first committee was in charge of drafting the Constitution based on the agreement that had been reached. The second committee was responsible for the arrangement and style of the Constitution.
These committees, which consisted of the Founding Fathers, submitted the final draft for the signing of the United States Constitution on September 17, 1787. This was not only the birth of the United States Constitution but, the establishment of the Electoral College.
