Presidential Selection:The Framers' Plan

Section PreviewOBJECTIVES WHY IT MATTERS POLITICAL

DICTIONARY1. Explain the Framers' original provisionsfor choosing the.President.

2. Outline how the rise of political partieschanged the original process set out in theConstitution.

Selecting the President is a complexprocess that many Americans do not fullygrasp. Understanding the Framers' planfor choosing the Presi~ent will help youunderstand this complicated process.

* presidential electors* electoral votes* electoral college

n formal terms, the President is chosen accord-ing to the provisions of the Constitution." In

practice, however, the President is elected throughan altogether extraordinary process that is notvery well understood by most Americans. Thatprocess is a combination of constitutionalprovisions, State and federal laws, and, inlargest measure, a number of practices born ofthe nation's political parties. To make sense ofthis very complex system, you must first under-stand what the Framers had in mind when theydesigned the presidential election process.

Original ProvisionsThe Framers gave more time to the method forchoosing the President than to any other mat-ter. It was, said James Wilson of Pennsylvania,"the most difficult of all on which we have hadto decide." The difficulty arose largely becausemost of the Framers were against selecting thePresident by either of the obvious ways: byCongress or by a direct vote of the people.

Early in the Convention, most of the delegatesfavored selection by Congress. Later, nearly alldelegates came to believe that congressionalselection would, as Alexander Hamilton said,put the President "too much under the legisla-tive thumb."

Only a few of the Framers favored choosingthe President by popular vote. Nearly all agreed

15TheConstitution deals with the process of presidential selectionin several places: Article II, Section 1, Clauses 2, 3, and 4, and the12th, 20th, and 23rd Amendments.

that such a process would lead to "tumult anddisorder." Most delegates felt, too, that the peo-ple, scattered over so wide an area, could notpossibly know enough about the available can-didates to make wise, informed choices. GeorgeMason of Virginia spoke for most of his col-leagues at the convention: "The extent of theCountry renders it impossible that the peoplecan have the requisite capacity to judge of therespective pretensions of the Candidates."

After weeks of debate, the Framers finallyagreed on a plan first put forward by Hamilton.Under it, the President and Vice President wereto be chosen by a special body of presidentialelectors. These electors would each cast twoelectoral votes, each for a different candidate.The candidate with the most votes wouldbecome President. The person with the second

• George Washington's inauguration was commemorated byobjects such as these. The brass coat buttons are precursorsof today's campaign buttons.

The Presidency 365 t1:J'.1

The Framers' Plan forthe Electoral College

o Each State would have as many presidential electorsas it has senators and representatives in Congress.

e These electors would be chosen in each State ina manner the State legislatlJre directed.

e The electors, meeting in their awn States, would eachcast two votes-each for a different person for President.

The Rise of PartiesThe electoral college, then, is the group of people(electors) chosen from each State and the District ofColumbia to formally select the President and VicePresident. The original version of the electoral col-lege worked as the Framers intended only as long asGeorge Washington was willing to seek andhold the presidency. He did so twice, and wasunanimously elected President, in 1789 and

'\ again in 1792.Flaws began to appear in the system in 1796,

however, with the rise of political parties. JohnAdams, the Federalist candidate, was elected tothe presidency. Thomas Jefferson, an arch-rivaland Democratic-Republican, lost to Adams byjust three votes in the electoral balloting.Jefferson then became Adams' Vice President.

o These electoral votes from the States would be openedand counted before a joint session of Conqsess,

e The person receiving the largest number of electoralvotes, provided that total was a majority of all theelectors, would become President.

G The person with the second highest number of electoralvotes would become Vice President.

G If a tie occurred, or if no one received the votes of amajority of the electors, the President would be chosenby the House of Representatives, voting by States.

o If a tie occurred for the second spot, the Vice Presidentwould be chosen by the Senate.

The Election of 1800The system broke down in the election of1800. By then there were two well-definedparties: the Federalists, led by Adams andHamilton, and the Democratic-Republicans,headed by Jefferson. Each of these partiesnominated presidential and vice-presidentialcandidates. They also nominated candidatesto serve as presidential electors in the severalStates. Those elector-candidates were pickedwith the clear understanding that, if elected,they would vote for their party's presidentialand vice-presidential nominees.

16Remember, these were the original provisions, in Article II,Sections 2, 3, and 4; they were modified by the 12th Amendment.

Elections Leading to the 12th Amendment

1789 and 1792GeorgeWashingtonis unanimouslyelectedPresident.

Interpreting Charts The Framers' Plan for the electoral collegeprovided for a group of presidential electors to choose thePresident. How was the Vice President to be chosen?

most votes would become Vice President. Thechart above details the Framers' plan."

The Framers intended the electors to be "themost enlightened and respectable citizens" fromeach State. They were to be "free agents" inchoosing the people best qualified to fill thenation's two highest offices.

1796 John Adams (Federalist)is elected President. ThomasJefferson (Democratic-Republican), losinqto Adams bythree electoralvotes, becomesVice President.

1800 After 36 ballots, the Housefinally breaks the tie betweenJefferson and Aaron Burrin 1801. Jeffersonbecomes President,Burr Vice President.

1804 The 12th Amendmentseparates the presidentialand vice presidential choicesin the electoral college andalmost certainly guaranteesthat the President and VicePresident will be of thesame party.

Interpreting Charts After the elections of 1789 and 1792, the Framers' plan for the electoralcollege broke down. How did the election of 1800 show the need for the 12th Amendment?

1'1'..1366 Chapter 13 Section 3

Each of the 73 Democratic-Republicans whowon posts as electors voted for his party's nom-inees: Jefferson and Aaron Burr. In doing so,they produced a tie for the presidency.Remember that the Constitution gave each electortwo votes, each to be cast for a different person,but each to be cast for someone as President.Popular opinion clearly favored Jefferson forthe presidency, and the party had intended Burrfor the vice presidency. Still, the House of Repre-sentatives had to take 36 separate ballots beforeit finally chose Jefferson.

The spectacular election of 1800 marked theintroduction of three new elements into theprocess of selecting a President: (1) party nomi-nations for the presidency and vice presidency,(2) the nomination of candidates forpresidential electors pledged to vote for theirparty's presidential ticket, and (3) the automaticcasting of the electoral votes in line with thosepledges. Gone forever was the notion that the elec-tors would act as "free agents" in the process.

The 12th AmendmentThe election of 1800 produced another notableresult: the 12th Amendment. This amendmentwas added to the Constitution in 1804 to makecertain there would never be another such fiasco.The amendment is lengthy, but it made only onemajor change in the electoral collegesystem. It separated the presidential and vice-presidential elections: "The Electors . . . shallname in their ballots the person voted for asPresident, and in distinct ballots the personvoted for as Vice-President."17

Key Terms and Main Ideas1. Why were most of the Framers opposed to choosing the

President by popular vote? By Congress?2. (a) Outline the original provisions for the electoral college.

(b) How did the Framers expect the presidential electors tovote?

3. In what three ways did the presidential election processchange as a result of the election of 1800?

Critical Thinking4. Recognizing Ideologies The Framers intended the presiden-

tial electors to be "the most enlightened and respectable

Election of 1800

Candidateand Party

ElectoralVotes

65

Thomas Jefferson 73Democratic-RepublicanAaron Burr 73Democratic-RepublicanJohn AdamsFederalistCharles C. PinckneyFederalistJohn JayFederalist

% Electoral VoteDemocratic-Republican53%

Federalist47%

64

Interpreting Maps The election of 1800 was decided only after 36 ballotsin the House of Representatives. How does the map show the politicaldivisions in the country in 18oo?

With the appearance of parties, the election of ~1800, and the 12th Amendment, the constitu- ltional framework was laid for the presidential ~selection system as it exists today. That system lis, indeed, a far cry from what was agreed to ~in 1787, as you will see in the sections ahead. 1

17Notonly does the amendment mean there cannot be a repeat ofthe circumstances that produced a tie in 1800, it almost certainly guar-antees that the President and Vice President will be of the same party.

citizens" in each State. What does this statement suggestabout their definition of good citizenship?

5. Recognizing Cause and Effect How did the rise of politicalparties change the way the electoral college functions?

~ Take It to the Net

6. Study the data presented on the electoral college homepage. Do the data suggest that presidential electionsalways accurately reflect the will of the people? Write aparagraph explaining your answer. Use the links providedin the Social Studies area at the following Web site forhelp in completing this activity. www.phschool.com

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