preview

The Importance Of The Electoral College

Decent Essays

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines college as a noun meaning “a body of clergy living together and supported by a foundation.” This word, though, is used to represent two of the most important institutions in American society: our Universities and the Electoral College. Why, then, does the lightest amount of research reveal this word is steeped in hatred and bigotry? Why does something that denotes two pillars of American life embody our deepest and darkest regret as a country? Irony aside, it is important to note why and how people of color, especially those whose family tree can trace back to times of enslavement, have been disenfranchised by the elite in America for years. In fact, both the Electoral College and American Educational Colleges were set up in a way to discourage participation in “white” society by black people.
The Electoral College was originally thought up by the Philadelphia Framers, intended to reduce the chance of close calls in elections and represent all white voters fairly and properly. Ratified in 1804, it served as the groundwork and gave way to what would later become the Electoral College we know today, or so one would think. The bulk of the nations population resided in heavily populated cities such as Philadelphia and Boston. The South, on the other hand, was made up of farmers, plantation owners, landholders, and slaves. As one could guess, the overmatched Southerners wanted to increase their pull in the presidential election process. Que

Get Access