None of these idiots have any notion that in 1787 most states allowed slavery, the North was neither industrialized or larger in population than the South. More small states empowered by the Electoral College were in the North, Conn, NH, Delaware, RI, and it was the fear of leaders in these states of being overwhelmed by the likes of Va, Pa, NY that led to the electoral college’s adoption. The Left takes the regional situation regarding population and economic base that existed in 1850, after the great immigration wave of the 1840s and the development of Northern industry and claims this was the reality in 1787. They really believe Americans are ignorant thralls.
Exactly. Well stated.
[Sorry for the length of my responses, but the topic of the electoral college versus national popular vote deserves more than a superficial glance.]
> More small states empowered by the Electoral College were in the North...
Yes. The New York Times has it backwards, probably on purpose. The Southern states with the most slaves, or that had hopes of expanding to the west, were the ones that wanted representation based on population. Has The Times never heard of the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan?
The main reason to have an electoral college is to have a country. The small states wouldn’t have joined the Union in the first place if the legislature and presidency had been based entirely on population. Likewise the United Nations (which has much less power over the people than a country does) wouldn’t exist if China and India could outvote us all. People won’t willingly give up their right to self determination and place their trust (and their fate) in large populations in distant places. That was true when the Constitution was ratified, and it’s true now.
The Constitution says, “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...” That formula represents a compromise between the large and small states, with the Representatives being based on population and the Senators based on equal representation for each state.
Slavery! Slavery! Slavery! Evidently they can never forget it! No matter how much is done to heal this imperfect but God Blessed/Blessing Nation.
slaver was legal in NY till 1799, someone might want to pass that along to the Times, who apparently read different history books than I did....or didn’t read any at all.