The Historical Background

Fear that the President would become a King

In 1776, many Americans wanted to declare independence from Great Britain to resist what they thought was a tyrannical king. When it came to designing their own constitution, they were very afraid of creating a presidency so powerful it would become a monarchy. For this reason, the first attempt at an American constitution created a very weak president. This president was elected not by individual voters in the country, but by the states. Each state, no matter how big, got just one vote.

The Conflict between Large and Small States

But soon it became clear that this system was unfair. Why should the state of Delaware, which had just 60,000 residents in 1800, have the same amount of power as the state of Virginia, which had over 700,000 residents? Large states like Virginia demanded more power. But small states like Delaware and Rhode Island were afraid. If the large states get too much power, they will just bully the small states.

The Electoral College as a Compromise

Like many things about our country, the Electoral College was a compromise. In this case, it was a compromise between the large states and the small states. By giving each state, no matter how small, a minimum of three electoral votes, the system sought to protect small states from being bullied by the large states. But by adding a proportional dimension, the Electoral College also helps to protect large states, which because of their much larger populations, do deserve a larger say.

The Philosophical Reasoning

Pursuing Justice

The Constitution was the product of political compromise, especially between the large states and the small states. But there is a deeper philosophical logic that comes out of this compromise. The Electoral College deals with a tension between two different ideas of justice that run through our system of government.

What does "justice" mean?

"Justice" is a philosophical concept. Justice means treating people fairly. We all support that! But what does it mean?

The first conception of justice: 1 Person, 1 Vote

According to this understanding of justice, all people should be treated equally. In elections, this means that every citizen should get an equal vote, no matter who they are or where they live. This principle of justice supports electing the president by popular vote. That way it doesn't matter what state you live in, your vote will count just as much as anyone else's vote. This was the view supported by large states like Virginia at the time the Constitution was written.

The second conception of justice: Protecting Minority Rights

It sounds good to do things by popular vote. Doesn't that respect the equality of all citizens? Maybe. But the danger is that the majority will take advantage of the minority. This is known as the problem of the tyranny of the majority. Let's say more people live in the city than live in the countryside. If we made decisions by popular vote, maybe all the city people would gang up on the country people. Wouldn't that be unfair to the people living in the country? At the time the Constitution was written, smaller states like Delaware and Rhode Island wanted each state to have an equal say. That was their way of protecting their rights as a minority.