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What was a method of choosing the president that was proposed at the constitutional convention but what rejected by a majority of delegates?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
There were several methods considered by the Founding Fathers while drafting the Constitution. Forgotten or rarely mentioned in most history books, the delegates to the Philadelphia Convention in May of 1787 originally convened to recommend amendments to then in-effect Articles of Confederation (which were an abysmal failure). Acknowledging the serious flaws and limitations of the Articles, the delegates decided to draft a new governing document for the country; they started with a "clean sheet" with everything on the table for discussion, inclusion or exclusion.
The method to be used to select a President was very contentious. According to at least one source, the Founding Fathers held at least sixteen votes on this one issue. The options the convention delegates considered included selection by state legislators, selection by the national legislature (Congress), and an electoral system. They even considered direct election of the president (as some commentators propose today).* All of these presidential election options were rejected in favor of the Electoral College method in use today. The specifics of Presidential elections are but a single part of an elaborate system of checks-and-balances built into the Constitution.
One of the fundamental principles held by the Founding Fathers was a distrust of human nature (not, as is often mentioned today, distrust of government).** The national government through the Constitution was established to diffuse political power, and to build-in checks-and-balances into the federal system so that no single actor or group of actors - in some cases, even a majority of actors - could wield unbridled political power. Often forgotten or ignored, the Founding Fathers distrusted unbridled democracy. As James Madison explains in Federalist No. 10:
Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and have in general been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths.
*Direct election of the President was brought up for a vote twice at the 1787 Constitutional Convention, and was rejected by a 9-1 vote on July 17 and by a 9-2 vote on August 24. Each state got one vote. Edwards, Why the Electoral College Is Bad for America 79. See, http://goo.gl/WPoBn** Think about the logical implications of alleging the Founding Fathers supposed distrust (boarding on hatred) of government while attending a convention to draft a new form of government. Why would any delegate go to such a convention if they hated the concept of government? Why not let the Articles of Confederation continue operating in their inefficient, illogical and commerce-blocking way? Or, why not simply ignore the issue of "government" and it operation?
Wiki User
∙ 10y ago
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Which was a method of choosing the president that was proposed at the constitutional convention but was rejected by a majority of the delegates?
Congress would elect them.
What was one of the delegates' first actions at the Constitutional Convention?
The delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 accomplished a great deal during the first days of the event. First of all, George Washington was unanimously voted in as the first President of the United States. Next they developed a framework for the separation of government powers that resulted in the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
What were the causes of the Constitutional Convention?
Delegates convened the Constitutional Convention to establish a better government and update ideas found in the Articles of Confederation. A growing population as well as lack of control over changing territories were major factors in choosing to meet in 1787.
The most party oriented means of choosing delegates to the national convention is?
A caucus
The method most used in the United States for choosing delegates to a party convention is the?
Primaries or Primary. Delegates to the national convention are allocated (chosen) on the basis of percentage of votes candidates win in the presidential primary. This system has been used in most of the states.
The Constitutional Convention gave the job of choosing a chief executive to?
electors chosen by the state :)tr678yu9iop[
How did the national convention system began for nominating presidential candidates?
The system the convention set up for choosing President was the electoral college.
What is the method of choosing delegates used by Iowa?
caucus
What happens at their party's convention if none of the candidates have enough delegates to win the nomination?
There will be a brokered national convention. After the delegates vote as pledged, and no one gets the majority of delegates, then the delegates vote again, this time not necessarily as they pledged to, that is, not necessarily as the voters from their states wanted them to. They vote again and again until a decision is reached.
Is a national party convention a type of primary election?
It is not a primary election. A national party convention is an election convention in which delegates from the 50 states cast their votes in support of the new nominee. This event usually takes place after the primary elections and is considered the beginning of the campaign for the general election. There was a time when these conventions were important in choosing a nominee. Today presidential nominees are usually known months ahead of a national convention.
What convention is a meeting in which a political party will choose its candidate for president?
These meeting are called political conventions. Nowadays, primary elections are more important than the conventions for choosing candidates.
What are the steps of choosing the president and the vice president?
To nominate candidates.
