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Monday, April 27, 2020
Which Federalist Papers Address the Electoral College?
Which Federalist Papers Address the Electoral College?Many Federalist Papers addresses the electoral college and state referenda concerning how the executive branch is to be chosen. How the executive and legislative branches are to be placed in the presidential pool, if any, and how the national question, whether it pertains to a federalist paper or not, is to be addressed, among other topics.Jefferson, Madison, and Jackson all took up these issues, and in the last article of the Federalist Papers on the issue of the electoral college, James Madison makes a statement that he did not make about himself, but stated, with reference to the constitution of the United States of America:It is true that, as the states in many instances have elected, without the consent of the United States, men to the executive departments, whose opinions and operations may be hostile to these interests, a reservation may be considered as an improper mode of providing for the assurance of a more distinct and energetic attachment of the public mind to the government, and an assurance of its continuance for a longer period. The idea therefore seems to be put forward, that a reservation must necessarily be a repetition of the same instance, and must be without variety, or distinction.As he specifically mentions the President, Jefferson and Madison both believe the reservation of the executive for term limits in that article, and specifically that this article is intended to preserve their constitutional right to elect a president of the United States who will be able to continue in office beyond their second term. In his work on the question of the electoral college, Madison, Jackson, and Madison point out that the doctrine of deferring to the citizens of each state requires that they act in their self-interest and not to the undue political influence of a third party. This is why, in Hamilton's notes on the Federalist Papers, he spells out the same reasons for favoring a national vote an d a direct election of the president and other positions as he does for retaining the executive power under the Constitution.James Madison is not alone in being critical of the doctrine. James Wilson has also made that very argument in Federalist #82 in his discussion of the Article V convention and other details related to the possibility of eliminating the executive branch and replacing it with one of the national legislature. He concludes that not only is the maintenance of the executive branch important but is essential to the stability of the entire governmental structure.He goes on to note that the original states had the right to determine the qualifications and obligations of its members for the states that joined the Union; but that the guarantee of the states to appoint representatives from their own people was to prevent a national monarchy. He notes that there would have been a perpetual election of a national council for electing the president, and that the general will of the people of the United States was to be made the final law of the land, subject to the power of each state to exclude, abolish, or alter the said articles according to its own interest.It is very clear that Madison, and James Madison more so, were very much concerned about the preservation of the sovereignty of the states, the electoral college, and the general will of the people. There is many other Federalist Papers that addresses these issues, and they provide additional insight into the founders' desire to preserve the state constitutions and to make sure that the powers of the national government were limited and balanced. And, there are those who maintain that the Federalist Papers does not address the national question at all.
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