To better understand why the Electoral College was founded, it helps to understand the problem that the Founding Fathers were trying to solve at the time. They were attempting to establish a system of electing a leader in a nation that consisted of just four million people spread throughout 13 large and small states, all of which were highly suspicious of a centralized national government.

Most people at the time believed that political parties were self-serving, detrimental, and had anything but the good of the people in mind. Many also thought that gentlemen did not campaign for public office, a belief reflected in the adage of the day, "The office should seek the man, the man should not seek the office."

So how could a president be chosen without political parties or national campaigns?

See also

• Electoral College
• Emulating Rome
• Representation & Distribution
• How It Works