The Electoral College is defined as a body of electors chosen to elect the President and Vice President of the United States ; however, there is much more to this term than its simple definition shows.

The origins of the Electoral College date back to the origins of our country. To understand its purpose, one must understand its historical context. The Founding Fathers faced the difficult problem of how to elect a president in a nation that:

1. was composed of thirteen States of various sizes jealous of their own rights and powers, and suspicious of any central government;
2. contained only 4,000,000 people spread through thousands of miles of coastline barely connected by transportation or communication (making national campaigns impractical);
3. believed political parties were mischievous, if not downright evil;
4. felt gentlemen should not campaign for public office (An old saying went "The office should seek the man, the man should not...