Why the Hell do we Have the Electoral College?

In this episode, John finishes his discussion of the Constitutional Convention and the ratification of the document that created the current United States government. John briefly recaps the major accomplishments of the first two months of the Constitutional Convention and then discusses the Committee on Postponed Parts and how it proposed to resolve some of the major debates still taking place among the delegates. John profiles the presidency, as envisioned by the delegates, and explains what it was about the office, its powers and the concerns for how the person who filled the position would be selected that made the convention agree to the Electoral College.Finally, John covers in some detail the process of ratification in the 13 states. He explains the motivations and perspectives of the various groups that influenced the process of ratifying the Constitution, how the process differed in each of the 13 states and which states had the most difficult time getting their conventions to approve the Constitution. John also briefly touches on the Federalist Papers and why they are so important to our understanding and interpretation of the Constitution.