The Origins of the Twelfth Amendment: The Electoral College in the Early Republic, 1787-1804

by Tadahisa Kuroda

Overview

This work provides the first in-depth study of the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution from the larger perspective of the development of the electoral college. Too often viewed as a modest reform to prevent the recurrence of the 1800-1801 election crisis, the Twelfth Amendment, according to Kuroda, was actually the decisive step in the evolution of the modern electoral college. Significantly, the amendment implicitly recognized the existence of national political parties and allowed the party which won the most electoral votes to win the offices of President and Vice President. But it was also significant for what it did not do: it did not abolish presidential electors; did not prohibit a winner-take-all electoral system; and did not mandate district election of electors.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313291517
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/30/1994
Series:	Contributions in Political Science , #34
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.62(d)
Lexile:	1560L (what's this?)

About the Author

TADAHISA KURODA is Professor of History and Associate Dean of the Faculty at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction
A New Hand: No Kings, No Queens
Origins of the Electoral College
The Ratification Debate
The First Presidential Election
New York Abstains
Learning To Play
New Rules for the Game in 1792
An Election without Washington
Preparations for 1800
The Election of 1800
The Contingency Election of 1801
The Electoral College in 1801
Shuffling the Deck
Partisan Principles and Interests
The House Initiates an Amendment
The Senate Adopts a Different Plan
The House Concurs
Winner Take All
Ratification of the Twelfth Amendment
The Election of 1804
Epilogue
Appendices
Notes
Bibliography
Index