CHAPTER VI

THE ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES OF THE FEDERAL

EXECUTIVE.

79. The Form of the Executive.-Many of the political ills which the people of the colonies had suffered or feared, they had attributed to the king. This made them hesitate to place any one man at the head of the new Government. Jealousy, moreover, made many persons reluctant to give power to any one man. In the Philadelphia convention of 1787, Mr. Randolph affirmed that a single executive was opposed by the people; that it would never have their confidence; and that a single chief executive would commonly come from the central part of the Union, and, consequently, the remote parts would be in a position of disadvantage.

On the other side a number of reasons were presented against an executive composed of a number of persons: (1) Such an arrangement would lead to constant struggles for local advantage. (2) The executive power would be weakened by its divisions and animosities. (3) The States all had single executives. (4) A plural executive would be ill adapted to controlling the militia, the army, and the navy. (5) The animosities arising from an executive composed of several persons would not only interrupt the public administration, but also diffuse the spirit of animosity through the other branches of the Government, through the States, and through the people at large.

It is probable that the presence of Washington, who was

generally regarded as eminently fitted to fill the office, was in itself also a reason for vesting the executive authority in one man. In the Constitutional Convention it was thus settled early, by a vote of eight States to three, that this should be the form of the executive.

Topics. Opposition to single chief executive.-Reasons against collegiate executive.-Probable influence of Washington's presence. -Vote in Constitutional Convention.

References.-Bryce, American Commonwealth, 35-39; Dawes, How We Are Governed, 167-170, 199; Fiske, Civil Government, 232; Hart, Actual Government, 259-261; Hinsdale, American Government, 248-250; Lalor, Cyclopædia, ii, 131; Miller, Lectures, 148.

80. Election of the President.-In the Constitutional Convention three methods of electing the President were considered: (1) By Congress; (2) by a direct vote of the qualified voters of the whole country; (3) by a college of electors. The delegates feared that the first method would make the President dependent on Congress, and that the second would arouse too much popular excitement. They finally agreed to cause the President to be elected by a body of presidential electors. The electors were to be appointed by the several States in such manner as the legislature in each State might direct. Under the exercise of this discretion, different methods of choosing the electors have been followed. They have been elected "by joint ballot of the State legislature, by a concurrent vote of the two branches of the legislature, by the people of the State voting by general ticket, and by the people voting in districts." The voting by districts would be likely to give the State a divided delegation in the electoral college, while by any one of the other modes all the electors of any given State might be expected to belong to the dominant political party.

The Constitution provides that the number of electors from any State shall be "equal to the whole number of

senators and representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress; but no senator, or representative, or person holding an office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be appointed an elector." In carrying out this provision one elector is taken from each congressional district and two from the State at large. On a day previously fixed, "the electors shall meet in their respective States and vote by ballot for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with themselves; they shall name in their ballots the person voted for as President, and in distinct ballots the person voted for as Vice-President; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the number of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of Government of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed."

In case equal numbers of electors vote for two candidates, or if no candidate receives a majority of the whole number of electors appointed," then from the persons having the highest numbers, not exceeding three, on the list of those voted for as President, the House of Representatives shall, choose, immediately, by ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be taken by States," the representation from each State having one vote. A quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two-thirds of the States, and a majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a President, whenever the

right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of the President." 1

It was originally intended that the electors should exercise complete freedom in voting. The person having the greatest number of votes should be the President, provided the number of votes received by him was more than one-half of the whole number of electors. The person receiving the next greatest number below that given for the President, should be Vice-President. This plan appeared to the makers of the Constitution to be eminently satisfactory. They thought the electors would be the best citizens of the several States, and that they would elect for President the person approved by their independent judgment. The votes of the individual electors were counted for the person designated. Under this system the President might belong to one political party and the Vice-President to another party. In such a case the death of the President would cause the transfer of the administration from one party to another, or from the majority to the minority. This was not a prospect to be regarded with favor by either party; for the prize won in a presidential election was too important for the victorious party to be held dependent on the uncertainty of a single human life. This plan was set aside in practice very early.

Under the present method of election, party conventions within the State nominate electors, and the national conventions nominate candidates for the presidency. The electors, under this system, simply furnish a method of counting the vote that has been cast for the persons named by the national conventions of the two parties. It is counted by States, each State standing for a number equal to the

1 Amendment XII,

number of its electors, or equal to the number of its senators and members of the House of Representatives. The election is held on the Tuesday after the first Monday of November preceding the March when the President is inaugurated. The party in any given State that casts the largest number of votes at the election, however numerous the minority vote, has all the electors of the State counted for its presidential candidate. Within each State the popular vote determines for which candidate the whole number of electors allotted to the State shall be counted. In 1884 the Democratic party in New York had a majority of but 1,100 in a total vote of over 1,100,000; and the thirty-six electoral votes of the State were cast for Mr. Cleveland. In Pennsylvania, the thirty Republican electors were elected by a vote of 473,000 against a vote of 392,000 for the Democratic electors.

Under the earlier method of election, Washington became President twice by the unanimous vote of the electoral college; and John Adams, having, after the vote for President, the greatest number of votes of the electors, became Vice-President. At the third election, John Adams, of one political party, became President, and Thomas Jefferson, of the other party, became Vice-President. At the fourth election Jefferson and Burr, of the same political party, had the same number of votes, and the choice was made by the House of Representatives. The difficulties attending this method of electing a President led to the twelfth amendment of the Constitution, adopted in 1804. Under this amendment the election has been referred to the House of Representatives. This was in 1824, when Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William H. Crawford, and Henry Clay were candidates. Henry Clay's name could not be considered by the House of Representatives, since he received fewer electoral votes than any of the others; and under the twelfth amendment the election by that body must be from the three persons having the highest numbers of votes, Mr.