Torch, Spring/Summer 2008

T he great Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman once remarked, “If forced to choose between the penitentiary and the White House for four years … I would say the penitentiary, thank you.” Sherman echoed the opinion of many before and many since upon realizing the immense responsibility of the office of the president. For some, it was not the demands of the office that they found daunting; it was the impact it had on one’s life and relationships. Warren G. Harding, the 29 th president of the United States, noted that it was not his enemies that concerned him as president, but rather it was his friends that kept him “walking the floors at night.” For others, the moral responsibility was the hitch. Franklin Roosevelt, president during most of the Great Depression, noted that the presidency is “preeminently a place of moral leadership.” Finally, and as has been evidenced once again in the current campaign, others shy away from the costs associated with obtaining the office. The nation’s founders would shudder at what has become of the process of selecting the president. They wanted to ensure a system that was largely incorruptible and one that was rather removed from the general electorate. But we are getting ahead of the story. Let’s go back to the beginning. How We Began In the summer of 1776, the Declaration of Independence clearly articulated to Great Britain and King George III that American colonies no longer wished to be a part of the British empire. The Declaration noted the American disdain for centralized government, and since there was no organized central government in the American colonies, the default was to leave power in the hands of the newly formed states. By 1787, this system was codified in the Articles of Confederation, which legitimized the Continental Congress as the legislative body of the land, but extended to it few powers. The governmental difficulties of the era continued after the war and led some political leaders to begin to call for a new system. Economics was a chief concern as states had set up tariff barriers between themselves, limiting overall national economic growth. In 1787, a group of men representing most of the states convened in Philadelphia to consider options regarding the structure of the central government. Those like Patrick Henry, who preferred a weak central government, came and realized they were badly outnumbered by those who sought change. The convention wrote a new document that became the Constitution of the United States. The Constitution provided for a separation of powers between three branches of government. The executive and judicial branches of the federal government came into being, and the legislature evolved into two houses. The founders believed that citizens should elect representatives who would then govern on behalf of the nation. The concern was that the masses were not well-informed enough to make important decisions and were too easily swayed by political rhetoric or some type of political bribe. As a result, the convention determined that the president would not be elected by the voters. Instead, each state would have a certain number of electors that would be chosen by an Electoral College. G eorge to G eorge Path to the Presidency From by Tom Mach, Ph.D. 14 TORCH