In which we see studying as the product, not the prelude, of an exam
OK, kids. Constitution exam tomorrow. Review session today. Fire away.
Looks like we’re going to start with you, Emily.
Well, what you think you need to know about the Electoral College?
—Ugh. Not this again, Mr. K.
—Do we need to know how electors are chosen?
How are electors chosen, Em?
—Mr. K! You’re so exasperating!
—Each state gets a number. It’s based on the number of senators plus…
Can you help her out, Brianna?
—No. Wait. Is it something with Representative House?
Yes. Each state gets a number based on the sum of House and Senate members. So if New York has 27 seven members of the House and two senators (like every state) the total number is …
A veritable chorus of voices. Excellent. And if Wyoming has one member of the House of Representatives, then its total is …
And here you were thinking you History isn’t about math.
—Are you saying we need to know how many each state has?
Do you really think that’s what I am saying, Jonah?
—Well, no. But we do need to know how the Electoral College works?
Yes. Why. Why do I want you to know how the Electoral College works?
—So we know how a president gets chosen?
Yes. That’s an answer, a valid one. But what are some of the implications of having an Electoral College? How does it affect how a president gets chosen?
—It means the people get to choose?
Does it, Ethan?
Are you making an assertion or asking a question?
Touché, Em. Let’s try again. Who chooses the electors?
Yes, Adam. And who chooses the president?
So it that democratic?
I appear to have stumped you. Let me ask a different way: how much power do ordinary people have to choose the president?
—Not a lot.
—I think they get cut out.
—Can the electors choose whoever they want, regardless of the voting?
In point of fact, yes, Sadie, they can. But that almost never happens. Let me ask a variant question: Is the United States a democracy?
Well, what is it then, Yin?
—It’s a republic.
Very good. But what does that mean? How is a democracy different than a republic?
—A democracy is where the people choose directly. A republic is where the people choose their representatives.
Good. But which people in a democracy choose?
Is everyone a citizen?
—I don’t think so.
Right again. In ancient Athens, the typical example, only a small slice of the population had citizenship rights. (No women, for example.) In the United States, even the infant United States, democracy was impractical, because there were too many people who were too far spread out. Democracy was also, as far as the Founding Fathers were concerned, dangerous. I like to joke that they considered “democracy” a four-letter word. The Electoral College was meant to be a circuit-breaker, a way of cooling popular passions. And it worked exactly as intended until Andrew Jackson came along and broke it. Which we’ll get to.
—Can I ask about something else?
—I don’t get the “advice and consent” role of the Senate when it comes to things like Supreme Court nominations and treaties.
—Please, Mr. K.
Hey, Sadie, I’m just the messenger. I’m not the one creating the ambiguity here. The Founding Fathers did that. On purpose.
—Seems crazy to me that they would make it purposely confusing.
Is it, though?
—Wait: It’s like that other thing.
You mean concurrent powers, Jonah. Yes, the underlying principle is the same: division of authority. That’s why there’s three branches of government. And why we have the “advice and consent” business.
—I get that. But why make the division purposely unclear?
Well, now, that’s a good question, Sadie. The answer is that the Founders understood that the Constitution is a political document—that some things simply couldn’t be a matter of rules, because if they tried to anticipate every scenario the whole thing would break down. Some things would have to be worked out based on who has the most power or influence at a given moment. There’s some danger in that, but if the checks and balances are there, no one faction or point of view can get too powerful. Nowhere is this political dimension m