V. American History and Manifest Destiny

1958 ◽  
pp. 94-113
Keyword(s):  
American History ◽  
Manifest Destiny

The Jeffersonian Electoral College in the Nineteenth Century

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-88
Author(s):  
Edward B. Foley
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
American History ◽  
Majority Rule ◽  
Manifest Destiny ◽  
Electoral College ◽  
Andrew Jackson ◽  
Winner Take All ◽  
Take All

The Jeffersonian Electoral College performed as expected until, after the rise of Andrew Jackson, plurality winner-take-all became the prevailing method among states for appointing electors. Even then, the Jeffersonian Electoral College has usually operated consistently with the compound version of majority rule that the Jeffersonians had in mind. Using a mathematical measure, one can identify which elections clearly comply with the Jeffersonian conception of compound majority rule and which, by contrast, require further analysis to confirm their conformity to majoritarian principles. Undertaking this analysis, only two elections in nineteenth century—1844 and 1884—clearly contravene the Jeffersonian expectation for how the system was supposed to work. Of the two, the so-called accident of 1844 was hugely consequential for the rest of American history: the winner, James Polk, took the nation to war against Mexico in order to expand territory, particularly for slavery, according to his vision of Manifest Destiny.

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