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Difficulty: MediumConstitutional Compromises

During the 1787 Constitutional Convention, delegates debated whether the president should be chosen by Congress, by state legislatures, or directly by the citizens. Which of the following describes the compromise that resolved this debate and its constitutional outcome?

  1. A
    The decision to have the House of Representatives select the president to ensure proportional representation of the population, while the Senate selected the vice president.
  2. The creation of the Electoral College, which established an indirect method of selection that balanced the power of large and small states and protected the executive from legislative dominance.Answer
  3. C
    The implementation of a direct national popular vote, which guaranteed that the executive branch would directly reflect the popular sovereignty of the electorate.
  4. D
    The provision that state governors would collectively select the president, resolving weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation by decentralizing executive power.

Answer

The correct answer is the option describing the creation of the Electoral College.
The correct answer is the option describing the creation of the Electoral College. This system was designed as a compromise to prevent Congress from having direct control over the executive (preserving separation of powers) while also giving smaller states a voice in the selection process, avoiding a system based purely on direct popular vote.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the debate surrounding the selection of the president at the 1787 Constitutional Convention.
Delegates were divided between those who wanted direct popular election, those who wanted Congress to choose the executive, and those who wanted state legislatures to make the choice.
This sets the historical context of the compromise.
2
Analyze the resolved compromise for presidential selection.
The delegates agreed to the Electoral College system.
The Electoral College was the compromise created to resolve this specific debate.
3
Determine the constitutional outcome and how it addressed the concerns of the delegates.
The Electoral College balanced state-level influence (protecting small states) and ensured the executive branch was independent from congressional control.
This matches the correct explanation of the compromise's design.

Key Concept

The Electoral College was created as a compromise at the Constitutional Convention to balance the presidential selection process between popular vote, congressional control, and state sovereignty.
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Constitutional Compromises

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