By: American history lite « The Do It Yourself Scholar

American history lite « The Do It Yourself Scholar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 01:27:48 +0000

[...] recent show, Early and Often: Voting in America, describes the boozy frat party atmosphere of 18th century voting, and relates how the secret [...]

By: ALLWILL6

ALLWILL6 — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:35:34 +0000

Great show! I’m a WHRV listener in Suffolk, VA. Today my 6th-grade son asked about the Electoral College. I bumbled through a description and ended with, “it kinda works like the ‘checks and balances’ of the three branches of government.” When he asked why the founding fathers needed checks and balances to elect a president, I was stumped. I went hypothetical: “there wasn’t any national news back then…what if Blackbeard the Pirate wanted to run? He was popular (around here) but he’d have made a terrible president….that’s why the founders invented the Electoral College.” Here’s my question, how did citizens LEARN about presidential candidates/electors in the 18th & early 19th centuries? How did they even know WHO was running before the election? Did they feel ANY obligation to seek out unbiased information about the candidates? Thanks for a terrific show! I look forward to listening as often as possible. ALLWILL6

Comments on: Early and Often: Voting in America

By: American history lite « The Do It Yourself Scholar

By: ALLWILL6