Rep. John Conyers: ‘The Electoral College Is Rooted in Slavery’

[mystery-ak]

Rep. John Conyers: ‘The Electoral College Is Rooted in Slavery’
By Lauretta Brown | December 7, 2016 | 10:53 AM EST

(CNSNews.com) – Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) held a forum Tuesday on the future of the Electoral College, which he claimed was “rooted in slavery.”

“We also must face up to the cold reality that the Electoral College is rooted in slavery,” Conyers said in his opening statement.

Conyers referenced a claim by one of the witnesses, Yale Law professor Akhil Amar, that “states opposed direct elections for the president, because in a direct election system, the North would outnumber the South, whose many slaves could not vote, but the Electoral College instead let each southern state count its slaves, although with a two-fifths discount, they counted for three-fifths of a person in computing its share of the overall count.”

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http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/lauretta-brown/rep-john-conyers-electoral-college-rooted-slavery

[Oceander]

It's not rooted in slavery. 

[INVAR]

Conyers is rooted in slavery.

FACT.

[Night Hides Not]

86 years old, and leaving office gives you a lot of latitude.

His ex-convict wife is going to get her claws into his pension...that should keep him busy.

[txradioguy]

It's getting to the point that here in the near future wiping your butt will be found to be "rooted in slavery".   

[Cripplecreek]

What an idiot.

The electoral college was in existence prior to slavery becoming a north/south issue

[txradioguy]

What an idiot.

The electoral college was in existence prior to slavery becoming a north/south issue

He's basing it on the fact that some of the Founding Fathers were slave owners.  It's the same basic argument Obama makes about the Constitution.

They look at the Founding Fathers as illegitimate and bad actors because of slavery...therefore anything they wrote or did to help found this country is fruit of the poisoned tree.

[Wingnut]

It's getting to the point that here in the near future wiping your butt will be found to be "rooted in slavery".   

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

What an idiot.

The electoral college was in existence prior to slavery becoming a north/south issue

Slavery was an issue from before day one.

And he's pretty much right.  I would say it would be more accurate to say the EC WAS rooted in slavery instead of IS.  The number of electors a State provides is equal to the number of Senate+HR seats, and there most certainly was a heated debate and curious comprimise on the number of HR seats allocated that was all about slavery.  Fortunately, that has been fixed since.

[txradioguy]

 

[Night Hides Not]

Slavery was an issue from before day one.

And he's pretty much right.  I would say it would be more accurate to say the EC WAS rooted in slavery instead of IS.  The number of electors a State provides is equal to the number of Senate+HR seats, and there most certainly was a heated debate and curious comprimise on the number of HR seats allocated that was all about slavery.  Fortunately, that has been fixed since.

Let's not forget that the other colonies were concerned by the size and influence of New York at that time, too.

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

Let's not forget that the other colonies were concerned by the size and influence of New York at that time, too.

Agreed.  Lots of good reasons for the EC/HR, especially when considering we are a union of STATES.  I don't mean to say that slavery was the primary reason, but it was certainly (IMO) a big part of the discussion at the time and had a major effect on the original implementation.

[Cripplecreek]

Let's not forget that the other colonies were concerned by the size and influence of New York at that time, too.

Agreed, it was about the much more heavily populated northeast with probably 98% of the north American european population living within maybe 200 miles of the atlantic coast. The south didn't exist in the form we think of as the south today. It was largely unsettled. The south consisted primarily of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia with Maryland being a mixed bag. Places like Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky and Tennessee had some settlers but weren't really functioning like states yet.

We forget but back in those days the heat and humidity of the south were not something that whites favored and were largely considered to be unhealthy.

[HonestJohn]

It's getting to the point that here in the near future wiping your butt will be found to be "rooted in slavery".   

Only when using wet-wipes made of cotton...

[Cripplecreek]

Only when using wet-wipes made of cotton...

Nuthin but wool for me thanks.

[HonestJohn]

Nuthin but wool for me thanks.

Then you're okay.

Though the sheep might disagree.

[Wingnut]

Nuthin but wool for me thanks.