Thread by @owasow

Remember folks, the Electoral College:

— Designed to increase power of slaveholding states via 3/5ths clause

— Winner take all rules created, in part, to deny equal voice to Black voters

— In 1970, popular reform blocked by filibuster led by segregationist Senators

“Under 3/5s compromise, 5 slaves were equal to 3 free people in order to increase the South’s representation in Congress. Thus, in electing the president, the political power southerners gained from owning slaves would be factored into electoral votes…” people.uncw.edu/lowery/pls101/…

“Thanks to 3/5ths clause, slave states got extra votes in House, just as in Electoral College.
…
As a result, every president until Lincoln was either a Southerner or a Northerner who was willing (while president) to accommodate the slaveholding South.” nytimes.com/2019/04/06/opi…

”The fairness of the EC was seriously questioned in 1960s. Amid the civil rights push, changes to the system were framed as the last step of democratization. But a constitutional amendment for a national popular vote was killed by segregationist senators.”
nytimes.com/2020/10/22/pod…

“Textbooks and primers offer us two common explanations for the creation of the electoral college. Both are wrong.” To understand “The Proslavery Origins of The Electoral College,” see: people.uncw.edu/lowery/pls101/…

For anyone interested in my research on the political consequences of civil rights protests in the 1960s, see this thread:

https://twitter.com/owasow/status/1265709670892580869

For a history of the electoral college, @adamgurri recommends Alex Keyssar’s new book “Why Do We Still Have the Electoral College?” See a short video overview: hks.harvard.edu/behind-the-boo…

Also see @adamgurri’s excellent review that digs in to the question ”on the minds of so many since 2000 and 2016: Why do we still have this Rube Goldberg contraption to select the occupant of the most prestigious and powerful single office in the country?” liberalcurrents.com/a-compromised-…