POLITICS: The Electoral College's 18th-Century Origins in Slave Power The Electoral College was designed in 1787 partly to amplify Southern influence—the Three-Fifths Compromise counted enslaved people toward representation without granting them voting rights, giving slave states disproportionate electoral power until the Civil War. This structural advantage persisted: from 1800-1860, slave states won 50 of 60 presidential elections despite representing only ~30% of the free population. Today's winner-take-all state system still creates "swing state" dynamics where a handful of competitive states determine outcomes, meaning candidates can win the presidency with just 23% of the national popular vote while losing by 7 million votes (as nearly happened in 2004 and 2020). Understanding this history matters because current debates about presidential power, federalism, and representation are rooted in compromises made to protect an institution built on slavery—not purely on democratic principles.