Tutor profile: Jesse N.

Why did the Founding Fathers set up the Electoral College, rather than just using a popular vote?

One must remember, when answering this question, the backgrounds of our Founding Fathers. Many of them were very well educated men, whose talents and love for the nation helped spur a revolution against a world superpower. But just because they wanted American independence from Britain, did not mean they wanted every man, woman, and child to have a say in how the government should run. The Electoral College was created as a way to ensure that even with popular support, an unreasonable or outrageous candidate could not reach the presidency. It was also designed to ensure that the citizens of less populous states would still have some impact in the election process. The debate about whether or not the system is still worthwhile today has logical arguments on both sides. But one's opinion must be informed by the goals the Fathers had when creating the system in the first place: to ensure that the American president was an intelligent, reasonable person, who held broad support across the nation.

What influences a person's decision NOT to vote in a certain election?

So many political scientists, historians, and pundits spend hours of energy trying to determine what makes people vote the way they do. But far less time is spent on the question of why certain people don't vote at all. The answer, quite often, lies in those individual's belief that their single vote cannot make a difference in the outcome of an election or how a country operates. Unfortunately, when thousands of people believe this to be true, thousands of people do not take the time to vote. As a result, this belief becomes a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Why should learning American History be a required part of high school curriculum?

If one were to walk into any high school around the nation they would not have any difficulty finding kids who audibly groan at the thought of history class. But that is because so many of those kids have not had the right motivation instilled in them as to WHY that topic is so important. Almost everything that happens in a teenagers life can be connected back with some historical event. Understanding how and why our country operates the way it does will help students better appreciate our past in a way that makes history more than just memorizing past events.