Sixth Period: 1:42pm to 2:32pm
The Electoral College
Five times in American history has the winner of the national popular vote for president gone on to lose the Electoral College (and thus the presidency). One of the most impactful and long-lasting of these five would be the Presidential Election of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. While Tilden won the national popular vote, the Electoral College was unresolved until Hayes was declared the winner after a compromise that saw to the end of Reconstruction. Today, we are going to discuss the five elections in which the Electoral College winner lost the popular vote:
John Quincy Adams in 1824
Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876
Benjamin Harrison in 1888
George W. Bush in 2000
Donald Trump in 2016
We will be discussing the circumstances surrounding each of these elections. We will also discuss the pros and cons to the current system. Then, you will need to take a position on whether we should 1) Eliminate the Electoral College, 2) Reform the Electoral College, or 3) Keep the Electoral College as it is. You will be creating a single Google Slide with the position you are taking, why your idea is the best possible idea, and what possible downsides might exist.
Reconstruction Cornell Notes
Fill out the Cornell Notes sheet provided in class to review all of the information covered over the course of the unit. If you are out of class, please print out the attached PDF and watch the attached video to finish this assignment.
Note: This is a paper assignment, you will need to take a picture or add a video if we are online or you are on contract/independent study. If we are in-person, you do not need to do anything here.