m and the various organs for formulating and expressing
public opinion with reference to political questions, before there will
be any assurance that even these branches of the general government will
always represent public sentiment.

There is one serious defect in the method of choosing the President. The
system makes possible the election of an executive to whom a majority
and even a large majority of the voters might be bitterly opposed. From
the point of view of the framers of the Constitution the choice of a
mere popular favorite was undesirable and even dangerous; but according
to the view now generally accepted the chief executive of the nation
should represent those policies which have the support of a majority of
the people.

It is possible that the candidate receiving a majority of all the votes
cast may be defeated,[189] while it often happens that the successful
candidate receives less than a majority of the popular vote.[190] When
three or more tickets are placed in the field, the candidate having a
majority in the electoral college may fall far short of a majority of
the popular vote. This was the case when Lincoln was elected President
in 1860. There were four candidates for the Presidency, and while
Lincoln received a larger popular vote than any other one candidate, he
received less than the combined vote for either Douglas and
Breckenridge, or Douglas and Bell. In fact, he received less than
two-fifths of the total popular vote.

It is easily seen that a system is fraught with grave danger, especially
in times of bitter sectional and party strife, which makes possible the
election of a minority President. At such times opposition to
governmental policies is most likely to assume the form of active
resistance when a minority secures control of the government. In other
words, a majority is more likely to resist a minority than a minority is
to resist a majority. This would be true especially in a country where
the people generally accept the principle of majority rule.

It can not be claimed that Lincoln was, or that the South regarded him
as, the choice of a majority of the people. A different system which
would have precluded the election of a President who did not have a
clear majority of the popular vote might have done much toward
discouraging active resistance on the part of the Southern States.

No one, in fact, has stated the case against minority rule more clearly
or forcefully than Linco