So, too, was the Electoral College at the founding, both in its original incarnation in 1787 and in the version later created by the 12th Amendment, which was adopted in 1804. Thus were planted the early seeds of an Electoral College system. Some have argued that direct election was doomed because the Philadelphia delegates disdained democracy. So why didn’t they go even further, providing direct presidential election? Because of Madison’s political calculation: Direct election would have been a dealbreaker for the South.

Source: New York Times April 06, 2019 15:00 UTC