" It was stricken out at
the request of Georgia and South Carolina, and years afterward slavery
was recognized in our Constitution.
But slavery was opposed to the spirit of our institutions, and while
legalized by our Constitution and defended by armies as brave as ever
marched to battle, constitutional slavery went down before
institutional liberty; and Appomattox was the capitulation of the word
of death in our Constitution to the spirit of life in our
institutions. Every amendment of our Constitution marks the progress
of our institutions.
The Constitution contemplated and provided for the election of
Presidents by electors, who should select the best man to preside over
the Republic, irrespective of the people's choice. That was the
intention of the fathers. But in that they did not correctly interpret
the spirit and tendency of our institutions, which is toward getting
the Government as close to the people as possible.
And so, in spite of the Constitution, in spite of the intention of the
fathers, in spite of the fact that this plan was pursued for several
elections, the spirit of our institutions prevailed over our
Constitution, and no presidential elector now dare cast his ballot
against the candidate for whom the people instruct him to vote.
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