Federalist No. 68 Highlights | FoundingTheUSA.com

Federalist No. 68 continues Alexander Hamilton’s examination of the executive branch by defending the constitutional method for selecting the President and Vice President. Hamilton argues that the system allows the people to influence the choice while assigning the immediate decision to temporary electors selected specifically for that responsibility.

This paper matters because it contains Hamilton’s fullest defense of what became known as the Electoral College. He believed the system would encourage careful judgment, discourage disorder, limit corruption and foreign interference, and make it more likely that the presidency would be filled by someone with genuine ability and broad national support.

1. Even some opponents approved of the presidential election system

“the election of the President is pretty well guarded.”

Hamilton begins by observing that the method of electing the President was one of the few major parts of the Constitution to receive even limited praise from its critics.

2. Hamilton considered the system excellent, though not perfect

“if the manner of it be not perfect, it is at least excellent.”

Hamilton does not claim that the system is flawless. He argues that it combines more desirable protections than the available alternatives.

3. The people must have a voice in choosing the President

“the sense of the people should operate in the choice”

Hamilton insists that presidential selection must begin with the people rather than with a hereditary ruler or a permanent political institution.

4. Electors were to be chosen for one specific purpose

“men chosen by the people for the special purpose”

The electors were not intended to form a continuing branch of government. They would be selected temporarily to participate in one presidential election.

5. The immediate decision should involve careful judgment

“men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station”

Hamilton believed the presidency required qualities that might not be measured by popularity alone. Electors were expected to examine the candidates’ ability, judgment, experience, and character.

6. Presidential selection should occur under conditions favorable to deliberation

“circumstances favorable to deliberation”

The system was designed to create distance from sudden excitement, public pressure, and political frenzy.

Hamilton expected electors to think before they voted—not merely follow the loudest faction.

7. A smaller group might possess better information

“the information and discernment requisite”

Hamilton believed a limited number of specially selected electors would be more capable of examining presidential candidates than an enormous national crowd acting all at once.

8. The system should prevent disorder

“as little opportunity as possible to tumult and disorder.”

The election of a powerful national executive could produce unrest and violence. Hamilton argues that the Electoral College was designed partly to reduce that danger.

9. Choosing several electors would be calmer than directly choosing one national figure

“the choice of SEVERAL”

Hamilton believed selecting electors within each state would be less likely to convulse the country than a single direct national contest centered entirely on one person.

10. Electors would meet separately within their states

“assemble and vote in the State in which they are chosen”

The electors were not to gather in one national convention. Their separation across the states was supposed to reduce collective pressure, agitation, and organized manipulation.

11. The system was designed to resist political conspiracy

“every practicable obstacle should be opposed to cabal, intrigue, and corruption.”

This is one of the strongest lines in Federalist No. 68. Hamilton identifies organized conspiracy, secret bargaining, and bribery as deadly threats to republican government.

12. Foreign influence was a central concern

“the desire in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils.”

Hamilton feared that foreign governments would attempt to influence American leaders and manipulate the direction of the new nation.

13. A foreign power might try to install a dependent President

“raising a creature of their own to the chief magistracy of the Union”

Hamilton’s language is blunt. A hostile nation could seek to place someone in the presidency who would serve foreign interests rather than those of the United States.

14. A temporary electoral body would be harder to corrupt

“the temporary and sole purpose of making the appointment.”

Because the electors would exist only for one election, conspirators would have less time to identify, influence, threaten, or bribe them.

15. Federal officeholders were excluded from serving as electors

“No senator, representative, or other person holding a place of trust or profit under the United States”

Hamilton argues that people already serving within the federal government should not control the selection of the President.

Their offices might make them dependent upon the administration or vulnerable to political influence.

16. Electors were expected to begin free from official pressure

“free from any sinister bias.”

By excluding members of Congress and federal officeholders, the Constitution attempted to prevent the sitting government from controlling the electoral process.

17. Corrupting a dispersed group would require time and resources

“requires time as well as means.”

Hamilton believed it would be difficult to corrupt a large number of temporary electors spread across the states before they completed their task.

18. The President should not depend on Congress for reelection

“independent for his continuance in office on all but the people themselves.”

Hamilton feared that a President chosen or retained by Congress might sacrifice public duty to please the legislators whose support kept him in power.

19. No candidate should win with only a scattered minority

“it might be unsafe to permit less than a majority to be conclusive”

Hamilton believed the President should possess support from a majority of the electoral votes rather than simply having more votes than several divided rivals.

20. The House acts when no candidate receives an electoral majority

“the House of Representatives shall select”

Under the original constitutional system, the House would choose from the five candidates receiving the highest electoral totals when no one won a majority.

The Twelfth Amendment later reduced that number to three.

21. Hamilton expected the system to elevate qualified candidates

“endowed with the requisite qualifications.”

Hamilton believed the process created a strong likelihood that the presidency would go to someone with the ability and character necessary for the office.

22. Local political tricks should not be enough to win nationally

“Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity”

This is one of the most memorable phrases in the paper. Hamilton argues that manipulation and shallow popularity might produce success within one state but should not be enough to win the confidence of the Union.

23. A President would need support beyond one state or faction

“the esteem and confidence of the whole Union”

Hamilton hoped that presidential candidates would need broad national reputations rather than narrow regional popularity.

24. Good constitutional design should encourage good administration

“the true test of a good government is its aptitude and tendency to produce a good administration.”

Hamilton closes his defense with a practical standard. A system of government should be judged partly by whether its structure tends to place capable people in positions of authority.

Why Federalist No. 68 Works for Highlights

Federalist No. 68 works especially well as a highlights page because Hamilton clearly identifies the goals behind the original presidential election system:

the people should influence the choice

the immediate selection should involve deliberation

electors should be temporary and independent

foreign powers and domestic conspirators should find corruption difficult

Congress should not control the President’s continuation in office

and the winning candidate should possess broad support and genuine qualifications

The paper also reveals how differently Hamilton understood the role of electors from the way the Electoral College generally operates today. He imagined electors independently evaluating candidates. Modern electors are normally chosen because they are pledged to support a political party’s nominee.

Political parties, statewide popular elections, winner-take-all rules, pledged electors, and the Twelfth Amendment significantly changed the practical operation of the original system. Those later developments do not erase Hamilton’s argument, but they help explain why modern presidential elections often look very different from the deliberative process he described.

Federalist No. 68 remains important because it identifies enduring dangers in presidential elections: foreign interference, corruption, political intrigue, public disorder, manipulation by government insiders, and the elevation of candidates through popularity without sufficient ability or character.