The Electoral College was originally implemented at The Constitutional Convention in 1787, although it may not be perfect, it was decided to be the best of three options. The Constitutional Convention used the Virginia Plan as its base for its discussion. The Virginia Plan wished for the president to be chosen by Congress alone, and many of the states delegates agreed with this method. The group that opposed this plan of action was known as the Committee of Eleven; they formed in order to decide the varied details involving future Presidential Elections. They believed that an election held by a small group of people who met on a regular basis, such as congress, the independence of the president could be questioned. James Wilson and James Madison, were of the opinion that popular election was the best form of vote. Although Madison agreed a popular vote would be ideal, he thought it would be difficult to gain consensus on the proposal due to the prevalence of slavery in the South. This was the birthplace of the current system of the Electoral College.
Although the Electoral College may not be the best form of voting for our time, it still has its benefits. With the E.C. in place, it is able to protect minority interests. The Electoral College preserves the votes of states with lower populations. Particularly in contemporary times, urban areas are typically more populated than rural ones, but the Electoral College can save the interests of farmers as well as other citizens living in less populated areas. Another benefit of using the Electoral College is how well it forms to the two party system that is seen on the U.S. government. While some may argue that the two party system may not be the best form of democracy for conventional times, it provides a stability that multi-party systems do not. With the small number of political parties it allows for generalized platforms rather than parties focused on specific issues.
