<P> The Constitutional Convention in 1787 used the Virginia Plan as the basis for discussions, as the Virginia delegation had proposed it first . The Virginia Plan called for the Congress to elect the president . Delegates from a majority of states agreed to this mode of election . However, a committee formed to work out various details including the mode of election of the president, recommended instead the election be by a group of people apportioned among the states in the same numbers as their representatives in Congress (the formula for which had been resolved in lengthy debates resulting in the Connecticut Compromise and Three - Fifths Compromise), but chosen by each state "in such manner as its Legislature may direct ." Committee member Gouverneur Morris explained the reasons for the change; among others, there were fears of "intrigue" if the president were chosen by a small group of men who met together regularly, as well as concerns for the independence of the president if he were elected by the Congress . However, once the Electoral College had been decided on, several delegates (Mason, Butler, Morris, Wilson, and Madison) openly recognized its ability to protect the election process from cabal, corruption, intrigue, and faction . Some delegates, including James Wilson and James Madison, preferred popular election of the executive . Madison acknowledged that while a popular vote would be ideal, it would be difficult to get consensus on the proposal given the prevalence of slavery in the South: </P> <P> There was one difficulty however of a serious nature attending an immediate choice by the people . The right of suffrage was much more diffusive in the Northern than the Southern States; and the latter could have no influence in the election on the score of Negroes . The substitution of electors obviated this difficulty and seemed on the whole to be liable to the fewest objections . </P> <P> The Convention approved the Committee's Electoral College proposal, with minor modifications, on September 6, 1787 . Delegates from states with smaller populations or limited land area such as Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland generally favored the Electoral College with some consideration for states . At the compromise providing for a runoff among the top five candidates, the small states supposed that the House of Representatives with each state delegation casting one vote would decide most elections . </P> <P> In The Federalist Papers, James Madison explained his views on the selection of the president and the Constitution . In Federalist No. 39, Madison argued the Constitution was designed to be a mixture of state - based and population - based government . Congress would have two houses: the state - based Senate and the population - based House of Representatives . Meanwhile, the president would be elected by a mixture of the two modes . </P>

When did we start using the electoral college