To keep the country strong and orderly, the framers decided on

3 branches of government.Name the 3 branches of government.

Name who leads each branch.

President (AKA – Chief Executive

CongressSupreme

Court

8.9: How Should the Chief Executive Be Elected?

The framers agreed to 3 branches of government, but who would head the new government’s executive branch.

Charles Pinckney urged the creation of a “vigorous executive.”

James Wilson proposed thata single person serve as thechief executive. (a person who is responsible for the admission of business.)

Alexander Hamilton warned that when dealing with more than one leader, "there is always difference of opinion".

The very idea of a single executive brought to mind memories of King George III.Wilson declared that good government depends on clear, timely, and responsible leadership; leadership, that is most likely to be found in a single person.

A sudden silence fell over the convention.

One Executive or Three? Edmund Randolph disliked this proposal. He

preferred a three member executive drawn from different parts of the country.

“The first man put at the helm will be a good one,“ Franklin said. “Nobody knows what sort may come afterwards.” The next chief executive, he warned might be overly ambitious or too fond of war.

Benjamin Franklin also opposed a single executive, but for different reasons.

In spite of these objections the framers agreed to a single executive, called the president.

A vice president would be elected to fill that term if the president died in office.

To keep this leader from becoming too king-like they limited the president’s term to four years.

Choosing the Chief Executive Some delegates wanted Congress to appoint

the president.

Several delegates thought that the people should elect the president.

Governor Morris was concerned that then Congress would control the president and say, “You owe your appointment to us.”

Still others suggested that the president be elected by a specially chosen group of “electors” from each state that would be able to look beyond state interests to make a wise choice for the entire country.

Madison, however, argued that voters would naturally vote for someone from their own state. As a result, this method would not be fair to candidates from small states.

A: They knew that without a plan for order, the election process could turn into chaos/disorder.

Q: Given all the struggle over how the leader of our country should be chosen, why did the framers continue to look for a solution?