ABSTRACT
The avenues to the American presidency have been altered more than any other Constitutionally prescribed aspect of our political system. Constitutional amendments have changed the fundamental procedures for choosing presidents and vice presidents, including the guarantees of who may take part. The new Constitution proved remarkably adaptable to changing expectations and circumstances. Modification since the eighteenth century in the way American presidents are chosen have stemmed from many sources. Congressional enactments have also addressed presidential selection. Procedures for selection of a president by the House of Representatives were adopted in 1825. State governmental regulation has significantly shaped presidential and vice presidential selection. So has action by the political parties at both state and national levels. In the forbidding context of the late twentieth century, however, the challenge to achieve both effectiveness and liberty looms ominously. Good governments, self-governments, are never established once and for all time. In the sweep of human experiences they are ephemeral creations.
