To win, a presidential candidate must have a majority in the electoral college. Before adoption of the Twelfth Amendment (1804), in the event that no candidate had a majority, the House of Representatives (voting by states, with one vote for each state) was to choose the president from among the five candidates highest on the electoral list. Then, "after the choice of the President, the Person having the greatest Number of Votes of the Electors shall be the Vice President"; in case of a tie the Senate would choose the vice president. The Twelfth Amendment, however, resulting from the confused election of 1800 (see Jefferson, Thomas, and Burr, Aaron) provided that electors vote for president and vice president separately. It also reduced from five to three the number of candidates from among whom the House was to choose—in case no candidate had a majority (only two presidents, Jefferson and John Quincy Adams, have been elected by the House).

Changes in the System

In the early days electors were most often chosen by the state legislatures, but with the growth of democratic sentiment popular election became the rule. After 1832 (and until the Civil War) only in South Carolina did the legislature continue to choose electors. In some of the states at first the people voted for electors by congressional districts, with two being elected at large from the whole state, but with the growth of political parties this plan was largely discarded (only Maine and Nebraska currently use it) in favor of the general-ticket system (the one now prevailing), whereby a party needs only a plurality to carry the whole state. Thus in most states a voter casts a ballot for as many electors as the state is entitled to. There is nothing in the Constitution that requires either that the electors be chosen by popular vote or that the general-ticket system be employed.

Electors must be elected on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, as required by a federal law dating from 1845. As a belated result of the disputed election of 1876 involving Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes, the Electoral Count Act of 1887 placed the responsibility of deciding electoral disputes mainly on the states themselves. Congress now counts the votes (a mere formality) on Jan. 6.

Objections to the System

Only at the very outset did the electoral college function as planned, and there often has been widespread dissatisfaction with the institution. The outstanding objection is that it has given the nation 14 so-called minority presidents, i.e., presidents who had a majority in the electoral college but lacked it in the total national popular vote—James Polk (1844), Zachary Taylor (1848), James Buchanan (1856), Abraham Lincoln (1860, but not 1864), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), James A. Garfield (1880), Grover Cleveland (1884 and 1892), Benjamin Harrison (1888), Woodrow Wilson (1912 and 1916), Harry S. Truman (1948), John F. Kennedy (1960), Richard M. Nixon (1968, but not 1972), Bill Clinton (1992 and 1996), and George W. Bush (2000). Only Hayes, Harrison, and Bush, however, failed to win a plurality of the popular vote.

Since the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, numerous attempts have been made to alter the electoral college and to change the method of presidential election, but none has succeeded. The popular-vote loss and narrow electoral-college victory of George W. Bush in 2000 again led many to question the appropriateness of the institution in a modern representative democracy. Others continued to voice strong support for the electoral college and its enhancement of the importance of less populous states (by basing the number of a states' electors on its U.S. representatives and senators), fearing that otherwise presidential candidates would focus on more populous states and on the issues important to their voters.

Educational institution that provides up to two years of college-level academic, technical, and vocational instruction with emphasis on career preparation. Roots of the junior college may be traced to the Chautauqua movement and other adult-education programs created after the American Civil War. The first junior college opened in Joliet, Ill., in 1901. The vast majority of junior colleges are publicly supported; called community colleges, they offer a variety of flexible programs that are often nontraditional in style and content. They have pioneered in offering part-time study, evening sessions, instruction by television, weekend workshops, and other services for members of their communities. Students rarely live on campus. Graduates of junior or community colleges ordinarily earn an associate's degree. They then transfer to a four-year college or enter the workforce. Seealso continuing education.

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Constitutionally mandated process for electing the U.S. president and vice president. Each state appoints as many electors as it has senators and representatives in Congress (U.S. senators, representatives, and government officers are ineligible); the District of Columbia has three votes. A winner-take-all rule operates in every state except Maine and Nebraska. Three presidents have been elected by means of an electoral college victory while losing the national popular vote (Rutherford B. Hayes in 1877, Benjamin Harrison in 1888, and George W. Bush in 2000). Though pledged to vote for their state's winners, electors are not constitutionally obliged to do so. A candidate must win 270 of the 538 votes to win the election.

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Social, professional, or honorary societies for males and females, respectively. Most such organizations use combinations of letters of the Greek alphabet as names. Many social organizations at U.S. colleges and universities are residential and require new members (“pledges”) to partake in initiation rites. Certain honorary societies, such as Phi Beta Kappa, are also called fraternities; membership is based on general undergraduate scholarship. Seealso secret society.

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Institution that offers postsecondary education. The term has various meanings. In Roman law a collegium was a body of persons associated for a common function. The name was used by many medieval institutions, including guilds. In most universities of the later Middle Ages, collegium meant an endowed residence hall for university students. The colleges kept libraries and scientific instruments and offered salaries to tutors who could prepare students to be examined for degrees. Eventually few students lived outside colleges, and college teaching eclipsed university teaching. In England, secondary schools (e.g., Winchester and Eton) are sometimes called colleges. Canada also has collegiate schools. In the U.S., college may refer to a four-year institution of higher education offering a bachelor's degree, or to a two-year junior or community college with a program leading to the associate's degree. A four-year college usually emphasizes a liberal arts or general education rather than specialized technical or vocational preparation. The four-year college may be an independent private institution or an undergraduate division of a university.

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Private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Mass. Established in 1793 and affiliated with the Congregational church, it has since become nondenominational. Williams has consistently rated as one of the best colleges in the U.S., offering bachelor's and master's degree programs in fine and applied arts and sciences. Campus facilities include notable collections of American, contemporary, and South Asian art and materials relating to U.S. history. Notable alumni include director Elia Kazan.

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Private women's college in Wellesley, Mass., chartered in 1870. Long one of the most eminent women's colleges in the U.S., it was the first to provide scientific laboratories. It grants bachelor's degrees in humanities, including Chinese, Japanese, and Russian languages; in social science, including African studies, religion, and economics; and in science and mathematics, including computer science. Among its facilities are an advanced science centre and an observatory.

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Private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. It was founded as a college for women by Matthew Vassar (1792–1868) in 1861 but did not open until 1865. It became coeducational in 1968. Vassar offers undergraduate studies in most major disciplines, and it has master's degree programs in biology, chemistry, and drama. The F.L. Loeb Art Center houses one of the oldest art collections in the U.S.

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Private liberal arts college in Hartford, Conn., founded in 1823. It is historically affiliated with the Episcopal church, though its curriculum is nonsectarian. Bachelor's degrees are granted in more than 30 different study areas, and graduate study is offered by several departments, including economics, English, and history. Trinity participates in a cooperative exchange program with 12 New England colleges and universities.

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Private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Ga. Its history is traced to 1881, when two Boston women began teaching 11 black women, mostly ex-slaves, in an Atlanta church basement. Donations from John D. Rockefeller, beginning in 1884, assured the school's growth; the school is named for Rockefeller's mother-in-law. Spelman offers bachelor's degrees in more than 20 academic fields. It is one of six African American institutions in the Atlanta area that share students, faculty, facilities, and curricula. Spelman's alumnae include attorney and children's rights activist Marian Wright Edelman and author Alice Walker.

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Private liberal arts college for women in Northampton, Mass. It was founded in 1871 through the bequest of Sophia Smith (1796–1870). Bachelor's degrees are granted in most major academic fields, and master's degrees are granted in biology, dance, education, music, religion, social work, and theatre. Smith's school of social work also grants doctoral degrees. The college belongs to a five-college cooperative with Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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Private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio. Founded in 1833, it was the first U.S. college to admit women and the first to admit black students on an equal footing with whites. In its early years it was a station on the Underground Railroad. It has faculties of arts, communications, foreign languages, law, letters, mathematics, psychology, public service, science, and social sciences, as well as a music conservatory.

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Private liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Mass. Founded by Mary Lyon as a female seminary in 1837, it was one of the first institutions of higher education for women in the U.S. Baccalaureate courses are taught in the humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences. Mount Holyoke is part of an educational consortium with Amherst, Hampshire, and Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

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Private, historically black, men's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Ga. It was founded as the Augusta Institute, a seminary, in 1867 and renamed in 1913 in honour of Henry L. Morehouse, an administrator. It offers programs in business, education, humanities, and physical and natural sciences. It is part of an educational consortium in which six institutions, including Spelman College, exchange faculty, students, facilities, and curricula. Notable alumni include Martin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader Julian Bond, and filmmaker Spike Lee.

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Private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vt., founded in 1800. It is known for its curriculum emphasizing writing, literature, and modern languages. Middlebury sponsors the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, an annual gathering for established and aspiring authors.

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Private university in New York City, a traditional member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1754 as King's College, it was renamed Columbia College when it reopened in 1784 after the American Revolution. It became Columbia University in 1912. Its liberal arts college began admitting women in 1983. Neighbouring Barnard College, founded in 1889 and part of the university since 1900, remains a women's liberal arts school; most courses are open to students of both colleges. From the outset Columbia differed from other private Eastern universities in its emphasis on such subjects as nature study, commerce, history, and government. It has strong graduate programs in the arts and sciences and several notable research institutes. Among its professional schools are those of architecture, business, education (Teachers College, Columbia University), engineering, international and public affairs, journalism, law, medicine (including affiliations with Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital), nursing, public health, and social work.

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Private institution of higher learning in Hanover, N.H., a traditional member of the Ivy League. It is consistently ranked as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the U.S. It was founded in 1769 by Rev. Eleazar Wheelock (1711–79) for the education of “youth of the Indian Tribes . . . English Youth and others.” The original charter was approved by King George III. Women were first admitted in 1972. Besides offering a broad range of undergraduate programs, Dartmouth grants graduate and professional degrees in the arts and sciences, business, engineering, and medicine. Seealso Dartmouth College case.

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Private women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pa., near Philadelphia. Though founded in 1885 by a group of Quakers, it has long operated on a nondenominational basis. It offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts and sciences, social research, and social work. It enjoys an academic exchange with nearby Haverford and Swarthmore colleges and the University of Pennsylvania.

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Private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. Founded in 1794 as a men's college, it was named for James Bowdoin (1726–90), first president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. It became coeducational in 1971. It offers bachelor's degrees in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences. Academic facilities include a marine research station and an arctic museum. Its historic buildings include the Walker Art Building, designed by Charles F. McKim and Stanford White. Notable alumni include Nathaniel Hawthorne and U.S. Pres. Franklin Pierce.

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Private liberal arts college founded in 1860 in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, U.S. It was founded by John Bard and Episcopal church leaders as St. Stevens, an Episcopal college for men. The name was changed to Bard College in 1934. Between 1928 and 1944 it served as Columbia University's undergraduate school. It became coeducational in 1944. Its undergraduate curriculum includes courses in the social sciences, languages and literature, arts, and natural sciences and mathematics.

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Private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S., chartered in 1825. Noah Webster was one of its founders. Consistently ranked as one of the finest colleges in the U.S., it offers a wide range of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Originally a men's college, it became coeducational in 1975. It participates in an exchange program with nearby Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts.

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