as to
escape the danger of an election by the House of Representatives.

It is clear, however, that in thus limiting the number of candidates
the true object and spirit of the Constitution have been evaded and
defeated. It is an essential feature in our republican system of
government that every citizen possessing the constitutional
qualifications has a right to become a candidate for the office of
President and Vice-President, and that every qualified elector has a
right to cast his vote for any citizen whom he may regard as worthy of
these offices. But under the party organizations which have prevailed
for years these asserted rights of the people have been as effectually
cut off and destroyed as if the Constitution itself had inhibited their
exercise.

The danger of a defeat of the popular choice in an election by the House
of Representatives is no greater than in an election made nominally by
the people themselves, when by the laws of party organizations and by
the constitutional provisions requiring the people to vote for electors
instead of for the President or Vice-President it is made impracticable
for any citizen to be a candidate except through the process of a party
nomination, and for any voter to cast his suffrage for any other person
than one thus brought forward through the manipulations of a nominating
convention. It is thus apparent that by means of party organizations
that provision of the Constitution which requires the election of
President and Vice-President to be made through the electoral colleges
has been made instrumental and potential in defeating the great object
of conferring the choice of these officers upon the people. It may be
conceded that party organizations are inseparable from republican
government, and that when formed and managed in subordination to the
Constitution they may be valuable safeguards of popular liberty; but
when they are perverted to purposes of bad ambition they are liable
to become the dangerous instruments of overthrowing the Constitution
itself. Strongly impressed with the truth of these views, I feel
called upon by an imperative sense of duty to revive substantially the
recommendation so often and so earnestly made by President Jackson,
and to urge that the amendment to the Constitution herewith presented,
or some similar proposition, may be submitted to the people for their
ratification or rejection.

Recent events have shown the necessity of an amendment to t