For some reason, CNN continues to invite former ESPN host Jemele Hill on to discuss major political issues. This week, the topic was the Electoral College.
During a Monday night panel discussion, Hill argued that the Electoral College is entirely "rooted in slavery" and suggested that it cost both Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris presidential victories against Donald Trump.
"The Electoral College is rooted in slavery," Hill said. "That was the entire reason that it was invented, essentially, and we should have gotten from up under it a long time ago, and not just because you have two women, quite capable, who lose the election."
We'll give Hill credit for managing to turn a discussion about Hillary Clinton's election loss in 2016 into a conversation about racism. Not bad.
The problem is that her history lesson doesn't hold up.
There is a legitimate debate among historians about the extent to which slavery influenced the creation of the Electoral College. The Three-Fifths Compromise undoubtedly increased the political power of slave states and affected how electoral votes were allocated.
However, Hill's claim that slavery was "the entire reason" the Electoral College was created is not accurate, or even close.
The Electoral College is a compromise between the Founding Fathers, who were divided between having Congress choose the president and allowing a direct popular vote.
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