This week on listening to America with Clay Jenkinson, guest host David Horton of Radford

University in Virginia, welcomes the third president of the United States Thomas Jefferson

to the program to talk about what the founding fathers had in mind when they designed the

American system of elections. Why did the founders give two senators to each state? How was the controversy

between big states and little states resolved, and how has it influenced American history?

What was the original purpose of the electoral college? To what extent should the electoral

college mirror the popular vote? What was the impact of the odious three-fifths clause on early

American elections, including Jefferson's election

in 1800. Why did Jefferson argue for tearing up the Constitution once per generation, perhaps

every 19 years? How important was slavery to the debates in Philadelphia in 1787? And were the founders

really opposed to democracy? All of this and more on this week's Listening to America.

Good day, citizens, and welcome to Listening to America with Clay Jenkinson. I'm David Horton

in Radford, Virginia, serving as your guest

co-host today. And joining me for this edition of Listening to America is the third president

of the United States of America, Mr. Thomas Jefferson. Mr. President, welcome and thank you so much

for joining us today. Good day to you, citizen. We are at an interesting point in our political lives as we're in

the middle of a very contentious presidential election here in 2024. And I thought it might make a lot of

sense for us to go back and take a look at our representative republic, how we got to the level of

representation that we have to take a look at the

electoral college and why that is the way we elect a president and how that is decided here in this country.

Mr. President, back when the country was first established, as a Virginia and I look at this

very fondly because Virginia was the largest state. Virginia was in many ways the most powerful state. And that informed the entire process as we looked at a system of representation for our legislature. Could you speak about the initial elements of the Constitutional Convention and perhaps where

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