Final answer:
The framers intended by the indirect election of the president to make the president responsible to state and national legislatures. Through the Electoral College, they aimed to balance the president's authority with a cooperative relationship with both the legislature and the states, avoiding potential corruption and unilateral imperial power.
Step-by-step explanation:
By indirect election of the president, the framers meant to make the president responsible to state and national legislatures. The framers of the Constitution, especially during the deliberations at the Constitutional Convention, aimed to create a balance between empowering a strong, effective chief executive and preventing the rise of a new form of monarchy. The solution was the Electoral College, a body of electors chosen by the states, whose size would reflect the combined total of each state's representation in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
This system was designed to avoid potential corruption and undue influence were the president to be directly elected by Congress, a concern that various delegates expressed.
Moreover, it was a compromise between those who wanted direct popular elections and those who preferred Congress to elect the president, which would have compromised the separation of powers. Indeed, the indirect election was intended to reflect a federal character, giving states with a smaller population a proportional influence while also integrating them into the national decision-making process.
Thus, the system of indirect election through the Electoral College was established to ensure that the president's authority was balanced against the need for them to work cooperatively with the legislature and the states, rather than acting unilaterally or as an imperial figure.