Answer:
Jack N. Rakove is a historian known for his work on the American Founding and the Constitution. While Rakove has written extensively on the subject, it's important to clarify his views accurately.
In his work, Rakove does not suggest that the framers of the U.S. Constitution "feared democracy so much" that they refused to allow the people to directly elect the president. Instead, he and many other historians argue that the framers had various concerns and considerations when designing the presidential election process, leading them to establish the Electoral College.
The framers of the Constitution, during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, debated and compromised on the method of electing the president. They did not want the president to be chosen solely by a popular vote because they were concerned about the potential for direct democracy to lead to mob rule and the domination of the larger, more populous states over the smaller ones. Instead, they created the Electoral College as a means of balancing the interests of both the states and the people.
The Electoral College allows each state to have a number of electors based on its representation in Congress (the number of senators plus the number of House of Representatives members), thereby giving smaller states a proportionate voice in the presidential election process. This was seen as a way to prevent the dominance of more populous states and ensure that presidential candidates would have to appeal to a broad range of states and regions.
Step-by-step explanation:
In summary, it is not accurate to say that the framers "feared democracy so much" that they completely rejected direct popular election of the president. Instead, they sought a system that balanced the interests of the states and the people, and this led to the creation of the Electoral College as a compromise solution. Rakove and other historians have examined these historical debates and compromises to shed light on the framers' intentions