text: The united states of america is the oldest surviving republic in modern day times. This is because our founding fathers were some of the greatest thinkers in american history. the idea of the electoral college was heavily influenced by the English system of government and also the Iriqouis Confederacy though it is usually unrecognized due to the fact that many americans, at the time, thought Native Americans were savages. One of the principles of English government the founding fathers used was the idea of electing heads of the nation. in the United Kingdom the Prime Minister, i. e. the head of government, was elected by the majority of the house of commons and then approval by some higher authority to ensure the vote was valid and legitimate. Our founding fathers were afraid of a popularly elected dictator who would bring down the principles of republicanism and democratic institutions. So the Founding Fathers decided to create a system where the head of state and his office where responsible and questionable to the Federal legislature; the United States Congress. He could be impeached by congress if he had committed crimes and removed from office if he was unfit to carry out the duties he was entrusted with. The electoral college was made to ensure that despotism never happens in the United States. Adolf Hitler was never elected to any office, he was appointed to the chancellorship of Germany by President Hindenburg because Hitler held the people's trust and approval. Benito Mussolini was appointed Prime Minister of Italy by the King because he had the people on his side. This cannot happen in the United States because we have the Electoral College. the electors of the President are ordinary people that no one really knows whom they are. the electoral college is not democratic and it was not supposed to be. This is representative democracy or republicanism. According to Richard A. Posner,"...the electoral college method is not democratic in a modern sense... it is the electors who elect the president, not the people."