Nick Ragone > Quotes

“The Founding Fathers believed that the best way to avoid oppressive and unjust rule was by making it difficult for government to act at all. They also believed that the real threat of tyranny lies with the president, not the Congress. Thus, they provided for a strong Congress with many enumerated powers, and a relatively weak president with few specific powers. Over”
― Nick Ragone, The Everything American Government Book: From the Constitution to Present-Day Elections, All You Need to Understand Our Democratic System

“The Electoral College is composed of electors who equal the number of representatives and senators from a state. For instance, the state of Alaska—with its two senators and one House member—has a total of three electors in the Electoral College. When citizens vote for a presidential candidate, they are actually voting for the electors from that state. In order to become president, a candidate must receive 270 votes in the Electoral College. If neither candidate receives the requisite 270 electoral votes, then the House of Representatives determines the president. This first occurred in 1824, when John Quincy Adams was selected president by the House of Representatives after Andrew Jackson failed to receive a majority of the Electoral College votes. Jackson’s supporters cried foul, and used the “stolen” election of 1824 as a rallying point for their 1828 victory.”
― Nick Ragone, The Everything American Government Book: From the Constitution to Present-Day Elections, All You Need to Understand Our Democratic System

“In our system of governance, there is no higher virtue than participation and no greater vice than apathy.”
― Nick Ragone, The Everything American Government Book: From the Constitution to Present-Day Elections, All You Need to Understand Our Democratic System