Some Citations to David A. McKnight, The Electoral System of the United States (Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co. 1878)

The citation list below was primarily compiled by me circa 2008, when I first began to write on this subject: the “offices” and “officers” of the United States Constitution. I have updated this citation list occasionally since. I do not doubt that there may be any number of citations to McKnight which I have missed. 

Sources which postdate McKnight’s 1878 publication by more than 100 years are in bold. There are over 20 such sources. 5 sources are from the 2020s! I have not included Tillman or Blackman/Tillman materials citing to McKnight. I have not included briefs filed in post-2020 Trump-ballot-related or Section-3-related litigation. Likewise, I have not included blog posts citing to McKnight.

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Legislative Branch Sources 

House of Representatives—Tuesday, June 18, 1968, Cong. Rec. 17671; 

Election of the President of the United States, H.R. 64 (1925), <http://tinyurl.com/ah8o336>; 

CHARLES SUMNER LOBINGIER, Obsolete Features of Our Federal Constitution, 73rd Cong., 2d Sess. Doc. No. 100 (Government Printing Office 1934) at 1 n.1, 23 n.11, <https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.$b633037&seq=15&q1=mcknight>; 

Amend the Constitution with Respect to Election of President and Vice President (to Abolish the Electoral College System, etc.): Hearings on H.J. Res. 2 et al. before Subcommittee No. l of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 81 Cong. 195 (1949), <http://tinyurl.com/33lbl78>; 

Authorizing the Appointment of Additional Circuit and District Judges for the United States Courts: Hearings on H.R. 18 et al. before Subcommittee No. 3 of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 81 Cong. 194 n.46 (Mar. 7, 9, and 11, 1949), <http://tinyurl.com/34wfgoc>; 

Nomination and Election of President and Vice President: Hearings Before a Subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Eighty-Fourth Congress First Session on S.J. Res. 3 et al., 84 Cong. 241, 227 n.2 (1955) (available on website of Hathi Trust); 

Deficiencies in Judicial Administration: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Improvements in Judicial Machinery of the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Ninetieth Congress First Session on S. 1033 The National Court Assistance Act, 90 Cong. 775 n.14 (1967) (available on website of Hathi Trust); 

Electing the President: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments of the Committee on the Judiciary United States Senate Ninety-First Congress First Session on S.J. Res. 1 et al. to Amend the Constitution Relating to Electoral College Reform, 91 Cong. 792 n.14 (1969) (available on website of Hathi Trust); 

Litigation-Related Sources

Expert Report of Matthew A. Seligman In the Matter of John Charles Eastman, Case No. SBC-23-O-30029, at 77 n.244 (May 15, 2023), <https://ssrn.com/abstract=4552179>;

Att’y Gen. A.A. Ellis for Respondent at Oral Argument, 16 Law. Rep. Ann. 475, 477, McPherson v. Blacker, 52 N.W. 469 (Mich. May 19, 1892), aff’d, 146 U.S. 1, <http://tinyurl.com/36qx2w5>;

U.S. Authored Books and Pamphlets

BRUCE ACKERMAN, THE FAILURE OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS: JEFFERSON, MARSHALL, AND THE RISE OF PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRACY 313 n.32 (2005); 

SPENCER DELANCEY ALBRIGHT, THE AMERICAN BALLOT 18 n.33, 147, 151 (1942); 

Herman V. Ames, The Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States During the First Century of its History, in 2 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE YEAR 1896, at 80 n.3, 117 nn.2-3, 118 nn.3, 5, 119 n.5 (Washington, Government Printing Office 1897); 

JOHN BARON ET AL., 7 THE CAMBRIDGE MODERN HISTORY 802 (1918); 

JUDITH BEST, THE CASE AGAINST DIRECT ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT: A DEFENSE OF THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE 221 (1975); 

J. HAMPDEN DOUGHERTY, THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES 58-59, 66 (New York, G.P Putnam’s Sons 1906); 

PAUL DWYER, THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE: A SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 2 (D.C., Legislative Reference Service 1970); 

GEORGE C. EDWARDS III, WHY THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IS BAD FOR AMERICA 170 n.37 (2004); 

PAUL EIDELBERG, THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION 310 (1986); 

ALEXANDER CLARENCE FLICK, SAMUEL JONES TILDEN: A STUDY IN POLITICAL SAGACITY 492 n.62 (1939); 

A.M. GIBSON, POLITICAL CRIME: THE HISTORY OF THE GREAT FRAUD 34 n.* (New York, William S. Gottsberger 1885); 

ALBERT BUSHNELL HART, ACTUAL GOVERNMENT AS APPLIED UNDER AMERICAN CONDITIONS 66 (1903); 

FRANCIS POWERS HARVEY, ELECTING THE PRESIDENT 56 (1953); 

JOHN S. HITTELL, REFORM OR REVOLUTION? 133, 249 (San Francisco 1900); 

JULIA EMILY JOHNSEN, DIRECT ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT 281 (1949); 

BRIAN C. KALT, CONSTITUTIONAL CLIFFHANGERS: A LEGAL GUIDE FOR PRESIDENTS AND THEIR ENEMIES 210 n.8 (2012); 

ALEXANDER KEYSSAR, Do We Still Have the Electoral College? 432 n.50 (2020); 

TADAHISA KURODA, THE ORIGINS OF THE TWELFTH AMENDMENT: THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE IN THE EARLY REPUBLIC, 1787–1804, at 191 (1994); 

2 J.N. LARNED, THE NEW LARNED HISTORY 2638 (Donald A. Smith ed., Springfield, Mass., C.A. Nichols Publishing Co. 1923); 

CHARLES SUMNER LOBINGIER, THE PEOPLE’S LAW 230 n., 403 (1909); 

ROGER LEA MACBRIDE, THE AMERICAN ELECTORAL COLLEGE 84 n.1 (1963); 

ANDREW C. MCLAUGHLIN, A CONSTITUTIONAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES 703 n.16 (1935); 

BERNARD MOSES, THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES 356 (1906); 

NEIL R. PEIRCE, PEOPLE’S PRESIDENT 386 (1968); 

WILLIAM D. POPKIN, 2023-2024 SUPPLEMENT TO STATUTORY INTERPRETATION: A Pragmatic Approach 56 (2023); 

[Judge] RICHARD A. POSNER, BREAKING THE DEADLOCK: THE 2000 ELECTION, THE CONSTITUTION, AND THE COURTS 153 n.3 (2001); 

1 P. ORMAN RAY, INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL PARTIES AND PRACTICAL POLITICS 553 (1924); 

2 CHARLES SEYMOUR & DONALD PAIGE FRARY, HOW THE WORLD VOTES: THE STORY OF DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT IN ELECTIONS 331 (1918); 

CHARLES CALLAN TANSILL, THE CONGRESSIONAL CAREER OF THOMAS FRANCIS BAYARD, 1869–1885, at 148, 358 (1946); 

SAMUEL J. TILDEN, Letter from Samuel J. Tilden to President Cleveland (Oct. 21, 1885), in 2 LETTERS AND LITERARY MEMORIALS OF SAMUEL J. TILDEN 701-02 (John Bigelow ed., N.Y., Harper & Brothers Publishers 1908) (praising McKnight’s The Electoral System); 

H. VON HOLST, THE CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 101 n.2 (Alfred Bishop Mason trans., Chicago, Callaghan & Co. 1887); 

MARK WAHLGREN SUMMERS, PARTY GAMES: GETTING, KEEPING, AND USING POWER IN GILDED AGE POLITICS 334 (2004);

U.S. Anonymous Books and Pamphlets 

CYCLOPÆDIA OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, POLITICAL ECONOMY, AND THE POLITICAL HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES II.14.45—U.S. History—Electors and Electoral System (Lalor, John J., ed., NY, Maynard, Merrill, and Co.1881), <http://www.econlib.org/library/YPDBooks/Lalor/llCy405.html>; 

5 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 1786–1870, at 590 (1905); 

22 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA AMERICANA 547 (1919);

23 THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA: A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, AND GENERAL LITERATURE 729, 788 (Otis Kellogg ed., 1902);

THE HERITAGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION 188 (Edwin Meese III et al. eds., 2005); and Tadahisa Kuroda, ‘Electoral College,’ in THE HERITAGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION 244, 246 (David F. Forte et al., eds., 2d ed., 2005);

U.S. Journal and Magazine Sources 

Bruce Ackerman & David Fontana, Thomas Jefferson Counts Himself into the Presidency, 90 VA. L. REV. 551, 554 n.5 (2004); 

Roy E. Brownell II, Part 1, A Constitutional Chameleon: The Vice President’s Place within the American System of Separation of Powers: Text, Structure, Views of the Framers and the Courts, 24 KAN. J.L. & PUB. POL’Y 1, 37 n.177 (2014); 

Roy E. Brownell II, Vice Presidential Inability: Why it Matters and What to do When it Occurs, 48 Hofstra L. Rev. 291, 302 n.71 (2019); 

Nathan L. Colvin & Edward B. Foley, The Twelfth Amendment: A Constitutional Ticking Time Bomb, 64 U. MIAMI L. REV. 475, 480 n.14 (2010); 

Robert J. Delahunty & John Yoo, Who Counts?: The Twelfth Amendment, the Vice President, and the Electoral Count, 73 Case W. Res. L. Rev. 27, 93 n.357 (2022);

George C. Edwards III, The 2000 U.S. Presidential Election, 2 TAIWAN J. OF DEMOCRACY 37, 41 n.4 (2006); 

The Electoral College, 24(2) RECORD OF THE ASSOCIATION OF THE BAR OF THE CITY OF NEW York 136 (February 1969); 

William Josephson & Beverly J. Ross, Repairing the Electoral College, 22 J. LEGIS. 145, 179 n.257 (1996); 

Edward McMahon, The Electoral System of the United States by J. Hampden Dougherty, 1(2) Wash. Hist. Q. 70, 71 (1907) (citing McKnight’s treatise); 

Donald A. Meyer, The Demise of the Independent Elector, 50 A.B.A. J. 561, 561 n.7 (1964); 

Felix Morley, Democracy and the Electoral College, 5 MODERN AGE 373, 388 n.14 (1961); 

Paul J. Piccard et al., Tick Tick Tick … The Electoral College, A Ticking Time Bomb, 5 RICH. J.L. & PUB. INT. 34, 36 n.210 (2000); 

Judge Richard A. Posner, Florida 2000: A Legal and Statistical Analysis of the Election Deadlock and the Ensuing Litigation, 2000 SUP. CT. REV. 1, 49 n.78 (2000); 

Beverly J. Ross & William Josephson, The Electoral College and the Popular Vote, 12 J.L. & POL. 665, 708 n.238 (1996); 

Stephen A. Siegel, The Conscientious Congressman’s Guide to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, 56 FLA. L. REV. 541, 577 n.214 (2004); 

C.C. Tansill, Congressional Control of the Electoral System, 34 YALE L.J. 511, 518 n.33, 523 (1925); 

John J. Turner, Jr., The Twelfth Amendment and the First American Party System, 35(2) THE HISTORIAN 221, 221 n.2 (1973); 

John Vlahoplus, Bound Electors, 106 Va. L. Rev. Online 1, 3 n.13 (2020); 

Keith E. Whittington, Originalism, Constitutional Construction, and the Problem of Faithless Electors, 59 Ariz. L. Rev. 903, 932 n.161 (2017); 

L. Kinvin Wroth, Election Contests and the Electoral Vote, 65 DICK. L. REV. 321, 323 n.14 (1960) (now Penn State Law Review); 

Joseph R. Wyatt II, The Lessons of the Hayes-Tilden Election Controversy: Some Suggestions for Electoral College Reform, 8 RUTGERS-CAMDEN L.J. 617, 619 (1976); 

Note, Virginia’s New Election Law, 34 VA. L. REV. 619, 624 n.31 (1948); 

McKnight on the Electoral System, 8 THE LITERARY WORLD 175 (1878) (reviewing DAVID A. MCKNIGHT, THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES (Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co. 1878)), <http://tinyurl.com/ykhbrfy>; 

Homes Lessons, The International Review 885 (Nov. 1878); 

Foreign Sources 

2 F.R. DARESTE WITH P. DARESTE, CONSTITUTIONS MODERNES: RECUEIL DES CONSTITUTIONS EN VIGUEUR DANS LES DIVERS ÉTATS D’EUROPE, D’AMÉRIQUE ET DU MONDE CIVILISÉ 375 (Augustin Challamel ed., Paris, 2d ed. 1891);

LE SUFFRAGE UNIVERSEL 246 n.2 (Paris, L. LaRose & Forcel 1883);

‘Constitution,’ in 12 La Grande Encyclopedie 732 (Librairie Larousse, Paris, circa 1891); 

‘Electoral College,’ in Brockhaus’ Conversations-Lexikon 982 (F.A. Brockhaus, Leipzig 1892); 

‘American Review,’ 45(1170) SATURDAY REVIEW OF POLITICS, LITERATURE, SCIENCE AND ART 410, 410 n.* (London, Mar. 30, 1878); 

Other Sources

James Joseph Flynn, The Disputed Election of 1876, at 327 (PhD dissertation, Fordham University, Department of History 1953); 

JOHN HAROLD MICHENER, THE UNITED STATES CABINET: A STUDY OF PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS, WITH ESPECIAL REFERENCE TO CABINET-CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONS 14 n.4 (PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, Dep’t of Political Science 1956), <http://tinyurl.com/ofun52b>; 

Harold Thomas Jones, Administration of Election Laws in Los Angeles City and County and the State of California 247 (Master of Science Thesis, University of Southern California, School of Public Administration 1954); 

Michael A. Mussman, The Proposed Amendments to the Constitution of the United States From 1889 to 1921, at 353 (American University, Graduate School of Diplomacy and Jurisprudence 1923); 

C. Kisiel, III, The Electoral College: Federalism and the Election of the American President 17 n.59 (Spring 2008), <http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=honors>; 

Liam Brennan, Leadership and Social Activism (circa 2018) at page 10, <https://prezi.com/p/qyqxsdr9qgfj/pres-2-lb/>; 

Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Citations to David A. McKnight, The Electoral System of the United States (Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co. 1878),’ New Reform Club (Nov. 2, 2023, 3:06 AM), <https://reformclub.blogspot.com/2023/11/some-citations-to-david-mcknight.html>; 

An earlier version of the McKnight List was posted on BEPRESS in 2015. See <https://works.bepress.com/seth_barrett_tillman/300/> (check under “Related Files”).