an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1804, providing for election of the president and vice president by the electoral college: should there be no majority vote for one person, the House of Representatives (one vote per state) chooses the president and the Senate the vice president.
What is the moral of the passage? It is important to think clearly in dangerous situations. Leopards are afraid to come near fire. Older people are wiser than young people