Electing the Senate
How U.S. senators were chosen prior to the Seventeenth Amendment—and the consequences of Constitutional reform
From 1789 to 1913, U.S. senators were not directly elected by the people—instead the Constitution mandated that they be chosen by state legislators. This radically changed in 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving the public a direct vote. Electing th...
How U.S. senators were chosen prior to the Seventeenth Amendment—and the consequences of Constitutional reform
From 1789 to 1913, U.S. senators were not directly elected by the people—instead the Constitution mandated that they be chosen by state legislators. This radically changed in 1913, when the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving the public a direct vote. Electing th...
