17th Amendment

17th Amendment: Date

The 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed Congress on May 13, 1912, and was later ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures on April 8, 1913. What changed from 1789 with the ratification of the Constitution to 1913 that caused such a shift in the function of electing Senators?

Understanding 17th Amendment

To understand why this fundamental change occurred, we must first understand the sovereign forces and tensions in creating the U.S. Constitution. Known to most as the debates between the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists, the issue can be boiled down to want entity in the government held most of the power: the states or the federal government?

In these debates, the federalists won the argument for the direct election of members of Congress to the House of Representatives, and the Anti-Federalists pushed for more state control over the Senate. Hence, a system that elects Senators through state legislatures. However, over time voters in the United States expressed their desire for more influence on elections, and slowly direct-election plans began to erode some state power.

17th Amendment: Progressive Era

The Progressive Era was a period of widespread social activism and political reform in the United States from the 1890s to the 1920s, characterized by the adoption of direct democracy and measures to promote social welfare. The 17th Amendment, which established the direct election of Senators, was one of the key political reforms of the Progressive Era.

From the mid-1800s to the turn of the twentieth century, states began experimenting with direct primary elections for Senate candidates within each party. This Senate-primary system mixed the original legislative selection of Senators with more direct input from the voters. Essentially, each party - Democrats, and Republicans - would use candidates to influence voters to vote their party into control of the state legislature. In a way, if you prefer a particular candidate for Senate, vote for that candidate's party in the state elections to ensure they are selected as senators.

Fig. 2 - Before the 17th Amendment, a scene such as this would never have occurred, a sitting U.S. President campaigning and endorsing a candidate for U.S. Senate, such as President Barrack Obama does above for Massachusetts U.S. Senate Candidate Martha Coakley in 2010.

By 1908, Oregon experimented with a different approach. By enacting the Oregon Plan, voters were allowed to directly express their preferences when voting in the state's general election for members of the U.S. Senate. Then, the elected state legislators would be oath-bound to select the voter’s preference, regardless of party affiliation. By 1913, most states had already adopted direct election systems, and similar systems spread quickly.

These systems continued to erode any vestige of state control over Senatorial elections. In addition, intense political gridlock often leaves Senate seats vacant as state legislatures debate over candidates. Direct elections promised to solve these problems, and supporters of the system championed elections with less corruption and influence from special interest groups.

These forces combined in 1910 and 1911 when the House of Representatives proposed and passed amendments for the direct election of Senators. After removing language for a “race rider”, the Senate passed the Amendment in May 1911. Over a year later, the House of Representatives accepted the change and sent the Amendment to the state legislatures to be ratified, which occurred on April 8, 1913.

17th Amendment: Significance

The significance of the 17th Amendment lies in the fact that it brought about two fundamental changes to the U.S. political system. One change was influenced by federalism, while the other was influenced by the separation of powers.

Freed from all dependence on state governments, modern senators were open to pursuing and championing policies that state officials may not like. Concerning constitutional rights, not being connected to state governments allowed direct-elected senators to be more open to exposing and rectifying the wrongdoings of state officials. Thus, the federal government proved more inclined to displace state laws and impose mandates on state governments.

Fig. 3 - Warren G. Harding was elected as an Ohio Senator in the first class of senators elected under the system of the Seventeenth Amendment. Six years later, he would be elected president.

In addition, the transformation of the Senate also affected the separation of powers by adjusting the Senate’s relations with the House of Representatives, the presidency, and the judiciary.

• As for the relationship between the Senate and the House, after 1913, Senators could now claim to be the people’s choice as they could not before. Claiming a mandate from the people is powerful political capital that was now enhanced for Senators.

• Regarding the relationship with the Judiciary, the Supreme Court remained the only branch with no direct election for office after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment.

• As to the power between the Senate and the presidency, the shift can be seen in Senators running for president. Before the Civil War, eleven of fourteen presidents came from the Senate. After the Civil war, most Presidential candidates came from influential state governorships. After the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, the trend returned, establishing Senatorship with a platform for the presidency. It made candidates more aware of national issues, sharpening their electoral skills and public visibility.

17th Amendment: Summary

In summary, the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of Senators by the people, rather than by state legislatures. The amendment was a response to political corruption and concerns about the influence of powerful business interests in state legislatures during the Progressive Era.

Before the 17th Amendment, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, which often resulted in deadlocks, bribery, and corruption. The amendment changed the process and allowed for direct popular election of Senators, which increased transparency and accountability in the political process.

The 17th Amendment also had significant implications for the balance of power between the federal government and the states. Prior to the amendment, Senators were beholden to state legislatures, which gave states more power in the federal government. With the direct popular election, Senators became more accountable to the people, which shifted the balance of power toward the federal government.

Overall, the 17th Amendment was a major milestone in American political history, increasing democratic participation and transparency in the political process, and shifting the balance of power toward the federal government.