THE 17TH AMENDMENT

The 17^th Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913, changed the structure of the Senate by establishing the direct election of Senators rather than appointing them by the state legislature. There are many who say the election of Senators rather than appointing them by the state government was a good move, as people had a more direct connection to their Senators when they voted for them. This sounds good, but the original intention of senators being appointed by state governments was to enhance the state’s power in the Federal government by appointing someone to represent the state who reflected exactly the opinions of the majority of the legislators. When we directly elect a candidate, we elect that person’s views and opinions and agree that how they portray themselves is the viewpoint we want to represent us. In the original Constitution, Senators were not supposed to be selected by their viewpoints or opinions. They were selected to represent their state as the direct representative of that state, who were at the Federal level to represent the wants, needs, and opinions of their state. By directly electing Senators all we did was to create a second House of Representatives with a six-year term instead of a two-year term.

The 17^th Amendment, aside from changing how the Senate worked, also shifted power away from the states and to the Federal government, decreasing state influence and making future changes to the government easier because of diminished state power.

There were problems with getting Senators appointed by the states, and this was one of the reasons for the 17^th Amendment. In some cases, state government could not agree on a Senator and so there was a delay in Senators assuming their duties. We can understand this happening, especially in light of how most state governments work; however, it was the state’s responsibility to send the Senators, and if they did not it was the state that lost representation. It seems to us that if we had a task we had to complete in order to get something we wanted, we would get it done. Shame on any state that couldn’t act in their own best interests.

We believe the 17^th Amendment was one of the first shots in a war to increase Federal power to the detriment of the states. The election of Franklin Roosevelt to three terms and his proclivity to increase Federal power caused many of the problems we face today. Although everything Roosevelt did was supposedly to end the Depression or win the war, some of his actions still haunt us today. Witness the Interstate Commerce clause, for what it was and what it’s become.

We venture none of this would have happened if Senators still were the voices of the states.

We never were a democracy, but we don’t look like a republic anymore, either.