Storrs in 1826 proposing an amendment to provide for popular election.
The Senate finally joined the House to submit the Seventeenth Amendment to the states for ratification, nearly ninety years after it first was presented to the Senate in 1826. By 1912, 239 political parties at both the state and national level had pledged some form of direct election, and 33 states had introduced the use of direct primaries.
Similar amendments were introduced in 1829 and 1855, with the "most prominent" proponent being Andrew Johnson, who raised the issue in 1868 and considered the idea's merits "so palpable" that no additional explanation was necessary.
Deadlocks started to become an issue in the 1850s, with a deadlocked Indiana legislature allowing a Senate seat to sit vacant for two years.
Similar amendments were introduced in 1829 and 1855, with the "most prominent" proponent being Andrew Johnson, who raised the issue in 1868 and considered the idea's merits "so palpable" that no additional explanation was necessary.
Between 1857 and 1900, the Senate investigated three elections over corruption.
As noted above, in the 1860s, there was a major congressional dispute over the issue, with the House and Senate voting to veto the appointment of John P.
The tipping point came in 1865 with the election of John P.
Stockton (D-NJ), which happened after the New Jersey legislature changed its rules regarding the definition of a quorum. In 1866, Congress acted to standardize a two-step process for Senate elections.
In reaction, the Congress passed a bill in July 1866 that required state legislatures to elect senators by an absolute majority. By the 1890s, support for the introduction of direct election for the Senate had substantially increased, and reformers worked on two fronts.
Similar amendments were introduced in 1829 and 1855, with the "most prominent" proponent being Andrew Johnson, who raised the issue in 1868 and considered the idea's merits "so palpable" that no additional explanation was necessary.
In reaction, the Congress passed a bill in July 1866 that required state legislatures to elect senators by an absolute majority. By the 1890s, support for the introduction of direct election for the Senate had substantially increased, and reformers worked on two fronts.
Nevertheless, between 1891 and 1905, 46 elections were deadlocked across 20 states; in one extreme example, a Senate seat for Delaware went unfilled from 1899 until 1903.
On the first front, the Populist Party incorporated the direct election of senators into its Omaha Platform, adopted in 1892.
By 1893, the House had the two-thirds vote for just such an amendment.
The business of holding elections also caused great disruption in the state legislatures, with a full third of the Oregon House of Representatives choosing not to swear the oath of office in 1897 due to a dispute over an open Senate seat.
as western legislatures gained experience, deadlocks became less frequent." While Utah suffered from deadlocks in 1897 and 1899, they became what Zywicki refers to as "a good teaching experience", and Utah never again failed to elect senators.
Nevertheless, between 1891 and 1905, 46 elections were deadlocked across 20 states; in one extreme example, a Senate seat for Delaware went unfilled from 1899 until 1903.
as western legislatures gained experience, deadlocks became less frequent." While Utah suffered from deadlocks in 1897 and 1899, they became what Zywicki refers to as "a good teaching experience", and Utah never again failed to elect senators.
Between 1857 and 1900, the Senate investigated three elections over corruption.
In 1900, for example, William A.
However, when the joint resolution reached the Senate, it failed from neglect, as it did again in 1900, 1904 and 1908; each time the House approved the appropriate resolution, and each time it died in the Senate. On the second national legislative front, reformers worked toward a constitutional amendment, which was strongly supported in the House of Representatives but initially opposed by the Senate.
Nevertheless, between 1891 and 1905, 46 elections were deadlocked across 20 states; in one extreme example, a Senate seat for Delaware went unfilled from 1899 until 1903.
However, when the joint resolution reached the Senate, it failed from neglect, as it did again in 1900, 1904 and 1908; each time the House approved the appropriate resolution, and each time it died in the Senate. On the second national legislative front, reformers worked toward a constitutional amendment, which was strongly supported in the House of Representatives but initially opposed by the Senate.
Nevertheless, between 1891 and 1905, 46 elections were deadlocked across 20 states; in one extreme example, a Senate seat for Delaware went unfilled from 1899 until 1903.
senators in a 1906 series of articles using flamboyant language attacking "The Treason of the Senate" in his Cosmopolitan magazine.
The Constitution does not set out how the temporary appointee is to be selected. ===First direct elections to the Senate=== Oklahoma, admitted to statehood in 1907, chose a senator by legislative election three times: twice in 1907, when admitted, and once in 1908.
In 1908, Oregon passed the first law basing the selection of U.S.
However, when the joint resolution reached the Senate, it failed from neglect, as it did again in 1900, 1904 and 1908; each time the House approved the appropriate resolution, and each time it died in the Senate. On the second national legislative front, reformers worked toward a constitutional amendment, which was strongly supported in the House of Representatives but initially opposed by the Senate.
The Constitution does not set out how the temporary appointee is to be selected. ===First direct elections to the Senate=== Oklahoma, admitted to statehood in 1907, chose a senator by legislative election three times: twice in 1907, when admitted, and once in 1908.
In 1912, Oklahoma reelected Robert Owen by advisory popular vote. Oregon held primaries in 1908 in which the parties would run candidates for that position, and the state legislature pledged to choose the winner as the new senator. New Mexico, admitted to statehood in 1912, chose only its first two senators legislatively.
to which they could send their ambassadors." This was countered by the argument that a change in the mode in which senators were elected would not change their responsibilities. The Senate freshman class of 1910 brought new hope to the reformers.
Alabama and Wyoming, already states, had passed resolutions in favor of a convention without formally calling for one. ==Proposal and ratification== ===Proposal in Congress=== In 1911, the House of Representatives passed House Joint Resolution 39 proposing a constitutional amendment for direct election of senators.
It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held. The amendment was proposed by the 62nd Congress in 1912 and became part of the Constitution on April 8, 1913, on ratification by three-quarters (36) of the state legislatures.
The Senate finally joined the House to submit the Seventeenth Amendment to the states for ratification, nearly ninety years after it first was presented to the Senate in 1826. By 1912, 239 political parties at both the state and national level had pledged some form of direct election, and 33 states had introduced the use of direct primaries.
In 1912, Oklahoma reelected Robert Owen by advisory popular vote. Oregon held primaries in 1908 in which the parties would run candidates for that position, and the state legislature pledged to choose the winner as the new senator. New Mexico, admitted to statehood in 1912, chose only its first two senators legislatively.
Arizona, admitted to statehood in 1912, chose its first two senators by advisory popular vote.
It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held. The amendment was proposed by the 62nd Congress in 1912 and became part of the Constitution on April 8, 1913, on ratification by three-quarters (36) of the state legislatures.
The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913.
senator legislatively. The first election subject to the Seventeenth Amendment was a late election in Georgia held June 15, 1913.
The transition began with two special elections in Georgia and Maryland, then in earnest with the November 1914 election; it was complete on March 4, 1919, when the senators chosen at the November 1918 election took office. ==Text== ==Background== ===Original composition=== Originally, under Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and2 of the Constitution, each state legislature elected its state's senators for a six-year term.
The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913.
The malapportioned state legislatures would have given the Republicans control of the Senate in the 1916 Senate elections.
The transition began with two special elections in Georgia and Maryland, then in earnest with the November 1914 election; it was complete on March 4, 1919, when the senators chosen at the November 1918 election took office. ==Text== ==Background== ===Original composition=== Originally, under Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and2 of the Constitution, each state legislature elected its state's senators for a six-year term.
The transition began with two special elections in Georgia and Maryland, then in earnest with the November 1914 election; it was complete on March 4, 1919, when the senators chosen at the November 1918 election took office. ==Text== ==Background== ===Original composition=== Originally, under Article I, § 3, Clauses 1 and2 of the Constitution, each state legislature elected its state's senators for a six-year term.
Alaska, and Hawaii, admitted to statehood in 1959, have never chosen a U.S.
The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913.
Under President Barack Obama's administration in 2009, four sitting Democratic senators left the Senate for executive branch positions: Barack Obama (President), Joe Biden (Vice President), Hillary Clinton (Secretary of State), and Ken Salazar (Secretary of the Interior).
The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913.
The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913.
Schiller and Charles Stewart III (May 2013), The 100th Anniversary of the 17th Amendment: A Promise Unfulfilled?, Issues in Governance Studies, Number 59 May 2013 ==External links== Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution 1913 in American politics Amendments to the United States Constitution Seventeenth History of voting rights in the United States Progressive Era in the United States United States Senate 1912 in American law 1912 in American politics
The amendment has subsequently been ratified by: Louisiana: June 11, 1914 Alabama: April 11, 2002 Delaware: July 1, 2010 (after rejecting the amendment on March 18, 1913) Maryland: April 1, 2012 Rhode Island: June 20, 2014 The Utah legislature rejected the amendment on February 26, 1913.
On March 2, 2016, the Utah legislature approved Senate Joint Resolution No.2 asking Congress to offer an amendment to the United States Constitution that would repeal the Seventeenth Amendment.
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