The 17th Amendment and States' Rights

The ­­first clause of article 1, section 3, of the Constitution states:

“The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.”

This very important aspect of the office of the Senator has been revoked today. It was changed by the ­17^th amendment, ratified on April 8, 1913. This amendment has weakened the integrity of the Constitution.

The Founding Fathers originally designed the Constitution as a delicate system of checks and balances. They assigned the different responsibilities to different branches and subsections, elected by different means. The Senate was designed to be the realm of the states. The state legislatures would elect the Senators, and thereby have this check on federal government. All bills, treaties, and appointments would have to be ratified by the Senate in order for them to become valid. The states could then make sure that the feds didn’t encroach on their rights and privileges.

This is as opposed to the House of Representatives, which is elected by the people directly. This house of Congress originates all the tax laws and other things. The normal citizens of the U.S. would naturally be concerned about that, so they have power over that side of law making.

However, in the early 1900s, the Progressives were pushing for more of their programs. They were in favor of a democracy, as opposed to the originally designed republic. They wanted the people to control all aspects of government more directly. This was a façade, behind which they could institute greater governmental controls over people’s lives. In fact, on February 13 of the same year, the 16^th amendment was ratified by Progressives, giving government the power to levy an income tax.

However, this change to the Constitution has resulted in less representation of the states in federal government. They have lost their voice. The two houses of Congress are now basically the same, except for their duties. This decreased responsibility has resulted in various usurpations by Washington, leading to decreased freedoms.

We need to restore the Senate to its original position as the representative of the states in federal government. We need to repeal the 17^th amendment to take back the strength of the Constitution.