109th Anniversary of 17th Amendment
109th Anniversary of 17th Amendment
Today is the 109th anniversary of the ratification of one of my least favorite amendments, the 17th. This amendment moved the election of Senators from the State legislators (Article I, Section 3) to direct election by the people of the State. It was passed by Congress on May 13, 1912 and Connecticut became the 36th state to ratify it on April 8, 1913.
During the Constitutional Convention, the of separation of powers was debated: would the federal government be made up of representatives elected by the people of each State (favoring the more populous States) or would each State be represented equally (giving States with fewer people equal status with those with more)? Underlying this debate was also the allocation of powers between 1) the People and the States, 2) the People and the national government, and 3) the States and the national government.
The Constitutional compromise established Representatives would elected by popular vote every two years and Senators would be chosen by the State legislatures every six years. Representatives would ideally pursue the interests of the People and Senators would pursue the interests of the States, and together they would pass laws for the nation that balanced these two perspectives.
The seventeenth amendment decreased the influence of States within the national government. I think a line can be drawn between the popular election of Senators to the abuse we see of the Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8), what most Republicans see as big government: federal involvement in clearly intrastate issues (farming, education, housing, etc.).
Fortunately, at the county level, direct election and representation of the People is both ideal and practical. As your County Board member, I am the formal representative of your interests at the County level and I believe, informally a representative of the County's interests at the State level.
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