Omar Bennett
The original US Constitution, as adopted in 1788, outlined a system of government that would grant states equal representation in the Senate. Each state legislature would elect two senators to serve six-year terms. Citizens would vote for their state legislators, and those legislators would vote a man into the US Senate. This system was in place until the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1913, which provided for the direct election of senators by popular vote.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Election of senators | Chosen by state legislatures |
| Age requirement | 30 years or older |
| Citizenship requirement | 9 years a citizen of the United States |
| Inhabitancy requirement | Must be an inhabitant of the state they represent |
| Term length | 6 years |
| Number of senators per state | 2 senators per state |
| Filling vacancies | State legislatures filled Senate vacancies |
| Direct election | No direct election; voters elected state legislators, who then voted for senators |
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What You'll Learn
Senators were chosen by state legislatures
The original US Constitution, as adopted in 1788, provided for the election of senators by state legislatures. Each state legislature elected two senators to six-year terms. Citizens voted for their state legislators, and those legislators then voted for senators to represent their state in the US Senate. This system was designed to give states a sense of authority and legitimacy in selecting their federal representatives.
The election of senators by state legislatures was also seen as a way to preserve harmony between the states and the federal government, calming fears about the dangers of a strong centralized government. Additionally, it was believed that the state legislatures would act as a "filtration" system, ensuring that only the best candidates became senators.
However, this system faced criticism, particularly in the post-Civil War era. There were instances of electoral deadlock, where state legislatures failed to agree on the selection of senators, leaving some Senate seats vacant for extended periods. The system was also susceptible to corruption, with wealthier and more influential candidates bribing legislatures to secure their appointment.
In the early 20th century, several states began to use the popular vote to elect senators, although this was not a direct election. The results of the popular vote were presented as a referendum to the state legislature for confirmation. The movement for direct election gained momentum, and in 1911, Senator Joseph Bristow of Kansas proposed a Senate resolution to amend the Constitution.
The Seventeenth Amendment, proposed by Congress in 1912 and ratified in 1913, modified the Constitution to allow for the direct election of senators by the voting public. This amendment standardized the popular election of senators across the country and gave state governors the power to appoint temporary officials to fill vacant Senate seats until special elections could be held.
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Legislators voted men into the US Senate
The original US Constitution, as adopted in 1788, outlined that state legislators would vote men into the US Senate. Each state legislature elected two senators to serve six-year terms. Citizens would vote for their state legislators, and those legislators would then vote for senators. This was influenced by the British model, with the Senate viewed as an ""upper house" of "better men" from society, paralleling the House of Lords in the UK.
The process of electing senators was designed to give states a sense of authority and legitimacy in selecting federal representatives. It was also seen as a safeguard against federal overreach, ensuring state interests were represented in the federal government. However, this system faced criticism, particularly in the post-Civil War era, due to issues like electoral deadlocks, corruption, and the influence of special interests.
The 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, introduced direct elections for senators, allowing voters to cast their votes directly for US senators. This amendment standardised popular elections for senators across the country.
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Qualifications for senators were set
The original method of choosing senators, as outlined in Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution, was for state legislatures to elect them. This method was influenced by the British House of Lords, which was viewed as an "upper house" of "better men" who were appointed for life. The US Senate, in contrast, was intended to be an improvement, with senators chosen by state legislatures for fixed terms.
However, this system faced criticism, particularly in the post-Civil War era, due to issues such as corruption, electoral deadlock, and the influence of special interests. These issues led to calls for reform and the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, which provided for the direct election of senators by popular vote.
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The Senate was considered an upper house
The original US Constitution, as adopted in 1788, established the Senate as an assembly where each state would have equal representation. Each state legislature would elect two senators to six-year terms. The Seventeenth Amendment, which was ratified on April 8, 1913, modified this process by allowing voters to directly elect their senators.
The framers of the Constitution set specific qualifications for senators, including age, citizenship, and inhabitancy requirements. They voted against proposed religion and property requirements. The original method of electing senators through state legislatures was intended to give states a sense of authority and legitimacy in selecting their federal representatives. This system also aimed to prevent the federal government from being subject to "special interests".
However, the system of electing senators by state legislatures faced criticism, particularly in the post-Civil War era. Wealthier and more influential candidates could bribe legislatures to appoint them, and electoral deadlocks sometimes left Senate seats vacant for extended periods. These issues fueled growing public support for reform, leading to the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment and the shift to direct elections for senators.
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State selection preserved harmony
The original method of choosing senators, as outlined in Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 of the US Constitution, was for state legislatures to elect their state's senators. This was known as "state selection" and was intended to preserve harmony between the states and the federal government by giving state governments a sense of authority and legitimacy in selecting their representatives.
This system of state selection was chosen over popular election as it was believed that it would provide the necessary "filtration" to produce better senators—the "elect of the elected". It was also seen as a way to ensure that the Senate would be a body of "better men", or the ablest men of society, who would provide greater deliberation and stability than the House of Representatives.
State selection was also a compromise between small and large states, with each state, regardless of size, being entitled to two senators. This was known as the Connecticut Compromise or the Great Compromise and was proposed by James Madison, one of the primary authors of the Constitution.
However, over time, this method of selecting senators faced increasing criticism, particularly in the post-Civil War era. One of the main issues was that state legislatures often deadlocked over the election of senators, resulting in numerous Senate vacancies for long periods. There were also concerns about corruption, with wealthier and more influential candidates bribing legislatures to appoint them in exchange for favors.
As a result of these issues, reformers began calling for a change to the system, and in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, providing for the popular election of senators by direct vote. This amendment also gave state governors the power to appoint temporary officials to hold vacant Senate seats until a special election could be held.
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Frequently asked questions
Senators were chosen by state legislatures. Citizens voted for their state legislators, and those legislators voted a man into the U.S. Senate.
It was argued that this system would give the states a sense of authority and legitimacy in selecting representatives for the federal government. It was also believed that this would provide a range of perspectives and opinions in political dialogue.
Wealthier and more influential candidates could easily bribe the legislatures to appoint them in exchange for favours. There was also the problem of electoral deadlock, where state legislatures failed to reach agreements in their selection of senators.
The Seventeenth Amendment was an amendment to the U.S. Constitution, passed in 1913, that allowed voters to cast direct votes for U.S. senators.
The Seventeenth Amendment had a dramatic impact on the political composition of the U.S. Senate. It allowed senators to make decisions based on the demands of the constituents that elected them, rather than the state legislatures.
