The 17th Amendment Of The United States Constitution

Ever since April 8, 1913, a portion of US citizens, primarily Conservatives politicians and commentators, have had mixed feelings of the ratification of the 17th amendment. Before, elected members of each House in a state would vote for two senators that they felt best represented their state. Many questioned why the amendment was necessary while a majority defended its ratification. As a result, it’s been argued that this modification took away one of the major powers of the states and increased the national government’s power. Others have said that repealing the amendment would strip away the people’s rights and bring back the corruption that took place in pre-17th amendment elections. But removing and repealing the 17th amendment would finally return powers to the states, decrease corruption, force voters to become more interested in who they’re electing, give Senate the ability to do what they are intended to do, restore the checks and balances system, and restore Federalism. Arguments to remove the amendment outweigh ones that fight to keep it. Repeal it or not, there are still going to be issues. For instance, before the ratification of the 17th amendment, U.S. Senators bought their seats through bribes (Mighell). After 1913, corruption was still present, but it was more of an “underground” deal. It used to be between a candidate and a state legislature, today, it’s the candidate and numerous unknown funding sources (The Campaign). In other words, there were obviously

76) With this in mind the framers carefully and purposefully crafted a Constitution that divided federal powers between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. This division of power gave each branch the ability and authority to control the others through a specific system of checks and balances. One check on Congress was the design of a bicameral system where Congress was divided into the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House of Representatives would be elected by majority popular vote making them the direct representative of their constituencies. Members of the Senate would be elected by state legislatures making them direct representatives of the states, and proponents of the state’s rights and sovereignty. Joseph Story (1833) suggests that one main reason for the mode of appointing the Senate was to introduce a powerful check upon rash legislation, and prevent the national governments encroachment on the powers of the states (p.183). However, in passing the 17th Amendment the mode of electing the Senate as a means of partitioning federal and state power collapsed leaving the states unprotected from abuses of the central government.

The Founding Fathers created the federal constitution during their time and this contained an intricate set of checks and balances between different levels and branches of government. This remains relatively unchanged within the US constitution. This set of checks and balances works in a way that makes the different branches of government still have independence and work on their own, but also requires them to work together interdependently. This creates better, stronger

When the Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution in 1787, the United States just had 13 states. The Founding Fathers believed that more states would want to join the Union in the future. They saw that it would be significant for new states to have the same form of government as the original states had. Since then there are now over 50 states that have similar characteristics which were developed centuries ago; although, resembling the creation of new ideas and inventions, current state government had many problems from being the way it is today, it also has many important features that benefit many people, as well as plays an important role in how American democracy and government works.

The Federal Government was able to change the way senators were elected. In the past, senators were elected by state legislatures. In a speech by Teddy Roosevelt, February 22, 1912, he said, “I believe in the election of United States senators by direct vote.” (Document D) This helped lead to the 17th amendment, which was passed by Congress May 13, 1912. It was then ratified April 8th, 1913. With this change, people could now cast direct votes for the senators of the United States.

When the constitution was written, it was written so that the President of the United States is not chosen through a national popular vote, but through an electoral college, which gives each state as many votes as it has members of Congress. The system was created as a middle ground in order to keep voting fair, and to balance between congress voting and the people. Federalism has been a way to help control the abuse of power. Flexibility allows the government to work with the different traditions, and religions of people, and allows the states to develop their own policies without putting the whole country at risk. Citizens are also given the opportunity in running the government, and making contributions.

The 19th Amendment was ratified on August 18, 1920. The 19th Amendment provided men and women with equal voting rights. The United States Constitution created in 1789 unattended the subject of suffrage. In the beginning of the 1800s many women suffrage supporters marched, lectured and even practiced civil disobedience to achieve a big change in the constitution. It took decades to accomplish this around 1878 is when the amendment was first introduced in congress.

The Constitution guarded against tyranny since 1790. They did this by separating the powers of the three branches of the federal government in a way that the branches can check with each other, and giving each state 2 senators. In Federalist Paper #47 by James Madison, it says, “(L)iberty requires that the three great departments of power should be separate and distinct.” This quote conveys that James Madison think that the three branches of the federal government, legislative, executive, and judicial, should be divided, but each will have equal power. The separation of power guards against tyranny, so one branch could not become too powerful than the other two. From the Federalist Paper #51 by James Madison, it states,

Most people in American feel like they have to do what is justful for our country.

The Amendment #19 was included in the Constitution because it gives the women the right to vote. This Amendment was important to framers because the women were given a chance for advancement in life, and it allowed women to have a right to vote. Another important thing was that politicians didn't have a reason to listen to women's rights and issues that are important to women. Since the women are allowed to vote, some got very interested in politics, but there're no women presidents yet.

The Eighteenth Amendment was a statute that most American people in the 1920’s ignored.”The Amendment passed both chambers of the U.S congress in December 1917 and was ratified by the requisite three-fourths of the states in January 1919” (Wallenfelt 14). “The amendment emerged from the organized efforts of the temperance movement and Anti-Saloon League, which attributed to alcohol virtually all of society’s ills and led campaigns at the local, state, and national levels to combat its manufacture, sale, distribution, and consumption”(Wallenfeldt 13). “Most of the organized efforts supporting prohibition involved religious coalitions that linked alcohol to immorality, criminality, and, with the even of World War 1, unpatriotic citizenship” (Wallenfeldt

Nonetheless, disagreements and various opinions lead to the formation of two different groups. The Federalists, and the Anti-Federalists. The Anti-Federalists opposed this revision of the Constitution, because they did not approve of one single, strong, central government. A long list of possible abuses of power by the central government were written by the Anti-Feds, which included a Constitution’s lack of protection for individual rights, and ignoring the rights of the majority people. The Federalists, on the other hand, were in favor of the Constitution, because they approved the balance of power between the central government and the states governments. In their opinion, the division of powers and a system of checks and balances among other branches from the government, would prevent any tyrannical actions. These branches of government were the Judicial Branch, which held the Supreme Court, the Legislative Branch that concluded of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and the Executive Branch which included of only the president. Each of these branches, had a “check and balance” with each

The fore father's spent many agonizing hours in the summer heat to ensure the future people of America would maintain liberty among other things. The people are supposed to run the government, not the other way around. The amendment proposes that people should be able to make their own decisions about what they choose to purchase. American's need to remember where they came from and look to where they are going. By ratifying this amendment, America is taking back control and stopping the government from forcing us to purchase goods and services from their or other dominating companies. Saying yes to this amendment brings America one step closer to the ideals we all dream about. The government cannot and will not tell the people how to spend

I would not support the repealing of the seventeenth amendment. The seventeenth amendment states that the people are able to vote for the senator directly instead of allowing the state legislator to appoint them. Before 1913 the state legislators were able to appoint someone as senator. Then their was the change in the constitution and their had to be a reason why the constitution was changed. My way of looking at it is that the people should have the right to vote for the senator because it would be unfair if the state legislator cause. In Pennsylvania we have a mostly republican state legislator if the legislator were to appoint a senator it would most likely be a republican. This would cause problems considering they do not take in to consideration

Eleanor Roosevelt gained the right for women to vote through the 19 ammendment. The 19 ammendment prohibits any U.S citizen from being denied the right to vote on the basis of gender. This ammendmet means anyone can vote based on gender. During the 1920's, women fought for their right to vote. Overtime women worked hard for their belifes and rights until the 19 ammendemnt was passed.