On May 13, 1912, Congress passed the Seventeenth Amendment, which changed Article 1, Section 3 of the United States Constitution to give Americans the power to elect senators directly. Before the amendment was ratified on April 8, 1913, state legislatures chose who would represent their states in the US Senate.
The Seventeenth Amendment states:
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of such State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution.
The Constitution’s framers designed the Senate to give every state equal representation. The legislatures in every state would select two senators, who would each serve six-year terms in Washington, DC.
On July 15, 1913, Georgia resident Augustus Bacon became the first senator elected by popular vote after the Seventeenth Amendment was passed. The first nationwide direct election of US senators was held in 1914 when one-third of the body’s seats were available. Notably, every incumbent won reelection that year.
.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
