Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment

Written By: Joel McDurmon  |  Posted: Saturday, October 1st, 2011

            An important assault on State's rights was the Seventeenth Amendment. The product of the time when Populism and Progressivism were sweeping large sections of America, the Seventeenth Amendment jammed a wedge of pure democracy into the Constitution where it was never designed to belong. This upset the Constitutional checks-and-balances system, weakened State rights and power, and magnified the power of special interests in Washington.

            In the original bicameral design of the Constitution, the Legislature was divided between a House and a Senate. Members of the House represent the people of the United States; these representatives are therefore elected in each state by popular vote. The Senate, today, is the same, but not originally so. It was originally designed not to represent the people, but to represent the States, and thus protect issues regarding State's rights and powers. Thus, Senators were elected by the legislatures in each State. With this arrangement, each State had popular representation according to population in one house, and equal representation for the State itself in the other.

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