individual rights

One of the less known and more controversial moments in the history of the Constitution of the United States was the 17th amendment ratification. It birthed what some claimed was a more fair and accountable political system, and what others called Unconstitutional and tyrannical.  The original words of the the Constitution that are affected by the Seventeenth Amendment are in Article 1 Section 3, and read:  “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote” The Seventeenth Amendment ratification  eliminated the Constitutional mandate for Senators to the Congress to be chosen  by the State Legislatures, who are elected by vote by the people within the respective districts. In other words, Senators to the Congress are no longer chosen by State Legislatures and instead by popular vote of citizens directly. The problem with popular vote of course is that the process by which popular vote occurs creates little motivation to research those who are receiving the votes. The direct election of Senators, a powerful political seat in the United States, is carried out in only one step., whereas if State Legislatures chose Senators, the [...]