Amendment 17 - Senators Elected by Popular Vote. Ratified 4.8.1913
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 17th Amendment is perhaps the most pernicious addition that was ever made to the US Constitution. While on the surface it would seem to be a good thing to have another voice in DC directly elected "By the People" but it has given rise to the ever increasing intrusion of the Federal Government into the inter-workings of State affairs
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By enacting the 17th Amendment we have effectively silenced our States ability to demand that the Feds adhere to the rest of the article and amendments in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers knew that in order to keep the Federal Government in its Constitutional cage there would have to be a mechanism to ensure State Governments (As a legislative body) had a say in the law making process. Article 1 Section 3 was that mechanism. By amending the Constitution in 1913, we upset the balance of power that was originally outlined in the document and removed the only buffer that citizens have against an unrelenting assault on our Liberties, The Senate was never meant to be a House of Representatives Lite, it is a voting body that is supposed to be an advocate to the individual states and protector of State sovereignty.
By enacting the 17th Amendment we have effectively silenced our States ability to demand that the Feds adhere to the rest of the article and amendments in the Constitution. The Founding Fathers knew that in order to keep the Federal Government in its Constitutional cage there would have to be a mechanism to ensure State Governments (As a legislative body) had a say in the law making process. Article 1 Section 3 was that mechanism. By amending the Constitution in 1913, we upset the balance of power that was originally outlined in the document and removed the only buffer that citizens have against an unrelenting assault on our Liberties, The Senate was never meant to be a House of Representatives Lite, it is a voting body that is supposed to be an advocate to the individual states and protector of State sovereignty.
The Federal Government was never intended the to be a central repository of power in the land, it was to be strong enough to do the enumerated duties listed but not strong enough to over-step the Will of the State and certainly not strong enough to over turn the Will of the People. Between unfunded Federal mandates, unconstitutional Federal laws, and activist Federal Judges, we have been forced to cede Liberties granted to us by "Nature and Nature's God" and outlined in the Constitution. We are at a cross-road of American History, we can either choose the continued Tyranny* of our Federal Government or the absolute adherence to the Constitution the choice is ours to make.
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” -Patrick Henery
* Tyranny is defined as the arbitrary or unrestrained exercise of power
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