United States Seventeenth Amendment?

Question

Okay, well I'm doing an assignment where I need to find the Amendments 11-27 for purpose, reason necessary, and rights/actions protected/granted.
I'm on number 17 and I'm pretty sure that it just made a senator's term 6 years long (please correct me if I'm wrong on this or if there is more to it.) But if that really IS what is is, then what would be the reason it is necessary? I'm not looking for a cut-and-paste answer here. Thanks!

I've tried looking for online resources (i.e. google, answers.com, etc.) But all I can seem to find are sites copying eachother and otherwise only "legal document" kind of things.

Answer 1

The 17 Amendment outlines the amount of Senators, yes, but it moreso determines how the position shall be dealt with, in the event it is vacated.

Basically, it states that if a Senator dies, resigns, etc, and the seat is open, the Executive authority (Governor) of that state can call for special elections to be held to fill the vacancy.

In the meantime (and this is where it gets interesting), the Governor can place a temporary replacement in the seat, and he/she will act as Senator, with all powers, until that special election can take place, and the new Senator can fly to Washington to be sworn in. If the Governor wants to, he can even appoint HIMSELF into the Senate seat, until that position can be filled. (This is supposed to be short term, as when this does happen, special elections are held pretty quickly.)

Answer 2

When you do your report, you might want to point out the long range adverse effects of the Seventeenth Amendment.

It destroyed the balance of power separating the United States Senate from the House of Representatives.

With both houses of Congress now being elected by popular vote, there is no longer any moderating influence from the States.

The resulting universal appeal for popular votes has devastated our economy, and turned our Republic (rule by law, which protects unpopular minorities) into a Democracy (i.e., rule by popular majority, with no guaranteed protection for the rights of the minority).

As an example, compare the Republic to a town sheriff in the Old West, and compare the Democracy to a lynch mob.

In a true Democracy, such as we have now, everything is fine only as long as you don't express unpopular views.

But, if the majority of the people consider your statements and beliefs "politically incorrect", there is no longer any real protection under law, for our "CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES" has been nullified.

Now, if and when the pendulum of popular opinion eventually shifts (and it ALWAYS does), what happens to YOU if your personal opinions and beliefs are no longer acceptable to the majority of your fellow citizens?

That's why the Seventeenth Amendment is so damaging to our society and our nation.

Answer 3

Yes. It also gives power to state governors to appoint someone to the senate if the seat is vacated - this happened in New Jersey recently, I think.

Senators used to be elected by state legislatures, so the emphasis of the amendment is more on the "elected by the people thereof" part than the six years.

(this link will probably be helpful for background on 17th amendment, specifically the last few paragraphs)

Answer 4

The 17th Amendment requires Senators be elected by the people, it was proposed on May 13, 1912. Until that time they were elected by, I believe state Representatives.

Answer 5

The 17th Amendment did not change Senator's terms. It changed their positions from appointments by state legislatures to representatives elected by popular vote.

Answer 6

Try Google.

Answer 7

LOL, and when you turn in your report, I hope you give due credit to all those whose ideas you use in it.