Amendment XVII
Ratified: April 8, 1913
Summary
Establishes the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote.
Full Text
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.
History and Context
Another key victory of the Progressive Era, the Seventeenth Amendment ripped the power of electing senators from the hands of state legislatures and gave it directly to the people. The original system had become riddled with corruption and dysfunction. Deadlocks in state legislatures often left Senate seats vacant for months or even years, and stories of wealthy industrialists buying Senate seats were rampant. The amendment was the culmination of decades of public outcry, transforming the Senate from a chamber representing state governments into one representing the people of the states, making the entire federal government more directly democratic.