Constitution Daily Blog
17th Amendment
On this day, the 17th Amendment is ratified
On April 8, 1913, Connecticut became the 36th state to ratify the Constitution’s 17th Amendment. Learn about the only amendment…
Interactive Constitution: The Seventeenth Amendment
David N. Schleicher and Todd J. Zywicki look at how the Seventeenth Amendment removed from state legislatures the power to…
The Interactive Constitution: The 17th Amendment
On May 31, 1913, the 17th Amendment went into effect, changing how Senators are elected. In this essay from our Interactive…
Repealing the 17th Amendment would be no small task
Back on this day in 1913, the 17th Amendment to the Constitution went into effect, ending indirect elections to the U.S. Senate.…
What would the Senate look like today without the 17th Amendment?
It’s the 105th anniversary of the 17th Amendment, leading us to consider what today’s U.S. Senate would look like if its…
Senators should serve for life, and other election ideas from the Founders
Today, Americans will vote in elections around the country. But did you know if alternative ideas from the Founders were used…
Can a Senator serve in Congress after a conviction in court?
As the Robert Menendez trial winds down, the New Jersey congressional caucus faces an odd scenario if the Senator is convicted of…
The controversy over the direct election of Senators
The 17th amendment, which was ratified 103 years ago today, profoundly changed how Senators were chosen to serve in Congress. The…
Constitution Check: What is the answer to political “rancor and suspicion”?
Lyle Denniston, the National Constitution Center’s constitutional literacy adviser, looks at references made in President…
Happy birthday, 17th Amendment!
The 17th Amendment, which was ratified this day in 1913, allowed senators to be directly elected by the people rather than by…
