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This was ratified in 1913. It replaces the process of state legislatures picking U.S. Senators with a process of democratic election the people.

The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified in 1913 during the [[progressive]] era of [[Woodrow Wilson]]. The Seventeenth Amendment replaces the process of elected state [[Legislature|legislatures]] picking U.S. Senators–and the Senators adhering to the principles of those elected legislatures–with a process of electing Senators by a majority vote of the people within a state, a shift in policy from the [[Founding Fathers]] [[Constitutional Republic]] to a form of [[Democracy]]. Consequently, the Seventeenth Amendment reduces state liberties and the voice of the people through elected legislatures, and gives control of state Senators to special interest groups ([[Lobbyists]], [[Unions]] and [[Corporation|Corporations]]), otherwise known as legislating by "majority rule," rather than adhering strictly to the Constitutional "rule of law" which was designed to protect individual rights and freedom. 

The Senate, which was comprised of senators selected by state legislatures rather than democratically elected by the people, refused for years to pass this amendment. The states resorted to the alternative mechanism for amendment in bypassing Congress and passing resolutions calling for a constitutional convention. When nearly enough states (2/3rd of the United States) had passed resolutions for a constitutional convention, the Senate averted a constitutional convention by finally passing this amendment and sending it to the states for ratification.

There are two impacting differences in the election process with the addition of the Seventeenth Amendment: (1) the people of a state vote for a Senator rather than the elected state legislatures, and (2) upon confirmation of an elected Senator, they are no longer under the influence of the people who elected them, nor the state legislatures, but are controlled by special interest groups otherwise known as "Mob Rule," or rule by the majority. The long-term impact of the Seventeenth Amendment modified America's [[Constitutional Republic]] by fundamentally transforming it into a more progressive form of [[democracy]], sometimes referred to as a "democratic Republic" by Public Union teachers, and of which has essentially reduced the people's protections under Constitutional Law by giving more power to majority rule. 

Before the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, the Senate was comprised of senators selected by state legislatures rather than elected by the people, and they refused for years to pass this amendment. With the help of Woodrow Wilson's inventive style of propaganda, the states resorted to an alternative mechanism for amendment, bypassing Congress and passing resolutions that called for a constitutional convention. When nearly enough states (2/3rd of the United States) had passed resolutions for a constitutional convention, the Senate averted a constitutional convention by finally passing the Seventeenth Amendment and sending it to the states for ratification.

The amendment has been criticized by some for eroding the principle of [[Federalism]] that the Constitution was based on.

The amendment has been criticized by some for eroding the principle of [[Federalism]] that the Constitution was based on.