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 it instead 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 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 it instead 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. |