Date on Honors Thesis

Spring 4-20-2026

Major

Political Science

Minor

Economics

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Ihsan Alkhatib, Advisor

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Marc Polizzi, Committee Member

Examining Committee Member

Dr. Brittany Wood, Committee Member

Abstract/Description

To what extent has the Seventeenth Amendment impacted American federalism? The Seventeenth Amendment changed the way United States Senators are chosen from state legislature appointment to popular direct election. However, the framers of the U.S. Constitution established the original method for selecting U.S. Senators to safeguard an important principle in America’s government: federalism. If the Seventeenth Amendment decreased direct state influence in the federal government, it could have weakened federalism in America; consequently, the amendment may have altered how the American system of government is supposed to function. The U.S. Senate’s selection process was not only a safeguard for federalism because of its institutional structure, but also influenced who Senators are accountable to. To measure the amendment’s impact on federalism, I created a federal authority expansion score for each major piece of legislation that expanded federal authority. There are three levels for my federalism variable: (1) limited regulatory expansion, (2) strong regulatory expansion, and (3) structural administrative centralization. Moreover, I analyze all major federal expansion legislation from the Congressional Research Service (1982) between 1905 and 1920 to account for both pre- and post-amendment periods. I find that after the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, federalism decreased due to increasing federal expansion policies. These findings could spur further repeal efforts of the Seventeenth Amendment or increase state sovereignty legislation to restore the natural balance of federalism.

Download

Share

COinS