When the States Lost Their Senate: the Seventeenth Amendment
Academic Level at Time of Presentation
Senior
Major
Political Science
Minor
Economics
List all Project Mentors & Advisor(s)
Dr. Ihsan Alkhatib; Dr. Brittney Wood
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
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 America's Constitution implemented the original selection method of U.S. Senators to act as a safeguard of an important principle in American politics: federalism. If the Seventeenth Amendment decreased direct state influence in the federal government, then it could have weakened federalism in America; consequently, the amendment may have altered how the American government system is supposed to function. The U.S. Senate’s selection process was not only a safeguard to federalism because of its institutional structure, but also influenced who the Senators are accountable to. To measure the impact the amendment had on federalism, I created a federal authority expansion score for each piece of major legislation dealing with the expansion of federal authority. There are three variables: limited regulatory expansion (1), strong regulatory expansion (2), and structural administrative centralization (3). Moreover, I am using all major federal expansion legislation from the Congressional Research Service (1982) between 1905-1920 to account for pre- and post-amendment. I expect to find that after the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, federalism decreased due to the increasing federal expansion policies. These findings could propel more repeal efforts for the Seventeenth Amendment or increase state sovereignty legislation to restore the natural balance of federalism.
Fall Scholars Week 2025
Political Science and Sociology Department Panel
Spring Scholars Week 2026
Political Science and Sociology Department Panel
When the States Lost Their Senate: the Seventeenth Amendment
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 America's Constitution implemented the original selection method of U.S. Senators to act as a safeguard of an important principle in American politics: federalism. If the Seventeenth Amendment decreased direct state influence in the federal government, then it could have weakened federalism in America; consequently, the amendment may have altered how the American government system is supposed to function. The U.S. Senate’s selection process was not only a safeguard to federalism because of its institutional structure, but also influenced who the Senators are accountable to. To measure the impact the amendment had on federalism, I created a federal authority expansion score for each piece of major legislation dealing with the expansion of federal authority. There are three variables: limited regulatory expansion (1), strong regulatory expansion (2), and structural administrative centralization (3). Moreover, I am using all major federal expansion legislation from the Congressional Research Service (1982) between 1905-1920 to account for pre- and post-amendment. I expect to find that after the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913, federalism decreased due to the increasing federal expansion policies. These findings could propel more repeal efforts for the Seventeenth Amendment or increase state sovereignty legislation to restore the natural balance of federalism.