Final decision
I have settled on a research question of:
What impact did the 17th amendment have on the federal government?
Here is my preconceived opinion, yet will be completely left out of the scholarly paper that I have to do. I will let all know how well it meshes.
The 17th Amendment allowed for the Direct election of Senators. The Constitution had a bicameral legislature set up for the purpose of establishing federalism and to protect the sovereignty of states.
The House of Representatives was truly the people's house, with elections every two years to hold them to account. It is apportioned based on population. The larger the state, the more representatives.
The Senate was also known as the States' House. Its members were selected by state legislatures to represent the states' interests in Washington. Each state has equal representation in DC.
Why are cabinet selections and judges subject to a Senate confirmation? Why do Treaties, when actually submitted to the Senate, require a two-thirds majority? It is because Senators, as States' representatives, confirm, based on the US actually being the United States, a group of sovereign states approving, or not, matters of state.
It will be interesting to see how my feelings jive with what actually is the case. One thing I think would be different would be that Senators would be far less beholden to party, at least the national party. No way a Senator from Nebraska votes for the Affordable Care Act, if they were beholden to the state government, rather than party.
It is going to be fun!
What impact did the 17th amendment have on the federal government?
Here is my preconceived opinion, yet will be completely left out of the scholarly paper that I have to do. I will let all know how well it meshes.
The 17th Amendment allowed for the Direct election of Senators. The Constitution had a bicameral legislature set up for the purpose of establishing federalism and to protect the sovereignty of states.
The House of Representatives was truly the people's house, with elections every two years to hold them to account. It is apportioned based on population. The larger the state, the more representatives.
The Senate was also known as the States' House. Its members were selected by state legislatures to represent the states' interests in Washington. Each state has equal representation in DC.
Why are cabinet selections and judges subject to a Senate confirmation? Why do Treaties, when actually submitted to the Senate, require a two-thirds majority? It is because Senators, as States' representatives, confirm, based on the US actually being the United States, a group of sovereign states approving, or not, matters of state.
It will be interesting to see how my feelings jive with what actually is the case. One thing I think would be different would be that Senators would be far less beholden to party, at least the national party. No way a Senator from Nebraska votes for the Affordable Care Act, if they were beholden to the state government, rather than party.
It is going to be fun!
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