Admit it. You’ve wondered why there are two houses of Congress, right? Well, I’ll admit it then. This is something I’d never really understood about the Framers’ original intentions for election to the Senate. George Will explains:
The Framers established election of senators by state legislators, under which system the nation got the Great Triumvirate (Henry Clay, Daniel Webster and John Calhoun) and thrived. In 1913, progressives, believing that more, and more direct, democracy is always wonderful, got the 17th Amendment ratified. It stipulates popular election of senators, under which system Wisconsin has elected, among others, Joe McCarthy, as well as Feingold.
Okay, so originally, the Framers wanted Senators elected to serve by the State legislators. Actually, this makes a great deal of sense. After all, someone is supposed to be an ambassador from each of the States to the Federal Government. The House of Representatives is already representing the people.
The Framers gave the three political components of the federal government (the House, Senate and presidency) different electors (the people, the state legislatures and the electoral college as originally intended) to reinforce the principle of separation of powers, by which government is checked and balanced.
Furthermore, grounding the Senate in state legislatures served the structure of federalism. Giving the states an important role in determining the composition of the federal government gave the states power to resist what has happened since 1913 — the progressive (in two senses) reduction of the states to administrative extensions of the federal government.
And that is certainly a problem I’ve noticed. Full Op/Ed here.