The Unconstitutional Seventeenth Amendment

When our founding fathers wrote the Constitution they created new form of government based on principles. Their objective was to create a government with enough power to protect the rights of the power without giving it too much power.

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They understood in order to secure liberty, and  prevent tyranny their formula included a system of checks and balances . They separated the power a legislative, executive and judicial branch to prevent the abuse of power.

They created a bicameral legislative branch with one house to represent the people and a second house to represent the interests of the states. This model gave both the large and the small states with a voice and the ability to prevent the tyranny of the majority,

When the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 our bicameral legislature became a unicameral legislature with two houses representing just one constituency. 

The founders believed that the method that they had chosen to elect the senators was so important that they wrote into Article V a clause that prohibited Congress from denying a state their suffrage in the senate without their consent.

Unlike every other proposed amendment that need the approval of three-fourths of the states, the Seventeenth Amendment required the approval of all of the states that existed when it was first proposed.

If three-fourths of the states had a right to impose their will on the remaining states they would demonstrate why the individual and state's rights can not be protected with a direct election of senators.

The states of Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Utah and Virginias' have lost their right to be represented in the senate without their consent.

The right of the states to be represented in guaranteed in Article V and in order for 17th amendment to be lawful,  a Constitutional amendment would be needed to the amendment protection clause found in Article V.

The states that have not ratified the 17th amendment have a legitimate right to discontinue the direct election of senators in their state. States that have ratified the 17tg amendment had a right to withdraw their consent bu changing their vote. In 1913 Delaware vote not to ratify the amendment, but in 2010 their legislature voted to ratify the amendment, If states can vote to change a negative vote on ratification to an affirmative vote, it stands to reason that state that voted in favor of ratification also change their position. We have a natural right to give and to withdraw our consent when we feel it is necessary.

Currently, there are 41 states that have ratified the amendment and if  six of those states were to change their vote, the amendment would have the approval of less than three-fourths of the states.

 

 

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