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Constitutional Amendment For Direct Election Of Senators Proposed

1893

A constitutional amendment to elect senators by popular vote is proposed in Congress. The amendment will not pass until 1912 because of resistance in the Senate. From the 1870s on, citizen pressure for direct elections had grown. The House of Representatives passed several “popular election” resolutions by the required two-thirds majorities in the early 1890s. By 1902, the House will pass 19 resolutions calling for direct election of senators.