samcster94
Banned
Senators until 1913 were chosen by State Legislatures. What if the 17th Amendment was passed before 1861 and what would it take for this to happen?? Bonus points if there is a change bigger than OTL.
Senators until 1913 were chosen by State Legislatures. What if the 17th Amendment was passed before 1861 and what would it take for this to happen?? Bonus points if there is a change bigger than OTL.
One change from OTL I immediately thought
of: Lincoln WINS his race with Stephen Douglas in 1858(IOTL on Election Day that
year the Republicans polled more votes than
the Democrats but- & doesn't this sound
familiar?- the Democrats had gerrymandered
Illinois legislative districts so Douglas had a
majority in the legislature). Perhaps Thaddeus Stevens gets elected to the Senate
too(IOTL he couldn't swing it because he just
couldn't kiss the you-know-what of enough
legislators). Maybe Davy Crockett, instead
of dying @ the Alamo, could have wrangled
a Senate seat(I see his rather crude style
connecting with voters in the Tennessee of
the 1830's). But I have to say samcster94,
that I just can't see direct election of sen-
ators before 1861 happening. Why? Be-
cause the South would have blocked it. Many
Southernors would have seen it as a way for
the North to get an advantage(I know, I
know- that doesn't make much sense. But
increasingly in the decades leading up to the
ACW IOTL one finds fear & hate pushing
logic out the door). Other, conservative
Southernors(read: slave owners)would have
opposed this as giving too much power to
poorer, maybe radical, elements in their
states. Oh, something else: Americans in
the 19th century IOTL just preferred to
NOT amend the Constitution(after the 12th
Amendment in 1804 revising Presidental
election voting it was 61 years before you
had the 13th Amendment, which of course
banned slavery. Then after the 15th Amend-
ment giving blacks the vote was ratified in
1870, no other Amendments passed for
another 43 years. By contrast, in our time
it's been only 25 years since an amendment
was last passed).