1916 United States Senate elections
The 1916 United States Senate elections were elections that coincided with the re-election of President Woodrow Wilson. This was the first election since the enactment of the Seventeenth Amendment that all 32 Class 1 Senators were selected by direct or popular elections instead of state legislatures. Republicans gained a net of two seats from the Democrats, and then a furthered seat through mid-term vacancies thereby reducing Democrats to a 53-43 majority.
1916 United States Senate elections
1916 United States Senate elections
1916 United States Senate elections
1916 United States Senate elections
Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, Section 3, Clauses 1 and 2 of the Constitution, under which senators were elected by state legislatures. It also alters the procedure for filling vacancies in the Senate, allowing for state legislatures to permit their governors to make temporary appointments until a special election can be held.
The Seventeenth Amendment in the National Archives
James Wilson was the only member of the Constitutional Convention who supported electing the United States Senate by popular vote.
William Jennings Bryan campaigned for the popular election of U.S. senators.