Corruption Of Populism

131 Words1 Pages
However, trust in a state elected senate eroded over time. Because of legislative deadlock, instances of corruption in the election of senators, and a slow move to populism, the public eventually began to resent the method in which senators were chosen. Although the constitution stated in Article I Section 3 that senators were to be chosen by state legislatures, it was unclear about how that selection should happen. In the late 19th century, states consistently failed to elect their senators because of this grey area. This was the result of political parties dividing state legislatures to the point where they could not agree on a singular candidate and between 1885 and 1900 alone the states of West Virginia, Louisiana, Montana, Washington and