Question

Which of the following constitutional amendments was originally a goal of The Populist Party?
A) The prohibition of alcoholic beverages in the U.S.
B) The direct election of U.S. Senators.
C) Women’s suffrage
D) Establishing a two-term limit for the U.S Presidents.
E) The establishment of a national banking system.

Answer 1

Hint: The Populist Party was a left-wing agrarian party in the late 19th-century U.S.A formed by many leaders of the Farmers’ Alliance who were convinced that only a third party could challenge the conservatism of both the major parties. They wanted to improve the condition of the country's farmers and make democracy more efficient.

Complete answer:
One of the four main objectives of the People’s/Populist Party was to make the election of the U.S. Senators direct. The farmers wanted the state government to cement their ties with the National government and believed this could be done by directly electing the U.S. Senators. The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of The U.S. Congress, composed of senators representing a single state each.

The Constitution makers created the Senate to safeguard the rights of individual states and protect the rights of the minority in a federal system of government. The Populist Party pushed for the election of the Senators by the people to support the ideals of direct democracy and establish a senate free from the corrupt influence of state legislature.

The seventeenth amendment to the Constitution removed from the state legislature the power to choose the U.S. Senators and gave that power directly to voters by replacing the phrase “chosen by the Legislature thereof” with “elected by the people thereof.” The amendment gave each senator more power in office, eliminating all political corruption on the state legislature level. It allowed the people to emphasize more on the state issue while choosing state officials. As the senate became directly accountable to the people it represented, the chances of ratifying the constitution also increased.

Thus the correct answer is Option B- The direct election of the U.S. Senators.

Note: Both the state legislature and the House of Representatives pushed for the Seventeenth Amendment as a part of the progressive movement. Many senators, products of the state-based system of elections also strongly supported direct elections. By 1912, as many as 29 states elected their senators in a direct election.