The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendment: Income Tax and Election of Senators

The Sixteenth Amendment in the Constitution of the United States.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica) 
 

    The Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution was used to solve an issue relating to Sections 8 and 9 of Article I in the Constitution. Section 8 of Article I stated that the Constitution allows Congress to "lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States; but all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States." Section 9 stated that "No capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration herein before directed to be taken."

    Congress was unsuccessful in imposing taxes on income, as its attempts were struck down upon and faced with resistance. In a Supreme Court case, Pollock v. Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, the federal income tax was declared unconstitutional and removed parts of the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Act (1984) since the Act directly taxed the income of Americans. To fix this problem, the Sixteenth Amendment was introduced in 1909 and ratified in 1913. The Amendment stated, "Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on income, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration." The effect of the Sixteenth Amendment was that it removed the direct tax issue from Article I, Section 8, and also gave Congress the power to collect income taxes while disregarding Article I, Section 9.


Center for Civic Education. (2024a, January 8). The 16th Amendment. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTF4mMHBYHE



The Seventeenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
(Encyclopaedia Britannica) 


    In Article I, Section 3, of the United States Constitution, it had stated that state legislatures would provide for the appointment of senators. The Seventeenth Amendment was created since many people viewed the election method of state legislatures to be ineffective and also corrupt. Article I, Section 3, was altered to state that the senators from each state would now be chosen by the people instead of the legislature. The amendment was deemed necessary in reducing the influence that some big businesses had in the selection of senators, and also resolved the problem of many seats in the Senate being empty due to the fact that state legislatures would sometimes be indecisive in agreeing on a senator. The adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment was a huge step in the democratic political reform of the Progressive Era, as it gave power to the people of the United States.


Center for Civic Education. (2024, January 9). The 17th Amendment. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbBPAxVxqTE


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Smentkowski, B. P. (2016). Sixteenth Amendment | United States Constitution. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Sixteenth-Amendment

Duignan, B. (2019). Seventeenth Amendment | Definition, Summary, & Facts. In Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Seventeenth-Amendment

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