The Senate investigation into bribery allegations against Illinois Senator William Lorimer in 1912 revealed how state legislatures'' selection of senators enabled corruption, with corporate interests buying legislative votes to install friendly senators. This scandal pushed Congress to pass the 17th Amendment, which took effect April 8, 1913, transferring senate selection from state legislatures to direct popular vote.
Before 1913, Article I, Section 3 gave state legislatures power to choose their state''s two senators, insulating senators from direct public pressure and creating a check on populist House majorities. But by the 1890s, legislative deadlocks left Senate seats vacant for months when different parties controlled state legislative chambers, and corporate lobbying of small groups of legislators proved cheaper than influencing statewide elections. Twenty-nine states had already adopted popular senate elections by 1912, creating momentum for a constitutional fix. Georgia Senator Augustus Bacon became the first senator directly elected under the 17th Amendment on July 15, 1913, with the first nationwide Senate elections following in 1914.