The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article I, §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 amendment was proposed by the 62nd Congress in 1912 and became part of the Constitution on April 8, 1913, on ratification by three-quarters (36) of the state legislatures. Sitting senators were not affected until their existing terms expired. The transition began with two special elections in Georgia and Maryland, then in earnest with the November 1914 election; it was complete on March 4, 1919, when the senators chosen at the November 1918 election took office.

1913Apr, 8
The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law.
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Events on 1913
- 21Feb
Balkan Wars
Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars. - 25Jun
Great Reunion of 1913
American Civil War veterans begin arriving at the Great Reunion of 1913. - 3Jul
Great Reunion of 1913
Confederate veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913 reenact Pickett's Charge; upon reaching the high-water mark of the Confederacy they are met by the outstretched hands of friendship from Union survivors. - 4Jul
Great Reunion of 1913
President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913. - 16Aug
HMS Queen Mary
Completion of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Queen Mary.