Quote:
Originally Posted by Tchocky
Wouldn't think the smaller states would mind, to be honest. They're already winning the over-representation battle with the 2-Senators-per rule.
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As I have explained elsewhere, that representation was the issue that tied up the Constitutional Convention for months, and very nearly wrecked the whole thing. Though the preamble says "We the People" and not "We the States", it was in fact the States who sent delegates to the Convention, and their biggest fear was losing their autonomy to an overlord "Master" government.
The larger states wanted proportional representation, and the smaller states objected on the grounds that the large states would dominate everything. The smaller states wanted one representative for each state, as they felt that would make each state equal. The large states of course objected to that on the grounds that they had more people, and it was the people who would be represented.
After several months of wrangling, backbiting, backstabbing and some delegates even walking out, the current system was eventually agreed upon. The idea is that the Representatives represent the people, and are elected by the people of their district, while the Senators represent the States, and are appointed by the state legislatures. That was changed in 1913 by the Seventeenth Amendment, so the Senators are now elected by the people of their state.