Modern Ideology and the U.S. Senate

The 17th Amendment provided for direct election of U.S. Senators. The history of that act is told by Dr. Ralph Rossum in his 2013 study titled Federalism, the Supreme Court and the 17th Amendment.  Progressives, frustrated by the election of U.S. Senators by the Legislatures in the States, threatened to call for a Constitutional Convention to replace the one ratified in 1788.

Replacement of the method of election of member of the U.S. Senate by direct elections allowed ideological currents to take precedence over the interests of States in elections for U.S. Senators. There are now a sufficient number of ideologically driven members of the U.S. Senate to place modern ideology in the forefront of American politics. That is visible in today’s hearing on the nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh.

Dr. William Miller’s lecture on the nature of “ideology” was prepared for his course at Yorktown University on “Roots of Modern Ideology.”

William Miller received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy, with a minor in English literature, from Gettysburg College. He subsequently went to Notre Dame where he was a student of Gerhart Niemeyer and Charles Rice and received his doctorate in Government and International Studies and his law degree. In this lecture from his course on “Modern Ideology,” Dr. Miller introduces his subject and explains the importance of understanding the nature of modern ideology.

Introduction to Modern Ideology