[NYCynic]

Is there any research into how Senators acted before and after this amendment, to see if it made any real difference?

And in addition to that why should I trust the oh-so-glorious(/sarc) NY State Leg to choose a better Senator then I could. Ditto the State Leg's of Mass, CA, VT, MD, etc.

[Redbob]

"And in addition to that why should I trust the oh-so-glorious(/sarc) NY State Leg to choose a better Senator then I could."

Would the legislature of NY have selected Hillary Clinton, the buffoon from Arkansas's wife?

[BfloGuy]

And in addition to that why should I trust the oh-so-glorious(/sarc) NY State Leg to choose a better Senator then I could.

Let's establish that our fellow New Yorkers haven't been that talented at selecting senators either -- your choice or mine notwithstanding.

We'd almost certainly have some socialist as senator but presumably he'd be vested in retaining power in New York rather than trying to remove that power to Washington.

The theory was that the state legislature would quickly move to boot out a senator who made the state's powers weaker. Repeal the 17th Amendment.

[justshutupandtakeit]

And Illinois.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

And in addition to that why should I trust the oh-so-glorious(/sarc) NY State Leg to choose a better Senator then I could. Ditto the State Leg's of Mass, CA, VT, MD, etc.

They'd represent a different constituency, per se. They'd represent your state's interest, not yours. You'd elect representatives to your state legislature partly based on who he or she'd appoint to the Senate.