United States Senate

==History==
{{Main|History of the United States Senate}}
The drafters of the [[United States Constitution|Constitution]] debated more about how to award representation in the Senate than about any other part of the Constitution.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Wirls |first=Daniel |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1248598962 |title=The Senate : from white supremacy to governmental gridlock |date=2021 |isbn=978-0-8139-4691-7 |location=Charlottesville |pages=40 |oclc=1248598962 |publisher=University of Virginia Press}}</ref> While [[bicameralism]] and the idea of a proportional "people's house" were widely popular, discussions about Senate representation proved contentious. In the end, some small states—unwilling to give up their equal power with larger states under the [[Articles of Confederation]]—threatened to secede<ref>{{Cite book |last=Litt |first=David |title=Democracy in One Book or Less: How It Works, Why It Doesn't, and Why Fixing It Is Easier Than You Think |publisher=Ecco |year=2020 |pages=153–154}}</ref> and won the day by a vote of 5–4 in what became known as the [[Connecticut Compromise]]. The Connecticut Compromise provided, among other things, that each state—regardless of population—would be represented by two senators.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Wirls |first=Daniel |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51878651 |title=The Invention of the United States Senate |date=2004 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |others=Stephen Wirls |isbn=0-8018-7438-6 |location=Baltimore |oclc=51878651}}</ref>

First convened in 1789, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient [[Roman Senate]]. The name is derived from the ''{{Lang|la|senatus}}'', [[Latin]] for ''council of elders'', derived from ''{{Lang|la|senex}}'', meaning ''old man'' in Latin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary: ''senate'' |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senate |access-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-date=January 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114201917/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/senate |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Article Five of the United States Constitution|Article Five of the Constitution]] stipulates that no constitutional amendment may be created to deprive a state of its [[equal suffrage]] in the Senate without that state's consent. The United States has had 50 states since 1959,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hawaii becomes 50th state |url=http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hawaii-becomes-50th-state |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109042442/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hawaii-becomes-50th-state |archive-date=November 9, 2020 |access-date=March 22, 2011 |website=History.com}}</ref> thus the Senate has had 100 senators since 1959.<ref name="art1sec1">{{Cite web |title=U.S. Constitution: ''Article 1, Section 1'' |url=http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec1 |access-date=January 8, 2023 |archive-date=August 30, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830022842/http://www.usconstitution.net/const.html#A1Sec1 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Combined--Control of the U.S. House of Representatives - Control of the U.S. Senate.png|thumb|300x300px|Graph showing historical party control of the U.S. Senate, [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]], and the [[President of the United States|Presidency]] since 1855<ref name="uspolitics.about">{{Cite web |title=Party In Power – Congress and Presidency – A Visual Guide To The Balance of Power In Congress, 1945–2008 |url=http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121101145605/http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/l/bl_party_division_2.htm |archive-date=November 1, 2012 |access-date=September 17, 2012 |publisher=uspolitics.about.com}}</ref>]]
Before the adoption of the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Seventeenth Amendment]] in 1913, senators were elected by the individual [[State legislature (United States)|state legislatures]].<ref>Article I, Section 3: "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof, for six years; each Senator shall have one vote."</ref> Problems with repeated vacant seats due to the inability of a legislature to elect senators, intrastate political struggles, bribery and intimidation gradually led to a growing movement to amend the Constitution to allow for the direct election of senators.<ref name=direct/>

In contrast to the House of Representatives, the Senate has historically had stronger [[Social norm|norms]] of conduct for its members.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Matthews |first=Donald R. |date=1959 |title=The Folkways of the United States Senate: Conformity to Group Norms and Legislative Effectiveness |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/folkways-of-the-united-states-senate-conformity-to-group-norms-and-legislative-effectiveness/59AE28DD81A8B31283F1908D00F03C36 |journal=American Political Science Review |language=en |volume=53 |issue=4 |pages=1064–1089 |doi=10.2307/1952075 |jstor=1952075 |s2cid=143733406 |issn=1537-5943}}</ref>