The United States Senate was modeled after the Roman Senate – a body of elder statesmen design to act as a brake against the whims of the people, whose interests were expressed in House of Representatives. The original plan called for senators to be elected in the same way as representatives, but this was voted down by “small” states who feared states with the largest territories could control them. The framers also feared a repeat of what happened to the Romans -- too much power by the people resulting in demagoguery -- so they put in place a system where Senators were elected by the states rather than the people.
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