Senators were not elected but appointed by state legislatures until 1913 with the passing of the 17th Amendment. On the federal level, though, the Constitution originally only allowed direct election of the House of Representatives. To the framers of the Constitution, 'democracy' and 'republic' soon became synonymous with 'representative democracy,' in which the people exercised political power through elected representatives. Adams believed there needed to be 'adults in the room,' Dickson says, who were better educated and better qualified than the 'great unwashed.' John Adams voiced some of the strongest opposition to letting ordinary people make important political decisions.
