Teen lauded for work to ratify amendment

PROVIDENCE – Cumberland teen Samuel Ackerman was honored last month for his successful campaign for Rhode Island’s ratification of the 17th Amendment this year.
Ackerman, who has worked as a Senate page and is the son of Rep. Mia A. Ackerman, D-Cumberland, began lobbying for ratification of the 17th Amendment in 2013 after learning that Rhode Island was one of 11 states that did not ratify the amendment after it was passed by Congress in 1912. The 17th Amendment allowed direct election of U.S. senators, who were previously selected by state legislatures. Since the necessary three-quarters of states ratified it, the amendment took effect without Rhode Island’s approval.
According to a statement, 17-year-old Ackerman took interest in the amendment last year while studying the progressive reform era of American history, during which several amendments, including the 17th, were passed to make the electoral process more inclusive of the entire American electorate.

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