Trump Trial Eventually Headed to Senate: Brief History of the US Senate

One of the two bodies within the US legislature, the United States Senate, is the upper chamber of Congress, formed of senators from each state.

From 1789 to 1913, the Senate had a different way of selecting senators than now, back then they were appointed by legislatures of the states they represented and ever since the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment, they have been elected by popular vote.

The Senate has some unique powers, of course, such as approving treaties, confirming Cabinet secretaries, Supreme Court justices, federal judges, flag officers, ambassadors and others. It also has another crucial role, which it will be playing next year, in conducting the trial of impeached President Donald Trump.

The Senate is seen as more prestigious than the House, but for some reason, there seems to be more collegiality and less partisan separation in recent years. You may ask, what are the requirements to run for a senatorial seat? They’re really aren't many it turns out, First, one must be at least 30 years old. They must also be a US citizen for nine years or longer, and must be inhabiting the state they seek to represent at the time of their election.

The age requirement however is something that the Senate has compromised on multiple times, with most cases however being in the 19th century, when life expectancy was much lower and when people were a bit more lenient on the age issue.

Senators serve six-year terms, although they are staggered, so that about a third of seats could be up for grab every two years. Elections are they’re held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, commonly referred to as Election Day.