because the constitution does not address how state and local governments share power
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Because the Framers of the Constitution feared the legislatures would never approve a document that reduced their powers.
With the initiative, voters could petition state legislatures to consider a bill.
The Federalists suggested that popularly elected conventions ratify the Constitution rather than having it done by state legislatures. The U.S. Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788.
Under the Constitution, state legislatures chose the US Senators for their state. Until the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, state legislatures were the bodies who determined how senators were chosen. Some states and territories had already enacted popular election prior to the amendment's passage.