The 17th amendment was ratified in 1913. So before the ratification, the senators were chosen by the states legislature, but after the ratification it was a popular vote that disided the senator.
Before the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment, the U. S. Senators were chosen by state legislatures. The amendment, however, changed this when it was passed by Congress on May 13, 1912 and ratified on April 8, 1913. This allowed voters to cast direct votes for senators.
