Editing Key Pittman (section)

===Political career===
[[File:Key Pittman cph.3a02989.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Pittman in 1918.]]

In the early 20th century, Nevada was one of several states that hoped to institute the popular election of United States senators; the [[Constitution of the United States|U.S. Constitution]] had provided for them to be elected by state legislatures. The states aiming to change this held popular elections as Senate terms expired, with the goal of forcing their legislatures to elect the people's choices. This was almost certainly unconstitutional, but the matter never reached the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] before the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|17th Amendment]] became part of the Constitution.<ref>[https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Direct_Election_Senators.htm "Direct Election of Senators"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206010152/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Direct_Election_Senators.htm |date=December 6, 2017 }}, United States Senate webpage, Origins and Development—Institutional.</ref>

Nevada held a popular vote for the Senate in 1910, in which Pittman was the Democratic nominee; he lost to [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[George S. Nixon]]. After Nixon died on June 5, 1912, Pittman faced Republican interim appointee William A. Massey in a special election that November. Pittman won the election and, as happened in all of these questionable Senate elections held prior to the adoption of the 17th Amendment, the Nevada Legislature made the popular result official. The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and Pittman won full terms in 1916, 1922, 1928, and 1934; he was re-elected again in 1940 but died shortly after the election.

Between 1933 and 1940, during the [[Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt]], Pittman was the chairman of the powerful [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Committee on Foreign Relations]], in which capacity (after much prompting by the President) he authored the Pittman Act that formed the basis of the Neutrality Act of November,1939, enabling allies to purchase war materiel from the United States on a [[Cash and carry (World War II)|cash-and-carry]] basis.<ref>’’FDR Into the Storm.’’ Kenneth S. Davis. pp. 449-451. Random House. (1993)</ref> He was a member of the Committee on Territories and the [[United States Senate Committee on Industrial Expositions|Committee on Industrial Expositions]]. In addition, during those years Pittman was also [[President pro tempore of the United States Senate]].

Among his legislation is the [[Pittman–Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937]], which set up a formula for federal sharing of ammunition tax revenue for establishing state wildlife areas.  The program is still in effect.{{citation needed|date=September 2012}} The Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area near [[Hiko, Nevada]], which encompasses the Frenchy and Nesbitt lakes, is named in his honor.