In mr smith goes to washington why are there 96 senators

. Smith Goes to Washington is a 1939 American political comedy-drama filmdirected by Frank Capra, starring Jean Arthurand James Stewart, and featuring Claude Rains and Edward Arnold. The film is about a newly appointed United States Senator who fights against a corrupt political system, and was written by Sidney Buchman, based on Lewis R. Foster's unpublished story "The Gentleman from Montana".The film was controversial when it was first released, but was also successful at the box office, and made Stewart a major movie star.[