Unit IV: Legislative Branch

1. Unit IV: Legislative Branch Chapter 10: Congress. Page 262

2. The Legislature Covered in Article 1, Section 1 of the Constitution, called “the first branch of government” by Madison, responsible for the formation of laws. Question: Do you live in a democracy?

3. Kind of We live in a republic/ representative democracy. We rely on elected officials to perform the tasks of government. Why are we not considered a true democracy? Could the U.S. ever be a true democracy?

4. Bicameral Congress is bicameral- two houses, as opposed to unicameral (one house)

5. Historical British Parliament consists of two houses: House of Commons and House of Lords. Originally, the House of Commons represented the “commoner”, the average citizen, while the House of Lords represented the landed elite, the Dukes, Barons, Earls, ect that held land. Overtime, the House of Commons became the dominate house as the power of the nobility subsided. Bicameral legislatures are predominate in U.S. history, with few exceptions

6. Practicality Connecticut Compromise.

7. Theoretical Two houses act as a checks and balances against each other. Allowed for equality among states

8. Terms Term: two years. Each term is numbered, so that when the 111th Congress ended at 11:59:59 am, January 3, 2011, the 112th Congress started at 12:00:00 pm, January 3, 2011. Originally, Congress began its term on March 4 of every odd numbered year, but it was moved to January 3 of every odd numbered year in the 1930s. Why do you think they moved it?

9. Sessions A Session is that period of time during a term that Congress meets. Prior to WWII, congress would “adjourn” (suspend) for several months to travel back to their districts. Today, Congress meets most of the year, taking short breaks, or recesses, throughout the year. Both Houses have to agree to end a session

10. Special Sessions President may call special session if they feel the need to. Presidents have used the 26 times in history Last one called by President Truman in 1948 Presidents often threaten special sessions to get pieces of legislation passed Can call special session for just one house. When this has occurred, it has always been the Senate. House has never been called. Why? Not used anymore because congress is almost always in session.

12. Size How many Representatives are there in the House at present? Seats are given based on population through apportionment. Every state guaranteed minimum 1 representative. Representatives are limited to two year terms No limit on times someone can be reelected.

13. Reapportionment The redistribution of seats based on population. Occurs every ten years, after census data has been collected. Takes seats from one state and gives them to another. Each seat represents a minimum of 650,000 people. Census Bureau determines number of seats given to a state, but congress must approve.

15. Size does not match population No additional members as of 1913 when membership was capped at 435 (exception: in the 1950s when Alaska and Hawaii were added, membership bumped up to 437) Why do you think this is?

17. Congressional Elections By law, elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Off-year elections NB: In off year elections, the party out of power gains

18. Districts Districts are single member In the past, some states filled House seats through use of an “at-large” election system. This was outlawed in 1842, because it was considered unfair. Why? Districts are drawn by state legislatures, with very few restrictions, with the exceptions of those areas of preclearance. Anyone remember what this means?

19. Examples of districts

20. Gerrymandering • Already gone over this, but new definition for this chapter: • Concentrate the oppositions voters in one/few district(s), leaving the other districts(s) for party in power • Spread the opposition voters thin among voters for party in power

21. Wesberry v. Sanders Court case out of Georgia Ruled that Districts had to be equal in population Found that the population of Georgia districts were so great as to violate the Constitution

22. So you want to be a Representative… Must be 25 years old Citizen of the United States for minimum 7 years Must live in the State they represent

24. Size There are 100 Senators, two from every state.

25. Election Prior to the 17th Amendment, Senators were not elected by the people, but they were elected by state legislature 17th Amendment allowed for direct election of Senators.

26. Term Senators serve for 6 years at a time Longest serving Senator? Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV) from Jan 1959- Jun 2010 (died). Currently, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D, HI) is the longest serving Senator still living, and has been serving since 1964. Continuous body: only 1/3 of Senators up for election at any given time.

27. Other notes Six year terms give senators “job security.” Why is this important? Senators also represent larger numbers of people (constituents), than their counterparts in the House.

28. How to be a Senator • To become a Senator you must meet the following qualifications: • 30 Years of age • Citizen for 9 years • Live in state elected from

29. Perks Senator Representative • Great pay and benefits • Invitations to National Events • Easy to move to higher office (President) • Lifetime of respect • Cannot be arrested during term • Great pay and benefits • Cannot be arrested during term

30. By the numbers 112th Congress 111th Congress • 246 Democrats/ 289 Republicans • # of African-Americans: 42 • # of Hispanics: 26 • # of Asian Americans: 11 • # of Native Americans: 1 • # of Women: 89 • # of Veterans: 113 • # w/ College Degrees: 507 • Gay: 4 • Lawyers: 202 • Doctors: 37 • Business/Banking: 209 • Agriculture: 6 • Average Age: 57.4 • 316 Democrats/ 219 Republicans • # of African-Americans: 40 • # of Hispanics: 27 • # of Asian Americans: 11 • # of Native Americans: 1 • # of Women: 90 • # of Veterans: 119 • # w/ College Degrees: 507 • Gay: 3 • Lawyers: 203 • Doctors: 30 • Business/Banking: 202 • Agriculture: 7 • Average Age: 58.5