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•Serve 2-year terms
•Are elected by the people
•Must be 25 years old
•Must reside in the state they represent
•Must be a citizen for at least 7 years
•Have the sole power of impeachment
•Have priority on tax law

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•Serve 6-year terms
•Were elected by state legislatures (by the people since 1913)
•Must be 30 years old
•Must reside in the state they represent
•Must be a citizen for at least 9 years
•Have advice and consent power on presidential appointments
•Judge impeachments and can remove officials

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Insufficient representation in the government of Great Britain was the desire for independence and caused the Recolutionary War. Framers wanted the most democratic branch to dominate policymaking proven in Article 1. The framers gave congress the power to check the other two branches by: overriding a presidential veto, to change the jurisdiction and size of the courts, to fund (or refuse to fund) the other two branches, to impeach and remove presidents and judges, and most important, to draft, and pass most laws that govern the country.
• The bicameral, or two house, legislature resulted from a dispute among small and large states, each desiring different forms of representation. Article 1’s provision for a census every 10 years assured states an allotment of these seats proportionately. States would send the same number of delegates, two, to the U.S Senate.
• Cautious Lawmaking: The simple fact that congress has two chambers that must approve legislation helps prevent the passage of rash laws. A second house of the legislature doubles the people’s security by recruiting the concurrence of two distinct bodies.
•The House: The more representative House of Representatives is designed to reflect the will of of the people and to prevent the kinds of abuses of power experienced in the colonial era. The House has the power to impeach federal officers, the priority to create revenue (tax) laws, and the privilege to select the president if no candidate wins the Electoral College. Some states sent their House members as an at-large, statewide delegation in the early years, but now they draw congressional districts, so representatives are responsible to smaller geographic areas. With their two-year terms, House members are forced to consider poplular opinions lest they be replaced by an unsatisfied electorate.
• The Senate: The Senate’s six-year terms offer a way to temper the popular ideas adopted by the House, since Senators cannot so quickly be voted out of office for opposing popular acts. The upper house’s advice and consent power allows Senators to recommend or reject executive branch appointees. The Senate must ratify international treaties, and it is the ultimate judge on removing impeached officials. Collectively, these two bodies pass legislation. Bills can originate in either chamber, but must pass both houses by a majority vote to become a law.

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• The first Congress met in New York City on March 4, 1789, and was composed of 65 members. However, because of slow transportation, not enough members arrived to constitute a quorum- the required number in attendance to do business, which the Constitution defines as a simple majority.
• One of the first power plays between Congress and the president occurred when George Washington brought a proposed treaty with southeastern Indian tribes into the Senate for ratification. Though the Senate did eventually ratify the treaty, the Senate has asserted itself and maintained an independence from the executive. President Washington fumed and never again entered the Senate chamber, nor has any president since.
• That first Congress went on to pass the Bill of Rights, set the president’s annual salary at $25,000, define the federal judicial system, and approve the president’s first cabinet. By 1800, it had grown to 106 seats and relocated permanently to Washington, D.C.
• During the first half of the nineteenth century, Congress became the dominant branch, mostly from the influence of Speaker of the House Henry Clay of Kentucky. He had served a partial term in the Senate and had already earned a solid reputation as an outstanding debater. Along with Madison, Clay marshaled the country into the War of 1812, Missouri of Compromise of 1820 that eased the debate on slavery and delays the Civil War.
• Congressional caucuses, or informal groups of like-minded members, began nominating candidates for president. Giants such as Daniel Webster, proslavery advocate John C. Calhoun, and Henry Clay dominated the upper house. Congress generally manages to maintain a balance of slave and free states as new states were admitted into the Union.
• The kate 1850’s brought national tensions and congressional incivility to new levels. In 1856, South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks violently attacked Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, the most vocal abolitionist in the Senate, beating him with his cane.
• After the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, southern state legislatures recalled their senators and representives. In 1861, Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis led several men out of Congress and their seats remained empty throughout the Civil war.

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• Congress’s primary objective in the post-civil war era was to reconstruct the nation and address economic issues brought on by industrialization and interstate commerce. African Americans from the South served in Congress and federal officers pulled out of the former Confederacy and as southern states began instituting legal loopholes to prevent black suffrage.
• In the late 1800’s, powerful leaders attained House seats to heavily influence the people’s chamber. The Senate became known as the “Millionares’ Club,” a body of elite, well-to-do industrialists and political bosses who sided with big business.
• Two autocratic Speakers of the House define the position at the turn of the century and ran roughshod over the other members. Republican Thomas Reed, a successful Maine lawyer, served from 1889 to 1899. He had a “tongue that at one stroke sliced whiskers off his opponents’ faces.” His mastery of the rules became a key weapon in his legislative arsenal. After a decade as Speaker, “Czar Reed” stepped down in opposition to the Spanish-American War.
• By 1903, Representative Joseph Cannon (“Foul Mouthed Joe”)  of Illinois had risen to the Speaker’s position. Cannon ruled the House with an iron fist. With 28 years in Congress and full control of the Rules Committee, this anti-reformer prevented much legislation from ever reaching the House floor. Cannon maintained control by rewarding the faithful and punishing the disloyal. Cannon followed the established seniority system when it suited him and refused when it did not.
• The Speaker’s role was changed when a combination of Democrats and progressive Republicans proposed rules changes. Representative George Norris of Nebraska introduced a resolution where the House mat determine its own rules and this proposal increases the size of the Rules Committee and mandated that the entire House, not the Speaker, would select the committee’s members and its chairman.

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There are three branches in the U.S. government: the legislative branch (Congress, described in Article I), the executive branch (the President, described in Article II), and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court and federal court system, described in Article III). Although each of the branches has their own specific powers and duties, it's really the Congress that has the most clearly expressed powers, seeing as how the Framers of the Constitution thought that institution was going to be the most powerful. 

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There are three branches in the U.S. government: the legislative branch (Congress, described in Article I), the executive branch (the President, described in Article II), and the judicial branch (the Supreme Court and federal court system, described in Article III). Although each of the branches has their own specific powers and duties, it's really the Congress that has the most clearly expressed powers, seeing as how the Framers of the Constitution thought that institution was going to be the most powerful. 

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The Power to tax and spend for the defense and general welfare of the U.S.Borrow moneyRegulate commerce with other nations and between the statesCoin moneyEstablish laws of naturalization (how people can become citizens)Punish counterfeiters of money and securitiesEstablish post offices and roadsPromote the sciences and the arts through granting patents and copyrights for inventions and discoveries'Constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court' (basically, to create a federal court system)Define and punish piracies and felonies on the 'high seas' (a big issue in the 18th century)Declare warRaise and support an army/navyMake laws governing those armed forcesProvide for a militia to execute federal laws (and to organize and arm that militia)Make the District of Columbia the home of the federal government 

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The Power to tax and spend for the defense and general welfare of the U.S.Borrow moneyRegulate commerce with other nations and between the statesCoin moneyEstablish laws of naturalization (how people can become citizens)Punish counterfeiters of money and securitiesEstablish post offices and roadsPromote the sciences and the arts through granting patents and copyrights for inventions and discoveries'Constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court' (basically, to create a federal court system)Define and punish piracies and felonies on the 'high seas' (a big issue in the 18th century)Declare warRaise and support an army/navyMake laws governing those armed forcesProvide for a militia to execute federal laws (and to organize and arm that militia)Make the District of Columbia the home of the federal government 

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Reapportionment
The Reapportionment Act of 1929 mandates periodic redistribution of U.S congressional seats according to census changes. Every state recieves a minimum of of one seat. To provide a proportional amount of seats the U.S Census Bureau organizes states populations.

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powers not explicitly named in the Constitution but assumed to exist due to their being necessary to implement the expressed powers that are named in Article I.

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powers not explicitly named in the Constitution but assumed to exist due to their being necessary to implement the expressed powers that are named in Article I.

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 Its effect on members of Congress is to recognize that once office is gained, a natural set of advantages comes with it for reelection purposes. ... its the idea of "the incumbent always wins" anyone who goes against the incumbent has an automatic dis advantage.

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 Its effect on members of Congress is to recognize that once office is gained, a natural set of advantages comes with it for reelection purposes. ... its the idea of "the incumbent always wins" anyone who goes against the incumbent has an automatic dis advantage.

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Redistricting
State legislatures must alter congressional district maps to reflect changes from reapportionment. This process is competitive and continuous because the party in power in the state legislature determines the new map of congressional districts so that it will benefit the party in the following election.

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Gerrymandering
This is the illogical drawing of district lines through redistricting to favor a certain party.

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“One Man, One Vote” Rule
The 1960s held two Supreme Court cases addressing fairness in the reapportionment and redistricting process. One example was Tennessee not redrawing it’s legislative map in violation of an every 10 year change requirement.

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•Many reforms followed, including the Seventeenth Amendment, which fundamentally transformed the Senate. Senators were no longer held to the whims of a hundred or so state legislators, but to the voting citizens of the states instead,
• Through major crises- two world wars and senators began serving longer tenures through re-election. And, in an era of scandal, Congress became less civil, and less appreciated, by the public.
• Anti-Communist hearings led by Senator Joe McCarthy and investigations into organized crime spearheaded by Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver became vivid dreams and popularity for the Vietnam War faded and as Congress began to rein in some of the executive’s war-making authority.
• The Framers intended for lawmakers to serve a few years, but many congressional service tenures stretched to 20 and 30 years. Members in both houses began to take full advantage of the lack of term limits, which limit the number of terms an incumbent may serve, and began to appear on television regularly as a campaign and fund-raising tool. With increased and affordable air flights, members departed Washington more frequently.
• Though some African Americans served in Congress during Reconstruction, and the first female was elected to the House after the 1916 Campaign, Congress has remained almost exclusively a collection of elite white men. The women’s and civil rights movements that followed Workd War 2 changed all that. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine earned her way into the upper house nd served as the only Senate female during the 1950’s. Women continued to be elected, and when the 114th Congress opened in January 2015, 20 women were representing their states in the Upper House.

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Discharge Petition
The creation of this petition prove an expansion of this democracy. It can bring a bill out of a reluctant committee. The required number of signatures has altered over th years but now a simple majority will stand; no chairman or reluctant committee (minority) can prevent majority rule.

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Shaw v. Reno
Addressed whether states can draw new congressional districts with race in mind. North Carolina submitted a district map to attorney Janet Reno to comply with the 1965 Viting Rights Act to reconfigure the districts because there was only one majority black district.

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Continuous Body
The senate is a continuous body because only one-third is up for reelection every two years. Uniforminty and order will keep succession of official information preservered.

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Filibuster
This is a long speech to delay the action of a bill. The snare cannot Act is the majority is ready because the minority have rendered them from this by having a say.

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Rule 22
"Cloture Rule”. This enables and requires a two-thirds super majority to stop the debate concerning a bill and calls for a vote. Once this is reached each senator had the privilege to speak about the bill for one hour.

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• Legislatures will hold town hall meetings, examine public opinion polls, hold focus groups, etc. to get an idea if their constituent’s views.
• Some members will vote for the person and not the party or issues, while other members will follow the general beliefs of their party.
• Logrolling is a factor that affects lawmaking by congress members trading votes to gain support for a bill.

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•As the Jim Crow era began, fewer blacks were elected to Congress. When North Carolina’s George White left the House in 1901, it was nearly 30 years before another man of color was sworn in. From 1928 to 1970, 13 Africans Americans were elected to Congress, none from the South, and only one to the Senate. In the 114th session of Congress, there were 44 African Americans in the House and two in the Senate.
• When women and blacks broke barriers by winning elections in their home districts, they did not always find Congress a welcoming place. Women and blacks were worth only half a typical member, so he added only one chair to the committee room table for Schroeder and Dellums to share.
•As Congress diversified, it also gained a reputation for seeking equality. A series of civil rights laws under Lyndon B. Johnson’s administration gave the federal government oversight of state elections and school desegregation. In the 1970’s, Title lX put women’s college programs on the same footing as men’s, and the House and Senate finally passed the Equal Rights Amendment.
• Despite these positive changes, the post-World War 2 era was tainted by a series of scandals that colored Congress as the nation’s interrogator and sullied the people’s impression of their national government and the House Speaker’s staffers were convicted of crimes.
• Commitee votes were made public, FEC laws limited campaign donations, the seniority system was weakened, and Congress reclaimed some of its war powers.

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• Senators and representatives assign titles to staffers.
• Their jobs could entail being chief of staff, a communications experts, or constituent liaisons.
• Usually they are young, single, and willing to work long hours.
• Capitol Hill includes everything from a police department to food services.

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Speaker of the House
Recognizes members for speaking, organizes members for conference committees, and has influence in most lawmaking. Even though they have lost power since th demise of Joe Cannon, it is still a powerful position.

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Floorleaders
These are majority and minority leaders. Leads debates among their party and guides discussions from their side of th aisle.

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Whips
The deputy floor leader and in charge of party discipline. They keep tally of votes among their party members and can ask a member to step down because of misconduct.

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Senate Leaders
The vice-president is the nonvoting president of the senate but if there is a tie the Vice President can vote to break it; also rules on procedure and organize the senate.

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Conference Chairman
Each party has one whose authority is below the whip. They take care of party matters.

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President Pro Tempore
The “temporary president”. The most senior member of the majority party.

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There are a total of 535 Members of Congress. 100 serve in the U.S. Senate and 435 serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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female: 22 women (22%) serve in the United States Senate, and 84 women (19.3%) serve in the United States House of Representatives. male: there are currently 362 men in then house, and 83 men in the senate.

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top 50 wealthiest members of congress have a net worth of about 7.28 million

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54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats. the current dominating party would be republicans by 10

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Franking privilege refers to the privilege of sending mail without payment of postage. This privilege is exercised in pursuance of personal or official designations. The members of Congress have the right to send mail to their constituents at the government's expense.

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it allows them to mail letters and other materials postage-free.