Chapter 11 Notes Flashcards
When did congressional power peak?
in the late nineteenth century
Why are the presidents of that era (between Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt) are barely remembered?
Congress cooperated with the titans of business and industry, and the power of Congress was so great
What still remains the main source of legislation, making it a force that the president cannot ignore?
Congress
What led to the creation of a bicameral Congress?
Compromise at the Constitutional Convention
T/F A two-house legislature has other purposes than just satisfying big states and little states.
True
What are the disadvantage of slowness in enacting laws outweighed by?
The benefits of carefulness
What did the framers of the Constitution believe that the House would better represent?
“the people,” particularly the large populations of the big states
Who argued in The Federalist No. 58 that, “Not withstanding the equal authority which will subsist between the two houses on all legislative subjects, except the originating of money bills, it cannot be doubted that the House, composed of the greater number of member.”
Madison
What were the founding fathers were influenced by and what did it teach?
the Enlightenment, which taught that government, by bringing man out of a “state of nature” where he was unruly, could restrain man.
In Romans 13:4, what does Paul declare?
that government, created by God, restrains evildoers
What does divided government help ensure?
that one branch will not violate the freedoms of the people
How is the House of Representatives is the more democratic of the two houses?
the number of House members from each state is based on state population.
For this reason California, the most populous state, has fifty-three House members while the seven least populous ones (Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North and South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming) have only one representative each.
Who instituted a ten-year census in the beginning of 1790?
The Constitutional framers
What is the number of representatives permanently fixed at?
435
What is reapportionment?
Redrawing of congressional district lines to reflect population shifts
What is gerrymandering?
Redrawing of district lines to benefit one political party at the expense of another
T/F House member must reside in the congressional district he or she represents.
True
What is a single-member district?
having one representative elected from a given region
While voters in a congressional district elect members of the House, voters on a statewide or at large basis elect who?
United States senators
the direct popular election of senators did not take place until 1913 with the passage of which amendment?
Seventeenth Amendment
Prior to this amendment, members of state legislatures elected their senators
The majority party determines what?
The leadership
T/F One political party controlling both houses does not ensure automatic success for a president of the same party
True
When members of different parties join together in support of or in opposition to a bill because of some common interest, they form a what?
coalition
The selection of party leadership is made in a ________.
caucus
List the three key positions are open to the majority party in the House.
the Speaker, the majority leader,and the majority whip
The top posts open to the minority party in the House are what?
minority leader and the minority whip
In the upper chamber, the Senate majority leadership consists of who?
the president pro tempore of the Senate, the majority leader, and the majority whip.
Similarly, the minority party in the Senate is headed by who?
The minority leader and the minority whip.
Who serves as the President of the Senate?
The vice president of the United States