congress outline 1

Question 1

what branch is congress apart of

Answer 1

legislative

Question 2

the constitution created congress as a ______________________

Answer 2

bicameral legislation

Question 3

how many houses does British parliament have

Answer 3

2

Question 4

was creating a bicameral legislation controversial

Answer 4

yes

Question 5

great compromise

Answer 5

senate: each state is equal
house: representation based on pop

Question 6

what did framers of the constitution think about having two houses

Answer 6

they thought it would keep one house from being too powerful

they also wanted to make sure the Legislative Branch would not dominate the other two branches

Question 7

how long does each term of Congress last

Answer 7

2 years

Question 8

when is the start date of each new term or congress

Answer 8

the date of the 20th amendment Jan 3rd

Question 9

when is congress in session

Answer 9

most of the year

Question 10

when are house seats reapportioned

Answer 10

every 10 years

Question 11

how many seats were originally in the house

Answer 11

41

Question 12

as the US grew, what happened to the number of seats

Answer 12

more were added

Question 13

what does a special session deal with

Answer 13

some sort of emergency or when congress is dragging its feet on a topic

Question 14

who was the last president to call a special session

Answer 14

Harry Truman

Question 15

how many joint special sessions of Congress have ever been called

Answer 15

27

Question 16

who decides how many seats to apportion

Answer 16

The house

Question 17

how many members are in the House

Answer 17

435

Question 18

each state has at least ___ representative(s)

Answer 18

one

Question 19

how many states only have one representatives

Answer 19

seven

Question 20

how much does each member of the house serve

Answer 20

each serves a two year term (with no term limits)

Question 21

how many times can a house member run

Answer 21

as many

Question 22

when are elections for congress held

Answer 22

they are held on election day

Question 23

when is election day

Answer 23

first tuesday after the first monday in november

Question 24

who usually wins the midterm election

Answer 24

the party not in the house

Question 25

what is a voting district

Answer 25

states decide what that means

Question 26

what is the major issue when creating voting districts

Answer 26

gerrymandering

Question 27

what are the purposes of gerrymandering

Answer 27

the party in power wants to concentrate the opposition partys votes in a few districts or the party in power can try to spread the opposition party thinly (no way they could challenge)

Question 28

what is the reason that most house seats are "safe"

Answer 28

gerrymandering

Question 29

is gerrymandering controversial

Answer 29

yes

Question 30

what rule did the supreme court make fore gerrymandering

Answer 30

states cannot create district lines to insure that there will be more minority representation in the house race can be a factor but not a reason

Question 31

how old do you have to be to be in office in the House

Answer 31

25

Question 32

can you be from somewhere else other than the US when running for the House

Answer 32

no only US citizens for at least 7 years | have to live in the place in which you have been elected

Question 33

do incumbents get an advantage when running for office | why/why not

Answer 33

yes because they have a history and ability in fund raising

Question 34

how many members does the senate have (how many in each state)

Answer 34

100; 2 in each state

Question 35

what was the opinion of the Framers of the Constitution on the Senate

Answer 35

they thought the Senate would be more responsible than the House; the senate would not be influenced as much by current events

Question 36

how long does a senate term last

Answer 36

6 years

Question 37

which amendment guarantees the right for people to vote for the senators

Answer 37

17th

Question 38

how were senators picked before the 17th amendment

Answer 38

by state legislature

Question 39

when does the election of senators take place

Answer 39

scattered so that there is never an election of the two senators from a state at the same time

Question 40

what is the term limit to a senator

Answer 40

none

Question 41

what is the job of the 6 year term for senators

Answer 41

give more job security and not have them pressured by the public

Question 42

what are senators supposed to worry about

Answer 42

the country not just their state