congress outline 1 Flashcards
what branch is congress apart of
legislative
the constitution created congress as a ______________________
bicameral legislation
how many houses does British parliament have
2
was creating a bicameral legislation controversial
yes
great compromise
senate: each state is equal
house: representation based on pop
what did framers of the constitution think about having two houses
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
how long does each term of Congress last
2 years
when is the start date of each new term or congress
the date of the 20th amendment Jan 3rd
when is congress in session
most of the year
when are house seats reapportioned
every 10 years
how many seats were originally in the house
41
as the US grew, what happened to the number of seats
more were added
what does a special session deal with
some sort of emergency or when congress is dragging its feet on a topic
who was the last president to call a special session
Harry Truman
how many joint special sessions of Congress have ever been called
27
who decides how many seats to apportion
The house
how many members are in the House
435
each state has at least ___ representative(s)
one
how many states only have one representatives
seven
how much does each member of the house serve
each serves a two year term (with no term limits)
how many times can a house member run
as many
when are elections for congress held
they are held on election day
when is election day
first tuesday after the first monday in november
who usually wins the midterm election
the party not in the house
what is a voting district
states decide what that means
what is the major issue when creating voting districts
gerrymandering
what are the purposes of gerrymandering
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)
what is the reason that most house seats are “safe”
gerrymandering
is gerrymandering controversial
yes
what rule did the supreme court make fore gerrymandering
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
how old do you have to be to be in office in the House
25
can you be from somewhere else other than the US when running for the House
no only US citizens for at least 7 years
have to live in the place in which you have been elected
do incumbents get an advantage when running for office
why/why not
yes because they have a history and ability in fund raising
how many members does the senate have (how many in each state)
100; 2 in each state
what was the opinion of the Framers of the Constitution on the Senate
they thought the Senate would be more responsible than the House; the senate would not be influenced as much by current events
how long does a senate term last
6 years
which amendment guarantees the right for people to vote for the senators
17th
how were senators picked before the 17th amendment
by state legislature
when does the election of senators take place
scattered so that there is never an election of the two senators from a state at the same time
what is the term limit to a senator
none
what is the job of the 6 year term for senators
give more job security and not have them pressured by the public
what are senators supposed to worry about
the country not just their state
