Article I, Congress & The Roots of U.S. Bicameralism

Legislative Power & Article I

• Definition: Legislative power = ability to create, influence, ratify, amend, or repeal public policy and laws.
• Scope in the Constitution
  • Article I occupies roughly half the document; Articles II–VII fill the other half.
  • James Madison’s logic: legislative details form the base of the governmental "pyramid"; the wider the base, the more specific the rules.
  • Founders intended Congress to be the most powerful branch.

Historical Concentration of Power Within Congress

• Speaker of the House
  • From the founding through the early 1900\text{s}, some Speakers wielded more practical power than Presidents.
  • Early 20^{th}-century reforms curtailed these powers ("congressional crisis").

Bicameral Structure of Congress

• Article I, Section 1: establishes two chambers—Senate & House of Representatives.
• Bicameralism (key term): division into two houses.
• Reasons for adoption:
  • Fear of concentrating authority in a single body (reaction to King George III and monarchical abuses).
  • Desire to balance different constituencies and interests (people vs. states).

Classical & Foreign Influences

• Roman Republic
  • Century Assembly → later called the Senate.
  • Tribal/Tribune Assemblies: created to represent poorer citizens.
  • Annual representative (the Tribune) could halt any bill for a full year by shouting veto—origin of the modern veto.
  • Symbol of Senate authority: the fasces (bundle of rods with an axe); modern echo = gavel.
  • Fascist Italy & Nazi Germany drew on the imperial Roman model (not the Republic), underscoring multiple interpretations.
• British Parliament
  • House of Commons (elected) & House of Lords (historically hereditary/appointed).
  • Demonstrated a workable bicameral precedent—House names reflect feudal class distinctions.

Representation Before & After the 17^{th} Amendment

• House of Representatives
  • Always chosen directly by "the people." At founding this meant property-holding white males.
  • Suffrage expanded: universal white-male suffrage by Andrew Jackson’s era; today, any registered citizen ≥18.
• Senate (pre-1913)
  • Selected by state legislatures; intended to voice state rather than popular interests.
  • Massive state-level corruption (political machines, e.g.
    Boss Tweed) → 17^{th} Amendment (ratified 1913) shifted selection to popular vote.

Philosophical Safeguards Against “Mob Rule”

• Founders distrusted pure democracy; cited Athens:
  • Mandatory public voting delayed action; popular passions led to violence (e.g.
    Socrates’ execution).
• U.S. system blends democratic (popular elections) & republican (indirect representation) elements to avoid those pitfalls.

Qualifications & Terms of Office

House of Representatives (Art.

I §2)

• Term length: 2 years → entire chamber faces voters in each even-numbered year (midterms when no presidential race).
• Constitutional minimums:
  • Age ≥ 25.
  • U.S. citizenship ≥ 7 years.
  • Must be an inhabitant of the represented state (modern expectation: live in the district).
• Must also satisfy qualifications to be an elector for the largest chamber of the state legislature (usually the state House).
  • Exception: Nebraska—only state with a unicameral Senate; therefore a federal representative just needs to meet Nebraska’s state-senator criteria.

Senate (Art.

I §3)

• Age ≥ 30, citizenship ≥ 9 years, inhabitant of the state.
• Founders assumed state-picked senators would be older, wealthier, and have longer life expectancy.

Life-expectancy Rationale

• Late 18^{th}-century life expectancy ≈40$–$45 years; a 25-year-old was middle-aged.
• Social Security (1935) set retirement at 65 because national expectancy was \approx58 years.
  • Modern longevity ("I’m 94 and still driving") challenges those old benchmarks.

Residency, Redistricting & “Carpetbaggers”

• Representatives must maintain a bona-fide residence—name on mortgage/lease—in their state.
• Carpetbagger: a politician who moves districts or states solely for electoral advantage (e.g.
  moving from Colorado 6 to Colorado 4 after redistricting; MA senator attempting NH run).
• Owning a vacation home alone ≠ legal residency; courts & state law decide eligibility case-by-case.

State Legislatures & Unique Cases

• Most states mirror federal bicameralism; each has a House & Senate.
• Nebraska: unicameral, non-partisan Senate only; justified by small population (“more corn than people”).
• Constitution allows variety because it never mandates state bicameralism.

Electoral Cycles & Civic Participation

• Presidential years draw higher turnout than midterms—despite midterms deciding all 435 House seats + (\tfrac13) of the Senate.
• Civic literacy tip: follow every even-year election, not just presidential ballots.

Key Terms & Concepts Glossary

• Bicameral Legislature: two-chamber law-making body.
• Fasces: Roman axe-and-rod symbol of authority; etymological root of "fascism."
• Veto: Latin “I forbid” power originated with Roman Tribunes.
• Carpetbagger: post-Civil-War term revived for candidates who "shop" for friendlier districts.
• Midterm Elections: federal cycle occurring halfway through a president’s four-year term.

Ethical & Practical Implications Discussed

• Balancing state versus popular interests remains contentious—some argue post-17^{th}-Amendment Senate lost crucial state-level voice.
• Life-expectancy shifts challenge original age-based competence assumptions; modern debates over senility and term limits echo this.
• Redistricting abuses (gerrymandering, carpet-bagging) raise questions of genuine representation.

Study Tips & Cross-Lecture Connections

• Know Article I structure and why it outweighs Articles II–VII in length.
• Memorize constitutional qualifications and term lengths with numbers (25/30 yrs age, 7/9 yrs citizenship, 2/6-yr terms).
• Trace the concept of the veto from Rome to the U.S. President.
• Compare British & Roman bicameral models to U.S. Congress; note differences in selection (hereditary Lords vs.
  elected Senate today).
• Understand why the Founders mixed democratic & republican elements (fear of mob rule, need for efficiency).