Constitutional Study Guide: The House of Representatives and the Senate

Constitutional Institutions: The lecture focuses on the specific institutions established by the United States Constitution, primarily the bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Conceptual Foundation (Federalist 37): The design of the legislature is rooted in the principle of combining and balancing two competing requirements of government:
- Energy and Stability: These qualities require lodging power in fewer hands for a longer duration of time.
- Liberty: This requires that power be diffused, held by a larger number of individuals for shorter durations.
Accountability: Shorter terms are intended to make representatives more answerable and accountable to the people.
The Two Distinct Bodies:
- The House of Representatives and the Senate are designed to be very different in character, size, and function to achieve this balance.

The House of Representatives:
- Term Length: $2\text{ years}$ .
- Representation: Proportionally representative; it is a much more numerous body.
- Size Today: $435\text{ members}$ .
- Qualifications:
  - Age Requirement: At least $25\text{ years old}$ .
  - Citizenship Requirement: At least $7\text{ years}$ .
The Senate:
- Term Length: $6\text{ years}$ .
- Representation: Equal representation for each state ( $2\text{ senators}$ per state), regardless of population size.
- Size: $100\text{ senators}$ .
- Original Appointment: Under the original Constitution, senators were not directly elected; they were appointed by state legislatures (prior to the passage of the $17\text{th Amendment}$ ).
- Qualifications:
  - Age Requirement: At least $30\text{ years old}$ .
  - Citizenship Requirement: At least $9\text{ years}$ .

Two Models of Representation:
1. Delegate Model: The representative serves as an instrument of the people's will, doing exactly what the constituents want.
2. Trustee Model: The representative acts in the best interests of the community, even if those interests conflict with the immediate desires of the people.
The Problem of Unpopular Decisions: Sometimes the public may desire something contrary to their own long-term interests, or the government must take necessary but unpopular actions. The Senate is specifically designed to handle these difficult choices.

Focus of Federalist 52 and 53: These papers specifically address the qualifications and the terms of House members.
Sympathy and Independence: James Madison argues in Federalist 52 that a $2\text{ year}$ term provides "immediate independence and immediate or intimate sympathy with the people."
Proximity to the People: Frequent elections every $2\text{ years}$ (biannual elections) ensure the House remains the body closest to the populace.
The Power of the Purse: The House has the exclusive power to initiate bills regarding the raising and spending of revenue (taxation).
- Rationale: Since money is the "lifeblood of government," the body exercising this significant power must be the most accountable to the people.
Defense of the Two-Year Term vs. Annual Elections:
- Critics of the time argued for annual elections, citing the maxim: "Where annual elections end, tyranny begins."
- Madison’s Rebuttal: He argues that knowledge increases with time in office. A $1\text{ year}$ term is insufficient to gain the requisite experience for competent legislation.
- Learning in Office: Madison states, "No man can be a competent legislator who does not add to an upright intention and sound judgment a certain degree of knowledge of the subjects on which he is to legislate."
- Areas of Necessary Expertise: Representatives must understand the nature of commerce, trade, tax regulation, militia management, and the necessities of national defense.

Article 1, Section 8 Powers: Includes regulating commerce between states, raising taxes, and providing for the militia.
The Burden of Knowledge: As the government's power expands over more objects in national life, the burden on the representative to be knowledgeable increases.
Managing Complexity:
- Committees: The legislature is divided into committees (e.g., commerce, immigration) to handle specific tasks.
- Bureaucracy: Expertise is often passed to professional bureaucratic structures.
- Implications: Delegating expertise to bureaus raises questions about the nature of representation and direct accountability.

The Rationale for a Second Chamber: A bicameral legislature is intended to make legislation more wise and deliberative.
Checking the House: The House, as a more numerous and popular body, is susceptible to "sudden and violent passions" and can be seduced by "factious leaders."
The Senate as a Corrective: To correct the infirmities of the House, the Senate must:
- Be less numerous.
- Possess "personal firmness" (greater stability).
- Hold authority through a longer tenure ( $6\text{ years}$ ).
Protection Against Temporary Errors: Federalist 63 suggests the Senate serves as a defense for the people against "their own temporary errors and delusions."
The Rule of Reason: While the "cool and deliberate sense of the community" should ultimately prevail, the Senate acts as a buffer when the public is misled by "artful misrepresentations of interested men."

Mutability vs. Stability: Frequent turnover in the House (every $2\text{ years}$ ) leads to constantly changing laws (mutability). The Senate provides stability.
The Social Cost of Instability: Madison argues that frequent changes in regulations benefit the "sagacious, the enterprising, and the moneyed few" at the expense of the "industrious and uninformed mass of the people."
- Injustice of Complexity: Complicated, ever-changing tax and business regulations create a "harvest" for those who can afford experts (lawyers and accountants), rather than for the average citizen who does the actual work.
- Conclusion: Laws in an unstable system are made "for the few, not for the many."

Representing the States: Originally, senators represented the states themselves because they were appointed by state legislatures.
Checking Federal Growth: Power naturally seeks to expand. It was expected that the national government (via the House) would try to grow at the expense of state authority.
States as Parties to the Government: By giving states a seat in the federal legislature, the Senate protects the prerogatives of state governments and maintains the system of federalism.
Equal State Sovereignty: This explains why each state has equal representation ( $2\text{ senators}$ ). Rhode Island has the same weight in the Senate as California or Texas to reflect that they are represented as states.