CHAPTER IV ARTICLE I THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SECTION I. CONGRESS All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a congress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate and house of representatives. Branches of Government. The plan for the formation of a general government with three branches, which should be as nearly independent of one another as possible, doubtless originated with Washington. The three branches of government established by the constitution are the legislative, the executive and the judicial. These are often called the law-making, the law-enforcing and the law-interpreting powers of the government. Legislative Branch. The legislative branch is properly placed first in the constitution, because it is the foundation for the workings of the other two branches. The legislative branch is given more space in the Constitution than both of the other branches on account of its importance, and also because of a desire on the part of members of the convention to be very explicit in outlining the work of this branch. Difficulties of Organization. Congress under the Confederation, consisted of but one house, and there was a strong effort made to organize the new Congress in the same way. It was decided early in the convention, that membership climax. The members of the Constitutional Convention realized the importance of the work they had undertaken, and it was their deliberate purpose to found a government for posterity. How well their work was done, the nineteenth century can fully attest. QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 1. Define constitution and preamble. Consult dictionary. 2. What authority does the preamble give for the establishment of the constitution? 3. What name is given to our nation in the preamble? 4. How many, and what purposes for the adoption of the constitution are enumerated in the preamble? 5. How do these rank in importance? 6. Memorize the preamble. CHAPTER IV ARTICLE I THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH SECTION I. CONGRESS All legislative powers herein granted, shall be vested in a congress of the United States, which shall consist of a senate and house of representatives. Branches of Government. The plan for the formation of a general government with three branches, which should be as nearly independent of one another as possible, doubtless originated with Washington. The three branches of government established by the constitution are the legislative, the executive and the judicial. These are often called the law-making, the law-enforcing and the law-interpreting powers of the government. Legislative Branch. The legislative branch is properly placed first in the constitution, because it is the foundation for the workings of the other two branches. The legislative branch is given more space in the Constitution than both of the other branches on account of its importance, and also because of a desire on the part of members of the convention to be very explicit in outlining the work of this branch. Difficulties of Organization. Congress under the Confederation, consisted of but one house, and there was a strong effort made to organize the new Congress in the same way. It was decided early in the convention, that membership in congress should, in a measure at least, be determined by the population of the several states, and the smaller states felt that they would, in this way, be deprived of all power in the government. They preferred to remain out of the Union, as they had a perfect right to do, rather than to become part of a government which would be practically controlled by a few of the large states. Representation. Parliament, the legislative branch of the English government, was taken by the small states as a model, because it consists of two houses, and a compromise was finally made by which the representation in the upper house was made the same for each of the states. As a concession to the larger states, the smaller states agreed to representation in the lower house to be based upon population. SECTION II. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Clause 1.-Composition and Term The house of representatives shall be composed of members chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature. House. The house of representatives is so called because its members are chosen to represent the people. The first congress under the Constitution assembled on the first Wednesday in March-which chanced to be the fourth day of the month—in the year 1789. Each congress is numbered in order from the first one, and the number is changed March 4th of each odd-numbered year. The term of members of the Sixty-fourth Congress began March 4, 1915. Election of Members. The election of members of the house of representatives occurs on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year. Representatives to congress are elected for two years and there is no restriction as to their re-election. Any member can serve as many terms as he can secure re-elections. Qualifications of Electors. The same qualifications are required for electors for representatives in congress as are required for electors for the most numerous branch of the state legislature. In other words, anyone who can vote for representatives in his state legislature can vote for representatives in congress. Since each state determines the qualifications of its voters, these qualifications vary in different states. See Part II, page 98. Clause 2.-Qualifications No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-five years, and been seven years a citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in which he is chosen. Citizenship. The question of citizenship was, for many years, a troublesome one in this country, and it was not definitely settled until the adoption of the fourteenth amendment to the United States Constitution. The qualifications required of representatives are certainly not too high. Age. By the clause of the Constitution quoted above, it will be seen that the earliest age at which a native-born citizen may become a representative in congress is twentyfive years, and as this is only four years after the person has acquired the right to vote, the minimum age is generally considered low enough. Aliens. An alien, by the usual process, must reside in this country five years before he can be naturalized. |