The Legislative Branch Section 1 Note Guide

I. R______D______(Republic)

a. Big Picture: C______is in charge of the most basic function in a democracy, translating the public w______into public p______by passing laws

b. Article I Section I: “All L______P______herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”

c. B______Legislature: Two houses…Why???

c.i. It is a reflection of the principle of F______

c.i.1. Senate = e______representation from each state

c.i.2. House of Reps = representation based on p______

c.i.3. The framers favored this so one house could act as a “check” on the other

II. Terms of Congress

a. ______Congress begins January ____, ______and ends January _____, ______

b. Each term lasts for ______years

c. “Noon the ______day of January.” – Beginning and ending date.

III. Sessions of Congress

a. Definition:

b. There are ______sessions to each term of Congress (one per year)

c. They remain in session throughout most of the year (Usually several short r______or breaks in a session

c.i. The President may call a S______S______of Congress to deal with some emergency situation

c.i.1. Only ______have ever been called (46 times Senate only); most recent in 1948

c.ii. Sometimes the President uses this as a T______to force both houses to come to an agreement on an issue (Obama – Healthcare)

IV. The House

a. Size and Terms

a.i. ______Members – Total number of seats A______(distributed) based on the P______of each state a.ii. Each state has at least ______representative (A______, D______, M______, N______D______, S______D______, V______, and W______)

a.iii. Members elected for ______years

a.iv. No T______L______

a.iv.1. Pros/Cons:

b. Qualifications

b.i. At least ______years of age

b.ii. Citizen of the US for ______years

b.iii. Must be an I______of the state elected in

b.iv. House may refuse to seat an elected member by M______V______

b.iv.1. Brigham Roberts of U______was a polygamist

b.iv.2. From 1869 to 1900, the House of Representatives refused to seat over 30 Southern Democratic candidates declared the winner by their states because the House Elections Committee concluded that fraud, violence, or intimidation had been used against black voters.

b.iv.3. House may expel a member with a ______vote

Expelled Representatives Ye Representativ Party State Details ar e

18 Democra Disloyalty to the Union; taking up arms against the United John B. Clark Missouri 61 tic States.

18 Democra Disloyalty to the Union; taking up arms against the United John W. Reid Missouri 61 tic States.

18 Henry C. Democra Disloyalty to the Union; taking up arms against the United Kentucky 61 Burnett tic States.

19 Michael J. Democra Pennsylva Convicted of bribery in the Abscam scandal.(American Hustle) 80 Myers tic nia

20 James Democra Convicted on ten counts that included bribery, obstruction of Ohio 02 Traficant tic justice, and racketeering.

c. R______: Redrawing of district lines

c.i. Seats are reapportioned after the C______every ten years (We used to be district 7…now we are district 10)

c.ii. Reapportionment Act 1929: c.ii.1. Permanent size of the House = ______

c.ii.2. Ohio is made up of ______districts (______representatives)

c.ii.3. Each House seat represents about 600,000-700,000 people

c.ii.4. After each C______, seats in states may grow, shrink, or stay the same based on P______(Ohio has lost representation) d. Congressional Elections

d.i. Done every ______years

d.ii. Off-______(mid-term) are the elections that take place in non- presidential voting years. (2002, 2006, 2010)

d.iii. The party in power often ______in off -year elections. (2010 and 2014 were no exception)

d.iv. There are 435 different congressional districts. S______legislators are responsible for drawing the congressional districts within a state

d.v. Two Rules

d.v.1.

d.v.2. “as nearly as practicable an equal number of I______.” (must also have to live in the district)

d.vi. G______:

d.vi.1. The word was created in reaction to a redrawing of M______state senate election districts under the then-governor E______G______

d.vi.2. When mapped, one of the contorted districts in the Boston area was said to resemble the shape of a S______.

d.vii. Very common…it is found in most places where lines are drawn for the election of ______(cities, counties, school districts, and elsewhere).

d.viii. The lines are drawn either to….

d.viii.1. To concentrate the opposition’s voters in one or a few districts, thus leaving the other districts ______for the controlling party (PACKING) d.viii.2. To spread the opposition as ______among several districts limiting the oppositions ability to win anywhere in the region.(CRACKING)

d.ix. GOAL of Gerrymandering….to create as many S______D______as possible for the party in power

d.x. W______vs. S______(1964)

d.x.1. Ruled that districts should be as equal in population as possible

d.x.2. Gerrymandering became more difficult but still possible

d.xi. R______could be a factor but not THE determining factor (Hunt vs. Cromartie)

V. Senate

a. Often referred to as the “U______H______”

b. ______Senators from each state; ______Total

c. Elected for ______year terms – No term limits

c.i. Longer terms because the Framers wanted them to be “more E______, and responsible” would not be swayed by “whims, passions of the moment.”

c.ii. Represent L______groups of people (except in 7 cases)

c.iii. _____ Amendment: Now allows voters to directly elect/vote senators (elected by state legislatures prior to)

c.iv. Terms are S______- 1/3rd of them expiring every two years

c.v. It is a C______B______: all of its seats are never up for re- election at the same time (Portman ’16, Brown ’18)

c.vi. More J______S______: makes them less subject to the pleasures of public opinion and less susceptible to the pleas of S______I______

c.vii. Have larger C______(people they represent): focused more on the big picture of the state rather than isolated areas or special interests

c.viii. More likely to be regarded as national P______L______

c.ix. Many Presidents came from the S______

c.x. They have more C______than House members and are covered more in the media

d. Qualifications

d.i. ______years of age

d.ii. Citizen for ______years

d.iii. Must Reside in the S______he/she represents e. V______P______is the presiding officer and votes to B______T______

e.i. However, the President P______T______of the Senate presides in the VP’s absence

f. Senators may E______a member by P______V______(7 total)

g. Punish members for “D______B______” by majority vote

h. E______a member by a ______vote (15 in 1862 for supporting the Confederacy)

h.i. Many R______before they are expelled

i. 9 have been C______: formal condemnation of actions by his/her’s fellow members; Must give up any committee chairs he/she holds but get to keep seat in Congress

VI. Key Difference

a. House is considered more reflective of the P______. Senate more reflective of the S______

b. Senate is considered to be more P______because of its longer terms, smaller size, and statewide representation - like a club.