GOV CH 10-1 CONGRESS BEGINNINGS

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Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.

The founders of the American republic believed that a central legislature should hold most of the power exercised by a national government. Their experience with King George III of England and his royal governors had left them with a deep suspicion of strong executive authority.

For this reason, the founders made Congress the central institution of American government and gave it more powers than any other branch. As James Madison said, Congress is "the first branch of the government." The founders granted Congress the most critical function of a democracy-translating the public will into public policy. They devoted the first article of the Constitution to Congress. That article reads:

All legislative powers herein granted shall he vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives

Congress is thus charged under the Constitution with the legislative power-the power to make laws. Congress is often considered to be the branch of government that is closest to the people. That is because members of Congress are elected directly by the people . In contrast, the president and vice president dent are elected through the electoral college, and Supreme Court members are appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate . Thus, among this nation's leaders, members of Congress are most directly accountable to its citizens . Because of this, Congress is sometimes called "the voice of the people ."

Which of the following would be considered the legislative branch of government?

a.	Congress	c.	Supreme Court
b.	President	d.	the Justice Department

Which of the following would be considered the executive branch of government?

a.	Congress	c.	Supreme Court
b.	President	d.	Library of Congress

Why is the Congress considered the branch of government that is closest to the people?

a.	It is elected through representatives	c.	it is elected directly by the people
b.	It is part of the electoral college	d.	it makes the laws

Why did the founders make the congress the central institution of the American government?

a.	they were members of congress themselves	c.	they wanted more power to go to the big states
b.	they thought it would strengthen the executive branch	d.	they thought congress would be a strong check on the executive branch

Bicameral Legislature (bicameral means two)

The founders of this nation did not agree about the organization of Congress. In fact, one of the most serious conflicts at the Constitutional Convention was a long and heated debate between the large and small states over congressional representation. After a month of struggle, the delegates finally adopted the Great Compromise.

By a narrow margin, the Convention voted for a bicameral legislature, a Congress of two houses. The houses, (chambers) were to be called the Senate and the House of Representatives . Each American state, large or small, would be represented by two senators, so all states would have equal power in the Senate. In the House, however, the number of representatives from each state would be determined by the size of each state's population. The larger a state's population, the more representatives it would have. The Constitution requires that each state, no matter how small, have at least one representative.

The bicameral legislature allows each house to check the power of the other house so neither branch can become too powerful. The House is elected directly by the people and is sometimes called the common peoples chamber. The Senate is elected by the states and in the beginning senators were appointed by state officials. The house of representatives is similar to the English House of Commons and the Senate is similar to the English House of Lourdes. The Senate was to be a safeguard against the passage of "emotional" legislation by the House. As George Washington was said to have remarked, "We shall pour House legislation into the Senatorial saucer to cool it."

How many chambers are there in the U.S. Congress?

a.	two - Commons and Lourdes	c.	one - Congress
b.	two - House and Senate	d.	one - Legislature

What was the “great compromise” in the Constitutional Convention.

a.	agreement over the branches of government	c.	agreement over representation in the congress
b.	agreement over the power of the president	d.	agreement over admission of new states

According to George Washington and the founding fathers, the _____ is likely to act out of emotion and the _____ is likely to act out of reason and logic.

a.	Senate - House	c.	House - Senate
b.	Lourdes - Commons	d.	Both houses react the same

The House and the Senate tend to balance each other and prevent one chamber from becoming too powerful.

true

false

The upper house of congress is the ____ and the lower house is the _____ .

a.	House of Representatives - Senate	c.	Executive branch - Legislative Branch
b.	Senate - House of Representatives	d.	Judicial Branch - Executive Branch

Congressional Meetings

Each Congress lasts for a meeting period, or a term, of two years. The terms are numbered consecutively, with the first term dating back to March 4, 1789. The date for the convening, or formal opening, of each term was reset by the Twentieth Amendment in 1993, and the terms now begin on January 3 of odd numbered years unless Congress sets another date.

Each term of Congress is divided into two regular sessions, or meetings-one for each year. Until about 1940, Congress remained in session for only four or five months, but the complicated legislation and increased demand for services from the public in recent years have forced Congress to remain in session through most of each year. Both chambers, how ever, schedule short recesses, or breaks, for holidays and vacations. Congress remains in session until its members vote to adjourn. Neither chamber may adjourn a session without the consent of the other. Only the president may call Congress to meet during a scheduled recess . Such meetings are called special sessions, and only twenty-six of them have ever been held. The fact that Congress now meets nearly year-round makes the need for a special session unlikely.

10.

How long does congress remain in session?

a.	until members vote to adjourn	c.	until the session is over
b.	until the president adjourns it	d.	until a special session is called

11.

How long is a regular session of congress?

a.	one year	c.	four years
b.	two years	d.	half a year

12.

Who calls for Special Sessions of Congress?

a.	the House	c.	Both houses
b.	the Senate	d.	the President

Apportionment of the House of Representatives

The Constitution says that each state will get representatives based on its population. Because representation in the House is based on population, the more people a state has, the more representatives it sends to the House. California, for example, with an estimated population of over 34 million in 2000, has fifty-two representatives . Georgia, with a population of over 6.5 million, has eleven representatives. Each state is guaranteed at least one seat, no matter what its population . Today, seven states have only one representative. In addition, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, and the American Virgin Islands each send nonvoting delegates to the House. Puerto Rico, a self-governing possession of the United States, is represented by a nonvoting resident commissioner.

If representation in the House is to be based on population, it is necessary to know what the population is. The Constitution directs Congress to take a census, or official count of the population, every ten years. This was originally meant to allow Congress to increase the number of House seats according to changes in the population. For a time, the number of representatives in the House grew with each census . By 1910, the number had reached 435.

In the census year of 1920, as the population swelled, House leaders and many Americans expressed concern about the size of the House. Many thought the House was growing too big for effective action . In 1929, President Herbert Hoover called a special session of Congress and urged Congress to provide apportionment guidelines for the upcoming 1930 census . As a result, Congress passed the Reapportionment Act of 1929. The act provided that the number of representatives would remain fixed at 435 . The law provides the following:

1 .The size of the House remains stable at 435.
2. The Census Bureau determines the number of seats each state should receive
3 .The Census Bureau presents a plan to the president that shows the distribution of seats.
4. The president submits this information in a message to Congress .
If Congress does not voice its opposition within sixty days, the plan goes into effect.

In the last few decades, Americans have moved from northeastern and Midwestern states to states in the South and the West. The South and West have increased their power in congress.

13.

How many states do not have enough population to have at least one representative in congress?

a.	seven	c.	fourteen
b.	one	d.	none - each state is guaranteed at least one representative

14.

The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the number of representatives in the House to

a.	100	c.	535
b.	435	d.	at least 1

15.

How often do they take a census in the United States?

a.	every 2 years	c.	every 10 years
b.	every other year	d.	when requested by congress

16.

According to the Reapportionment Act of 1929, who determines the number of seats each state should receive

a.	the Congress	c.	the Census Bureau
b.	the President	d.	the Supreme Court

Congressional Districting

Senators are elected to represent all of the people in the state. In contrast, representatives are elected by the known as a congressional district . The 435 members of the House are chosen by the voters in 435 separate congressional districts across the country. If a state's population allows it to have only one representative, the entire state is one congressional district. The boundaries of the congressional districts are drawn by state legislatures .

Congressional districts have not always been used by all the states . The Constitution makes no provisions for congressional districts. In the early 1800s, each state was given the right to decide whether or not to have districts at all. Most states set up single member districts. Voters in each of these districts elected one of the state's representatives . In states that chose not to have districts, representatives were chosen at large, from the state as a whole. In these states, voters could cast votes for all of that state's representatives . If one party's candidate won a plurality of votes, all of a state's representatives in Congress would be from that party.

Over the years, many people became dissatisfied with this system . In 1842, Congress passed an act that required all states to send representatives to Congress from single-member districts. The act gave each state legislature the responsibility of drawing its own district lines. Later revisions of the law required that districts contain, as nearly as possible, equal numbers of people . This requirement is important because it means each House member represents approximately the same number of people, so the people are equally represented in the House. Districts were also required to be of compact territory, which meant that states could not draw boundaries that spread one district into parts over the state.

The requirements of the 1842 act were largely ignored by states . Many state legislatures continued to seek advantages for their own political parties.

17.

Who draws the boundaries for congressional districts?

a.	the state legislatures	c.	the state courts
b.	the U.S. Congress	d.	the U.S. House of Representatives

18.

Why are there no districts for Senators?

a.	Senators are not mentioned in the constitution	c.	Senators represent smaller congressional districts
b.	Senators are elected on the basis of state population	d.	Senators represent the entire state

19.

Which statement is true

a.	The constitution does not mention congressional representation	c.	The representation system in the constitution was absolutely democratic
b.	The representation system fixed in the constitution is the one we abide by today.	d.	Over the years we have modified the systems for representation to be more democratic

20.

Which political party has the advantage when a state is required to re-draw the districts?

a.	the Democrats	c.	the party that controls the state legislatures
b.	the Republicans	d.	the party that controls the congress

Congressional Districts of Unequal Population

Legislatures sometimes attempted to retain power by creating districts with unequal populations. For example, at one point during the 1960s, in many states the largest district had twice the population of the smallest district. Because all districts have equal representation, a person's vote in the largest congressional district had only half the value of a person's vote in the smallest district.

The Supreme Court finally addressed this issue. In Baker v. Carr (1962), the Court ruled that the Tennessee state legislature's reapportionment scheme violated the constitutional requirement of equal protection under the law. In 1964, it ruled in Wesherry v. Sanders that congressional districts must have equal populations. This principle has come to be known as the "one man-one vote" rule. That is, one person's vote has to count as much as another's vote. The longstanding tendency of state legislatures to apportion in ways that over represented rural voters began to change .

21.

What did the Supreme Court rule in Baker v. Carr (1962)?

a.	The Tennessee reapportionment plan violated the 14th Amendment	c.	The Tennessee reapportionment plan was legal according to the constitution
b.	one man one vote	d.	reapportionment was an illegal method of representation

22.

What did the Supreme Court rule in Wesherry v. Sanders?

a.	The 14th Amendment violated the 1st Amendment	c.	The Tennessee reapportionment plan was illegal
b.	one man one vote	d.	It overturned Baker v Carr

23.

What does “one man one vote” mean?

a.	men should have a vote but not women	c.	every member of congress gets one vote
b.	each member in the house should represent the same number of people	d.	Rural areas should have more votes than urban areas

Gerrymandering

Since the early 1800s, the practice of drawing district boundaries to benefit a certain party, group, or candidate has been called gerrymandering. Gerrymandering often results in very oddly shaped election districts . This practice took its name from Elbridge Gerry, governor of Massachusetts . In 1812, the Massachusetts state legislature carved up Essex County in a way that favored Gerry's party. A cartoonist, observing a map that detailed the strange shape of the district, penciled in a head, wings, and claws and commented that the map now resembled a salamander. A news editor replied, "Better say a gerrymander!"

Two different methods of gerrymandering have been used. One way, called "packing" by politicians, involves drawing congressional district boundaries so that districts include as many of the political party's voters as possible . The other method, called "cracking," involves drawing the boundaries so that the opponent's strength is divided among two or more districts . In this way, the opponent has a more difficult time getting enough votes to win an election .

Because gerrymandering has not been specifically outlawed, it is still used today, although much less frequently. The "compact and contiguous" requirements, combined with the one person-one vote ruling, usually have prevented the worst forms of gerrymandering.

24.

What is the purpose of Gerrymandering?

a.	Draw congressional district boundaries to give one party an advantage	c.	keep voters spread apart
b.	Maker sure that both parties are represented equally	d.	Keep all of a parties voters in one district

25.

What type of Gerrymandering involves drawing congressional district boundaries so that districts include as many of the political party's voters as possible

a.	dividing	c.	drawing
b.	packing	d.	linking

26.

What type of Gerrymandering involves drawing the boundaries so that the opponent's strength is divided among two or more districts

a.	packing	c.	cracking
b.	dividing	d.	drawing

27.

Gerrymandering is no longer used today.

true

false

Racial Gerrymandering

The Democrats controlled congress and the White House in the early 1990s The U .S . Department of Justice required all of the states to draw the boundaries of congressional districts in a special way. Specifically, the districts were to be drawn to maximize the voting power of minority groups. Since most minorities vote Democrat, this was seen as a power grab by the Democrat party. The result was often bizarre . North Carolina's newly drawn Twelfth Congressional District was 165 miles long. It was a narrow strip that followed Interstate 85 . Georgia's new Eleventh District stretched from Atlanta to the Atlantic Ocean, splitting eight counties and five municipalities .

Many of these districts were challenged in court. In a series of cases, the United States Supreme Court sided with the opponents of what came to be called "racial gerrymandering." For example, in 1995, the Court attacked the concept of race-based redistricting by declaring that Georgia's Eleventh District was unconstitutional . The Court stated that assigning voters on the basis of race was offensive and demeaning to racial minorities. In two cases decided in 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that the Twelfth District of North Carolina and three Texas districts were also unconstitutional for this reason.

28.

What is racial Gerrymandering?

a.	Drawing district lines to favor minority groups within a state	c.	Making sure that poor people control some of the congressional districts
b.	Giving a state more representatives to distribute among minorities	d.	Making sure that white people control congress

29.

Why did the courts rule against racial Gerrymandering?

a.	It violated one man one vote	c.	it made the senate more powerful than the house
b.	It violated the 12th amendment	d.	it was offensive and demeaning to minorities

30.

Which political party pushed racial gerrymandering?

a.	Republican	c.	Neither
b.	Democrat	d.	Both