Okay, so yesterday I sat down to do this and was completely overwhelmed. It was a busy day anyway, but Article I is pretty long. I couldn't figure out a way to cut it down in the middle, so I decided to just cut it section by section. At this rate, it might take forever to get through this document, but I'd rather be thorough and truly understand than rush through it and miss some important things. Plus, I want this to be enjoyable, not a chore.
Section 1 is super short, so enjoy a day of brevity. There are some long ones ahead.
Article. I. - The Legislative Branch
Section 1 - The Legislature
"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."
Section 1 - The Legislature
"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."
As you can see, Article I deals exclusively with the legislative branch of our government.
Legislature means the right and power to create, amend, and change laws. I learned from Wikipedia that we have what's known as a "bicameral" system--two different legislative bodies (as listed in section 1). "A bicameral legislature possesses two separate chambers, usually described as an upper house and a lower house, which often differ in duties, powers, and the methods used for the selection of members." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislature).
These two chambers are equal in power in a presidential system.
Here's something I didn't know, "The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments, as...was the case in the United States before 1913, or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in...the modern United States" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legislature). Does anyone know why this is, or are you willing to delve into this a bit deeper for me? Wikipedia just kind of left me hanging there. I really want to know the reason for this change.
There will be more on their duties and other interesting facts as we go on into Article I.
Okay, here's a quiz for you. Who are your current representatives in Congress? Might be kind of tricky to figure out with the election that's just past. We had a very close race going on here in Oregon with our senate race. Anyway, see if you know; if you don't, take a minute and find out.
3 comments:
Hey Woman! I love your blog! I just signed up to follow it! Thanks for all the time and love you put into it :)
Way to study and learn. I was greatful to do the a couple of the citizenship meritbadges for the boy scouts that forced me to study up on our government. Looks like to can take over for the next batch of boys.
Hey Julie,
Great stuff! I absolutely love the history of our government!
This first section is known as the "Vesting Clause," because it grants Congress all of the federal legislative power in the United States.
Now, to answer your question, we must look a bit further into the make up of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
First, it's interesting that, even though the definition of a bicameral legislature is one consisting of both an upper house and a lower house, those terms don't exist in the Constitution. Rather, the two chambers are referred to only as the Senate and the House of Representatives (however, they are seen as the upper and lower houses, respectively, because of their membership, terms of service and responsibilities).
Originally, individual Senators were selected by their individual state legislatures. If we skip ahead to Article I, section 3, we read "The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the legislature thereof for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote."
The framers of the Constitution did this so that state legislatures would feel a direct link to the Constitutional Convention, and therefore, feel compelled to ratify the Constitution upon its completion. They also thought this would help the Senators work without having to worry about the demands of a public who didn't vote for them.
However, this proved disastrous in many cases, and after the 1850s, some states went YEARS without senators, as their legislators become embroiled in partisan squabbles over everything from intimidation and bribery to voting procedures and slavery (remember, this was right before the Civil War).
In 1866, Congress passed a law that regulated when and how senators could be elected, but it didn't solved the situation entirely. In fact, state legislature continued to deadlock.
It wasn't until the early 1900s that one enterprising state decided to take real action. That state: OREGON!!!
That's right, our very own Oregon worked out several measures for direct election of its senators, finally succeeding in 1907. Nebraska followed after that... and by 1912, 29 states elected their senators through some sort of direct election process.
But, these newly direct-elected senators began concerning themselves more with the needs and desires of their constituents. In 1911, Senator Joseph Bristow of Kansas proposed a constitutional amendment that would ultimately make all U.S. Senators directly elected by their constituents. It took a while, but in 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified. It essentially changed Article I, section 3 by making all U.S. senators directly elected by the people of the state, and not by their legislatures.
However, it also authorized state legislatures to give power to their governors to appoint senators should their seat become vacant before an election; this is why there has been post-election talk of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin potentially appointing herself to fill Sen. Ted Stevens position, should he be reelected. She would have to resign as governor, assuming the lieutenant governor would then appoint her as the new U.S. Senator for Alaska.
Stevens (the longest serving Republican in the U.S. senate, having been in office since 1968), was found guilty on seven counts of making false statements in failing to report gifts he received. This happened less than one week before Tuesday's election!! His race is one of three of Tuesday's U.S. Senate races that have yet to be decided, as the differences in votes are still too close to determine a winner (The other two too-close-to-call races are in Minnesota and Georgia.). If reelected, Stevens will be the first felon elected to the U.S. Senate.
NOTE: This same scenario couldn't happen in Oregon, as voters passed a law in 1986 that requires a special election be held should one or both of the state's seats in the U.S. Senate become vacant. The governor of Oregon cannot appoint U.S. Senators.
Anyhow, here is the text of the Seventeenth Amendment, which provided for the direct election of U.S. Senators by their constituents:
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years; and each Senator shall have one vote. The electors in each State shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the State legislatures.
When vacancies happen in the representation of any State in the Senate, the executive authority of each State shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies: Provided, That the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct.
This amendment shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any Senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution." (17th Amendment to the United States Constitution.)
Sorry that was so long! It's fascinating to see how our government was designed to overcome inherent flaws that the Founding Fathers never could have foreseen!
P.S. Indeed I do know my members of Congress (in fact, up until yesterday, I had met both senators, both here in Oregon various times and at their respective Senate offices in Washington D.C.).
Oregon's U.S. Senators:
Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon's senior senator, assumed office on Feb. 6, 1996, after defeating Gordon Smith in a special election to replace Sen. Bob Packwood. Packwood resigned after he was recommended for expulsion from the Senate by the Senate Ethics Committee for sexual misconduct).
Gordon Smith (Republican, Oregon's junior senator. He assumed office Jan. 7, 1997, replacing retiring Oregon Senator Mark Hatfield, who was previously Oregon's governor from 1959-1967. Smith was the first person ever to run for a U.S. Senate seat twice in the same year. He was defeated for re-election by Jeff Merkley on Nov. 4, 2008. Smith is also a lifelong member of the LDS church, one of several church members serving in Congress.)
Jeff Merkley (Democrat, Oregon's junior senator-elect. Will assume office on Jan. 6, 2009, after defeating incumbent Gordon Smith on Nov. 4, 2008. Merkley is currently the Speaker of the Oregon State House of Representatives).
U.S. House of Representatives, Oregon, District 1:
David Wu (Democrat, assumed office on Jan. 6, 1999, replacing fellow Democrat three-term Rep. Elizabeth Furse, who did not seek re-election. Wu has won re-election in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. He is one of Oregon's five representatives in the U.S. House.)
P.P.S. Indeed, the United States Congress is an example of a bicameral legislature, as are all the individual state legislatures save ONE!! One lone state in our union has had a unicameral (and nonpartisan) legislature since 1934. That state: Nebraska.
P.P.P.S. One more thing... here's a list of current members of Congress who are also members of the LDS Church. As noted, some of those listed below have resigned or lost re-election in the Nov. 4, 2008, elections, and will not be a part of the 111th United States Congress (2009-2011).
5 Senators (4 Republicans, 1 Democrat):
Senator Robert Bennett (R-Utah)
Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho)
Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon)
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada)
10 Representatives in the House (8 Republicans, 2 Democrats):
Jeff Flake (R-Arizona)
Wally Herger (R-Calif.)
John Doolittle (R-Calif., did not seek re-election as he is currently under investigation in the Jack Abramoff bribery case.)
Howard McKeon (R-Calif.)
Michael Simpson (R-Idaho)
Dean Heller (R- Nevada)
Tom Udall (D- New Mexico. He was elected as the junior senator from New Mexico on Nov. 4, 2008, defeating Congressman Steve Pearce, and will assume office on Jan. 6, 2009.)
Rob Bishop (R-Utah)
Jim Matheson (D-Utah)
Chris Cannon (R-Utah. Will be replaced by Jason Chaffetz on Jan. 6, 2008, former chief of staff to current Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. Chaffetz won his race to Utah's 3rd district in the U.S. House on Nov. 4, 2008, and is also a member of the LDS church.)
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