THE US CONGRESS
Chapters 10: Sections 1 & 2
US Congress- What is the purpose of Congress? Why
did the Constitution establish a Bicameral legislation?
The primary duty of Congress is to write, debate, and pass bills.
The north wing (left) houses the Senate, while the south wing (right)
houses the House of Representatives.
Historic & practical reasons for
bicameral Congress.
British Parliament; idea from
Britain.
Constitution ConventionCompromise
Separation of Power- Two Houses Check each other!!
House is based on population of the state
Senate- equal representation- each state has two
senators
Vocabulary Terms for Congress

Term- An assigned period of time for an elected
official to serve
 House of Representatives- 2 years
 Senate-

Sessions- A period of time each year when the
Congress meets to talk about laws
 Two

6 years
sessions in a term!
Adjourn, end of a meeting-usually starts in January
and ends in late fall.
Congress & Sessions

Other Vocab Terms
Convenes – when they
begin work in a session
 Recess – short breaks
during a session


Special Session – called
by President to solve an
issue- emergency

27 in history – Truman’s
in 1948 last one
There are NO term limits on Congress
Congressmen
can be
elected over
and over
again…..
House of Representatives & Population
Each state is divided in districts
Each district elects its own representative
How many districts are in PA? What district is Media?
When we vote in Media, we are only voting for one House member, one
representative out of the total number for PA in U.S. Congres
What happens if a state decreases or
increases in population?
Several ways congressional districts change
Re-appropriation after a census &
Gerrymandering!
Census every 10 years in the U.S.
US Census & Re-Apportionment of
House Members- 2010 Census
Bases on the Census, district lines are
redrawn…Reapportionment

Gerrymandering –an
unfair drawing of
district lines, giving a
party or a group an
advantage.
 “kidnapping”
–
redraw lines to move
an incumbent into a
district less likely to
be reelected
Gerrymandering….
Packing


Packing, state legislators
“pack” as many opposing
voters into a single
district as possible.
Ex. Republicans may
“pack” democrats into
only 1 district, and
republicans into many…
Cracking


Cracking-the party in
power splits up (spread
out) voters who support
the opposing party.
Ex. Republicans may
spread out the democrats
so they can never win in
a district.
Analysis the Cartoons?
Reapportionment Act of 1929 – set 435 as
permanent number of Reps!
How often do we have elections?
House of Representative term = two year
Senators every term = 6 years
President’s and Governors term = four years
Every two years we have elections in the U.S.
Every 2 years all 435 House Members are up for
election!
There are many districts in the U.S., states with high populations have more districts.
Elections Every 2 years- Even years
All 435 House members; election
every 2 years
Elections fall on even years!
Every 2 years; 1/3 of Senate seats up
for election
Governors/ Executives of State- Elections vary…
Party control of Governors' offices after January 11, 2014.
Democratic Governor- Blue
Republican Governor- Red
Independent Governor- Independent
112 Congress- Pres. Obama
193 Democrats, 242 Republicans
51 Democrats, 47 Republicans, 2
Independents
113 Congress; President’ Obama
Which party controls the House &
Senate?
Midterm Elections- November 2014
Which party will take control of
Congress? Governors race too!
Speaker of the House= leader



Elected by the majority
party members in the
House
Runs the business of
the House
If President & V.
President cannot serve,
he becomes the
President.