Guess the President Born: December 28, 1856, Staunton, Va. Graduate of Princeton and University of Virginia Law School During his academic career he produced a total of nine books, including a biography of George Washington. After his wife died he sat beside her body for two days and was so stricken with grief that he came close to a nervous breakdown. His idealistic definition of war aims, including the famous 14 Points, helped to rally international support for the Allied cause during WWI. He had been in poor health and partially paralyzed since suffering a stroke while President in 1919.
Woodrow Wilson 28 th President
The Legislative Branch Chapter 10 part one
Two Houses of Congress The Framers of the Constitution favored bicameralism because it allowed for fair and equal representation of the States at the national level.
Terms The date for the start of each new congressional term has been set by the Twentieth Amendment (1933) as “noon of the 3rd day of January” of every odd-numbered year.
Sessions of Congress A session is the regular period of time during which Congress conducts business. Congress adjourns, or suspends until the next session, each regular session as it sees fit.
Sessions of Congress If necessary, the President has the power to adjourn, a session, but only when the two houses cannot agree on a date for adjournment. Only the President may call Congress into a special session — a meeting to deal with some emergency situation.
Size and Terms The Constitution provides that the total number of seats in the House shall be apportioned (distributed) among the States based on population. Currently, there are no limits set on the number of terms a representative may serve. Strom Thurmond, South Carolina, Senator from
Reapportionment Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to reapportion (redistribute) the seats every 10 years. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 set the “permanent” size of the House at 435 members.
Current Apportionment Congressional Apportionment
Congressional Elections Congressional elections are held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November of each even- numbered year. Off-year elections are congressional elections held between presidential elections.
Districts and Gerrymandering Under the single-member district arrangement, the voters in each district elect one of the State’s representatives. The general-ticket system, no longer in use, provided that all of a State’s seats were filled at-large.
Districts and Gerrymandering Gerrymandering is the act of drawing congressional districts to the advantage of the political party that controls the State legislature. Gerrymandering may produce districts that have unusual shapes or even defy description.
House of Representatives 435 members (435 districts) State population 2 year terms entire house elected every 2 yrs 25 years of age 7 years citizen Resident of the state where elected (district) Salary $ 174,000
Party Leadership in the House Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D) Majority leader – Steny H. Hoyer (D) Minority leader – John Boehner (R)
Senate 100 members 2 from each state 6 year terms 1/3 of Senate elected every 2 years 30 years of age 9 years citizen Resident of the state where elected (district) Salary $174,000
Party Leadership in the Senate VP – President of the Senate Joe Biden President pro tempore – primarily ceremonial leadership – Robert Byrd (D-WV) Real power in the hands of majority and minority floor leaders – control Senate’s Calendar and elect whips Mitch McConnell – Min (R-KY) Harry Reid – Maj (D) Joe Biden Robert Byrd
The Senate Originally, the Constitution provided that senators were chosen by the State legislatures. In 1912 the Seventeenth Amendment was passed and called for the direct election of senators.