1. The US Senate Mr. Marinello * US Government

2. The Senate  Comprised of two representatives from each state, regardless of the population.  California = 38,000,000 people  Wyoming = 576,000 people  Each Senator represents the entire state, not a district like House members  Total members of the Senate: 100

3. Term  Each Senator serves for 6 years before needed to be re-elected  There are no term limits for Senators  Longest serving Senator = Robert Byrd (D-WV) 51 years  Senatorial terms are staggered in thirds  There are three “classes” of Senators  A, B, and C  The entire Senate is never all up for election in the same year

4. Term  The 6-year term and the staggered classes are designed so that the Senate can be the more deliberative body. In theory they will not be subject to the whims of the public every two years.  This allows Senators to focus on the larger picture, rather than being bogged down in the minutia of a district.

5. Election to the Senate  Before the 17 th Amendment was adopted Senators were elected by State legislators.  Was this in keeping with the principles of a representative republic?  Being elected to the Senate requires a vote of the whole state.  What would be the benefit of running in a Presidential year?  What would be the advantage of running in an off year?

6. Qualifications for Office  According to Article I of the Constitution a Senator must:  Be at least 30 years old  Have been a citizen of the United States for nine years  Inhabit the state they are going to represent  The Senate, like the House, judges the qualification of it’s members.  The Senate is all about Seniority  Affects committee leadership  Hierarchy

7. The Deliberative Body  The Senate was designed to be a place of calm and common sense.  Senators are meant to be more removed from the strong passions of the people.  6 year terms  Not directly elected (at first)  Meant to have a collegial (friendly atmosphere)  Most of the time…

8. The Caning of Charles Sumner  May 1856  Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner spoke on the Senate floor.  He referred to a fellow Senator as a "noise-some, squat, and nameless animal... not a proper model for an American senator."  He accused another Senator of taking a mistress.  ”who, though ugly to others, is always lovely to him; though polluted in the sight of the world, is chaste in his sight—I mean, the harlot, Slavery."  Representative Preston Brooks later beat Sumner in the head with a cane.

9. Senate Leadership  President Pro Tempore  Most senior member of the majority party  Third in line for the Presidency (After the VP and Speaker)  Currently, Orrin Hatch (R-UT) 38 years of service  Majority Leader  Mitch McConnell (R -KY)  Responsible for making Committee assignments  Setting the Senate voting schedule  Voted by party caucus  Majority Whip  John Cornyn (R- TX)  Same responsibility as House whip  Minority Leader  Harry Reid (D – NV)  Decides committee membership for minority  “Leader in Waiting”  Voice of the opposition  Minority Whip  Dick Durbin (D – IL)  Same as Majority whip