Jonah Patel
The United States Constitution has been shaped by the Congress and historical developments that have influenced its operations. The Constitution places the lawmaking power in Congress, with the legislative process being one of the foundations of the American democratic way of life. The legislative process involves both Houses of Congress, with the House of Representatives and the Senate having equal legislative functions and powers. The Constitution has also contributed to the structure of the legislative branch, with the most contentious issue being the amount of representation granted to large and small states. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 established equal representation in the Senate and proportional representation in the House of Representatives, with the power to make appointments and advise on treaties. Congress also has the power to regulate elections, restrict campaign financing, and establish and support the armed forces.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Legislative functions | The Senate and the House of Representatives have equal legislative functions and powers |
| Power to declare war | Congress may grant letters of marque and reprisal and establish and support the armed forces |
| Power to regulate elections | Congress has imposed restrictions on elections and campaign financing |
| Power to regulate state militias | Congress may regulate or call forth the state militias, but the states retain the authority to appoint officers and train personnel |
| Power to make rules and regulations governing the armed forces | Congress has exclusive power to make rules and regulations governing the land and naval forces |
| Power to determine the number of representatives | Congress is empowered to use the aggregate population in all the states to determine the appropriate size of the House and to allocate a particular number of representatives to each state |
| Power to make appointments | The Constitution grants Congress the power to make appointments |
| Power to advise and consent to treaties | The Senate advises and consents to treaties and to certain nominations by the President |
| Power to tax and spend | Congress may lay and collect taxes for the "common defense" or "general welfare" of the United States |
| Power to impeach | The Constitution gives senators the responsibility for trying impeached officials, including the president of the United States |
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What You'll Learn
The Great Compromise
The disagreement over representation threatened to derail the ratification of the Constitution, with delegates from both sides vowing to reject the document if they didn't get their way. The larger states wanted congressional representation based on population, while the smaller states wanted equal representation. The Great Compromise proposed a bicameral legislature, or a legislature consisting of two houses. In the lower house, or the House of Representatives, each state would be allocated members according to its population and would be elected by the people. In the upper house, or the Senate, each state would have equal representation, with two representatives each, regardless of the state's size, and state legislatures would choose Senators.
The Compromise was proposed by Roger Sherman and Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut, combining elements of the Virginia (large state) plan and the New Jersey (small state) plan. It was adopted by a single vote on July 16, 1787, and its structure continues to be in place today.
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The Virginia Plan
The plan's most distinctive feature was its system of population-weighted representation in the proposed national legislature. This favoured the interests of states with large populations, like Virginia, by providing them with more representation than they had under the Articles of Confederation, which gave each state equal representation regardless of population. The first branch of the legislature, or the House of Representatives, would be elected by the people, while the first branch would select the members of the second branch (the Senate) from candidates nominated by state legislatures.
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Impeachment provisions
The process of impeachment is a fundamental component of the system of "checks and balances" in the US Constitution. It allows Congress to hold national officers accountable for their actions. The Constitution gives the House of Representatives the sole power to impeach federal officials, and it makes the Senate the sole court for impeachment trials. The House of Representatives charges an official of the federal government by approving, by a simple majority vote, articles of impeachment. The federal House of Representatives can impeach a party with a simple majority of the House members present or by adopting certain other criteria in accordance with Article One, Section 2, Clause 5 of the United States Constitution.
The Constitution limits the grounds of impeachment to "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors". The definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors" was not specified in the Constitution and has long been the subject of debate. During the debate on the Constitution, George Mason of Virginia believed that numerous other punishable offences against the state also reached the level of impeachment. James Madison of Virginia objected to using the term "maladministration", and in response, Mason offered to amend the provision to include "other high crimes and misdemeanors" in addition to treason and bribery. "High crimes and misdemeanors" was a technical term borrowed from British legal practice that denoted misconduct by public officials against the government.
After the House of Representatives sends its articles of impeachment to the Senate, the Senate sits as a High Court of Impeachment to consider evidence, hear witnesses, and vote to acquit or convict the impeached official. The Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the Senate to convict, and the penalty for an impeached official upon conviction is removal from office. The Senate can also, with just a simple majority vote, vote to bar an individual convicted in a senate impeachment trial from holding future federal office.
The Senate has concluded that members of Congress (representatives and senators) are not "civil officers" for the purposes of impeachment. In 1797, the House of Representatives impeached Senator William Blount of Tennessee, and the Senate continued impeachment proceedings against him even after he had been expelled from office. The Senate dismissed the proceedings after determining that a Senator is not a "civil officer of the United States".
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Treaty-making powers
The Treaty-making power of the US government is vested in the President, who can make treaties with the "advice and consent" of the Senate, provided that at least two-thirds of the Senators present concur. This is outlined in Article II of the Executive Department of the US Constitution.
The Treaty-making power was a highly debated topic during the Constitutional Convention of 1787, with delegates arguing for the power to reside within either the legislative or executive branch. The Committee of Detail's draft Constitution of August 6, 1787, stated that "The Senate of the United States shall have the power to make treaties, and to appoint Ambassadors, and Judges of the Supreme Court." This proposal was supported by delegates from smaller states, who favoured the idea of equal representation in the Senate, as outlined in the 'Great Compromise' or 'Connecticut Compromise'. This compromise proposed a bicameral national legislature, with proportional representation in the House of Representatives and equal representation in the Senate.
However, some delegates opposed granting the Senate sole control over treaty-making, suggesting that either the executive should have that responsibility or that the entire legislature should be involved. Alexander Hamilton's argument that the executive branch should exercise powers related to foreign relations and make treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate ultimately proved persuasive.
The Senate's role in treaty-making is significant. While it does not directly ratify treaties, it considers them and either approves or rejects a resolution of ratification. If the resolution passes, ratification occurs through the formal exchange of instruments of ratification between the US and the foreign power(s). The Senate has approved the majority of treaties negotiated by the President and their representatives. In some cases, when sufficient support for a treaty is lacking, the Senate may choose not to vote, leading to the treaty's withdrawal.
Since World War II, the US has increasingly entered into "executive agreements," which are international agreements not requiring the Senate's advice and consent but are nonetheless binding under international law. While presidents have utilised these agreements since the 1790s, they became more common in the 20th century due to the increasing volume of business handled by the Senate. Congress has authorised these executive agreements through legislation in areas such as foreign aid and trade.
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Election restrictions
The Elections Clause of the US Constitution gives states the power to construct federal elections but ultimately delegates final policymaking authority to Congress. According to Article I, Section 4, Clause 1, both Congress and state legislatures have the power to regulate the "times, places, and manner of holding elections for Senators and Representatives".
Congress has played a significant role in regulating federal elections and protecting the right to vote. In 1842, Congress passed a law requiring the election of Representatives by districts, which was omitted in 1850 but adopted again in 1862. Over the years, Congress has expanded on these requirements, adding contiguity, compactness, and substantial equality of population to the districting requirements.
In 1866, Congress addressed a situation where deadlocks in state legislatures over the election of Senators were creating vacancies. They required the two houses of each legislature to meet in joint session on a specified day and every day thereafter until a Senator was selected. Congress also specified a common day for the election of Representatives in all the states.
The first comprehensive federal statute dealing with elections was adopted in 1870 as a means of enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment's guarantee against racial discrimination in granting suffrage rights. More recently, Congress has enacted legislation in multiple years to protect the right to vote in all elections through various measures, such as the assignment of federal registrars and poll watchers, suspension of literacy tests, and the prohibition of intimidation and reprisal.
The Elections Clause imposes implicit restrictions on the power to regulate congressional elections. Neither Congress nor the states may attempt to dictate electoral outcomes or favour certain classes of candidates. While states can impose reasonable ballot access restrictions, such as requiring candidates to submit a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters, they cannot establish additional qualifications for voting for Congress beyond those specified in the Constitution, such as age, residency, and citizenship requirements.
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Frequently asked questions
The chief function of Congress is the making of laws.
The Constitution’s impeachment provision gives senators the responsibility for trying impeached officials, including the president of the United States.
Congress has imposed a growing number of restrictions on elections and campaign financing. Congress also requires the states to conform to certain practices when drawing districts.
The legislative process is a matter about which every person should be well informed to understand Congress. The legislative process emphasizes the protection of the minority, allowing all sides to be heard and make their views known.
Congress provides for equal representation in one house and proportional representation in the other.
