Isabella Carter
The framers of the US Constitution established the structure and powers of Congress in Article I in 1787. The US Congress, which forms the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Together, the Senate and the House of Representatives have the power to create laws, declare war, raise money for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, investigate and oversee the executive branch, and more.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Purpose | To set up a fair and balanced government |
| Separation of Powers | The government is divided into three branches: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. |
| Checks and Balances | Each branch of government has its own rules, responsibilities, and powers, and can "check" the powers of the others. |
| Legislative Branch | The Legislative branch, or Congress, is made up of two groups: the Senate and the House of Representatives. |
| Senators | There are two senators from each state, chosen by the state legislature, for six-year terms. |
| Members of the House of Representatives | Members of the House of Representatives are directly elected by the people of each state. |
| Powers of Congress | Congress can create laws, declare war, raise money for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, and more. |
| Powers of the Senate | The Senate acts as an advisory council to the President, approving appointments and agreements with other countries. |
| Limiting Populist Power | The President is selected by a body of electors chosen by the states, rather than by individual voters. |
| Anti-democratic Bent | The fixed number of two senators per state, regardless of population size, gives more weight to smaller states. |
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What You'll Learn
- The framers of the US Constitution wanted to limit populist power
- The framers wanted to ensure separation of powers
- The framers wanted to prevent misuse of power
- The framers wanted to ensure that each branch of government was balanced
- The framers wanted to ensure that the president was selected by a body of electors
The framers of the US Constitution wanted to limit populist power
The US Constitution is the oldest written national constitution in the world, signed on September 17, 1787. The Founding Fathers, including Madison, Washington, Franklin, Wilson, Hamilton, Mason, Dickinson, and others, wanted to set up a fair and balanced government. They aimed to prevent the misuse of power and make it difficult for any one person, party, or group to gain control of the government.
To achieve these goals, the Founding Fathers proposed a national government with three separate branches: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. This system, known as the "separation of powers," provided "checks and balances" to ensure that each branch had its own rules, responsibilities, and powers, and that no one branch could dominate the others. For example, the President can veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress can override this veto if both the Senate and the House pass the bill with a two-thirds majority.
The Founding Fathers also took steps to insulate the federal government from populist pressures. They wanted to shield the government from political accountability and limit the political influence of citizens, particularly those who had recently gained independence from Great Britain. To do this, they ensured that the President was selected by a body of electors chosen by the states, rather than by individual voters. They also gave the President veto power over legislation and longer terms of office to insulate them from populist influence. The House of Representatives, whose members are directly elected, was kept relatively small to limit its populist inclinations.
Additionally, before the 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913, senators were selected by state legislators rather than directly elected by voters. The Senate, with longer six-year terms, served as an advisory council to the President, approving appointments and treaties. The Founding Fathers' efforts to limit populist power extended beyond the national government, as they also considered how to protect the judiciary from populist influence. They established a nationwide system of courts, including the US Supreme Court, to protect the interests of the federal government, particularly in taxation and the enforcement of federal treaties. Federal judges were granted tenure and protection from salary diminution to safeguard their political independence.
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The framers wanted to ensure separation of powers
The framers of the US Constitution wanted to ensure a separation of powers to create a fair and balanced government. The Founding Fathers proposed a national government where power was divided between three separate branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. Each branch has its own rules, responsibilities, and powers, and this division serves to prevent the misuse of power by any one person, party, or group.
The legislative branch, also known as Congress, is made up of two separate groups: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Together, they have the power to create laws, declare war, raise funds for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, and investigate and oversee the executive branch, among other responsibilities. The Senate acts as an advisory council to the President, approving appointments and agreements with other countries.
The framers of the Constitution aimed to limit populist power and shield the judiciary from populist influence. They did not want the president to be chosen by individual voters, but rather by a body of electors selected by the states. The framers also considered long terms for senators, which would make them largely independent of public opinion and reduce the influence of populism.
The Constitution provides "checks and balances" among the three branches to maintain a balance of power. For example, the President can veto bills passed by Congress, but Congress can override a veto if both the Senate and the House pass the bill with a two-thirds majority. This system of checks and balances ensures that no one branch dominates the others and protects against the accumulation of powers, which "may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."
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The framers wanted to prevent misuse of power
The US Constitution is the oldest written constitution in the world, signed on September 17, 1787. The Founding Fathers wanted to set up a fair and balanced government, with the Constitution acting as the "Supreme Law of the Land".
The framers of the Constitution wanted to prevent the misuse of power and ensure that each branch of the government was balanced. To achieve this, the Constitution provides checks and balances among the three branches of government: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. Each branch has its own rules, responsibilities, and powers. This is called the separation of powers.
The legislative branch, or Congress, is made up of two groups: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Together, they have the power to create laws, declare war, raise money for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, and investigate and oversee the executive branch. The President can veto (or reject) bills passed by Congress, but Congress can override a veto if both the Senate and the House pass the bill again by a two-thirds majority.
The framers of the Constitution also wanted to ensure that the government was accountable to the people and that individual liberties were protected. They sought to establish foundational principles that would guide the new nation, including freedoms such as freedom of speech, due process of law, free exercise of religion, equal protection of the laws, and protection from cruel and unusual punishment.
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The framers wanted to ensure that each branch of government was balanced
The framers of the US Constitution wanted to ensure that each branch of the government was balanced. The US Constitution, the oldest and shortest of all written national constitutions, is called the "Supreme Law of the Land" as it lays out the basic rules of the government and no other law is above it. The framers of the Constitution wanted to establish a fair and balanced government. To achieve this goal, the Constitution provides "checks and balances" among the three branches of government: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Judiciary. Each branch has its own rules, responsibilities, and powers, and this is called the "'separation of powers'".
The framers wanted to make sure that no one part of the government could dominate the other. James Madison defended six-year terms for senators, arguing that long terms would reduce turnover in the legislature, allow senators to take responsibility for measures over time, and make senators largely independent of public opinion. The framers also considered how to shield the judiciary from populist influence. The Constitution authorized a nationwide system of courts to protect the interests of the federal government, particularly with regard to taxation and the enforcement of federal treaties.
The legislature, or Congress, is made up of two separate groups: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate acts as an advisory council to the President, and its members are elected by all the people in a particular state and serve six-year terms. The House of Representatives, on the other hand, is directly elected by the people of each state. Together, the Senate and the House of Representatives have the power to create laws, declare war, raise money for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, and investigate and oversee the executive branch, among other responsibilities.
The President can veto (or reject) bills passed by Congress, which is a check on the power of Congress. However, Congress can override a veto if both the Senate and the House pass the bill again by two-thirds majorities. This back-and-forth ensures that no single branch of government can dominate the others, and that the powers of each are balanced.
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The framers wanted to ensure that the president was selected by a body of electors
The US Constitution is the oldest written national constitution in the world, signed on 17 September 1787 by the Founding Fathers. The Founding Fathers wanted to establish a fair and balanced government, with no one person, party, or group in control. To achieve this, they divided the government into three separate branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary. Each branch has its own rules, responsibilities, and powers, and can check the powers of the others. For example, while Congress can create laws, the President can veto (or reject) these laws, and Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds majority.
The legislative branch, or legislature, is called Congress, and is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Together, they have the power to create laws, declare war, raise money for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, and investigate and oversee the executive branch, among other responsibilities.
The Framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure that the President was selected not by individual voters, but by a body of electors, or the Electoral College. The electors were intended to be men of good reputation, superior discernment, virtue, and information, whose judgment would be trusted to know about the great men of the nation who might be worthy of consideration for president. The Framers envisioned a nation led by a natural aristocrat who was above partisanship, like George Washington, whose noble qualities would inspire and justify trust. However, they were unsure if any subsequent president would have a comparable national reputation.
The original plan of the Electoral College was based on several assumptions and anticipations of the Framers. The choice of the president should reflect the "sense of the people" at a particular time, independent of the influence of factions or "pre-established bodies" like Congress or state legislatures, or "foreign powers". Individual electors would be elected by citizens on a district-by-district basis, and each presidential elector would exercise independent judgment when voting. While the Framers' intention was for electors to be an independent body, in practice, electors have tended to give their votes according to the will of their constituents.
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Frequently asked questions
The legislative branch is one of the three coequal branches of the US government, alongside the executive and judiciary branches. It is also known as the United States Congress and consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The legislative branch is the only part of the US government that can make new laws or change existing laws. It also has the power to declare war, raise money for the military, establish post offices, admit new states to the union, and investigate and oversee the executive branch.
The legislative branch works with the other branches of government through a system of checks and balances. For example, the legislative branch can override a veto by the executive branch if two-thirds of both the Senate and the House of Representatives pass a bill.
The members of the House of Representatives are directly elected by the people, with each state having a number of representatives proportional to its total population. Senators, on the other hand, used to be elected by state legislatures, but since the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1913, they have been directly elected by the people as well.
