Congress: The Legislative Branch Of The Constitution

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Issue paper Marlene A-Schultz Congress With the creation of the constitution came the creation of our government; it was created by men how feared and distrusted a government that had too much power. They set out to create a government that was fair and controlled by the people. They wanted to create a government where the people were represented and had a say in the laws; they sought to move away from dictatorships and monarchies. To do this they separated the powers into three branches: the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial. The first article in the constitution is dedicated to the role and powers of the legislative branch or congress. The Legislative Branch of the constitution is given the most power. These powers consisted…show more content…
The two plans on how the people and states should be represented are the Virginia and New Jersey Plans. With the Virginia Plan, members of congress would be elected by population. This was good in itself because it gave a wide and more accurate range of concerns and viewpoints. On the other hand, the New Jersey plan wanted equal representation for each state; this was because small states and low population states would always be a minority and be under represented if congress was done solely by population. These two ideas became the Great Compromise, and this was what created our bicameral system. This bicameral system resulted in a two part branch: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House of Representatives would be the larger half of congress with its members being decided by population. The Senate would be made of one-hundred members, two for each state. This was for equal representation for each state. This makes for a better system because it helps to divide and equal out the power. Although it may not lead to an absolute equality, it does do a decent job. The two branches have their own rules and jobs but function to better as a…show more content…
They can raise and lower it. If they wanted to make it higher or lower, they could. This is usually the most important piece because people don’t want to pay taxes, even if it is to benefit the country. Having our money taken away is not what people want without good reason. Our representatives have to decide on what the cost of improvement is and if the people really want or need it. They have to decided what the cost is to the average American. It would be hard to come back after a two year term, having raise taxes, and then asking to be reelected. The Senate is the smaller house, with fewer rules and a longer term of six years. The members of the Senate number at 100, with two representatives for each state. This means that larger population states have less representation and smaller populations have more, so it evens out with the House. Often times, the senate focuses less on home town problems and more on the larger issues that affect the nation. The longer terms mean they have more time to focus on issues presented to them, and spend less time in their own
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