2305+-+The+US+Legislature+-+Constitutional+Design

Power Points



Description: Here we pour through Article One of the Constitution section by section, describing each as we go along.

Goals: After reading through the material above, you should be able to address the following questions:

- What aspects of the legislature as designed in the Articles of Confederations were unaccesptable to the Federalists? What did they hope to achieve with a new design? - What types of legislatures did James Madison and Alexander Hamilton (separately) introduce to the convention? How were the proposals received? - Be able to identify the material covered in each of the ten sections of Article One. - What are the principle differences between the House and the Senate? What - or whom - is each institution responsible to? How does the design of each make them distinct from each other? What controversies were involved in the design of each? - Be familar with basic details of House and Senate Elections. - How detailed is the design of Congress in the Constitution? - What specific positions of power in the legislature are created in the Constitution? - What does the Constitution say about the bill making process? - What protections does the Constitution grant members of Congress from other branches? - What parts of the Constitution have allowed Congress to expand its powers? - What checks does the Constitution grant Congress over the other two branches? - What impact has gerrymandering had on the House? on the Senate? - What specific powers are granted to the national government in Section 8? Why those specific powers? What limitations are placed on the national government in Section 9?