There are three reasons why the founding father created a bicameral Congress. The first reason was a matter of historical precedent. British Parliament had two houses an upper chamber, the House of Lords, filled with representatives of the aristocracy, and a lower chamber, the House of Commons, filled with representatives of the ordinary people. The second reason the framers' emphasis on the idea of checks and balances. By dividing legislative power between the House and the Senate, the two chambers would serve as checks against each other's authority, preventing a major tyranny. The final reason is the small states, afraid of losing influence in the new government, demanded that representation in Congress be awarded on an equal basis to all states, no matter how large or
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But the large states insisted that representation should be based on population; since larger states had more voters, they ought to have more votes in Congress, too. But a bicameral legislature provided the perfect opportunity for compromise, the small states got their equal representation in the Senate, large states got their proportional representation in the House.
One of the major differences in the Senate and House is constitutional powers. The House has the power to initiates all revenue bills (Art. I, sec. 7) and initiates articles of impeachment (Art. I, sec. 2). The Senate has the power to give "advice and consent" to treaties (Art. II, sec. 2) and major presidential appointments (Art. II, sec. 2). Another major difference is the structure of the two Chambers. The House has 435 members, with two-year terms, and is closer to the people in their districts. The House is more hierarchically organized with the Speaker of the House being the most powerful and power is distributed less evenly. There are more committees and subcommittees in the House and one important committee the House has that the Senate does not is the rules committee. The rules committee decides what
But the large states insisted that representation should be based on population; since larger states had more voters, they ought to have more votes in Congress, too. But a bicameral legislature provided the perfect opportunity for compromise, the small states got their equal representation in the Senate, large states got their proportional representation in the House.
One of the major differences in the Senate and House is constitutional powers. The House has the power to initiates all revenue bills (Art. I, sec. 7) and initiates articles of impeachment (Art. I, sec. 2). The Senate has the power to give "advice and consent" to treaties (Art. II, sec. 2) and major presidential appointments (Art. II, sec. 2). Another major difference is the structure of the two Chambers. The House has 435 members, with two-year terms, and is closer to the people in their districts. The House is more hierarchically organized with the Speaker of the House being the most powerful and power is distributed less evenly. There are more committees and subcommittees in the House and one important committee the House has that the Senate does not is the rules committee. The rules committee decides what