The legislative branch is a reoccurring topic in the Federalist Papers. The reason for its constant reference is that the legislative branch was designed, as Madison states, to be the most powerful branch of the government (Madison, 1788). Before we assess their powers, however, we’ll discuss how the legislative branch is structured and why it is structured this way.
In Federalist 10, James Madison convinces us the necessity of a republic form of government (Madison, 1787). He believes republics best combat the influence of factions or cliques in the federal government. This defense against factions becomes the main architectural influence for the legislative branch. A republic, the form of government the Constitution establishes, is a representative democracy. In a true democracy, every citizen has a say. This would mean that for every decision the government makes—the amount of taxes each person pays or even something as trivial as putting up a road sign on a particular street—would require a citizen to bring up the proposition and a nationwide vote to decide on its approval. This would be a very tedious form of government, only applicable in areas with a very small and closely dispersed population.
Madison, and the rest of the Framers of the Constitution, decided to use the representative democracy form of government instead. In this form, the people would vote for a representative that would serve as their link to the national government. In theory, this representative would voice the concern of his constituents, the people he represents, and vote in a way they would collectively agree with. Not everyone in a representative’s constituency will have voted for him or agree with his decisions at the capitol, but this is seen as the most fair, accurate, and efficient way to run the government. There will always be those representatives that misuse their power, or do not effectively represent their constituents, but the voters will be able to stop these rogue representatives from getting reelected in the next election (Madison, 1788).
The next consideration was the organization of the legislature. It was decided that the branch would consist of a Congress split into two houses. The first, the House of Representatives, would be the closest part of the national government to the constituents. The amount of representatives would be larger, representing a fewer amount of people, and serving two year terms. Population would decide the amount of representatives for each state, with the most populous states being represented by the most people. The House of Representatives is designed to give the minority more of a voice. Let’s say that one and only one district had a strong communist philosophy, that small amount of people would not be able to elect a national official, like the president, that agreed with their minority communist beliefs. That one district could, however, elect a member to the House of Representatives—because of its smaller districts—to further their voice in the national government.
The second house of Congress is the Senate. Each Senator would be elected by the state’s legislature, in order to control for sometimes unwise voting by politically ignorant citizens while making sure that the senator is a good representative of the state. Each state would have two Senators, regardless of population. The Senate was formed to be more of a far-sighted house of Congress, not worrying about voters and re-elections as much—because of their six-year terms and their appointment by the states—but focusing more on the actual functionality of the government. The 17th Amendment established direct elections for Senators in 1913, but the longer term limits still make the Senate a theoretically more disciplined house of congress. Having a more far-sighted chamber of congress helps defend the nation against bad policy that can come from near-sighted goals and passions.
These two houses of Congress together will form the most powerful and influential branch of government. To control for this, the framers spread it out over a multitude of representatives instead of just one person like the executive branch, or nine justices, as with the Supreme Court. The power of the legislative branch comes from their powers listed in the Constitution. Section 8 of the Constitution gives the Congress the powers of taxation, borrowing money, coining money, funding the government, declaring war, maintaining a national army, and forming the rules for the government and the land, among many other things. As you might have noticed, the national government would gain an excess of power compared to the national government under the Articles of Confederation. All of these things, the most influential aspects of government, must go through Congress. It makes and passes the laws under which everyone, including the other branches of government, must follow. Congress can even amend, or change, the Constitution. With this amount of power, there have to be controls; one control is the large amount of representatives in the legislative branch. Many other controls are included in built-in checks and balances that we will go over later, but constitutionally the legislative branch is the most powerful of the three.
In Federalist 10, James Madison convinces us the necessity of a republic form of government (Madison, 1787). He believes republics best combat the influence of factions or cliques in the federal government. This defense against factions becomes the main architectural influence for the legislative branch. A republic, the form of government the Constitution establishes, is a representative democracy. In a true democracy, every citizen has a say. This would mean that for every decision the government makes—the amount of taxes each person pays or even something as trivial as putting up a road sign on a particular street—would require a citizen to bring up the proposition and a nationwide vote to decide on its approval. This would be a very tedious form of government, only applicable in areas with a very small and closely dispersed population.
Madison, and the rest of the Framers of the Constitution, decided to use the representative democracy form of government instead. In this form, the people would vote for a representative that would serve as their link to the national government. In theory, this representative would voice the concern of his constituents, the people he represents, and vote in a way they would collectively agree with. Not everyone in a representative’s constituency will have voted for him or agree with his decisions at the capitol, but this is seen as the most fair, accurate, and efficient way to run the government. There will always be those representatives that misuse their power, or do not effectively represent their constituents, but the voters will be able to stop these rogue representatives from getting reelected in the next election (Madison, 1788).
The next consideration was the organization of the legislature. It was decided that the branch would consist of a Congress split into two houses. The first, the House of Representatives, would be the closest part of the national government to the constituents. The amount of representatives would be larger, representing a fewer amount of people, and serving two year terms. Population would decide the amount of representatives for each state, with the most populous states being represented by the most people. The House of Representatives is designed to give the minority more of a voice. Let’s say that one and only one district had a strong communist philosophy, that small amount of people would not be able to elect a national official, like the president, that agreed with their minority communist beliefs. That one district could, however, elect a member to the House of Representatives—because of its smaller districts—to further their voice in the national government.
The second house of Congress is the Senate. Each Senator would be elected by the state’s legislature, in order to control for sometimes unwise voting by politically ignorant citizens while making sure that the senator is a good representative of the state. Each state would have two Senators, regardless of population. The Senate was formed to be more of a far-sighted house of Congress, not worrying about voters and re-elections as much—because of their six-year terms and their appointment by the states—but focusing more on the actual functionality of the government. The 17th Amendment established direct elections for Senators in 1913, but the longer term limits still make the Senate a theoretically more disciplined house of congress. Having a more far-sighted chamber of congress helps defend the nation against bad policy that can come from near-sighted goals and passions.
These two houses of Congress together will form the most powerful and influential branch of government. To control for this, the framers spread it out over a multitude of representatives instead of just one person like the executive branch, or nine justices, as with the Supreme Court. The power of the legislative branch comes from their powers listed in the Constitution. Section 8 of the Constitution gives the Congress the powers of taxation, borrowing money, coining money, funding the government, declaring war, maintaining a national army, and forming the rules for the government and the land, among many other things. As you might have noticed, the national government would gain an excess of power compared to the national government under the Articles of Confederation. All of these things, the most influential aspects of government, must go through Congress. It makes and passes the laws under which everyone, including the other branches of government, must follow. Congress can even amend, or change, the Constitution. With this amount of power, there have to be controls; one control is the large amount of representatives in the legislative branch. Many other controls are included in built-in checks and balances that we will go over later, but constitutionally the legislative branch is the most powerful of the three.