CONGRESS’S PLACE IN OUR CONSTITUTIONAL SYSTEM| 257Congress’s Place in Our Constitutional System
Congress was the “fi rst branch” early in our nation’s history. The Constitution
gave Congress the lead role in a vast array of enumerated powers, including reg-
ulating commerce, coining money, raising and supporting armies, creating the
courts, establishing post offi ces and roads, declaring war, and levying taxes (see
Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution in the Appendix). The president, in con-
trast, was given few explicit powers and played a much less prominent role early
in our histor y. Ma ny of Congress’s ex tensive powers come from its implicit powers
rooted in the elastic clause of Article I, which gives Congress the power “to make
all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the fore-
going Powers.”
The compromises that gave rise to Congress’s initial structure refl ected an
attempt to reconcile the competing interests of the day (large vs. small states,
northern vs. southern interests, and proponents of strong national power vs. state
power). These compromises included establishing a bicameral (t wo - ch a mbered)
institution made up of a popularly elected House and a Senate chosen by state leg-
islatures. Other compromises involved allowing slaves to count as three-fi fths of
a person for purposes of apportionment for the House, and setting longer terms
for senators (six years) than for House members (two years).
But these compromises also laid the foundation for the split loyalties that
members of Congress have between their local constituencies and the nation’s
interests. Although the Founders hoped that Congress would pass legisla-
tion emphasizing the national good over local interests, they also recognized
the importance of local constituencies. Thus the two-year House term was
intended to tie legislators to public sentiment. In general, the
Founders viewed the Senate as the more likely institution to
speak for the national interests; it was intended to check the
more responsive and passionate House. Because senators were
indirectly elected and served longer terms than House mem-
bers, the Senate was more insulated from the people. A famous
(though maybe fictional) story that points out the differences
between the House and Senate involves an argument between
George Washing ton and Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson did not
think the Senate was necessary, while Washington supported
having two chambers. During the argument Jefferson poured
some coffee he was drinking into his saucer. Washington asked
him why he had done so. “To cool it,” replied Jefferson. “Even so,”
said Washington, “we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer
to cool it.”
This idea of a more responsible Senate survived well into the
twentieth century, even after the Seventeenth Amendment in 1913
allowed the direct, popular election of senators. Today the Senate
is still more insulated than the House. Because of the six-year term,
only one-third of the 100 Senate seats are contested in each election,
while all 435 House members are elected every two years. However,
diff erences between the House and Senate’s representational roles
bicameralism The system of
having two chambers within one
legislative body, like the House and
Senate in the U.S. Congress.THE FOUNDERS VIEWED THE HOUSE AS
more passionate than the Senate,
or as the “hot coffee” that needed
to be cooled in the “saucer” of the
Senate. This perception probably
did not include coming to blows
over differences in policy as
Congressmen Albert G. Brown and
John A. Wilcox did in 1851 about
whether Mississippi should secede
from the Union.DESCRIBE HOW THE
FOUNDERS ENVISIONED
CONGRESS’S ROLE