HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Lyndon B. Johnson, Franking, United States Congress Joint Economic Committee
6 Jun 2018
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The Organization of Congress
Congress consists of 100 senators (2 from each state) and 435 members of the House of
Representatives, a number that was fixed by the Reapportionment Act of 1929. This act
recognized that simply adding more seats to the House as the population grew would make it too
unwieldy. Today, each congressperson represents approximately 570,000 people.
Congressional districts
Americans are known for their mobility, and over the years states have lost and gained
population. After each federal census, which occurs every ten years, adjustments are made in the
number of congressional districts. This process is known as reapportionment. In recent years,
states in the West and Southwest have increased their representation in the House, while states in
the Northeast and Midwest have lost seats. As a result of the 2000 census, for example, Arizona
gained two representatives while New York lost two.
Congressional district lines are usually drawn by the state legislatures (although the federal
courts sometimes draw districts when the original plans lose a constitutional challenge). The
Supreme Court ruled in 1964 that districts must have roughly the same number of people so that
one person's vote in an election is worth the same as another's. This is known as the "one person,
one vote" principle. Still, the majority party often tries to draw the boundaries to maximize the
chances for its candidates to win elections. In 1812, Governor Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts
approved a bill creating such an oddly shaped district that his critics called it a "gerrymander" —
a political amphibian with a malicious design. Gerrymandering now refers to the creating of
any oddly shaped district designed to elect a representative of a particular political party or a
particular ethnic group. In Shaw v. Reno (1993), the Court was extremely critical of oddly-
shaped districts such as North Carolina's Twelfth Congressional District, and stated that such
districts could be challenged if race was the main factor in their creation. A recent decision
(2001) upheld the redrawn boundaries of the North Carolina district.
Members of Congress
For most of the nation's history, members of Congress have been mainly white males. Beginning
with the civil rights movement of the 1960s, the number of ethnic minorities and women in
Congress has increased. Elected in 2006, the 110th Congress is the most diverse in American
history as shown in Table 1.
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Representative Keith Ellison of Minnesota became the first Muslim elected to Congress in 2006
as well.
There has been less change in the occupational backgrounds of the representatives and senators.
Many legislators are lawyers or businesspeople, or they have made a career of political life.
Once elected to office, members of Congress represent their constituents in different ways. Some
consider themselves delegates, obligated to vote the way the majority of the people in their
districts want. A congressperson or senator who takes this position makes every effort to stay in
touch with voter public opinion through questionnaires or surveys and frequent trips back home.
Others see themselves as trustees who, while taking the views of their constituents into account,
use their own best judgment or their conscience to vote. President John Quincy Adams, who
served ten terms in the House after he was defeated in the presidential election of 1828, is a
classic example of a representative as trustee.
Members of Congress have a clear advantage over challengers who want to unseat them. Current
members are incumbents, candidates for reelection who already hold the office. As such, they
have name recognition because the people in the district or state know them. They can use the
franking privilege, or free use of the mail, to send out newsletters informing their constituents
about their views or asking for input. Incumbents traditionally have easier access to campaign
funds and volunteers to generate votes. It is not surprising that 90 percent of incumbents are
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Document Summary
Congress consists of 100 senators (2 from each state) and 435 members of the house of. Representatives, a number that was fixed by the reapportionment act of 1929. This act recognized that simply adding more seats to the house as the population grew would make it too unwieldy. Americans are known for their mobility, and over the years states have lost and gained population. After each federal census, which occurs every ten years, adjustments are made in the number of congressional districts. In recent years, states in the west and southwest have increased their representation in the house, while states in the northeast and midwest have lost seats. As a result of the 2000 census, for example, arizona gained two representatives while new york lost two. Congressional district lines are usually drawn by the state legislatures (although the federal courts sometimes draw districts when the original plans lose a constitutional challenge).
