The Constitution: The Limited Powers of Congress
PragerU
The Framers of the United States Constitution wanted to give more power to the people and less power to the government. This was a radical new idea, and it started with the legislative branch: the House of Representatives and the Senate. John Yoo, Professor of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, explains.
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Script:
“We the People of the United States.”
These are the words that open the American Constitution. We take them for granted now, but at the time they were written they were earth-shattering. If you think that sounds like an exaggeration, consider this:
No government had ever come into existence based on a document written for the people and approved by them.
It makes perfect sense, then that the most immediate and accountable branch of the government, the legislature, would be the first item on the Constitution’s agenda.
This is Article I.
It’s divided into ten sections.
Section 1 creates a bicameral legislature; that is, a legislature made up of two separate entities: a House of Representatives and a Senate. Thus, the theme of the Constitution is immediately suggested: this is going to be a government in which power is both limited and shared.
Section 2 describes how members of the House of Representatives are to be chosen. To run for office, you must be a citizen, reside in the state you’re representing and be at least 25 years of age.
It’s easy to miss, but at the time this was another startling feature of the Constitution: almost anyone could be a candidate for Congress. The citizen politician is an American innovation.
Section 2 also describes who could vote and how many people it takes to make up a Congressional district.
This “shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons…and…three fifths of all other Persons.”
This last phrase refers, of course, to slaves. It should be noted that the word “slave” does not occur in the Constitution.
