United States House of Representatives

I

Introduction

United States House of Representatives, larger of the two legislative chambers that make up the Congress of the United States. Along with the Senate of the United States, it drafts and passes laws that, if signed by the president, govern the United States and its citizens. Usually called simply “the House,” it consists of 435 members chosen for two-year terms from districts of about equal population.

II

Constitutional Origins

The bicameral (two house) Congress emerged from a compromise between delegates from large and small states at the Constitutional Convention, which convened in Philadelphia in 1787 to revise the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States. All of the delegates at the convention agreed that the national government needed more power. The Articles of Confederation, which had governed the country since 1783, left the national government powerless to resolve trade disputes with other countries and to prevent ruinous economic competition between the states. The delegates worried, however, that giving too much authority to the national government would result in the kinds of abuses of power that had led the colonies to break away from Great Britain.

To prevent such problems, the framers of the Constitution gave most political power to the Congress, rather than to a single leader such as a king or president. The convention delegates disagreed over how to select members of Congress, however. The more populous states, such as Virginia and Pennsylvania, wanted power in the legislature that reflected their population and wealth. They favored a system that assigned congressional seats based on the number of residents in each state. Smaller states, such as New Jersey and Connecticut, feared that their interests would be ignored if they did not have equal representation in Congress.

The delegates compromised, deciding that seats in the House of Representatives would be distributed according to population and that seats in the Senate would be distributed equally among the states. The small states could rely on the Senate to defend their interests if the House passed legislation that threatened their rights. The framers of the Constitution specified that House members would be elected by popular vote (the vote of citizens) every two years, so members of the House would be constantly in touch with the citizens that they represent. “Here, sir, the people rule,” declared American statesman Alexander Hamilton in reference to the House. In contrast, the framers decided to shield the Senate from popular pressures by giving senators six-year terms, and by having state legislatures choose them. In 1913 popular pressure for reform led to adoption of the 17th Amendment to the Constitution, which required that senators be elected.

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III

House Membership

House members are usually called representatives; they are also referred to as congressmen or congresswomen, although technically these titles apply to both House and Senate members. Representatives must be at least 25 years old, U.S. citizens for at least seven years, and residents of the state from which they are elected. Only an amendment to the Constitution can change these three requirements. Many states enacted laws in the early 1990s to limit the number of terms their representatives (and senators) could serve, but in 1995 the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that these laws violated the Constitution.

House members are elected by voters in congressional districts. When the first Congress met in 1789, it had 65 members who represented districts of no more than 30,000 people. The House added members throughout the 19th century as the country’s population grew and new states were admitted. A 1911 law fixed the size at 435 members. Today each House member represents about 650,000 people.

A

Dividing Seats Among the States

House seats are divided among the states by population in a process known as apportionment. After every ten-year national census, the U.S. Census Bureau uses a mathematical formula to assign a specific number of representatives to every state. Each state is guaranteed at least one House seat, and seven states—Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Vermont—have only one. There are also five nonvoting delegates who are elected from parts of the United States outside of the 50 states. These delegates represent American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

As the U.S. population shifts, states may gain or lose House seats. This process is known as reapportionment. Following the 2000 census, eight states gained seats and ten states lost seats. Arizona, Florida, Georgia, and Texas each gained two seats. California, Colorado, Nevada, and North Carolina gained one seat each. New York and Pennsylvania lost two seats each. Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin lost one seat each.

After the Census Bureau allocates House seats to reflect population changes, the states redraw their congressional districts to make the number of voters in each district roughly equal. This process, known as redistricting, frequently sparks bitter disputes between contending political parties. In most states, the state legislature controls the creation of new districts. Federal courts sometimes step into the reapportionment process, but state legislatures generally have broad authority. The party with the most seats in the state legislature tries to devise district boundaries that will favor that party in House elections. The majority party does this by drawing boundaries that spread its supporters over several districts, trying to ensure a majority of support in each. This makes it easier for the party to win House seats, but it sometimes results in contorted district boundaries. See Gerrymander.

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