Lesson 2.1: Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives
Enduring Understanding:
The republican ideal in the U.S. is manifested in the structure and operation of the legislative branch.
Learning Objectives:
Describe the different structures, powers, and functions of each house of Congress.
Essential Knowledge:
The Senate is designed to represent states equally, while the House is designed to represent the population.
Different chamber sizes and constituencies influence formality of debate.
Coalitions in Congress are affected by term-length differences.
The enumerated and implied powers in the Constitution allow the creation of public policy by Congress, which includes:
- Passing a federal budget, raising revenue, and coining money
- Declaring war and maintaining the armed forces
- Enacting legislation that addresses a wide range of economic, environmental, and social issues based on the Necessary and Proper Clause
Activity # 2: Impeachment
Debrief 2.1: Impeachment!
Read the following excerpt of an article from the Washington Post and answer the questions that follow in your notebook...
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi took the extraordinary step Tuesday of initiating impeachment proceedings against President Trump, accusing him of violating the Constitution in seeking help from a foreign leader to damage a political opponent.
Pelosi’s move came after Trump acknowledged that he urged the Ukrainian president to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination who holds a wide lead over Trump, polls show, in a potential general election matchup. The revelation prompted a rush of moderate House Democrats to call for an impeachment inquiry into Trump, a step they had resisted for months. On Tuesday, Pelosi (D-Calif.) relented as well.
Congress has launched impeachment proceedings against a president only four times in the nation’s history. Pelosi’s move all but ensures that the House will vote on articles charging Trump with “high crimes and misdemeanors” in a matter of weeks, according to senior Democratic lawmakers and top leadership aides, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
~By Rachael Bade, Mike DeBonis and Karoun Demirjian from the Washington Post. September 24th 2019. Full Article Text
September 24 at 5:24 PM
1. Explain the Constitutional responsibilities that each branch of government has when it comes to impeachment.
2. How might linkage institutions (media, elections, interest groups, or parties) influence the impeachment process for President Trump?
Activity # 3:
Use OSAM to Analyze the Political Cartoon
Remember that OSAM stands for Objects, Symbolism, Actions, and Message.
Activity #4: Legislative Branch Carousel:
In your notebooks, we will travel through Parts 1 and 2 to learn the basics about the Legislative Branch. You will have about 20 minutes on each station so make sure to work efficiently! Note the answers to each of the "Parts," or stations in your notebooks. You can find a copy of each of the parts with this PDF.
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