Article One Section 2 Us House of Representatives

Constitutional Qualifications

"No Person shall exist a Representative who shall non take attained to the age of 20 five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall non, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that Country in which he shall be chosen."
— U.South. Constitution, Article I, section 2, clause 2

/tiles/non-drove/i/i_origins_constitutional_qualifications_aoc.xml Scene at the Signing of the Constitution, Howard Chandler Christy, 1940, image courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol

The Constitution placed notably few hurdles between ordinary citizens and condign a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The founders wanted the House to be the legislative chamber closest to the people—the to the lowest degree restrictive on age, citizenship, and the simply federal role at the time subject to frequent pop election. The Constitution requires that Members of the Firm be at to the lowest degree 25 years onetime, accept been a U.Due south. citizen for at least seven years, and live in the country they represent (though not necessarily the aforementioned commune). And Article Half dozen, clause 3 requires that all Members take an oath to support the Constitution before they practise the duties of their office. In Federalist 52, James Madison of Virginia wrote that, "Nether these reasonable limitations, the door of this office of the federal regime is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or former, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to whatsoever particular profession of religious faith."

Origins

The constitutional qualifications for role originate in British law. Members of the House of Commons had to live in the shires or boroughs they represented, although that was rarely done in do. The founders used that example to motivate the requirement that Members of the Firm live in the country they represent. This would increment the likelihood that they would be familiar with the people's interests there, only at that place was no mention during the debates about living in the same district. The commune system emerged afterward every bit states dealt with how to fairly organize their congressional delegations.

Citizenship

At the fourth dimension the U.Southward. Constitution was written, the British prevented anyone built-in outside England or its Empire from serving in the Commons, fifty-fifty if the individual had after become a citizen. By mandating that an private be a denizen for at to the lowest degree 7 years, the founders attempted to strike a balance betwixt preventing foreign interference in domestic politics and keeping the House of Representatives close to the people. The founders also did not want to discourage clearing to the new country by shutting off the government to new arrivals.

Age

The founders initially ready 21, the voting age, every bit the minimum age to serve in the House. During the Federal Constitutional Convention, though, George Mason of Virginia moved to make the historic period 25. Mason said that there should exist a period between beingness costless to manage 1'southward own affairs and managing the "affairs of a great nation." Convention Delegate James Wilson of Pennsylvania objected to the proposition that any further restrictions be placed on Firm membership, and cited the service of William Pitt as a counterexample. Pitt, who held office at the time of the Convention, was the youngest prime government minister in British history at the age of 24. Nevertheless, Mason'due south subpoena passed seven states to three.

The House and Its Members

Article I, section 5 of the Constitution provides the House with the potency to determine whether Members-elect are qualified to exist seated. For instance, William Claiborne of Tennessee became the youngest person to always serve in the House when he was elected and seated in 1797 at the age of 22. The House besides seated Claiborne at the age of 24, when he won re-election. The House, however, has not always been so lenient. Representative John Young Dark-brown of Kentucky was showtime elected to the House in the 36th Congress (1859–1861) when he was 24, but the Firm refused to administer the oath of function to him until he was 25—after the first session of the Congress was over.

For Further Reading

Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Rev. ed. 4 vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1937.

Madison, James, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay. The Federalist Papers. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.

Story, Joseph. Commentaries on the Constitution of the Us. iii vols. Boston, 1833.

williamstameat.blogspot.com

Source: https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Constitutional-Qualifications/

Bagikan Artikel ini