The Senate

How many members of the Senate have been expelled?

15

There are _____ senators from each state.

2

Candidates who want to run for the Senate must be at least _____.

30 years old

What are the qualifications for senators? Just like the House, there are qualifications to run for the Senate: Senators must be at least 30 years old. Senators must have been citizens of the United States for at least nine years. Senators must be residents of the state they represent.

A senator serves a six-year term. Only one-third of the Senate membership is elected at any one time. Only one senator from a state is elected to a full term in any given election. The Senate is a continuous body. A continuous body is one in which all the seats are never up for election at the same time. Just as members of the House of Representatives have informal qualifications, so do the senators. They often need political experience and a familiar name, and they must appeal to a wide range of voters.

Which comparison of the House and Senate is true?

Members of the House represent a larger population than senators.

What are the qualifications required for Senators?

Senators must be at least 30 years old, citizens of the United states for at least nine years, and residents of the state they represent.

How many members are in the Senate? The writers of the Constitution wanted to be sure that every state would be represented equally in the Senate. The 1st Congress had 26 senators representing the 13 original states. Today, each of the 50 states elects two senators to serve in the Senate. Each state, no matter how large or how small its population, has the same number of votes in the Senate. There are 100 senators serving in the Senate today, and senators may serve for any number of terms.

The Framers of the Constitution hoped the smaller Senate would be a more responsible body than the House. They reinforced that hope by giving senators a longer term than the representatives. A representative's term is only two years. The six-year term of a senator is three times as long. The senators represent the entire state and need a range of knowledge to serve well. Senators are often concerned with issues that affect the entire country. They are interested in topics such as social security, national healthcare, and international issues.

The Senate can judge the qualifications of its members just as the House does. In the past, 15 members of the Senate have been expelled, or forced to leave office. The first was in 1797. Later, during the Civil War, 14 senators from Confederate states were expelled. In 1995, Senator Bob Packwood resigned. He was one of the few senators ever to do so.

The Senate is a continuous body, which means that _____. A) all of its seats are not up for election at the same time

Which is an informal qualification to run for the Senate?

The candidate must appeal to a wide range of voters.

Check Your Understanding The Senate has 100 members, two from each state—a number established by the Constitution. The Senate is, therefore, a much smaller body than the House of Representatives. The voters of each state elect one senator in any given election, unless the other seat has been vacated by death, resignation, or expulsion and so also needs to be filled. The Senate is called the "upper house" of Congress because senators meet stricter qualifications and serve longer terms than representatives do. Senators serve six-year terms whose start dates are staggered so that only one-third of the senators' terms end at the same time. This means that every two years about 33 senators come up for reelection. The Senate is, therefore, a continuous body: it never contains only new members, so a majority of its membership always has senatorial experience.

The longer terms for senators and the larger size and geographic diversity of their constituencies—those people who elect them—are designed to remove senators, at least somewhat, from day-to-day politics. In contrast to their colleagues, or co-workers, in the House, senators have more power and prestige and are more likely to be seen as national political leaders. To become a senator, a person must be at least 30 years of age, have been a citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and live in the state that he or she represents. Comparing the size and terms of the House and Senate, why is the Senate considered more formal and more prestigious?

The Seventeenth Amendment When the founding fathers wrote the Constitution, they included details on the election of the Senate. Section 3, Clause 1 reads as follows: The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote. According to this clause, senators were to be chosen by state legislators rather than elected by the people, as the members of the House were. As time went by, however, this method of choosing senators became problematic. First, in some states, the legislatures were controlled by political machines. These party organizations, headed by a single boss or a small group of leaders, controlled enough votes to maintain political power, and they chose senators who did not serve the people's interests. Second, some states deadlocked over senators, leaving seats empty for months. Finally, some senate seats were seen as a "millionaire's club," because extremely wealthy senators essentially purchased their seats. None of these situations were good for the country. From 1826, there was movement for the Senate to be more directly accountable to the people. In 1913, the Seventeenth Amendment was ratified, and included the clause "the Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, elected by the people thereof, for six years." People were now able to vote directly for their senators, and the senators had to serve the people's interests.

Which statement best reflects the role of a senator? A) A senator represents the entire state.

The Framers of the Constitution hoped the smaller Senate would _____.

be a more responsible body than the House

How did the Framers of the Constitution hope to make the Senate a more responsible body than the House?

by giving senators a longer term

Which part of the Senate is up for election at any one time?

one-third

Senators are often concerned with issues that affect the entire country, such as _____.

social security

In which political body does each state have the same number of votes, no matter how large or small its population?

the Senate

For whom do senators and representatives work?

the people who elect them