A Member of the House of Representatives Must Be
Constitutional Qualifications
"No Person shall be a Representative who shall non have attained to the age of twenty five Years, and been 7 Years a Denizen of the United States, and who shall non, when elected, exist an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."
— U.South. Constitution, Article I, department two, 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. Business firm of Representatives. The founders wanted the Firm to be the legislative sleeping room closest to the people—the least restrictive on age, citizenship, and the only federal office at the fourth dimension subject to frequent popular election. The Constitution requires that Members of the House be at to the lowest degree 25 years former, accept been a U.S. denizen for at least seven years, and live in the state they represent (though non necessarily the same district). And Commodity VI, clause 3 requires that all Members accept an oath to support the Constitution before they practise the duties of their office. In Federalist 52, James Madison of Virginia wrote that, "Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this function of the federal government is open to merit of every clarification, whether native or adoptive, whether young or onetime, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to whatsoever particular profession of religious religion."
Origins
The ramble qualifications for office originate in British police. Members of the House of Eatables had to live in the shires or boroughs they represented, although that was rarely done in practice. The founders used that example to motivate the requirement that Members of the House alive in the state they represent. This would increase the likelihood that they would exist familiar with the people'south interests in that location, only in that location was no mention during the debates about living in the same commune. The district system emerged later as states dealt with how to fairly organize their congressional delegations.
Citizenship
At the fourth dimension the U.S. Constitution was written, the British prevented anyone born outside England or its Empire from serving in the Eatables, fifty-fifty if the individual had subsequently get a citizen. By mandating that an individual be a citizen for at least seven years, the founders attempted to strike a balance between preventing foreign interference in domestic politics and keeping the Firm of Representatives shut to the people. The founders also did not want to discourage immigration to the new country by shutting off the government to new arrivals.
Age
The founders initially set up 21, the voting age, equally the minimum historic period to serve in the House. During the Federal Constitutional Convention, though, George Stonemason of Virginia moved to make the age 25. Mason said that there should be a period between beingness free to manage one'south ain affairs and managing the "diplomacy of a great nation." Convention Delegate James Wilson of Pennsylvania objected to the proposition that any farther restrictions exist placed on House 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 minister in British history at the age of 24. Nevertheless, Stonemason'south amendment passed 7 states to three.
The House and Its Members
Article I, department 5 of the Constitution provides the House with the authorization to decide whether Members-elect are qualified to exist seated. For instance, William Claiborne of Tennessee became the youngest person to ever serve in the Business firm when he was elected and seated in 1797 at the age of 22. The House also seated Claiborne at the age of 24, when he won re-election. The Firm, withal, has not always been so lenient. Representative John Young Brown of Kentucky was first elected to the House in the 36th Congress (1859–1861) when he was 24, simply the House refused to administer the adjuration of role to him until he was 25—later on the beginning 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 The states. 3 vols. Boston, 1833.
Source: https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Constitutional-Qualifications/
0 Response to "A Member of the House of Representatives Must Be"
إرسال تعليق