Bicameral Legislature free essay sample

Our Founding Father’s created a bicameral legislature for three reasons: First, it was what they knew, their ideologies came from Britain. The British Parliament has two houses; the House of Commons and the House of Lords (Shmoop Editorial Team). Second, was the emphasis on checks and balances. An unicameral legislature might consolidate too much power, and they also knew from Britain, that could cause corruption. Dividing the chambers provides a check against tyranny (Shmoop Editorial Team). The third was â€Å"a matter of practical politics† (Shmoop Editorial Team). Small states wanted all the states to have equal representation in Congress, but the larger (and more populous) states wanted congressional representation to be based on population. A bicameral legislature provided small states with equal representation thru the Senate and House of Representatives gave more populous states proportional representation. As a matter of fact, this solution provided each state with equal representation and is called â€Å"the Great Compromise†. We will write a custom essay sample on Bicameral Legislature or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page On July 16th, 1787, the convention adopted the Great Compromise by a heart-stopping margin of one vote† (History n. d. ). It was said that Thomas Jefferson had criticized the concept of a two chamber legislature and questioned the need for it. â€Å"Why†, asked George Washington â€Å"did you pour that coffee into your saucer? † (That was the custom at the time. ) â€Å"To cool it,† replied Jefferson. â€Å"Even so,† said Washington, â€Å"we pour legislation into the senatorial saucer to cool it. † (Nickels n. d. ) The House of Representatives can be sensitive to popular sentiment and aware of current popular passions, because they know their constituents well. They know their constituents well because they run for re-election every two years. Whereas, the Senate only face their electorate every six years and generally do not know their constituents intimately. This shields Senators of the pressure of quick popular sentiments (Dye 2009). Our Founding Fathers expected Senators to be older, wiser and more deliberative then the House of Representatives, and able to take a longer term view of what makes good public policy (Nickels n. d. ). Is this why the Senate has more power than the House of Representatives? I would contend that the two chambers are equal. Not that they have the same powers, but equal in that neither the Senate nor the House can make a law without the other. Under the U. S. Constitution, the two chambers are equal, however; the Constitution gives certain exclusive powers to each chamber. For an example the Senate has powers to confirm Presidential nominees that they do not share with the House, and the House has powers to originate all tax/spending bills that are not shared with the Senate (Nickels n. d. ). Dye and Zeigler’s Elite Theory claims that representative democracy is not really based on the will of the people, but a small elite class that governs the masses. â€Å"Only one branch of the new government, the House of Representatives, was to be elected by popular vote. The other three controlling bodies-the president, the Senate, and the Supreme Court–were removed from direct voter participation† (2009). According to Dye and Zeigler none of the delegates showed any enthusiasm for mass participation in democracy.