Allie Henderson

1/24/2018
Mechanics of Government

A) There are 100 members of the Senate and each state elects two senators.

Senators serve for six years. (1) To be a U.S. Senator you must be at least 30

years old, have been a citizen of the United States for at least the past nine

years, and must be a resident of the state they represent. (1)

B. There are 435 members of the house of representatives and the number of

representatives for each state depends on that states population. (2) To be a

representative you must be at least 25 years old, have been a U.S. citizen for the

last 7 years and be a resident of the state you represent. Representatives serve

for two years. (2)

C. There are different requirements for Representatives and Senators because they

represent two different ideologies. Members of the House represent individual

congressional districts within states, while Senators represent the state as a

whole.(3) Members of the House are re-elected every two years to ensure that

they are accurately representing the views of the people.(3) The Senate was

framed to be more aristocratic and act as a check for the House of

Representatives. Each State has two representatives in the Senate so that they

are all equally represented. The House is more democratic in nature because it

represents the people. The two branches of Congress work together to decide

which bills turn into laws and which ones don't.(3)

D. To be president of the United States you need to be a natural born U.S. citizen,

be at least 35 years old, and have to have lived in the U.S. for at least 14

years.(4) Presidents also can only serve two terms of four years.(4)

E. California has 53 representatives, Oregon has 5, New York has 27, and Alaska

has one.(5)

F. The two federal senators for California are, Kamala Harris and Dianne Feinstein,

both of which are Democrats.(6)

G. The congressman for the 50th Congressional district of California is Republican,

Duncan Hunter. My zip code is 92071.(7)

H. The Senate is currently composed of 51 Republicans, 2 Independents, and 47

Democrats.(8) The House Of Representatives is composed of 238 Republicans,

193 Democrats, and 4 vacancies.(9)

I. My California state senator is Republican, Joel Anderson.(10)

J. My California State assembly member is Randy Voepel and he is a Republican.

(10)

K. The phrase “natural born Citizen” is most commonly used to describe someone

who was a U.S. citizen at birth.(11) They either would have had to be born in the

U.S.A. or have parents who are U.S. citizens.(11) The founders were not clear on

exactly what a natural born citizen is and there have been many debates over the

years about what they really meant. (12)

 1. “Senators.” U.S. Senate: Senators, 11 Dec. 2017,

www.senate.gov/reference/reference_index_subjects/Senators_vrd.htm.

2. “The House Explained.” The United States House of Representatives ,

www.house.gov/the-house-explained.

3. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Senate.” Encyclopædia Britannica,

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Jan. 2018, www.britannica.com/topic/Senate-United-States-

government.

4. “Qualifications for the Office of President.” PresidentsUSA,

www.presidentsusa.net/qualifications.html+.

5. “Directory of Representatives.” United States House of Representatives,

www.house.gov/representatives#state-alabama.

6. “Senators of the 115th Congress.” U.S. Senate, 24 Jan. 2018,

www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm?State=CA.

7. “Find Your Representative.” United States House of Representatives,

www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.

8. “Party Division.” U.S. Senate, 19 Jan. 2017, www.senate.gov/history/partydiv.htm.

9. “Party Breakdown.” House Press Gallery, 16 Jan. 2018,

pressgallery.house.gov/member-data/party-breakdown.

10. California, State of. “Look Up My Representatives.” CA.gov,

www.ca.gov/Agencies/Secretary-of-State/Agency-Services/Look-Up-My-Representatives.
11. “On the Meaning of ‘Natural Born Citizen.’” Harvard Law Review,

harvardlawreview.org/2015/03/on-the-meaning-of-natural-born-citizen/.

12. “Natural Born Citizen: The Original Intent.” Tenth Amendment Center, 16 Sept. 2016,

tenthamendmentcenter.com/2016/01/19/natural-born-citizen-the-original-intent/.