Module 7: The Legislative Branch: How Congress Works

The Constitution grants Congress—our nation’s legislative branch—the power to make laws. The legislative branch is outlined in Article I of the Constitution. The Constitution divides Congress into two houses—the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The House of Representatives is composed of representatives proportionate to each state’s population. At the same time, the Senate is organized under the principle of equal state representation—with each state, regardless of its population, receiving two Senators.

In this module, students will examine primary and secondary sources to learn about the legislative branch’s structure, functions, and powers as granted by the Constitution and defined by the courts over time. Students will also explore the legislative process and the role that civil dialogue and political compromise play in crafting national laws.

Learning Objectives

1. Explain the Founders’ vision for Congress and explore the key debates and compromises at the Constitutional Convention.
2. Describe the role that Congress plays in the national government.
3. Identify the powers that the Constitution grants to Congress.
4. Discuss how the Supreme Court has interpreted the powers of Congress over time.
5. Compare the Founders’ vision for Congress with how Congress works in practice.

7.1 Activity: How does Congress Work?

• Student Instructions
• Teacher Notes

Purpose
In this activity, you will explore how Congress works and learn about how the founders expected it to work. You will discuss the value of using a slow and deliberative process to make national laws. However, you will also debate the tradeoffs of this system.

Process
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word Congress? Next, review the Visual Info Brief: Political Cartoon image and explain what the political cartoonist is trying to say about Congress. Finally, list three words or terms that you hear people say about Congress outside of this class. Think about the ways that the news portrays Congress.

After reviewing the image, answer the following questions:

• What is the cartoonist trying to say about Congress?
• List three action words that explain what you hear people saying about Congress.

Now, review the following quotes about Congress’s lawmaking process by a leading scholar of the founding era and of the constitutional thought of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 70

“Madison’s overall aim was not to stymie the will of the majority, but rather to place obstacles in the path of factions, including majority faction. At the same time, he sought to facilitate the development of a just majority, or in other words, the reason of the public. . . . Too swift and facile political communication allows the mere will of the majority, or sheer power, to rule in the regime. The slow, measured process of the communication of ideas, however, refines and modifies the will of the society, subjecting power to the test of right reason.”
- Colleen Sheehan Professor, School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership, Arizona State University

“The differences of opinion, and the jarrings of parties in [Congress], though they may sometimes obstruct salutary plans, yet often promote deliberation and circumspection, and serve to check excesses in the majority.”
Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 70

Reflect on the quotes and record your answers to the following questions:

• What is the scholar trying to say about Congress and the value of a demanding political process?
• List three ideas that explain how Congress is supposed to work.

Launch
Ask the students the first thing that comes to mind when they hear the word “Congress.” Write ideas on the board and note any patterns.

Give students time to analyze the political cartoon and as a group answer the guiding questions.
What is the cartoonist trying to say about Congress? The goal of this analysis is to address the impressions that students may already have—that Congress is dysfunctional, with a lot of partisan fights. The system can be nasty. It can be slow. Often, Congress struggles to get anything done—even when it seems to many Americans like there are serious problems worth addressing.

Then, you can pivot to the founders’ vision and the benefits of the system. Give students time to analyze the scholarly quotes about the value of a demanding political process and as a group answer the guiding questions.

The Colleen Sheehan quote is from the following article: A Madisonian Constitution for All.

Activity Synthesis
Now, share the following big idea: What if I told you that the founders wanted to slow down the political process in Congress? Discuss the idea of deliberation and the benefits and drawbacks of a slow process for making national laws. The goal is to get the students to see (and/or debate) the benefits of a slow, demanding process. When the process works, it is designed to promote deliberation, debate, compromise, and (ideally) better laws. However, the founders hoped that this demanding process would also ease public passions, curb bad laws, guard against government abuses, protect minority rights, and avoid government by faction (or, in today’s terms, parties).

• What are the benefits of a slow, deliberative process? Why do you think that the Founding generation designed it this way?
• What are the drawbacks of such a system?
• How can such a process benefit a growing (and diverse) society with different needs and viewpoints?
• What are some of the challenges of such a system in this context?

Activity Extension (optional)
Now that students have a better understanding of the debate, ask the following question:

• What are examples of the advantages and disadvantages of a slow lawmaking process?