Understanding the Legislative Power of the House of Representatives

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The House of Representatives must be the popular chamber of government. The reasoning behind this fact is corollary to the power with which the House is entrusted. Madison argued that the power to write laws and administer taxes on citizens is the strongest, and most dangerous power entrusted to the government. Therefore, the branch of government which possesses this legislative power automatically becomes the greatest threat to individual liberty. This fact was not lost on the American Founders, who witnessed it firsthand under the Articles of Confederation. Under the Articles, State legislatures routinely encroached on the executive and judicial branch’s enumerated powers, leading to the culmination of all political powers into one body. …show more content…

If the people had the power to give their representatives the authority to make law, they naturally held the power to take it away. Accordingly, the Framers placed the power of making laws and taxes in the body most accountable to the people; the House of Representatives. It was no accident that the members of the House have the smallest districts and the most frequent elections of all branches of the federal government. The logic behind this was that it would encourage representatives to obey the wishes of the people, and simultaneously the people power to quickly remove any representatives negating their duty. Furthermore, the Constitution provides an additional check on the House, by making its laws dependent upon a separate legislative body: the senate. This provision in the Constitution is designed to mitigate the effects of the sudden and ever-changing passions of the people, by providing a smaller body, less dependent on the people, to serve as the stable voice of

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