unicameral legislature

Examples of unicameral legislature in the following topics:

• State Constitutions

  • They had also elected conventions and "legislatures" that existed outside of any currently established legal framework.
  • Bicameral legislatures, with the upper house serving as a check on the lower
  • Strong governors with veto power over the legislature and substantial appointment authority
  • In 1790, conservatives gained power in the state legislature, called for a new constitutional convention, and rewrote the constitution.
  • The new constitution substantially reduced universal white-male suffrage, gave the governor veto power and patronage appointment authority, and added to the unicameral legislature an upper house with substantial wealth qualifications.

• The Virginia and New Jersey Plans

  • The Virginia Plan proposed a legislative branch consisting of two chambers (bicameral legislature).
  • The dual principles of rotation in office and recall would be applied to the lower house of the national legislature.
  • Members of one of the two legislative chambers would be elected by the people and members of that chamber would then elect the second chamber from nominations submitted by state legislatures.
  • The New Jersey Plan, on the other hand, proposed a unicameral legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote, as under the Articles of Confederation.
  • Perhaps the most important of these was introduced by the Connecticut Compromise, which established a bicameral legislature with the U.S.

• A New Constitution

  • One of the key debates during the drafting of the Constitution regarded state representation in the legislature.
  • Delegates also accepted the need for either a unicameral (one-house) or a bicameral (two-house) legislature.
  • This plan also proposed a bicameral legislature.
  • Members of one of the two legislative chambers would be elected by the people, and members of that chamber would then elect those of the second chamber from nominations submitted by state legislatures.
  • This plan proposed a unicameral legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote.

• Conclusion: The Development of the Constitution

  • Would state legislatures choose representatives?
  • The Virginia Plan proposed a legislative branch consisting of two chambers (bicameral legislature).
  • In contrast, the New Jersey Plan proposed a unicameral legislature in which each state, regardless of size, would have one vote.
  • The Connecticut Compromise established a bicameral legislature, with the House of Representatives apportioned by population as desired by the Virginia Plan and the Senate granted equal votes per state as desired by the New Jersey Plan—combining the two plans in a workable whole.
  • Thus, to avoid giving the people too much direct power, the delegates ensured that senators were chosen by the state legislatures, not elected directly by the people (direct elections of senators came with the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1913).

• Financial Chaos and Paper Money

  • Implementation of most decisions, including modifications to the Articles, required unanimous approval of all 13 state legislatures.
  • Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress was denied any powers of taxation and could only request money from the state legislatures.
  • Jay and the Congress responded in May by requesting $45 million from State legislatures.

• Democracy

  • In an indirect initiative, a measure is first referred to the legislature, and then put to a popular vote only if not enacted by the legislature.
  • The vote may be on a proposed statute, constitutional amendment, charter amendment or local ordinance, or to simply oblige the executive or legislature to consider the subject by submitting it to the order of the day.
  • The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified in 1913, requiring that all senators be elected by the people (instead of state legislatures).
  • The main motivation was to reduce the power of political bosses who controlled the senate seats by virtue of their control of state legislatures.
  • Bybee notes that the state legislatures, which would lose power if the reforms went through, were supportive of the campaign.

• The Final Document

  • On September 28, 1787, the Articles Congress resolved "unanimously" to transmit the Constitution to state legislatures for submitting to a ratification convention according to the Constitutional procedure.
  • In doing so, they went beyond the Constitution's provision for the most voters for the state legislature to make a new social contract among, more nearly than ever before, "We, the people. " (You can read the full text of the Constitution at www.boundless.com/constitution/)
  • Article 13 of the Articles of Confederation stated that the union created under the Articles was "perpetual" and that any alteration must be "agreed to in a Congress of the United States, and be afterwards confirmed by the legislatures of every State".
  • New York Anti's "circular letter" was sent to each state legislature proposing a second constitutional convention for "amendments before".
  • It failed in the state legislatures.

• Congress of the Confederation

  • It was composed of delegates appointed by the states' legislatures.
  • The Articles of Confederation established a weak national government that consisted of a one-house legislature.

• The Confederation's Weaknesses

  • Political unrest in several states and efforts by debtors to convince state legislatures to erase their debts increased the anxiety of the political and economic elites which had led the Revolution.
  • State legislatures were unable or unwilling to resist attacks upon private contracts and public credit.

• Progressives and the Working Class

  • The initiative permitted voters to petition and force the legislature to vote on a certain bill.
  • In 1912, the United States Children's Bureau was created in order to investigate "all matters pertaining to the welfare of children and child life among all classes of our people. " An alliance of labor and humanitarian groups induced some state legislatures to grant aid to mothers with dependent children.