Which representation is based on population

The latter amendments, however, did not alter congressional apportionment. Congress has capped the number of Representatives at since the Apportionment Act of except for a temporary increase to during the admission of Hawaii and Alaska as states in As a result, over the last century, congressional districts have more than tripled in size—from an average of roughly , inhabitants after the Census to about , inhabitants following the Census.

Census Bureau. Department of Commerce. Eagles, Charles W. Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of The Federalist Papers.

New York: Penguin Books, Reid, John Phillip. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, Rossiter, Clinton. New York: Macmillan, Tate, Katherine. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Featured Search Historical Highlights of the House.

Learn about Foreign Leader Addresses. The Great Compromise created two legislative bodies in Congress. Also known as the Sherman Compromise or the Connecticut Compromise, the deal combined proposals from the Virginia large state plan and the New Jersey small state plan.

According to the Great Compromise, there would be two national legislatures in a bicameral Congress. In , the Seventeenth Amendment was passed, tweaking the Senate system so that Senators would be elected by the people.

George Washington presiding over the Constitutional Convention, Smaller states have disproportionately more power in the Senate. The imbalance of proportionate power favoring smaller states in the Senate means that interests in those states, such as mining in West Virginia or hog farming in Iowa, are more likely to get attention—and money—from federal coffers. That means, for example, even though Wyoming only has three votes in the electoral college, with the smallest population of all the states, each elector represents a far smaller group of people than each of the 55 electoral votes in the most populous state of California.

The system ensures power is distributed geographically. Some scholars see the small-state bias in the Senate as critical. If the House were to grow as large as the Bundestag, for instance, the ratio would fall only to one representative per , people. In order to reduce the ratio to where it was after the census, the House would need to have 1, members. Say "Alexa, enable the Pew Research Center flash briefing". It organizes the public into nine distinct groups, based on an analysis of their attitudes and values.

Even in a polarized era, the survey reveals deep divisions in both partisan coalitions. Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics. Pew Research Center now uses as the last birth year for Millennials in our work. President Michael Dimock explains why. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world.

It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. How the House reached The first Congress had 65 House members, the number provided for in the Constitution until the first census could be held.

How the U.