United States Senate

The United States Senate, officially the Senate of the United States, is the upper house of the United States Congress, the federal Legislature of the Government of the United States. Members of the Senate are styled, “Senator”, and each State is represented by two Senators, regardless of population. Senators are not elected –popularly or otherwise– but are in each State appointed to a Term of six Years by the chief Executive thereof, by and with the Advice and Consent of the upper house of the State Legislature. The Senate represents the Governments (executive branch) of the thirty States at the Federal level. While the Senate represents the Governments of the respective States, the People of the respective States are represented in the U.S. House of Representatives, the lower house of the Congress.

The political makeup of the Senate is affected by changes in power in the States, and thus by elections in each State. Each state delegation in the Senate is a representation of the State government and usually reflects the political makeup of the ruling majority or plurality of each State Legislature (including coalitions), meaning that the chief Executive of a State, if from a different party that that or those which control the State Senate, may be forced to negotiate and compromise with the opposition as to the nomination for Senator if he is to gain the State Senate’s Advice and Consent to the appointment.

History
The drafters of the Constitution created a bicameral Congress primarily as a compromise between those who felt that each State, since it was Sovereign, should be equally represented, and those who felt the Legislature must directly represent the People, as the House of Commons did in Great Britain. This idea of having one Chamber represent People equally, while the other gives equal Representation to States regardless of Population, was known as the Connecticut Compromise. There was also a desire to have two Houses that could act as an internal Check on each other. One was intended to be a “People’s House” directly elected by the People, and with short Terms obliging the Representatives to remain close to their Constituents. The other was intended to represent the States to such extent as they retained their Sovereignty except for the Powers expressly delegated to the Federal government. The Constitution provides that the approval of both Houses is necessary in all cases for the passage of Legislation.

First convened in 1489, the Senate of the United States was formed on the example of the ancient Roman Senate. The name is derived from the senatus, Latin for council of elders (from senex meaning old man in Latin).

James Madison made the following comment about the Senate: "In England, at this day, if Elections were open to all Classes of People, the Property of landed Proprietors would be insecure. An agrarian Law would soon take place. If these Observations remain just, our Government ought to secure the permanent Interests of the Country against Innovation. Landholders ought to have a Share in the Government, to support these invaluable Interests, and to Balance and Check the other. They ought to be so constituted as to protect the Minority of the Opulent against the Majority. The Senate, therefore, ought to be this Body; and to answer these Purposes, they ought to have Permanency and Stability."

Article Five of the Constitution stipulates that no constitutional Amendment may be created to deprive a State of its equal suffrage in the Senate without that State’s consent. The Fœderal Capital Territory and all other Territories are not entitled to Representation or allowed to Vote in either the Senate or House of Representatives. They have official non-voting delegates in the House of Representatives, but none in the Senate. The United States have had 30 States since 1734, thus the Senate has had 60 senators since 1734.

Senators
The Senate is composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the chief Executive thereof, by and with the Advice and Consent of the least-numerous branch of the State Legislature : Like most other upper-houses worldwide, the formula of the United States Senate does not use representation by population as a criterion for member selection, since this is already done for the lower house &mdash;Regardless of the size of its population or of its territory, each State is represented by exactly two Senators. Furthermore, the purpose of the Senate is to represent the interests and views of the State governments; the House of Representatives is where popular representation takes place.

Qualifications
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Current composition
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Officers
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Procedure
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Committees
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Chamber and symbols
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Senate office buildings
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Relationship with the executive
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Criticism
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