3 Requirements for Members of the House of Representatives
Constitutional Qualifications
"No Person shall exist a Representative who shall not have attained to the age of twenty five Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the Us, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that State in which he shall be chosen."
— U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 2, clause 2
/tiles/non-collection/i/i_origins_constitutional_qualifications_aoc.xml Scene at the Signing of the Constitution, Howard Chandler Christy, 1940, image courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol
The Constitution placed notably few hurdles between ordinary citizens and condign a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The founders wanted the House to be the legislative sleeping room closest to the people—the least restrictive on historic period, citizenship, and the only federal office at the time subject to frequent pop election. The Constitution requires that Members of the House exist at least 25 years onetime, have been a U.South. citizen for at to the lowest degree seven years, and live in the country they represent (though non necessarily the same district). And Article VI, clause three requires that all Members take an adjuration to support the Constitution before they do the duties of their office. In Federalist 52, James Madison of Virginia wrote that, "Under these reasonable limitations, the door of this part of the federal government is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or erstwhile, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to whatsoever particular profession of religious faith."
Origins
The ramble qualifications for office originate in British law. Members of the House of Commons had to live in the shires or boroughs they represented, although that was rarely done in practice. The founders used that example to motivate the requirement that Members of the Firm live in the country they represent. This would increase the likelihood that they would exist familiar with the people's interests there, but there was no mention during the debates nigh living in the aforementioned district. The district system emerged later as states dealt with how to fairly organize their congressional delegations.
Citizenship
At the time the U.S. Constitution was written, the British prevented anyone born outside England or its Empire from serving in the Eatables, even if the private had subsequently become a citizen. By mandating that an individual be a citizen for at to the lowest degree seven years, the founders attempted to strike a balance between preventing foreign interference in domestic politics and keeping the Business firm of Representatives close to the people. The founders also did not desire to discourage immigration to the new country by shutting off the government to new arrivals.
Age
The founders initially set 21, the voting historic period, as the minimum age to serve in the House. During the Federal Constitutional Convention, though, George Stonemason of Virginia moved to make the age 25. Mason said that at that place should be a flow between being free to manage one's own affairs and managing the "affairs of a great nation." Convention Consul James Wilson of Pennsylvania objected to the suggestion that whatever farther restrictions be placed on Business firm membership, and cited the service of William Pitt as a counterexample. Pitt, who held office at the time of the Convention, was the youngest prime minister in British history at the historic period of 24. Nevertheless, Bricklayer'southward amendment passed seven states to 3.
The Firm and Its Members
Article I, section 5 of the Constitution provides the House with the authority to make up one's mind whether Members-elect are qualified to be seated. For case, William Claiborne of Tennessee became the youngest person to ever serve in the House when he was elected and seated in 1797 at the age of 22. The Firm likewise seated Claiborne at the historic period of 24, when he won re-election. The House, however, has not always been so lenient. Representative John Young Chocolate-brown of Kentucky was first elected to the Firm in the 36th Congress (1859–1861) when he was 24, but the Business firm refused to administer the oath of part to him until he was 25—afterwards the first session of the Congress was over.
For Further Reading
Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Rev. ed. four vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1937.
Madison, James, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay. The Federalist Papers. New York: Penguin Books, 1987.
Story, Joseph. Commentaries on the Constitution of the United states of america. three vols. Boston, 1833.
Source: https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Constitutional-Qualifications/
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