Review Constitutional Aspect of the Day

Wednesdays are for the Constitution, so today we're talking about the Great Compromise, also known as the Connecticut Compromise.

The Great Compromise sets up our legislative branch as a bicameral legislature. That means there are two houses: the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Compromise determined that representation in the House would be based on population, and the Senate would be based on equality.

The House is currently capped at 435 members, which means there are 435 congressional districts nationwide. There is a census every 10 years, which determines where people are living in the U.S. and how population is shifting. Each congressional district consists of roughly 700,000 people. Illinois has been losing congressional districts as more people move to warmer states; we currently have 19 congressional districts.

The Senate is capped at 100 members, with each state being represented by two people. While a rep in the House just represents his/her district, a senator represents the entire state.

Questions?

**If you couldn't make it to a review session today, please stop by the Social Studies office in 7080 to pick up a review packet. Also, visit www.cbs2chicago.com/school for more review materials!**