Beinga Senator House of Representative or President Requirements
Constitutional Qualifications
"No Person shall exist a Representative who shall not have attained to the historic period of twenty v Years, and been seven Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall not, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that Country in which he shall be called."
— 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, prototype courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol
The Constitution placed notably few hurdles between ordinary citizens and becoming a Member of the U.Southward. Business firm of Representatives. The founders wanted the House to be the legislative chamber closest to the people—the least restrictive on age, citizenship, and the just federal office at the time subject to frequent popular election. The Constitution requires that Members of the Firm exist at least 25 years sometime, have been a U.S. citizen for at least seven years, and live in the state they represent (though non necessarily the same district). And Commodity Vi, clause 3 requires that all Members take an oath to support the Constitution before they exercise 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 whatever detail profession of religious religion."
Origins
The ramble qualifications for office originate in British constabulary. Members of the House of Eatables had to alive 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 Business firm live in the state they stand for. This would increase the likelihood that they would be familiar with the people'south interests there, merely at that place was no mention during the debates about living in the same district. The commune organisation emerged afterward as states dealt with how to fairly organize their congressional delegations.
Citizenship
At the time the U.Southward. Constitution was written, the British prevented anyone built-in outside England or its Empire from serving in the Eatables, even if the individual had subsequently become a citizen. Past mandating that an private be a citizen for at to the lowest degree 7 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 non want to discourage immigration to the new state by shutting off the regime to new arrivals.
Historic period
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 Mason of Virginia moved to make the age 25. Stonemason said that there should be a period between being costless to manage one'due south ain diplomacy and managing the "affairs of a cracking nation." Convention Delegate James Wilson of Pennsylvania objected to the proffer that whatsoever further 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 age of 24. Nevertheless, Mason's amendment passed seven states to three.
The House and Its Members
Article I, department v of the Constitution provides the House with the say-so to make up one's mind whether Members-elect are qualified to be seated. For example, 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 also seated Claiborne at the historic period of 24, when he won re-ballot. The Firm, however, has not always been so lenient. Representative John Young Brown of Kentucky was beginning elected to the Firm in the 36th Congress (1859–1861) when he was 24, but the House refused to administer the oath of office to him until he was 25—later on the first session of the Congress was over.
For Farther Reading
Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Rev. ed. iv vols. New Haven and London: Yale University Printing, 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. 3 vols. Boston, 1833.
Source: https://history.house.gov/Institution/Origins-Development/Constitutional-Qualifications/
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