Article I of VII · 1788

Article I: Congress

Congress

About 2 min

The one-line version

Congress makes federal laws. Article I sets up the House and Senate and lists what Congress and the states can and cannot do.

Start with Section 1

The 10 sections

One section at a time. Tap to read.

§1Congress makes the lawsCongress makes federal laws. It has two parts: the Senate and the House.1 min §2The House of RepresentativesHow the House works: two-year terms, who can serve, and how seats are divided.1 min §3The SenateHow the Senate works: two senators per state, six-year terms, and impeachment trials.1 min §4Elections and meetingsStates run congressional elections, but Congress can change the rules. Congress meets every year.1 min §5How each house runs itselfEach house sets its own rules, judges its members, and keeps a public record.1 min §6Pay and limits for membersMembers are paid, protected for speech in Congress, and cannot hold another federal office.1 min §7How a bill becomes a lawHow a bill becomes a law, including the veto and how Congress can override it.1 min §8What Congress can doThe list of Congress's powers, like taxing, trade, money, and declaring war.1 min §9What Congress cannot doLimits on Congress, like protecting habeas corpus and banning titles of nobility.1 min §10What states cannot doLimits on states, like no treaties, no coining money, and no war without Congress.1 min

Phrase by phrase

All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States: Only Congress can make federal laws, and only using the powers this Constitution gives it.
three fifths of all other Persons: Enslaved people were counted as three-fifths of a person to decide House seats. The Fourteenth Amendment replaced this rule.
The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State: Every state, big or small, gets two senators.
To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes: Congress controls trade with other countries, between states, and with Native American tribes.
To declare War: Only Congress can officially declare war.
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers: Congress can pass laws needed to carry out its listed powers.
The Migration or Importation of such Persons: This clause protected the overseas slave trade until 1808. Congress banned the trade as soon as it could.
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended: If you are jailed, you can ask a court to decide if it is lawful. This can be paused only during rebellion or invasion.

Picture it

Example. Not legal advice.

Your representative introduces a bill to fund public transit. It passes the House, then the Senate. The President vetoes it. Two-thirds of each house votes again, and the bill becomes law anyway.

Myth check

MythThe President makes the laws.

FactCongress writes and passes bills. The President can sign or veto them, and Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each house.

MythThe Constitution says the House has 435 members.

FactThe Constitution does not set a number. A federal law, not the Constitution, sets the number at 435.

MythThe three-fifths clause gave enslaved people three-fifths of a vote.

FactEnslaved people could not vote at all. The clause counted them to give slave states more House seats and more power.

Common questions

What does Article I say in simple terms?

Article I creates Congress, the branch that makes federal laws. It sets up the House and the Senate. It lists Congress's powers, such as taxing and declaring war, and limits on what Congress and the states can do.

What powers does Congress have?

Article I, Section 8 lists them. They include taxing, borrowing, regulating trade, coining money, declaring war, and raising armed forces. Congress can also pass laws necessary and proper to carry out these powers, as McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) confirmed.

How does a bill become a law?

A bill must pass both the House and the Senate in the same form. Then it goes to the President, who can sign or veto it. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in each house. Article I, Section 7 sets these steps.

How many senators does each state have?

Two. Article I, Section 3 gives every state two senators, no matter its size. Since the 17th Amendment (1913), voters in each state elect them directly for six-year terms.

Why are there 435 members of the House?

A federal law sets that number, not the Constitution. Article I says House seats are divided among the states by population, counted every 10 years in the census. Congress fixed the size at 435 by law.

What is the Commerce Clause?

It is the part of Article I that lets Congress regulate trade with other countries, among the states, and with Native American tribes. The Court read it broadly in Wickard v. Filburn (1942) and set limits in United States v. Lopez (1995).

Go deeper

The scene · 1787

In the summer of 1787, delegates from 12 states met in Philadelphia. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not tax or regulate trade between states. The delegates wanted a Congress strong enough to govern, but not so strong it threatened freedom. Article I was their answer.

Back then

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could ask states for money but could not make them pay. It could not control trade between states, and states taxed each other's goods. The writers gave the new Congress clear powers to tax, borrow, and regulate trade.

Words that changed

“Commerce”

ThenBuying, selling, and moving goods.

NowCourts have read it to cover many economic activities that affect trade between states.

“general Welfare”

ThenThe well-being of the whole country.

NowWelfare often means government aid today. In the Constitution it means the common good.

“chuse”

ThenAn old spelling of "choose."

NowSame meaning, new spelling.

Who argued what

Large states (Virginia Plan)

Seats in Congress should be based on population. States with more people should have more say.

Small states (New Jersey Plan)

Every state should have an equal vote, as under the Articles. Otherwise large states would control small ones.

Anti-Federalists

The Necessary and Proper Clause was too open-ended. Congress could use it to claim almost any power.

Federalists

Congress needed a way to carry out its listed powers. The clause only allows laws that serve those powers.

Key cases

1819
McCulloch v. Maryland
Congress can create a national bank under its implied powers, and a state cannot tax it.
1824
Gibbons v. Ogden
Congress's power over trade between states includes shipping, and federal law overrides a conflicting state grant.
1942
Wickard v. Filburn
Congress can regulate wheat a farmer grows for his own use, because such activity together affects interstate trade.
1995
United States v. Lopez
Congress went beyond its commerce power when it made gun possession near schools a federal crime.
2012
NFIB v. Sebelius
The health law's individual mandate was not allowed under the Commerce Clause but was upheld as a tax.

More history and context

Article I creates Congress, the lawmaking branch. It is the longest article. It sets up Congress, says how members are chosen, and lists what Congress can and cannot do.

The two houses came from the Great Compromise at the 1787 convention. Large states wanted seats based on population. Small states wanted equal seats. The House is based on population, and the Senate gives every state two seats.

The three-fifths clause in Section 2 was a deal between Northern and Southern delegates. It counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person, which gave slave states more House seats. The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) ended slavery, and the Fourteenth Amendment (1868) replaced the clause.

Section 9 protected the overseas slave trade until 1808. Article V made this rule impossible to change by amendment before then. Congress banned the trade as of January 1, 1808.

Section 8 lists Congress's powers. Two clauses in it have been central to many Supreme Court cases. The Commerce Clause lets Congress regulate trade "among the several States." The Necessary and Proper Clause lets Congress pass laws needed to carry out its listed powers.

In McCulloch v. Maryland (1819), the Court said Congress has powers implied by its listed powers. Later cases, like Wickard v. Filburn (1942) and United States v. Lopez (1995), dealt with how far the Commerce Clause reaches.

Congress also has broad power to tax and spend. It can attach conditions to federal money it gives states. There are limits, as NFIB v. Sebelius (2012) showed.

Sections 9 and 10 list things Congress and the states cannot do. Some protect people directly, like habeas corpus and the bans on bills of attainder and ex post facto laws. These protections came before the Bill of Rights.

Quick check

Just for you. Nothing is saved.

1. How many senators does each state get?

2. The President vetoes a bill. Can it still become law?

3. Which part of the government can officially declare war?