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2.1 Congress: The Senate and the House of Representatives

Part of Interactions Among Branches of Government in AP® US Government & Politics. Read the opening section, then create a free account for the full interactive lesson, practice, and progress tracking.

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Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government and is structured as a bicameral body consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. This structure was designed to balance representation of the population with representation of the states. The House is based on proportional representation, with members serving two-year terms to remain closely responsive to voters. The Senate provides equal representation to each state, with two senators per state serving six-year terms, promoting stability and deliberation. Together, these chambers reflect republican ideals by combining responsiveness with restraint.

In this unit

15 lessons

  1. 2.1Congress: The Senate and the House of RepresentativesThis lesson
  2. 2.2Structures, Powers, and Functions of CongressPreview lesson
  3. 2.3Congressional BehaviorPreview lesson
  4. 2.4Roles and Powers of the PresidentPreview lesson
  5. 2.5Checks on the PresidencyPreview lesson
  6. 2.6Expansion of Presidential PowerPreview lesson
  7. 2.7Presidential CommunicationPreview lesson
  8. 2.8The Judicial BranchPreview lesson
  9. 2.9The Role of the Judicial BranchOpen lesson
  10. 2.10The Court in ActionOpen lesson
  11. 2.11Checks on the Judicial BranchOpen lesson
  12. 2.12The BureaucracyOpen lesson
  13. 2.13Discretionary and Rulemaking AuthorityOpen lesson
  14. 2.14Holding the Bureaucracy AccountableOpen lesson
  15. 2.15Policy and the Branches of GovernmentOpen lesson

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