eventually became Speaker for two more terms- then resigned. This was the last time he resigned for Speaker of the House, but this was certainly not the end to his noteworthy career. He then became Secretary of State during Quincy Adam’s presidency, and eventually became a Senator for over a decade until he resigned. A few years later he returned, serving as a senator until his death (Polsby, p. 148). There is no doubt whatsoever that Clay’s leadership roles were remarkable, but it is very important to realize and accept that he had a rather quick rise to be Speaker of the House. This is something that would be a lot more challenging during this century where there are harder boundaries. Nowadays, as Congress has become more institutionalized, …show more content…
As stated previously, the turnover percentages were extremely high during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and this is certainly no longer the case. In Albert D. Cover’s journal article “One Good Term Deserves Another: The Advantage of Incumbency in Congressional Elections,” he states that “voluntary retirements were more common in the early Congresses than they are now” (Cover, p. 524). Back then, Congress members would actually voluntarily step down from their positions and let another person take that position. This is no longer the case since now the majority of the members of Congress are incumbents. In other words, after their term ends, they keep running for reelection and for the most part, every incumbent gets elected once again (Cover, p. 524). This can be tied to the idea that there is more power and prestige that is now associated with being a member of Congress. The Congressmen might now find that as the organization institutionalizes, it is s lot easier for them to continue serving in it ultimately gaining “gratification, status and power” (Polsby, p. …show more content…
Since it has been shown that there has been a dramatically decreasing percentage of new members joining Congress, then it must be clear that the people who were previously serving decided to continue serving as stated above. Albert D. Cover provides a table which highlights the extremely large percentage of congressional reelections. He analyzes the incumbents who were seeking reelection in between the years 1956-1976. Something that is worth mentioning is that never throughout any of those years did the reelection percentage even go below 85%. The highest reelection percentage was in 1968 with an outstanding 97.8% of the incumbents who sought to be elected once more to office were successful (Cover, p. 525). That is to say, nearly all of the incumbents were going to be elected again. On the other hand, the lowest reelection percentage was in 1964 with, still a remarkable, 86.6% (Cover, p 525). This shows that even the lowest percentage of reelection is still extremely high, so it is very probable that an incumbent will continue to keep their prestigious position in
This point is backed up even more by the time members have before they face re-elections, as in the Senate this period is every six years but only every two in the house. Consequently displaying the implication of House members being less important than that of Senators who have a longer period to make themselves known to their people and carry out their work without the hindrance of elections.
Ezra Klein, blogger and columnist for the Washington post argues yes. What happen when congress fail to do its job? Klein, talks about Junior Senator from Indiana Evan Bayh, age 54. Bayh resigned from congress cause the dysfunctions of his institution made him feel ineffectual. He believed that he could best contribute to society
When the United States was founded, the theme behind the new government was to establish an efficient system without doling out too much power to any one person. The Founders intended to prevent a rebirth of tyranny, which they had just escaped by breaking away from England. However, when members of Congress such as Tom Foley, who served as a Representative from 1964 through 1995, and Jack Brooks, who served as a Representative from 1952 through 1994, remain in the legislative system for over forty years, it is evident that tyranny has not necessarily been eradicated from the United States (Vance, 1994, p. 429). Term limits are a necessity to uphold the Founders’ intentions, to prevent unfair advantages given to incumbents, and to
Many people who are elected are very well known names, so often reelects. Having term limits gives people a chance to get their name out there and run for positions. According to the site Our Generation, “There is a 94% re-election rate in the House and 83% in the Senate. Because of name recognition, and usually the advantage of money, it can be easy to stay in office. Without legitimate competition, what is the incentive for a member of Congress to serve the public? Furthermore, it is almost a lost cause for the average citizen to try to campaign against current members of Congress.” People are not very likely to vote for someone they have never heard of. That’s why people start out in their states, become politicians and work their way up. If it wasn’t for term limits, then there would be not room for them to advance. The term limits make politicians think about and worker harder toward their objectives. No one is going to get anything done if they have all the time in the world. Politicians have limited time in each position to prove themselves if they are ever to be reelected or move up the line of
John Dingell, a member of the United States House of Representatives, served fifty-nine years and twenty-one days at this position. With no term limits set for the federal legislative positions in the United States, is this representation becoming redundant? Term limits can potentially be crucial in political reform of the United States that would bring new perspectives to federal legislative positions, warrant regular federal legislative turnover, and reduce incentives for wasteful election-related federal spending. Term limits can also pervert the entire understanding of what democracy is, by substituting the people’s will with term limits that may go against what the people want. United States federal legislative term limits have previously
Term limits have, however, been linked to more efficient legislatures across the country. With term limits, toeing the party line is less important because members of the legislature would not be seeking re-election. There would be less partisan politics and more cooperation in passing legislation that makes a positive impact on the lives of Americans.
Henry Clay was born in Virginia and became Secretary of State in 1825, he was appointed by President John Quincy Adams at the time. He served a four-year term until 1829. Clay was most famous for his contributions to the domestic policy and his emphasis on economic development in his diplomacy. Clay had a minimal education, but he was very interested in politics. Most of his life was served
In modern times, according to a statistic in 2016, about ⅕ of the seats in Congress are held by
As a remedy to the issues in Congress, term limits should be implemented in the US Congress because they can prevent corruption and provide turnover in Congress. Throughout the years, working as a Congressman has become
Congressional terms have no limits. Controversy exists between those who think the terms should be limited and those who believe that terms should remain unlimited. The group that wants to limit the terms argues that the change will promote fresh ideas and reduce the possibility of decisions being made for self-interest. Those who oppose term limits believe that we would sacrifice both the stability and experience held by veteran politicians. They also point out that our election process allows the voter to limit terms, at their discretion. While experience and stability are important considerations, congressional terms should be limited to a maximum of two.
The early lives of both Jackson and Clay had a tremendous impact on their later lives and political viewpoints. Jackson was born in 1767 in Waxhaw, an area on the boundaries between North and South Carolina to parents who were protestant immigrants from Northern Ireland. Shortly after Andrew Jackson’s birth, his father died. In his teenage years Andrew Jackson and his older brother joined the local guerillas who had been created to resist the British. Soon after his brother and his mother both perished leaving Jackson completely alone. He started studying under an attorney in North Carolina. His friend was appointed as Superior Court judge for Davidson County and Jackson was appointed attorney general. The two men then moved to
Henry Clay was the first Speaker of the House that really helped to establish the position and increase the power. Clay served three terms as Speaker of the House and in those years demonstrated how his tactics were effective as well as successful. Henry Clay was personable, and his youth and assertiveness made him a popular choice for Speaker. Clay used his position to place his allies in important committees to achieve these goals. As Clay gained clout in the House of Representatives, he was able to introduce his American System and ideas founded in the American Colonization Society. Henry Clay’s greatest accomplishment as Speaker of the House was the drafting of the Missouri Compromise, which gained him the title of the Great
Henry Clay served as both Senator and Representative from Kentucky. He was elected to the Senate a total of four times, and to the House a total of three. He served as Speaker of the House on three separate occasions, and was the Secretary of State under President John Quincy Adams, between the years 1825 and 1829. Most of Clay's political career was with the Democratic Republican Party, and he ran for president in the election of 1824 as a Democratic Republican against John Quincy Adams. Clay ran for President two other times, as a National Republican Party candidate in 1832, and as a Whig Party candidate in 1844. Clay's legacy in American politics is highly controversial, due to his support for the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. Clay was also a slave owner.
It is a good thing there are not term limits. Election time should be used to elemenate unwanted office members. If someone is doing a good job then there is not reason to changes thing. It is very hard to fix things that are not
Henry Clay was born on April 12, 1777 and died on June 29, 1852. He had multiple careers throughout his life which included: an American lawyer, politician, and a skilled orator who Kentucky in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives. He served a total of three terms as Speaker of the House of Representatives, and was a Secretary of State for four years. He also ran for president 3 times. In 1812 he played a very large roll with Britain, in fact he lead them to war, the war of 1812. After loosing his run for presidency he maneuvered the house to elect John Quincy Adams who made him secretary of state. He ran again in 1832 and once more in 1844, in his run in 1844 the election was very close but he lost votes since he apposed the