Key Terms
Solution
The Connecticut Compromise, also called the Great Compromise.
Apportionment
Distributing House seats among states based on population
Redistricting
Redrawing district boundaries after each census
Gerrymandering
Manipulating district lines to favor a candidate or party Majority-minority district: district drawn so a minority group
Majority-minority districts
Districts drawn so a racial minority becomes the electoral majority. Strategy after the Voting Rights Act of
Exceptions
1998 (Clinton impeachment backlash); 2002 (post-9/11 rally effect).
Trend
Elections are increasingly nationalized. Straight-ticket party- line voting is much more common now than two or three de
Descriptive representation
When the legislature reflects the demographic makeup of the population it serves. Race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic
Pork-barrel politics
Federal spending targeted at a specific district to benefit that district's constituents.
Earmarks
Specific funding directives written into bills. Common from the 1980s onward.
Allocation
The broader practice of influencing the national budget to benefit your district or state. Continues even without formal
Collective representation
Does Congress as an institution represent the country as a whole? Different question from whether your specific represen
Low point
9 percent in November 2013, immediately after the government shutdown.
Speaker of the House
Presiding officer, administrative head, majority party leader, elected by the full House. Only House officer mentioned i
Standing committees
20 in the House, 16 in the Senate. Committees and subcommittees are where most legislation is actually written, amended,