What Is the Citizenship Requirement for the House of Representatives
Ramble Qualifications
"No Person shall be a Representative who shall non accept attained to the age of xx 5 Years, and been vii Years a Citizen of the United States, and who shall non, when elected, be an Inhabitant of that Country in which he shall be chosen."
— U.South. Constitution, Commodity I, department 2, clause 2
/tiles/non-collection/i/i_origins_constitutional_qualifications_aoc.xml Scene at the Signing of the Constitution, Howard Chandler Christy, 1940, image courtesy of the Architect of the Capitol
The Constitution placed notably few hurdles between ordinary citizens and becoming a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives. The founders wanted the House to be the legislative chamber closest to the people—the to the lowest degree restrictive on age, citizenship, and the merely federal office at the time discipline to frequent popular ballot. The Constitution requires that Members of the House be at least 25 years old, take been a U.S. denizen for at least vii years, and live in the country they represent (though not necessarily the aforementioned district). And Article VI, clause 3 requires that all Members take an adjuration to support the Constitution before they exercise the duties of their function. In Federalist 52, James Madison of Virginia wrote that, "Nether these reasonable limitations, the door of this role of the federal authorities is open to merit of every description, whether native or adoptive, whether young or old, and without regard to poverty or wealth, or to whatsoever particular profession of religious religion."
Origins
The constitutional qualifications for office originate in British law. Members of the House of Commons had to live in the shires or boroughs they represented, although that was rarely done in exercise. The founders used that example to motivate the requirement that Members of the Business firm live in the state they represent. This would increase the likelihood that they would be familiar with the people'south interests there, but in that location was no mention during the debates about living in the aforementioned commune. The commune system emerged after equally states dealt with how to adequately organize their congressional delegations.
Citizenship
At the fourth dimension the U.S. Constitution was written, the British prevented anyone born outside England or its Empire from serving in the Commons, even if the individual had subsequently go a denizen. Past mandating that an individual be a citizen for at to the lowest degree seven years, the founders attempted to strike a residue between preventing foreign interference in domestic politics and keeping the House of Representatives close to the people. The founders also did not desire to discourage clearing to the new country by shutting off the authorities to new arrivals.
Age
The founders initially set 21, the voting age, as the minimum age to serve in the House. During the Federal Constitutional Convention, though, George Stonemason of Virginia moved to make the age 25. Mason said that at that place should exist a period between being gratis to manage 1's ain diplomacy and managing the "affairs of a dandy nation." Convention Delegate James Wilson of Pennsylvania objected to the proffer that any farther restrictions exist placed on House membership, and cited the service of William Pitt every bit a counterexample. Pitt, who held function at the time of the Convention, was the youngest prime minister in British history at the historic period of 24. Withal, Mason's amendment passed vii states to three.
The House and Its Members
Article I, section five of the Constitution provides the House with the authority to determine 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 Business firm also seated Claiborne at the historic period of 24, when he won re-ballot. The Firm, however, has not always been then lenient. Representative John Immature Dark-brown of Kentucky was first elected to the House in the 36th Congress (1859–1861) when he was 24, just the Firm refused to administer the oath of role to him until he was 25—subsequently the first session of the Congress was over.
For Further Reading
Farrand, Max, ed. The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787. Rev. ed. 4 vols. New Haven and London: Yale Academy 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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