Congress: How It Worked and Why It Doesn’t

The Framers of the Constitution institutionalized the legislative power in Article I, which grants limited powers to a bicameral Congress, with the aim of securing the rights of American citizens. In the early 20th century, Progressives introduced new conceptions of Congress and the legislative power, which resulted in a massive and ongoing transfer of legislative authority to unaccountable bureaucratic agencies. This course explores the Founders’ understanding of the legislative power and how Congress should work, the Progressive rejection of that understanding, and how that rejection has affected American politics.