The Handy Law Answer Book. David L Hudson

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      The seat for the speaker of the House, as well as the Senate president. The speaker is third in line to the presidency (iStock).

      Who was the first speaker of the House?

      The first speaker of the House was Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg. Born in Trappe, Pennsylvania, in 1750, he was an ordained Lutheran minister, and he later served as a member of the Continental Congress, as a state representative for Pennsylvania, and speaker of the House for that state. A delegate to the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he was elected to the U.S. Congress and served as speaker for the First and Third Congresses. He died in 1801.

      Who became the first woman to serve as speaker of the House?

      The current speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is the first woman to hold this office. She was elected to the position on January 4, 2007. A representative from San Francisco, California, Pelosi is the daughter of Thomas D’Alesandro, Jr., a former mayor of Baltimore and member of the House.

      Who was the only speaker of the House also to become president of the United States?

      James K. Polk, the eleventh president of the United States, first served as speaker of the House for the Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Congresses from 1835 to 1839. He did not seek re-election in Congress but instead ran for governor of Tennessee. He later served as president of the United States from 1845 to 1849. He did not seek reelection for president and died later in 1849.

      How does the Constitution give Congress the power to impact law?

      The early civics lesson taught in schools provides that the legislative branch creates laws, the executive branch enforces the laws, and the judicial branch interprets the laws. Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution explains that Congress has the power to pass laws by explaining how such laws can be passed. Article I, Section 8—the main source in the Constitution that explains Congress’ various powers—states that Congress has the power to create courts lower than the United States Supreme Court.

      The last clause in Article I, Section 8—the necessary and proper clause—gives Congress much power in the area of lawmaking by providing that it can pass all laws necessary and proper to carrying out its various powers and functions. The clause states:

      To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof.

      How did the necessary and proper clause affect a famous case involving a U.S. bank?

      Shortly after the Convention, Richard Henry Lee wrote in his Letters of the Federal Farmer that the necessary and proper clause granted broad authority to Congress. He stated that it was “impossible” to determine what “may be deemed necessary and proper.” Lee turned out to be correct, because the necessary and proper clause has resulted in great congressional power.

      Alexander Hamilton interpreted this clause broadly in 1791 when he argued for a first national bank. He argued that the necessary and proper clause gave Congress “implied powers.” Implied powers refer to those that are not explicitly listed in the text of the Constitution. Chief Justice John Marshall also interpreted the necessary and proper clause broadly years later when he determined that Congress had the power to establish a second national bank. In his famous opinion of McCullough v. Maryland (1819), he wrote: “Let the end be legitimate, let it be within the scope of the Constitution, and all means which are appropriate, which are plainly adapted to that end, which are not prohibited, СКАЧАТЬ