Founders / Framers Minute 14:
Article 1, Section 4, Clause 2
“The Congress shall assemble at least once in every Year, and such Meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by Law appoint a different Day.”
by Cornel Rasor
Concerned that the legislature would not have enough business to conduct yearly, Gouverneur Morris and Rufus King argued for no fixed date for the legislature to meet. Mr. King believed that “A great vice in our system was that of legislating too much.” As did most of the framers, Mr. King believed that the national government would be smaller and thus would have less to do. He noted that “The most numerous objects of legislation belong to the States. Those of the Natl. Legislature were but few. The chief of them were commerce & revenue. When these should be once settled, alterations would be rarely necessary & easily made.”
Many framers were convinced however that it was imperative that the convening of the U.S. Congress not be subject to the executive as it was in Britain. Indeed one is reminded of the list of particular encroachments in the Declaration, specifically facts 4, 5 and 6 of the list submitted “to a candid world”:
“He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.–He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.–He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.”
The original clause in this section mandated December which appealed to most framers who noted that the summer months were busy with agriculture. Nevertheless, some pushed for a date in May which failed 2-8. The concern over fixing a particular date emanated from worries over constraining the legislature to meet at a time inconvenient. Madison expressed concern that should a date certain be fixed, and should exigent circumstances require a special meeting, and should the date certain follow the special meeting closely in time it would be difficult to meet the obligation. The clause passed by a vote of 8 yes and 2 no.
Finally, when the 20th amendment was ratified in 1933, the date certain was changed by section 2 to January 3: “2. The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such meeting shall begin at noon on the 3d day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.”
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Founders / Framers Minute 1: Article I, Section 1 Congressional Powers
Founders / Framers Minute 2: Article I, Section 2, Clause 1-2 Composing the House of Representatives
Founders / Framers Minute 3: Article I, Section 2, Clause 3a Representation vs. Taxation
Founders / Framers Minute 4: Article I, Section 2, Clause 3b Representation a Function of Population
Founders / Framers Minute 5: Article I, Section 2, Clause 4 Filling Vacancies
Founders / Framers Minute 6: Article I, Section 2, Clause 5 Power of Impeachment
Founders / Framers Minute 7: Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 Composing the Senate
Founders / Framers Minute 8: Article I, Section 3, Clause 2 Senate Terms
Founders / Framers Minute 9: Article 1, Section 3, Clause 3 Age of Senators
Founders / Framers Minute 10: Article 1, Section 3, Clause 4 President of the Senate
Founders / Framers Minute 11: Article 1, Section 3, Clause 5 Senate Officers
Founders / Framers Minute 12: Article 1, Section 3, Clause 6-7 Impeachment
Founders / Framers Minute 13: Article 1, Section 4, Clause 1 Federal Elections
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