1. Congressional Districts of TN

2. Important Vocabulary:
Congressional District:an electoral division of a U.S. state, entitled to send one member to the US House of Representatives
Reapportionment-the process by which 435 seats in Congress are assigned to 50 states, following the census

3. Important Vocabulary
Redistricting-To divide again into districts, especially to give new boundaries to administrative or election districts.
Gerrymandering-in drawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one party an advantage over its rivals.

4. Government Review
Government is an institution to maintain order and stability in society.
No Government= ANARCHY (absence of government. No order.

5. United States Government Review
The government of the United States is a federal republic with a strong democratic tradition.
Federal: a union of states under a central government. States still have some power.
Republic: a government where citizens have power by voting.

6. United States Government Review
In a federal system, powers are divided between levels of government.
FEDERAL
STATE
COUNTY
CITY/LOCAL

7. United States Government Review
U.S. Government Divided into 3 branches
Legislative: Make Laws (Congress)
Bicameral Legislature (2 Houses)
House of Representatives
Senate
Judicial: Interpret Laws (Supreme Court)
Executive: Enforce Laws (President)

8. US Government Senators:50 total
House of Representatives: 435 total seats.
How are these numbers determined?

9. Number of seats Senate: each state gets 2 Senators.
2 x 50=100 total Senators
House of Representatives: based on population.
435 total seats across the United States
Each state gets at least one.
The higher the population of a state, the more representatives that state gets.

10. How is population counted?
Census: Every 10 years
The main purpose of the census is to determine how many seats each state receives.
This is known as apportionment.
As populations change or shift, reapportionment may be necessary.

11. Congressional Districts of TN
TN has 9 congressional districts.
All districts are equal in population, NOT in size.

13. Population Density Since each district has the same population:
The smaller the district the higher the population density.
The larger the district the lower the population density.
Population Density: # of people per square mile.

14. TN’s most populated cities:
Memphis: 655,155
Nashville: 624,496
Knoxville: 182,200
Chattanooga: 171,279
Clarksville: 142,519
Murfreesboro: 114,038
Jackson: 67,265

15. Who draws the lines?
Congressional district lines are drawn by each state’s legislature, not by the Federal government.
Very political!
Gerrymandering: drawing lines to benefit one political party.

16. Gerrymandering

17. What will happen to the congressional districts if…
Nashville becomes the most populated city in TN and Memphis becomes the second most populated city?

18. What will happen to the congressional districts if…
The congressional district around Memphis would get larger, and the district containing Nashville would get smaller.

19. What will happen to the congressional districts if…
Tennessee’s population grows according the next Census and earns an additional seat in the House of Representatives.

20. What will happen to the congressional districts if…
Reapportionment must occur to redraw congressional district lines in order to keep them the same in population NOT size.

21. What will happen to the congressional districts if…
Tennessee’s population decreases and we lose a seat.

22. What will happen to the congressional districts if…
Reapportionment must occur to redraw congressional district lines in order to keep them the same in population NOT size.