Hierarchy, Diffusion, and Reapportionment

Reapportionment in the United States The Constitution calls for a census to be taken every ten years in order to assign members of the House of Representatives to each state based on population. Counts are taken by hand Census takers work for months to gather the data Census results usually not realeased until the following year Each state is given a number of representatives, and it is up to the state legislature to draw the districts that each member will represent Historically a politically problematic process Can result in gerrymandering of districts: drawing districts to include certain voters and exclude certain others in order to guarantee the success of a certain candidate or party racial considerations? Party Considerations

The term “gerrymandering” immortalizes the name of Elbridge Gerry, for whom the Massachusetts state legislature drew the congressional district pictured to the left. A cartoonist at the time believed that the district looked like a salamander. In the 1980’s, the State department asked that traditionally underrepresented minorities be placed into minority/majority districts. This resulted in districts of varying shapes including a barbell of two areas connected by a highway and a snake that stretched from the middle of a state to the coast. The Supreme Court has not struck down Gerrymandering entirely, as it empowers certain groups of voters, but it has said that the resultant districts should have usual shapes. Gerrymandering

Apportionment Act of 1911 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, Section 1. That after the third day of March, nineteen hundred and thirteen, the House of Representatives shall be composed of four hundred and thirty-three Members, to be apportioned among the several States as follows: (List of current states) Section 2. That if the Territories of Arizona and New Mexico shall become States in the Union before the apportionment of Representatives under the next decennial census they shall have one Representative each, and if one of such Territories shall so become a State, such State shall have one Representative, which Representative or Representatives shall be in addition to the number four hundred and thirty-three, as provided in section one of this Act, and all laws and parts of laws in conflict with this section are to that extent hereby repealed. Section 3. That in each State entitled under this apportionment to more than one Representative, the Representatives to the Sixty- third and each subsequent Congress shall be elected by districts composed of a contiguous and compact territory, and containing as nearly as practicable an equal number of inhabitants. The said districts shall be equal to the number of Representatives to which such State may be entitled in Congress, no district electing more than one Representative. Section 4. That in case of an increase in the number of Representatives in any State under this apportionment such additional Representative or Representatives shall be elected by the State at large and the other Representatives by the districts now prescribed by law until such State shall be redistricted in the manner provided by the laws thereof and in accordance with the rules enumerated in section three of this Act; and if there be no change in the number of Representatives from a State, the Representatives thereof shall be elected from the districts now prescribed by law until such State shall be redistricted as herein prescribed. Section 5. That candidates for Representative or Representatives to be elected at large in any State shall be nominated in the same manner as candidates for governor, unless otherwise provided by the laws of such State. How did this law change the structure of the House of Representatives? Why do you think this change was made? Under this change, what would happen if the population of the United States grew? Given your answer to number 2, would people be better represented? Under this change, what would happen to seats in the House of Representatives if a large number of people moved from one state to another? Do you think the process you described in number five is necessarily a fair one?

Population changes across the country over time (1960-1970) What vocabulary do you need to know to understand the map? What is the purpose of the map? What information does the map provide? What patterns do you see in the map? Why might those patterns exist? What do these patterns tell you about diffusion between 1960 and 1970?

Population changes across the country over time (1970-1980) What vocabulary do you need to know to understand the map? What is the purpose of the map? What information does the map provide? What patterns do you see in the map? Why might those patterns exist? What do these patterns tell you about diffusion between 1970 and 1980? How are these patterns similar to or different from the previous decade?

Population changes across the country over time (1990-2000) What vocabulary do you need to know to understand the map? What is the purpose of the map? What information does the map provide? What patterns do you see in the map? Why might those patterns exist? What do these patterns tell you about diffusion between 1970 and 1980? How are these patterns similar to or different from the previous decade?

Population changes across the country over time (2000-2010) What vocabulary do you need to know to understand the map? What is the purpose of the map? What information does the map provide? What patterns do you see in the map? Why might those patterns exist? What do these patterns tell you about diffusion between 1970 and 1980? How are these patterns similar to or different from the previous decade?

Overall Patterns How do the previous maps capture the diffusion patterns of Americans over the last five decades? In which two directions have Americans been moving for the past fifty years? How would you expect these diffusion patterns to affect the balance of power in the United States Congress? Do you think this is fair? Why or why not? Does representation in the Senate change when people move from one state to another? DO you think this is fair? Why or Why not? Are there changes that could be made to the way representation is done in the United States that might be more fair gien the amount of population shift that has occurred in the last 50 years?