=Congress.=—The lawmaking branch of the national government is made up of two chambers, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress of the Confederation consisted of one chamber only; but the members of the constitutional convention were strongly impressed with the desirability of establishing a bicameral legislative body. There is a story that Thomas Jefferson, who believed a single chamber to be sufficient, was engaged in a friendly argument with Washington on this matter shortly after the constitution had been completed. The two were taking tea together and Jefferson, following a common practice of the time, poured some of his tea from his cup into the saucer. “Why do you do that?” asked the Father of his Country. “To cool it”, replied Jefferson. “Quite so”, added Washington, “and the Senate is to be the saucer into which the laws which come hot from the House of Representatives will be poured to cool.” That story may or may not be true; but it gives a clue to the principal reason why there are two branches of Congress instead of one. There is some significance, moreover, in the fact that every state of the Union, and every foreign country, has a legislature or parliament of two chambers. [Sidenote: 1. To provide a safeguard.] The bicameral system is commonly justified on two grounds. In the first place, it is believed to afford a safeguard against hasty and unwise legislation. A single chamber might be moved by a passing wave of prejudice or enthusiasm to take action without sufficient reflection. When all measures have to be considered by two legislative bodies, this danger is not nearly so great. One chamber serves as a check on the other. [Sidenote: 2. To permit two types of representation.] A second reason is found in the desirability of having the lawmakers chosen in different ways, some by small districts and some by large districts, some for long terms and some for short terms. A good lawmaking body should be thoroughly representative; it should represent the whole country and all parts of the country; it should be kept in close touch with public opinion by frequent elections, but the entire body of lawmakers ought not to be changed at short intervals, for there would then be no steadiness of policy. The framers of the constitution tried to meet all these requirements by providing for a Senate, whose members should be chosen by the states for six-year terms, and a House of Representatives, made up of members elected by the people every two years.[109] The former represents the states on a basis of equality; the other affords them representation according to their respective populations. [Sidenote: Method of choosing senators.]