The men who framed the United States Constitution were suspicious of direct democracy. They called for the election of the President by the Electoral College and of the United States Senate by state legislatures. Only the House of Representatives was to be elected directly.
The number of seats in the House is determined by the official census taken every ten years. The total number is now fixed at 435. States may lose representatives if they do not grow as fast as the national average, but every state is entitled to at least one.
The House meets in the south wing of the United States Capitol in Washington D.C. DC.
Although not a prestigious as the United States Senate, the House has launched the political careers of several men who later became President of the United States. In contrast, John Quincy Adams served in the United States Senate before becoming President, and afterwards returned to the House, which he said he enjoyed more than his term as in the The White House.
