Stability of Membership in Congress, 1789 Onwards

The American constitutional experience began as a great experiment. The United States was the first nation to launch representative government. This form of government is now commonplace, but at that time. it was celebrated as the grand discovery of modern times (James Mill. 1820). The American Constitution, after nearly two centuries, continues as a successful experiment in the conscious design of governmental institutions. Nevertheless, despite its success, the system failedto function as expected by the Founding Fathers. Indeed, from the very beginning, a startling discrepancy between prior intention and subsequent reality has existed at the very heart of the representative system, in the Congress.