The Bicameral Legislature

[Keith Broaders]

The plan proposed by Roger Sherman to government with one legislative chamber to represent the people and a second chamber to represent the states was designed  to prevent the tyranny of of the large states over the small states.

This bicameral legislative model was also used in the states to prevent the people in the large metropolitan counties from completely dominating the small rural counties.

In the 1960's the Baker v Carr, Reynolds v Sims and
Westberry v Sanders Court decisions all caused  the states to abandon the representation of the counties.

When both the people and the sets were represented in the state legislature neither the large or the small counties could make political decisions that favored one constituency over the other.

Our bicameral legislature now a unicameral legislature with two house representing just one constituency. The senate is a duplication of the house and there are no checks and balances anymore. 

The population of Los Angeles County is greater than the population of every state other than those listed below.

1. California (Population: 39,613,493)
2. Texas (Population: 29,730,311)
3. Florida (Population: 21,944,577)
4. New York (Population: 19,299,981)
5. Pennsylvania (Population: 12,804,123)
6. Illinois (Population: 12,569,321)
7. Ohio (Population: 11,714,618)
8. Georgia (Population: 10,830,007)
9. North Carolina (Population: 10,701,022)
10. Los Angeles County (Population 10,040,000)
11. Michigan (Population: 9,992,427)

The decision to disenfranchise the voters in the counties has made it possible for the majority to call the shots in California..