42-614: The General Assembly of the Territory of Arkansas , commonly known as the General Assembly , was the legislature of the U.S. territory of Arkansas , from 1819 to 1835. The General Assembly was directly elected, albeit on a restricted franchise. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Governor . Upon assuming the duties of the governor's office in July, 1819, Territorial Secretary Robert Crittenden issued
84-405: A proclamation calling a session of the territorial legislature at Arkansas Post for July 28, 1819. The only other act of any real importance performed by him during the nearly six months that he was acting governor, before Governor James Miller arrived, was the calling of a general election for November 20, 1819. At this first election five members of a legislative council one from each of
126-626: A vote of no confidence . On the other hand, according to the separation of powers doctrine, the legislature in a presidential system is considered an independent and coequal branch of government along with both the judiciary and the executive. Nevertheless, many presidential systems provide for the impeachment of the executive for criminal or unconstitutional behaviour. Legislatures will sometimes delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies . Legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators , who vote on proposed laws. A legislature usually contains
168-650: A Parliamentary powers index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures. The German Bundestag , the Italian Parliament , and the Mongolian State Great Khural tied for most powerful, while Myanmar's House of Representatives and Somalia's Transitional Federal Assembly (since replaced by the Federal Parliament of Somalia ) tied for least powerful. Some political systems follows
210-458: A few of the members of the chamber(s). The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties ; the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of political power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries , militaries , and executives . In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed
252-442: A fixed number of legislators; because legislatures usually meet in a specific room filled with seats for the legislators, this is often described as the number of "seats" it contains. For example, a legislature that has 100 "seats" has 100 members. By extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a "seat", as, for example, in the phrases " safe seat " and " marginal seat ". After election,
294-596: A house of representatives; the members of this house should then meet, at such time as the governor should appoint, select the names of eighteen persons whom they deemed qualified for the office of councilmen and forward the whole list of those so nominated to the President of the United States . Upon receiving such a list of nominations, it was the duty of the President to appoint nine of the same to be members of
336-526: A single unit is unicameral , one divided into two chambers is bicameral , and one divided into three chambers is tricameral . In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is usually considered the upper house , while the other is considered the lower house . The two types are not rigidly different, but members of upper houses tend to be indirectly elected or appointed rather than directly elected, tend to be allocated by administrative divisions rather than by population, and tend to have longer terms than members of
378-508: A special session from October 6 until October 22, 1828. At this session, Sevier, who had been elected delegate to Congress in December, 1827, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Henry W. Conway , was succeeded by Edwin T. Clark, as president of the legislative council. Daniel T. Witter, who had been speaker of the house during regular session, and who had resigned his seat in the house, was succeeded by John Wilson as speaker. Members of
420-435: Is indirectly elected within the context of a one-party state . Legislature size is a trade off between efficiency and representation; the smaller the legislature, the more efficiently it can operate, but the larger the legislature, the better it can represent the political diversity of its constituents. Comparative analysis of national legislatures has found that size of a country's lower house tends to be proportional to
462-503: Is appropriately referred to as the national seat of government. The terms are not however, completely synonymous, as some countries ' seat of government differs from the capital. The Netherlands , for example, has Amsterdam as its capital but The Hague is the seat of government; and the Philippines , with Manila as its capital but the metropolitan area of the same name (Metro Manila; also known as National Capital Region (NCR)),
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#1732782421462504-651: The European Union . The upper house may either contain the delegates of state governments – as in the European Union and in Germany and, before 1913, in the United States – or be elected according to a formula that grants equal representation to states with smaller populations, as is the case in Australia and the United States since 1913. Tricameral legislatures are rare;
546-673: The Massachusetts Governor's Council still exists, but the most recent national example existed in the waning years of White-minority rule in South Africa . Tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. The only legislature with a number of chambers bigger than four was the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia ; initially established as a Pentacameral body in 1963, it
588-608: The Parliament of the United Kingdom , the floor of the legislature frequently sees lively debate. In contrast, in committee-based legislatures like the United States Congress , deliberation takes place in closed committees. While legislatures have nominally the sole power to create laws, the substantive extent of this power depends on details of the political system. In Westminster-style legislatures
630-425: The cube root of its population ; that is, the size of the lower house tends to increase along with population, but much more slowly. Seat of government The seat of government is (as defined by Brewer's Politics ) "the building, complex of buildings or the city from which a government exercises its authority ". In most countries, the nation's capital is also seat of its government, thus that city
672-504: The Act to take effect June 1, 1821. Crawford County and Independence County were also created. Members of the second General Assembly were elected August 6, 1821. They met in regular session October 1, 1821, at Little Rock. Sam C. Roane was elected president of the legislative council ; Richard Searcy, secretary. William Trimble was elected speaker of the house of representatives ; Ambrose H. Sevier , clerk. The laws passed were, for
714-641: The Estates . The oldest surviving legislature is the Icelandic Althing , founded in 930 CE. Democratic legislatures have six major functions: representation, deliberation, legislation, authorizing expenditure, making governments, and oversight. There exist five ways that representation can be achieved in a legislature: One of the major functions of a legislature is to discuss and debate issues of major importance to society. This activity can take place in two forms. In debating legislatures, such as
756-592: The European assemblies of nobility which the monarchs would have to consult before raising taxes. For this power to be actually effective, the legislature should be able to amend the budget, have an effective committee system, enough time for consideration, as well as access to relevant background information. There are several ways in which the legislature can hold the executive branch (the administration or government) accountable. This can be done through hearings, questioning , interpellations , votes of confidence ,
798-419: The budget involved. The members of a legislature are called legislators. In a democracy, legislators are most commonly popularly elected , although indirect election and appointment by the executive are also used, particularly for bicameral legislatures featuring an upper house . The name used to refer to a legislative body varies by country. Common names include: By names: By languages: Though
840-534: The council. Whether Crittenden's error was due to ignorance or imprudence is uncertain. But, at all events, owing to the good sense and prudent statesmanship of Governor Miller, Congress was induced to pass a special Act, which the President approved April 21, 1820, making the election of the councilmen, in the manner authorized by Crittenden, legal after the fact in April after the election in November. Thus Arkansas
882-521: The executive (composed of the cabinet) can essentially pass any laws it wants, as it usually has a majority of legislators behind it, kept in check by the party whip, while committee-based legislatures in continental Europe and those in presidential systems of the Americas have more independence in drafting and amending bills. The origins of the power of the purse which legislatures typically have in passing or denying government budgets goes back to
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#1732782421462924-431: The first legislature elected by the people convened February 7, 1820. The Council contained one member from each of the five counties, with Edward McDonald ( Lawrence County ) elected council president, and Richard Chamberlain clerk. The House of Representatives contained nine members; William Stevenson was chosen speaker of the house and Jason Chamberlain, clerk. Stevenson resigned the day after his election and Joseph Hardin
966-418: The five organized counties and nine members of a house of representatives were elected, besides a territorial delegate to Congress . In authorizing the selection by popular vote of the members of a legislative council, Crittenden overreached his authority. The law which prescribed the mode of government for the Territory, as then constituted, plainly provided that the people should elect by popular choice
1008-472: The formation of committees. Parliaments are usually ensured with upholding the rule of law, verifying that public funds are used accountably and efficiently as well as make government processes transparent and actions so that they can be debated by the public and its representatives. Agora notes that parliamentary systems or political parties in which political leaders can influence or decide which members receive top jobs can lead to passivity amongst members of
1050-472: The house; James B. Keatts, clerk. The session lasted until November 7, 1833. Members of the ninth and last General Assembly of the Territory were elected August 3, 1835. They met in regular session October 5, 1835. Charles Caldwell was elected president of the council; S. T. Sanders, secretary. John Wilson was speaker of the house; L. B. Tully, clerk. The session lasted from October 5 until November 16, 1835. The only really important Act passed during this session
1092-450: The legislative council; Thomas W. Newton , secretary. Hobart Bean was speaker of the house; David Barber, clerk. Members of the fifth General Assembly were elected August 6, 1827. They met in regular session, October 1, 1827. Daniel T. Witter was elected president of the council; Thomas W. Newton, secretary. Ambrose H. Sevier was speaker of the house; Andrew Roans, clerk. The session adjourned October 31, 1827. The fifth General Assembly held
1134-435: The legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a certain number of legislators present to carry out these activities; this is called a quorum . Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are usually delegated to committees made up of
1176-406: The lower house. In some systems, particularly parliamentary systems , the upper house has less power and tends to have a more advisory role, but in others, particularly federal presidential systems , the upper house has equal or even greater power. In federations , the upper house typically represents the federation's component states. This is also the case with the supranational legislature of
1218-513: The members may be protected by parliamentary immunity or parliamentary privilege , either for all actions the duration of their entire term, or for just those related to their legislative duties. A legislature may debate and vote upon bills as a single unit, or it may be composed of multiple separate assemblies , called by various names including legislative chambers , debate chambers , and houses , which debate and vote separately and have distinct powers. A legislature which operates as
1260-490: The most part, measures of local character. The most important Act of the session, perhaps, was that changing the manner of voting at general elections from ballot to Viva voce . On account of the absences of Governor Miller, who had gone to New Hampshire on business, Robert Crittenden was acting governor during the session, which adjourned October 24, 1821. Members of the third General Assembly were elected August 4, 1823. They met in regular session October 6, 1823. Sam C. Roane
1302-407: The party and less challenging of leadership. Agora notes that this phenomenon is acute if the election of a member is dependant on the support of political leadership. In contrast to democratic systems, legislatures under authoritarianism are used to ensure the stability of the power structure by co-opting potential competing interests within the elites, which they achieve by: Each chamber of
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1344-657: The people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government . Legislatures can exist at different levels of government–national, state/provincial/regional, local, even supranational (such as the European Parliament ). Countries differ as to what extent they grant deliberative assemblies at the subnational law-making power, as opposed to purely administrative responsibilities. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known as primary legislation. In addition, legislatures may observe and steer governing actions, with authority to amend
1386-409: The principle of legislative supremacy , which holds that the legislature is the supreme branch of government and cannot be bound by other institutions, such as the judicial branch or a written constitution . Such a system renders the legislature more powerful. In parliamentary and semi-presidential systems of government , the executive is responsible to the legislature, which may remove it with
1428-426: The sixth General Assembly were elected August 3, 1829. The members met in regular session October 5, 1829. Charles Caldwell was elected president of the council; John Caldwell, secretary. John Wilson was speaker of the house; Daniel Ringo , clerk. The session lasted until November 21, 1829. Members of the seventh General Assembly were elected August 1, 1831. They met in regular session October 3, 1833. Charles Caldwell
1470-589: The specific roles for each legislature differ by location, they all aim to serve the same purpose of appointing officials to represent their citizens to determine appropriate legislation for the country. Among the earliest recognised formal legislatures was the Athenian Ecclesia . In the Middle Ages , European monarchs would host assemblies of the nobility, which would later develop into predecessors of modern legislatures. These were often named
1512-538: The summer, Arkansas County's representative (and Brigadier General of the Territorial Militia ) William O. Allen was killed in a duel . A special election was held, and Joseph Stilwell was seated in the autumn adjourned session. This adjourned session lasted until October 25, 1820. At the adjourned session in October, the most notable Act passed was that removing the seat of government to Little Rock ,
1554-399: Was elected president of the council; Absalom Fowler, secretary. William Trimble was speaker of the house; G. W. Ferebee, clerk. The session lasted until November 7, 1831. Members of the eighth General Assembly were elected August 5, 1833. They met in regular session October 7, 1833. John Williamson was elected president of the council; William F. Yeomans, secretary. John Wilson was speaker of
1596-413: Was elected president of the legislative council; Thomas W. Newton , secretary; Terence Farrelly was speaker of the house of representatives; David E. McKinney, clerk. The session lasted until October 31, 1823. Members of the fourth General Assembly were elected August 1, 1825. They met in regular session October 3, 1825. The session lasted until November 3, following. Jacob Barkman was elected president of
1638-400: Was elected to fill the vacancy. The general assembly created Miller County and Phillips County , and moved the county seat of Pulaski County to Cadron . It also created appropriations to fund the territorial government, and passed minor acts. The two houses continued in session until February 24, when they adjourned to meet again on the first Monday in October, which was October 2. Over
1680-585: Was raised from a Territory of the first grade one with a legislative council whose members were to be appointed by the President to a Territory of the second grade, in which members of both branches of the territorial legislature were elected by the people themselves. On December 29, 1819, Governor Miller issued his proclamation calling a special session of the General Assembly for the first Monday in February, 1820, to meet at Arkansas Post. Accordingly,
1722-489: Was the Act which provided for the election of delegates to, and the holding of, a convention for the purpose of framing a state constitution . Accordingly, the first steps were taken in the process which won Arkansas admission into the Union . Legislature A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country , nation or city on behalf of
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1764-519: Was turned into a hexacameral body in 1967. Legislatures vary widely in their size. Among national legislatures , China's National People's Congress is the largest with 2,980 members, while Vatican City 's Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7. Neither legislature is democratically elected: The Pontifical Commission members are appointed by the Pope and the National People's Congress
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