the united states house of representatives is the lower chamber of the united states congress, with the senate being the upper chamber.together, they comprise the national bicameral legislature of the united states.the house's composition was established by article one of the united states constitution.the house is composed of representatives who, pursuant to the uniform congressional district act, sit in single member congressional districts allocated to each state on the basis of population as measured by the united states census, with each district having one representative, provided that each state is entitled to at least one.since its inception in 1789, all representatives have been directly elected, although universal suffrage did not come to effect until after the passage of the 19th amendment and the civil rights movement.since 1913, the number of voting representatives has been at 435 pursuant to the apportionment act of 1911.the reapportionment act of 1929 capped the size of the house at 435.however, the number was temporarily increased in 1959 until 1963 to 437 when alaska and hawaii were admitted to the union.in addition, five non-voting delegates represent the district of columbia and the u.s. territories of guam, the u.s. virgin islands, the commonwealth of the northern mariana islands, and american samoa.a non-voting resident commissioner, serving a four-year term, represents the commonwealth of puerto rico.as of the 2020 census, the largest delegation was california, with 52 representatives.six states have only one representative: alaska, delaware, north dakota, south dakota, vermont, and wyoming.the house is charged with the passage of federal legislation, known as bills; those that are also passed by the senate are sent to the president for consideration.the house also has exclusive powers: it initiates all revenue bills, impeaches federal officers, and elects the president if no candidate receives a majority of votes in the electoral college.the house meets in the south wing of the united states capitol.the presiding officer is the speaker of the house, who is elected by the members thereof.other floor leaders are chosen by the democratic caucus or the republican conference, depending on whichever party has more voting members.after eight years of a more limited confederal government under the articles, numerous political leaders such as james madison and alexander hamilton initiated the constitutional convention in 1787, which received the confederation congress's sanction to 'amend the articles of confederation'.all states except rhode island agreed to send delegates.congress's structure was a contentious issue among the founders during the convention.edmund randolph's virginia plan called for a bicameral congress: the lower house would be 'of the people', elected directly by the people of the united states and representing public opinion, and a more deliberative upper house, elected by the lower house, that would represent the individual states, and would be less susceptible to variations of mass sentiment.the house is commonly referred to as the lower house and the senate the upper house, although the united states constitution does not use that terminology.both houses' approval is necessary for the passage of legislation.the virginia plan drew the support of delegates from large states such as virginia, massachusetts, and pennsylvania, as it called for representation based on population.the smaller states, however, favored the new jersey plan, which called for a unicameral congress with equal representation for the states.eventually, the convention reached the connecticut compromise or great compromise, under which one house of congress (the house of representatives) would provide representation proportional to each state's population, whereas the other (the senate) would provide equal representation amongst the states.the constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (nine out of the 13) in 1788, but its implementation was set for march 4, 1789.
united states house of representatives | location | washington dc <tsp> anaheim california | ispartof | california <tsp> anaheim california | leadertitle | united states house of representatives
as of the 2020 census, the largest delegation was california, with 52 representatives.