Reapportionment Act of 1929

​Reapportionment Act of 1929

By Tony Bentley

As the nation's population grew over the decades, and as the number of states also increased, so did the size of the House.

• 142 seats in the census of 1800

• 182 seats in the census of 1810

• By 1912, the House had grown to 435 seats

​By 1920, the House found itself in a difficult position, with the growth in numbers making it too difficult to operate.

To reapportion without adding more seats, it meant states would have to lose seats.

• ​Reapportionment Act of 1929
  Faced with the 1930 census, Congress avoided repeating its earlier lapse by passing the Reapportionment Act of 1929.

• That law, still on the books, sets up what is often called an “automatic reapportionment.”

• It provides:

  • • The “permanent” size of the House is 435 members. Of course, that figure is permanent only so long as Congress does not decide to change it. Congress did enlarge the House temporarily in 1959 when Alaska and then Hawaii became States. Today each of the 435 seats in the House represents an average of over 700,000 persons. • Following each census, the Census Bureau is to determine the number of seats each State should have

Multiple Choice

The number of House seats per state is determined by;

• The U.S. Senate

• The Reapportionment Act of 1929

• The U.S. Census

• Article 1 of the Constitution

Dropdown

By the year ​

Select answer

, Congress reached its current threshold of House members.

Multiple Choice

Why did Congress put a cap on the number of House seats?

• House chamber was too small

• House had issues being effective

• Senate voted on the cap

• House salaries getting too expensive

Drag and Drop

Congress temporarily increased the size of the House in ​

Placeholder

with the addition of Alaska and Hawaii as states.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

1959

1950

1949

1955

Multiple Choice

True or False: Congress has the ability to change the number of House seats.

• False

• True