Senate, Presidency the Main Pages

Senate, Presidency

The main pages for the United States Senate and House of Representatives reveal the core differences between the two legislative bodies. The House's page contains links to U.S. code, slip laws, and a full index of bill numbers. The site is in many ways more directly democratic than the Senate's, which has an austere look and feel that reflects that body's role in the U.S. government. However, the Senate Web site also has links to databases containing bills as well as documents related to recent floor activity. The Senate site also lists the committees and generally appears more connected to the executive branch especially given that the front page boasts an article about Washington's farewell address. Individual senators are also concerned with their entire state, whereas each representative is mainly concerned with the small region he or she represents. Therefore, the differences in scope among senatorial and congressional personal Web pages is noticeable.

Although the Constitution outlined the basic powers of the executive branch vis-a-vis the other two branches. As the first President of the United States, Washington defined what types of executive powers the office would assume ("Contributions of Various Presidents"). Both Washington and Adams proposed a rather strong federal government with powerful executive powers reserved for the president, though in keeping with Constitutional values and law. Of the first three presidents, Adams was perhaps more concerned with using the powers of the presidency, mainly to prevent legislation being based on fleeting public passions. However, the third president Thomas Jefferson interpreted the executive role as being more egalitarian than many other politicians at the time. Jefferson's ideal presidency was one that sought continual approval of the people: a more directly democratic vision than the federalists would have posed.