About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

7 J.L. & Pol. 733 (1990-1991)
Limiting Congressional Terms: A Return to Fundamental Democracy

handle is hein.journals/jlp7 and id is 743 raw text is: Limiting Congressional Terms: A Return to Fundamental Democracy Cleta Deatherage Mitchell* I. INTRODUCTION In its two hundred year history, there has been much debate about the effectiveness and accountability of Congress. The debate has cen- tered on whether Congress is structured in such a manner to achieve its founders' objective-to make the nation's laws in accordance with the wishes of its people. One concept intended to ensure such representation is the promo- tion of rotation in the legislative branch. In fact, the concept predates the present incarnation of Congress and is older than the Constitution itself. In 1777, the Articles of Confederation were amended to mandate that no person shall be capable of being a delegate (to the Continental Congress) for more than three years in any term of six years.' The primary idea behind this provision, according to historians of the era, * Cleta Mitchell is an attorney and a former Board Member of Americans to Limit Congressional Terms, a group with over 100,000 members in 35 states, organized to develop and build upon the growing national movement to limit the number of terms members of Congress may serve. She is also Director and General Counsel for the Term Limits Legal Institute, a project of Americans Back in Charge. Ms. Mitchell is an attorney and former state legislator from Oklahoma. She has served eight years as a Democratic member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, three of those years as the chair of the Oklahoma House Appropriation and Budget Committee. Ms. Mitchell also served as Chair of the Fiscal Affairs and Oversight Committee of the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL), Chair of the NCSL Assembly on the Legislature, and on the Executive Committee of the NCSL. Ms. Mitchell was a delegate to the 1972 Democratic National Convention and has served in various leadership positions within the Democratic Party. She has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma Democratic Party, the Presidential Nominations and Delegate Selection Commission of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), the Hunt Commission and the Democratic Strategy Council of the DNC. She was a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in 1981. 1 E. Burnett, The Continental Congress 250 (1941).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most