The House of Representatives is too small. Here is one way to fix it.
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Subtitles (200 segments)
Download435. That's how many people are in the
House of Representatives, the lower
chamber of the legislative branch of the
United States government. The country's
founders expected the House to expand
along with the country. But that number,
435, hasn't changed in about 100 years,
even though the US population has
tripled in that time frame. Some
scholars think that imbalance helps
explain why many Americans feel like
Congress is disconnected from them.
Here's the thing that you really care
about, which is, you know, whether you
can get the ear of somebody who
represents you, whether you can find
that person in your district. The more
people that person represents, the less
likelihood you can get the attention of
that person.
Full subtitles available in the video player
Key Vocabulary (15)
Used to refer to the person or people that the speaker is addressing. It is the second-person pronoun used for both singular and plural subjects and objects.
People refers to a group of human beings or the general public. It is the standard plural form of the word 'person'.
building to live in
"My house is big."
A state is the condition that someone or something is in at a specific time. It can also refer to a part of a country that has its own local government, such as the states in the USA.
A specific area of land that has its own government, laws, and flag. It can also refer to rural areas located outside of big cities and towns.
A number is a unit of measurement used to count, label, or measure things. It can be written as a symbol, such as 5, or as a word, such as five.
The group of people with the authority to rule a country or state. It is responsible for making laws, managing the economy, and providing public services for the citizens.
To increase in size, area, volume, or scope, making something larger or more extensive. It is commonly used to describe the growth of physical objects, businesses, or abstract ideas like knowledge.
Grammar in This Video
"Why don't we continually expand the House?"
"Here's the thing that you really care about, which is, you know, whether you can..."
"If you were going to make government more democratic, what would that look like?"
"this one congressman thinks it's time to think bigger than 435."
"The more people that person represents, the less likelihood you can get the atte..."
"As long as the house was aortioned or divided off of that, it was constitutional..."
"The number of representatives shall not exceed one for every 30,000"
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