Quorum Clause

Tillman, Seth Barrett

Quorum Clause

Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Quorum Clause’ in THE HERITAGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION (3d ed. forth. circa Sept. 2025). Professor David F. Forte wrote the entry for this clause which appears in the second edition of THE HERITAGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION (David F. Forte & Matthew Spalding eds., 2d ed. 201

6 Pages Posted: 25 Jul 2023 Last revised: 7 Aug 2023

See all articles by Seth Barrett Tillman

Seth Barrett Tillman

National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUI Maynooth) - Faculty of Law

Date Written: July 17, 2023

Abstract

The second section of Article I, Section 5, Clause 1 deals with what constitutes a quorum for each house of Congress. The U.S. Constitution’s quorum rule was a departure from contemporaneous practice in the British House of Commons. The English House of Commons had introduced a quorum of 40 members in 1641. [CHARLES HENRY PARRY, THE PARLIAMENTS AND COUNCILS OF ENGLAND 345 (London, J. Murray 1839),

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Tillman, Seth Barrett, Quorum Clause (July 17, 2023). Seth Barrett Tillman, ‘Quorum Clause’ in THE HERITAGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION (3d ed. forth. circa Sept. 2025). Professor David F. Forte wrote the entry for this clause which appears in the second edition of THE HERITAGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTITUTION (David F. Forte & Matthew Spalding eds., 2d ed. 201, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4512557