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Congress
The Convention of 1787 established a bicameral Congress as the legislative arm of the federal government. Congress first met on March 4, 1789, at New York City's Federal Hall. The Congress moved, in 1790, temporarily to Philadelphia and then moved to its permanent home in the nation's capital in 1800, to land donated by Maryland and Virginia for this purpose. Congress is made up of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives; the Senate provides equal representation (two senators) for each state, whereas the House provides representation proportional to each state's population. Senators are elected to six-year terms and Representatives to two-year terms. As decided by the Supreme Court in U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton (1995), states cannot impose term limits on ...