The United States Congress is divided into two houses. The larger of the two houses, the House of Representatives, is led by a single representative known as the Speaker of the House.

The duties and powers of the Speaker of the House have changed since the office was established

in 1789, and they are entirely determined by the members of the House of Representatives

itself.

Learn more about the Speaker of the House, the duties of the position and its history on this episode of the House begins with Article 1 of the Constitution, which says,

quote, the House of Representatives shall choose their speakers and other officers.

That's literally all the Constitution says. It says that the

House of Representatives shall have a speaker. What the speaker does, what role the

speaker plays, and who can be the speaker is entirely up to the House of Representatives itself.

The only other mention of the Speaker of the House and the Constitution is in the 25th Amendment,

which is dedicated to presidential succession. The reason why a speaker was

specifically mentioned in the Constitution is that the position was based on the

role of speaker in the British Parliament. The role of speaker in the British Parliament

is that of an impartial and supposedly a political officer who's The Speaker of the

in the political officer whose job is to oversee the proceedings and it is

distinct from the political role of the Prime Minister.

Despite being an impartial role, the Speaker of the House of Commons is always selected from one of its ranks.

Prior to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution, the Continental Congress had a presiding officer called a President.

The official term was the president of the

United States in Congress assembled. Many people mistakenly think that this role

was actually the first president of the United States, but they were not. They

were the president of Congress.

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