House Turnover and the Principle of Rotation
The two centuries since the American Revolution have seen the eclipse in Congress of a long-standing principle of government. Under the Articles of Confederation maximum congressional service was three years in six, in order, argued Thomas Jefferson, "to prevent every danger which might arise to American freedom by continuing too long in office the members of the Continental Congress."1 After 1789 rotation in the legislative branch was no longer obligatory by law. In practice, however, turnover continued so sweeping that, as late as the nation's centennial year, members of the U.S. House of Representatives averaged less than one prior term in that chamber.2 During the twentieth century the constitutional system of biennial elections has not prevented the House from rivaling in tenure both the U.S. Supreme Court and the Senate.3 Average tenures in the three bodies since World War II