The Constitutional Convention

During the summer of 1787, 55 men attended the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. They drafted the U.S. Constitution, including Article I, which discusses the powers and structure of Congress.

The framers were mostly of English descent. As a result, they borrowed many features of English government when they wrote the Constitution. In the British House of Commons (the equivalent of the House of Representatives) the leader was an individual known as the Speaker. The Speaker of the British House of Commons is a nonpartisan figure, who resigns from his or her political party upon becoming Speaker and acts as a neutral leader of the entire chamber.

The framers of the Constitution did not include much detail about the leadership structure of Congress. According to Article I, Section 2, Congress would establish its own leadership. However, the framers did include a provision that created the office of the Speaker -- the only congressional leader mentioned in the Constitution.