Main content
Course: US government and civics > Unit 7
Lesson 1: Why it matters- Sal Khan & John Dickerson: introduction
- Why study US history, government, and civics?
- Why do midterm congressional elections matter?
- Why does your vote matter?
- How does voter turnout in midterms compare to presidential elections?
- Does the president's party usually gain or lose seats at the midterm elections?
- Who is the Speaker of the House?
- Why is the Speaker of the House second in succession to the President?
- What was the Articles of Confederation?
- What was the Gilded Age?
© 2024 Khan AcademyTerms of usePrivacy PolicyCookie Notice
Who is the Speaker of the House?
The Speaker of the House, a role defined in the Constitution, is typically chosen by the majority party. This person doesn't have to be a House member, but always has been. The Speaker is elected by the most votes from those voting, not necessarily the entire House.
Want to join the conversation?
But what does the Speaker of the House *do?* He only answers how the Speaker of the House gets elected.(2 votes)
Video transcript
- [Narrator] Who is the
Speaker of the House and what do they do? - The office of the Speaker of the House is actually outlined in the Constitution. That's one of the things that makes the Speaker of the House unique. The Speaker of the House
does not have to be a member of the House
although there has never been a Speaker who has not been
a member of the House. And traditionally the Speaker of the House is the member picked
by the majority party. Doesn't have to be from the majority party but that's always the way it's worked out and essentially everybody
in the House gets together and whoever gets the most
votes of the people voting. It's just the people voting, not necessarily the entire House. Whoever gets the most votes becomes the Speaker of the House.