This term is applied by us especially to three differently constituted bodies of representatives of the people that have succeeded each other in the government of the country. The first is the Continental Congress, assembled in 1774, and which conducted the national affairs until near the close of the Revolution. The second is the Federal Congress, which met under the Articles of Confederation, adopted March, 1781, and ruled the country till 1789. The third is the Congress of the United States, which first met under the Constitution, on the 4th of March, 1789.
Mr. Pickering remarks, that English writers, in speaking of American affairs, generally say, "the Congress," using the article. Such was formerly our own practice; but in the course of time it has acquired with us the force of a proper flame, so that we now speak of Congress, as the English do of Parliament. When the present Constitution was adopted, the usage was still fluctuating, as the following examples will show:
The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year; and such meeting shall be on the first Monday in December, unless they shall by law appoint a different day.--Art. I. Sec. 4.
Neither House, during the session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to any other place than that in which the two Houses shall be sitting.--Art. I. Sec. 5.