1st United States Congress

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1st United States Congress
→ 2nd
Federal Hall, site of the first two sessions of this Congress (1789)
March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1791
Members21–26 senators
59–65 representatives
0 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityPro-Administration
Senate PresidentJohn Adams
House majorityPro-Administration
House SpeakerFrederick Muhlenberg
Sessions
1st: March 4, 1789 – September 29, 1789
2nd: January 4, 1790 – August 12, 1790
3rd: December 6, 1790 – March 3, 1791

The First United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency, first at Federal Hall in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia. With the initial meeting of the First Congress, the United States federal government officially began operations under the new (and current) frame of government established by the 1787 Constitution. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority. Twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution were passed by this Congress and sent to the states for ratification; the ten ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791 are collectively known as the Bill of Rights.

Major events

Main articles: 1789, 1790, and 1791
Congress Hall in Philadelphia, meeting place of this Congress's third session.
  • April 1, 1789: House of Representatives first achieved a quorum and elected its officers
  • April 6, 1789: Senate first achieved a quorum and elected its officers.
  • April 6, 1789: The House and Senate, meeting in joint session, count the Electoral College ballots, then certify that George Washington has been unanimously elected President of the United States and John Adams (having received 34 of 69 votes) elected as Vice president.[1]
  • April 30, 1789: George Washington was inaugurated as the nation's first president at Federal Hall in New York City
  • January 8, 1790: President Washington gave the first State of the Union Address
  • June 20, 1790: Compromise of 1790: James Madison agreed to not be "strenuous" in opposition for the assumption of state debts by the federal government; Alexander Hamilton agreed to support the capital site being above the Potomac River.

Major legislation

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 1st United States Congress

Session 1

Held March 4, 1789, through September 29, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City

Session 2

Held January 4, 1790, through August 12, 1790, at Federal Hall in New York City

Session 3

Held December 6, 1790, through March 3, 1791, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia

Constitutional amendments

  • September 25, 1789: Twelve articles of amendment to the Constitution passed Congress (without recorded vote), 1 Stat. 97. They were officially submitted to the legislatures of the several states for consideration on September 28, 1789. Articles Three through Twelve were ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, and are collectively known as the Bill of Rights. Article Two was ratified on May 7, 1992, becoming the Twenty-seventh Amendment, and Article One is still technically still pending before the states.

States admitted and territories organized

Party summary

Statue of George Washington in front of Federal Hall, where he was first inaugurated as President.

There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.[2]

Details on changes are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

During this congress, two Senate seats were added for North Carolina and Rhode Island when each ratified the Constitution.

Faction
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Anti-
Administration
(A) 		Pro-
Administration
(P)
End of previous congress 0 0 0 0
Begin 7 13 20 2
End 8 18 260
Final voting share 30.8% 69.2%
Beginning of next congress 9 16 25 1

House of Representatives

During this congress, five House seats were added for North Carolina and one House seat was added for Rhode Island when they ratified the Constitution.

Faction
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Anti-
Administration
(A) 		Pro-
Administration
(P)
End of previous congress 0 0 0 0
Begin 25 34 59 0
End 28 36 641
Final voting share 43.8% 56.3%
Beginning of next congress 29 39 68 1

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

Senate

Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, all Senators were newly elected, and Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1790; Class 2 meant their term ended with the next Congress, requiring reelection in 1792; and Class 3 meant their term lasted through the next two Congresses, requiring reelection in 1794.

See also: United States Senate elections, 1788 and United States Senate elections, 1790

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are listed by their districts.

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 1789

Changes in membership

There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.[2]

New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island, were the last states to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and because of their late ratification, were unable to send full representation at the beginning of this Congress. Five Senators and nine Representatives were subsequently seated from these states during the sessions as noted.

Senate

See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate

There was 1 resignation, 1 death, 1 replacement of a temporary appointee, and 6 new seats. The Anti-Administration Senators picked up a 1-seat net gain and the Pro-Administration Senators picked up 4 seats. Template:Ordinal US Congress Senate |- | New York (3) | rowspan=4 | New seats | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | State legislature failed to choose Senator until after Congress began. | style="background:#00cc22" | Rufus King (P) | July 25, 1789 |- | New York (1) | style="background:#00cc22" | Philip John Schuyler (P) | July 27, 1789 |- | North Carolina (3) | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | North Carolina ratified the constitution on November 21, 1789. | style="background:#00cc22" | Benjamin Hawkins (P) | rowspan=2 | Elected November 27, 1789 |- | North Carolina (2) | style="background:#00cc22" | Samuel Johnston (P) |- | Virginia
(1) | style="background:#CCFF66" | William Grayson (A) | style="font-size:80%" | Died March 12, 1790. | style="background:#00cc22" | John Walker (P) | Appointed March 31, 1790 |- | Rhode Island (1) | rowspan=2 | New seats | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Rhode Island ratified the constitution on May 29, 1790. | style="background:#00cc22" | Theodore Foster (P) | rowspan=2 | Elected June 7, 1790 |- | Rhode Island (2) | style="background:#CCFF66" | Joseph Stanton, Jr. (A) |- | Virginia
(1) | style="background:#00cc22" | John Walker (P) | style="font-size:80%" | James Monroe was elected to the seat of Senator William Grayson. | style="background:#CCFF66" | James Monroe (A) | Elected November 9, 1790 |- | New Jersey (2) | style="background:#00cc22" | William Paterson (P) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 13, 1790,
having been elected Governor of New Jersey. | style="background:#00cc22" | Philemon Dickinson (P) | Elected November 23, 1790 |}

House of Representatives

See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

There was 2 resignations, 1 death, and 6 new seats. Anti-Administration members picked up 3 seats and Pro-Administration members picked up 2 seats. Template:Ordinal US Congress Rep |- | New Hampshire At-Large | style="background:#00cc22" | Benjamin West (P) | style="font-size:80%" | Declined to serve | style="background:#00cc22" | Abiel Foster (P) | June 23, 1789 |- | North Carolina 1st | rowspan=5 | New seats | rowspan=5 style="font-size:80%" | North Carolina ratified the constitution on November 21, 1789. | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Baptista Ashe (A) | March 24, 1790 |- | North Carolina 2nd | style="background:#CCFF66" | Hugh Williamson (A) | March 19, 1790 |- | North Carolina 3rd | style="background:#CCFF66" | Timothy Bloodworth (A) | April 6, 1790 |- | North Carolina 4th | style="background:#00cc22" | John Steele (P) | April 19, 1790 |- | North Carolina 5th | style="background:#00cc22" | John Sevier (P) | June 16, 1790 |- | Rhode Island At-large | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | Rhode Island ratified the constitution on May 29, 1790. | style="background:#00cc22" | Benjamin Bourne (P) | December 17, 1790 |- | Virginia 9th | style="background:#CCFF66" | Theodorick Bland (A) | style="font-size:80%" | Died June 1, 1790. | style="background:#CCFF66" | William B. Giles (A) | December 7, 1790 |- | Massachusetts 5th | style="background:#00cc22" | George Partridge (P) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned August 14, 1790. | colspan=2 | Remained vacant until next Congress |}

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

References

  1. ^ "Journal of the First Session of the Senate of The United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New York, March 4, 1789, And In The Thirteenth Year of the Independence of the Said States". Senate Journal. Gales & Seaton. 1820.
  2. ^ a b Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.

Further reading

  • Bickford, Charlene Bangs, and Kenneth R. Bowling. Birth of the nation: the First Federal Congress, 1789-1791 (Rowman & Littlefield, 1989)
  • Bordewich, Fergus M. The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government (2016)
  • Bowling, Kenneth R. Politics in the first Congress, 1789-1791 (Taylor & Francis, 1990)
  • Christman, Margaret C.S. The first federal congress, 1789-1791 (Smithsonian Inst Pr, 1989.)
  • Currie, David P. "The Constitution in Congress: Substantive Issues in the First Congress, 1789-1791." The University of Chicago Law Review 61 (1994): 775-865. online
  • Jillson, Calvin C., and Rick K. Wilson. Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774-1789 (Stanford University Press, 1994)
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

External links

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