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2nd United States Congress

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2nd United States Congress
1st ←
→ 3rd
Congress Hall (2007)
March 4, 1791 – March 4, 1793
Members28–30 (two additions) (with one vacancy) senators
67–69 (two additions) (with 1-3 vacancies) representatives
Senate majorityPro-Administration,
then Anti-Administration
Senate PresidentJohn Adams (P)
House majorityPro-Administration
House SpeakerJonathan Trumbull, Jr. (P)
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1791 – March 4, 1791
1st: October 24, 1791 – May 8, 1792
2nd: November 5, 1792 – March 2, 1793 (lame duck)
Modern tour group visiting the House of Representatives chamber at Congress Hall
Senate chamber at Congress Hall

The Second United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 4, 1791 to March 4, 1793, during the third and fourth years of George Washington's Presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. Additional House seats were assigned to the two new states of Vermont and Kentucky. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority.

Major events

Main articles: 1791 in the United States, 1792 in the United States, and 1793 in the United States
  • April 5, 1792: President George Washington used the veto for the first time, vetoing a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states.
  • October 13, 1792: Foundation of Washington, D.C.: The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion, now known as the White House, was laid.

Major legislation

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Main article: List of United States federal legislation, 1789–1901 § 2nd United States Congress

States admitted

Constitutional amendments

Party summary

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.[1]

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

Senate

During this congress, two new Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Vermont and Kentucky.

Faction
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Anti-
Administration
(A) 		Pro-
Administration
(P)
End of previous congress 8 18 26 0
Begin 8 17 25 1
End 13 300
Final voting share 43.3% 56.7%
Beginning of next congress 14 16 30 0

House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives as shared by each state

During this congress, two new House seats were added for each of the new states of Vermont and Kentucky. (Sess. 3, ch. 9, 1 Stat. 191)

Faction
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Anti-
Administration
(A) 		Pro-
Administration
(P)
End of previous congress 28 36 64 1
Begin 29 39 68 1
End 32 40 72
Final voting share 44.4% 55.6%
Beginning of next congress 55 50 105 0

Leadership

President of the Senate
Vice President
John Adams

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, Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1796; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1792; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1794.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

House of Representatives

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

Membership changes

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]

Vermont and Kentucky were newly admitted as states and are first represented in this Congress.

Senate

There were three resignations, one contested election, and four new seats of admitted states, resulting in a four-seat net gain of the Anti-Administration Senators.

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

Template:Ordinal US Congress Senate

|- | Pennsylvania
(1) | Vacant | Legislature failed to elect Senator.
Successor elected February 28, 1793. | style="background:#CCFF66" | Albert Gallatin (A) | December 2, 1793

|- | Connecticut
(3) | style="background:#00cc22" | William S. Johnson (P) | Resigned March 4, 1791.
Successor elected June 13, 1791. | style="background:#00cc22" | Roger Sherman (P) | June 13, 1791

|- | Vermont
(1) | rowspan=2 | New seat | rowspan=2 | Vermont was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791.
Winners elected October 17, 1791. | style="background:#CCFF66" | Stephen R. Bradley (A) | November 4, 1791

|- | Vermont
(3) | style="background:#CCFF66" | Moses Robinson (A) | November 4, 1791

|- | Kentucky
(2) | rowspan=2 | New seat | rowspan=2 | Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792.
Winners elected June 18, 1792. | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Edwards (A) | June 18, 1792

|- | Kentucky
(2) | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Brown (A) | June 18, 1792

|- | Virginia
(2) | style="background:#CCFF66" | Richard Henry Lee (A) | Resigned October 8, 1792.
Successor elected October 18, 1792. | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Taylor (A) | October 18, 1792

|- | Maryland
(1) | style="background:#00cc22" | Charles Carroll (P) | Resigned November 30, 1792.
Successor elected January 10, 1793. | style="background:#00cc22" | Richard Potts (P) | January 10, 1793

|}

House of Representatives

There were 3 resignations, 1 vacancy of a member-elect, 1 contested election, and 4 new seats of admitted states, resulting in a 3-seat net gain of the Anti-Administration members and a 1-seat net gain of the Pro-Administration members.


Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

Template:Ordinal US Congress Rep

|- | nowrap | New York 1st | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Representative-elect James Townsend died on May 24, 1790, before Congress assembled. | style="background:#CCFF66" | Thomas Tredwell (A) | October 24, 1791 |- | nowrap | Vermont 1st | rowspan=2 | New seat | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Vermont was admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791. | style="background:#CCFF66" | Israel Smith (A) | October 24, 1791 |- | nowrap | Vermont 2nd | style="background:#CCFF66" | Nathaniel Niles (A) | October 24, 1791 |- | nowrap | Maryland 3rd | style="background:#CCFF66" | William Pinkney (A) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 1791 | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Francis Mercer (A) | February 6, 1792 |- | nowrap | Virginia 2nd | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Brown (A) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned June 1, 1792, to become U.S. Senator from Kentucky. | Vacant | Seat went with Kentucky |- | nowrap | Kentucky 2nd | rowspan=2 | New seat | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Kentucky was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792. | style="background:#CCFF66" | Alexander D. Orr (A) | November 8, 1792 |- | nowrap | Kentucky 1st | style="background:#CCFF66" | Christopher Greenup (A) | November 9, 1792 |- | nowrap | Georgia 1st | style="background:#CCFF66" | Anthony Wayne (A) | style="font-size:80%" | Anthony Wayne served until March 21, 1792, when seat declared vacant because the election was contested | style="background:#CCFF66" | John Milledge (A) | November 22, 1792 |- | nowrap | Maryland 2nd | style="background:#CCFF66" | Joshua Seney (A) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 6, 1792. | style="background:#00cc22" | William Hindman (P) | January 30, 1793 |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

References

  1. ^ Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
  2. ^ Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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