2nd United States Congress
2nd United States Congress | |
---|---|
1st ← → 3rd | |
Congress Hall (2007) | |
March 4, 1791 – March 4, 1793 | |
Senate President | John Adams (P) |
Senate Pres. pro tem | Richard Henry Lee (P) John Langdon (P) |
House Speaker | Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (P) |
Members | 26–30 senators 69–73 representatives |
Senate Majority | Pro-Administration |
House Majority | Pro-Administration |
Sessions | |
Special: March 4, 1791 – March 4, 1791 1st: October 24, 1791 – May 8, 1792 2nd: November 5, 1792 – March 2, 1793 (lame duck) |
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.
Contents
1 Major events
2 Major legislation
3 States admitted
4 Constitutional amendments
5 Party summary
5.1 Senate
5.2 House of Representatives
6 Leadership
6.1 Senate
6.2 House of Representatives
7 Members
7.1 Senate
7.1.1 Connecticut
7.1.2 Delaware
7.1.3 Georgia
7.1.4 Kentucky
7.1.5 Maryland
7.1.6 Massachusetts
7.1.7 New Hampshire
7.1.8 New Jersey
7.1.9 New York
7.1.10 North Carolina
7.1.11 Pennsylvania
7.1.12 Rhode Island
7.1.13 South Carolina
7.1.14 Vermont
7.1.15 Virginia
7.2 House of Representatives
7.2.1 Connecticut
7.2.2 Delaware
7.2.3 Georgia
7.2.4 Kentucky
7.2.5 Maryland
7.2.6 Massachusetts
7.2.7 New Hampshire
7.2.8 New Jersey
7.2.9 New York
7.2.10 North Carolina
7.2.11 Pennsylvania
7.2.12 Rhode Island
7.2.13 South Carolina
7.2.14 Vermont
7.2.15 Virginia
8 Membership changes
8.1 Senate
8.2 House of Representatives
9 Committees
9.1 Senate
9.2 House of Representatives
9.3 Joint committees
10 Employees
10.1 Senate
10.2 House of Representatives
11 See also
12 References
13 External links
Major events
- April 5, 1792: President Washington used the veto for the first time, vetoing a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states.
- April–May, 1792: the House conducted the government's first investigative hearings, examining Gen. Arthur St. Clair's Defeat in the Battle of the Wabash.
- 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: Public Acts of the Second Congress |
- February 20, 1792: Postal Service Act, Sess. 1, ch. 7, 1 Stat. 232, established the U.S. Post Office
- March 1, 1792: Act relative to the Election of a President and Vice President of the United States, and to Presidential Succession, Sess. 1, ch. 8, 1 Stat. 239, stated the process for electors and Congress to follow when electing a president and vice president, and established which federal officer would act as president if both the offices of president and vice president became vacant.
- April 2, 1792: Coinage Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 16, 1 Stat. 246, established the United States Mint and regulated coinage
- April 14, 1792: Apportionment Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 23 1 Stat. 253, increased the size of the House of Representatives from 69 seats in the 2nd Congress to 105 in the 3rd and apportioned those seats among the several states according to the 1790 Census
- May 2, 1792: First Militia Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 28, 1 Stat. 264, empowered the president to call out the militias of the various states in the event of an invasion or rebellion.
- May 8, 1792: Second Militia Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 33, 1 Stat. 271, required that every free able-bodied white male citizen of the various states, between the ages of 18 and 45, enroll in the militia of the state in which they reside.
- February 12, 1793: Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, Sess. 2, ch. 7, 1 Stat. 302
- March 2, 1793: Judiciary Act of 1793 (including Anti-Injunction Act), Sess. 2, ch. 22, 1 Stat. 333
States admitted
- March 4, 1791: Vermont was admitted as the 14th state, 1 Stat. 191
- June 1, 1792: Kentucky was admitted as the 15th state, 1 Stat. 189
Constitutional amendments
- December 15, 1791: The first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified by the requisite number of states (then 11) to become part of the Constitution.
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 the previous congress | 8 | 18 | 26 | 0 |
Begin | 8 | 17 | 25 | 1 |
End | 13 | 30 | 0 | |
Final voting share | 7001433000000000000♠43.3% | 7001567000000000000♠56.7% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 14 | 16 | 30 | 0 |
House of Representatives
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 the previous congress | 28 | 36 | 64 | 1 |
Begin | 29 | 37 | 66 | 3 |
End | 32 | 40 | 72 | 1 |
Final voting share | 7001444000000000000♠44.4% | 7001556000000000000♠55.6% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 55 | 50 | 105 | 0 |
Leadership
Senate
President: John Adams (P)
President pro tempore:
Richard Henry Lee (P)
John Langdon (P), elected November 5, 1792
House of Representatives
Speaker: Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (P)
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by Class, 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, facing re-election in 1796; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1792; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1794.
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House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their districts.
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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.
State (class) | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pennsylvania (1) | Vacant | Legislature failed to elect Senator. Successor elected February 28, 1793. | Albert Gallatin (A) | December 2, 1793 |
Connecticut (3) | William S. Johnson (P) | Resigned March 4, 1791. Successor elected June 13, 1791. | Roger Sherman (P) | June 13, 1791 |
Vermont (1) | New seat | Vermont was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791. Winners elected October 17, 1791. | Stephen R. Bradley (A) | November 4, 1791 |
Vermont (3) | Moses Robinson (A) | November 4, 1791 | ||
Kentucky (2) | New seat | Kentucky was admitted to the Union June 1, 1792. Winners elected June 18, 1792. | John Edwards (A) | June 18, 1792 |
Kentucky (2) | John Brown (A) | June 18, 1792 | ||
Virginia (2) | Richard Henry Lee (A) | Resigned October 8, 1792. Successor elected October 18, 1792. | John Taylor (A) | October 18, 1792 |
Maryland (1) | Charles Carroll (P) | Resigned November 30, 1792. Successor elected January 10, 1793. | Richard Potts (P) | January 10, 1793 |
House of Representatives
There were 3 resignations, 1 vacancy of a member-elect, 1 contested election, 2 late elections, 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.
District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Massachusetts 8th | Vacant | Due to failure to reach a majority, four ballots were needed to elect. Incumbent was elected late April 4, 1791. | George Thatcher (P) | April 4, 1791 |
New York 1st | Vacant | Representative-elect James Townsend died on May 24, 1790, before Congress assembled. | Thomas Tredwell (A) | October 24, 1791 |
Vermont 1st | New seat | Vermont was admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791. | Israel Smith (A) | October 24, 1791 |
Vermont 2nd | Nathaniel Niles (A) | October 24, 1791 | ||
Maryland 3rd | William Pinkney (A) | Resigned November 1791 | John Francis Mercer (A) | February 6, 1792 |
Massachusetts 6th | Vacant | Due to failure to reach a majority, eight ballots were needed to elect. Incumbent was elected late April 2, 1792. | George Leonard (P) | April 2, 1792 |
Virginia 2nd | John Brown (A) | Resigned June 1, 1792, to become U.S. Senator from Kentucky. | Vacant | Seat went with Kentucky |
Kentucky 2nd | New seat | Kentucky was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792. | Alexander D. Orr (A) | November 8, 1792 |
Kentucky 1st | Christopher Greenup (A) | November 9, 1792 | ||
Georgia 1st | Anthony Wayne (A) | Anthony Wayne served until March 21, 1792, when seat declared vacant because the election was contested | John Milledge (A) | November 22, 1792 |
Maryland 2nd | Joshua Seney (A) | Resigned December 6, 1792. | William Hindman (P) | January 30, 1793 |
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Elections
Rules (Select)- Whole
Joint committees
- Enrolled Bills
Employees
Senate
Secretary: Samuel A. Otis of Massachusetts
Doorkeeper: James Mathers of New York
Chaplain: William White (Episcopalian)
House of Representatives
Clerk: John Beckley of Virginia
Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton of Rhode Island
Doorkeeper: Gifford Dalley
Chaplain:
Samuel Blair (Presbyterian, elected October 24, 1791
Ashbel Green, Presbyterian, elected November 5, 1792
Reading Clerks: [Data unknown/missing.]
See also
United States elections, 1790 (elections leading to this Congress)
- United States Senate elections, 1790 and 1791
- United States House of Representatives elections, 1790
United States elections, 1792 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
- United States presidential election, 1792
- United States Senate elections, 1792 and 1793
- United States House of Representatives elections, 1792
References
^ Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ 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.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
External links
- Statutes at Large, 1789-1875
- Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
- House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists