2nd United States Congress

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2nd United States Congress
1st  
  3rd
Congress Hall exterior.jpg

March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793
Members26–30 senators
65-69 representatives
Senate majority Pro-Administration
Senate President John Adams (P)
House majority Pro-Administration
House Speaker Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (P)
Sessions
Special [a] : March 4, 1791 – March 4, 1791
1st: October 24, 1791 – May 8, 1792
2nd: November 5, 1792 – March 2, 1793
Modern tour group visiting the House of Representatives chamber at Congress Hall Congress Hall House Chamber.jpg
Modern tour group visiting the House of Representatives chamber at Congress Hall
Senate chamber at Congress Hall Congress Hall senate.jpg
Senate chamber at Congress Hall

The 2nd 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

Major events

Major legislation

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 indicates faction control)
Total
Anti-Administration
(A)
Pro-Administration
(P)
Vacant
End of
previous Congress
818260
Begin817251
March 4, 1791 [b] 16242
June 13, 1791 [c] 17251
November 4, 1791 [d] 1027
June 18, 1792 [e] 1229
October 8, 1792 [f] 11282
October 18, 1792 [g] 12291
November 30, 1792 [h] 16282
January 10, 1793 [i] 17291
February 28, 1793 [j] 13300
Final voting share43.3%56.7%
Beginning of the
next Congress
1416300

House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives as shared by each state 2ndHouse.svg
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 indicates faction control)
Total
Anti-Administration
(A)
Pro-Administration
(P)
Vacant
End of
previous Congress
2836641
Begin
March 4, 1791
2537623
April 4, 1791 [k] 38632
October 24, 1791 [l] 28661
November 1791 [m] 37652
February 6, 1792 [n] 29661
March 21, 1792 [o] 28652
April 2, 1792 [p] 38661
June 1, 1792 [q] 27654
November 8, 1792 [r] 28663
November 9, 1792 [s] 29672
November 22, 1792 [t] 30681
December 6, 1792 [u] 29672
January 30, 1793 [v] 39681
Final voting share42.6%57.4%
Beginning of the
next Congress
55501050


Leadership

Senate President
John Adams Official Presidential portrait of John Adams (by John Trumbull, circa 1792).jpg
Senate President
John Adams

Senate

House of Representatives

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.

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. [1]

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.

Senate changes
State
(class)
Vacated byReason for changeSuccessorDate of successor's
formal installation [w]
Pennsylvania
(1)
VacantLegislature 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
(3)
New seatVermont was admitted to the Union March 4, 1791.
Winners elected October 17, 1791.
Stephen R. Bradley (A)November 4, 1791
Vermont
(1)
Moses Robinson (A)November 4, 1791
Kentucky
(3)
New seatKentucky 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.

House changes
DistrictVacated byReason for changeSuccessorDate of successor's
formal installation [w]
Massachusetts 8th VacantDue 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 VacantRepresentative-elect James Townsend died on May 24, 1790, before Congress assembled. Thomas Tredwell (A)October 24, 1791
Vermont 1st New seatVermont 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 (P)Resigned November 1791 John Francis Mercer (A)February 6, 1792
Massachusetts 6th VacantDue 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.VacantSeat went with Kentucky
Kentucky 2nd New seatKentucky 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

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

  1. Special session of the Senate.
  2. In Connecticut: William Samuel Johnson resigned.
  3. In Connecticut: Roger Sherman was elected to fill the vacancy created when William Samuel Johnson resigned.
  4. In Vermont: the state was admitted to the Union on March 4, 1791, and elected two Senators.
  5. In Kentucky: the state was admitted to the Union on June 1, 1792, and elected two Senators.
  6. In Virginia: Richard Henry Lee resigned.
  7. In Virginia: John Taylor was elected to fill the vacancy created when Richard Henry Lee resigned.
  8. In Maryland: Charles Carroll resigned.
  9. In Maryland: Richard Potts was elected to fill the vacancy created when Charles Carroll resigned.
  10. In Pennsylvania: the legislature, having failed to elect a Senator at the start of the Congress, did so now. Albert Gallatin was not actually seated until the next Congress.
  11. In Massachusetts's 8th district , George Thatcher was seated late after three runoff elections.
  12. In New York's 1st district , Representative-elect James Townsend died before the Congress began, and Thomas Tredwell was elected to fill the seat. In Vermont, two seats were added as the state joined the union.
  13. In Maryland's 3rd district , William Pinkney resigned.
  14. In Maryland's 3rd district , John Francis Mercer was elected to fill the vacancy created when William Pinkney resigned.
  15. In Georgia's 1st district , Anthony Wayne had been elected in a contested election, and his seat was now declared vacant.
  16. In Massachusetts's 6th district , George Leonard was seated late after seven runoff elections.
  17. When Kentucky entered the union, it received two seats. In Virginia's 2nd district , John Brown resigned to become a Senator from Kentucky. the seat was not filled until the next Congress
  18. In Kentucky's 2nd district , Alexander D. Orr was elected to the new seat.
  19. In Kentucky's 1st district , Christopher Greenup was elected to the new seat.
  20. In Georgia's 1st district , John Milledge was elected to the seat declared vacant because the previous election was contested.
  21. In Maryland's 2nd district , Joshua Seney resigned to become a judge.
  22. In Maryland's 2nd district , William Hindman was elected to fill the vacancy created when Joshua Seney resigned.
  23. 1 2 When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

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References

  1. 1 2 Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.