1st United States Congress

The 1st United States Congress, comprising 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, with an additional amendment ratified more than two centuries later to become the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Major events

thumb|[[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, counted the Electoral College ballots, then certified that George Washington was unanimously elected President of the United States and John Adams (having received 34 of 69 votes) was elected as Vice President.
April 21, 1789: John Adams was inaugurated as the nation's first vice president.
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 to the assumption of state debts by the federal government; Alexander Hamilton agreed to support a national capital site in the South.

Major legislation

thumb|Statue of [[George Washington in front of Federal Hall, where he was first inaugurated as president.]]

Session 1

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

June 1, 1789: An Act to regulate the Time and Manner of administering certain Oaths, ch. 1,
July 4, 1789: Tariff of 1789, ch. 2,
July 27, 1789: United States Department of State was established, originally named the Department of Foreign Affairs, ch. 4, .
July 31, 1789: Regulation of the Collection of Duties on Tonnage and Merchandise, ch.5, , which established the United States Customs Service and its ports of entry.
August 7, 1789: Department of War was established, ch. 7, .
September 2, 1789: United States Department of the Treasury was established, ch. 12,
September 24, 1789: Judiciary Act of 1789, ch. 20, , which established the federal judiciary and the office of Attorney General

Session 2

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

March 1, 1790: Made provisions for the first census, ch. 2,
March 26, 1790: Naturalization Act of 1790, ch. 3,
April 10, 1790: Patent Act of 1790, ch. 7,
April 30, 1790: Crimes Act of 1790, ch. 9,
May 31, 1790: Copyright Act of 1790, ch. 15,
July 16, 1790: Residence Act, ch. 28, , established Washington, D.C., as the seat of government of the United States.
July 22, 1790: Indian Intercourse Act of 1790, ch. 33, , regulated commerce with the Indian tribes.
August 4, 1790: Funding Act of 1790, ch. 34, , authorized the "full assumption" of state debts by the federal government.
August 4, 1790: Collection of Duties Act, ch.35, , among its provisions is Sec. 62, , authorizing establishment of the Revenue-Marine, since 1915 the United States Coast Guard.
August 10, 1790: Tariff of 1790, ch. 39,

Session 3

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

February 18, 1791: Admission of Vermont postdated to March 4, ch. 10,
February 25, 1791: First Bank of the United States was established, ch. 10,
March 3, 1791: Tariff of 1791, ch. 15, , which triggered the Whiskey Rebellion.

Constitutional amendments

September 25, 1789: Approved 12 proposed articles of amendment to the United States Constitution to guarantee individual rights and establish limits on federal government power, and dispatched them to the state legislatures for ratification. :
Article one has not been ratified and is still pending before the states.
Article two was ratified on May 8, 1992, as the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
Articles three through twelve were simultaneously ratified on December 15, 1791. Collectively called the "Bill of Rights," they were enumerated in the Constitution as Amendments I through X.

States ratifying Constitution

November 21, 1789: North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and thereby re-joined the Union.
May 29, 1790: Rhode Island became the 13th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution and thereby re-joined the Union.

Territories organized

May 26, 1790: Territory South of the River Ohio organized from land ceded by North Carolina.

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.

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

Senate

{| width=300px align=right

| <gallery mode="slideshow" caption="Senate membership">

File:7-13-2V.svg|Beginning of the Congress

File:Make up of the United States Senate as of March 4th, 1791.svg|End of the Congress

</gallery>

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

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"

! rowspan=3 |

! colspan=2 | Faction <div style="font-size:80%">(shading indicates faction control)</div>

! rowspan=3 | Total

|- style="height:5px"

| style="background-color:" |

| style="background-color:black" |

|- valign= bottom

! Anti-Administration<br/>(A)

! Pro-Administration<br/>(P)

! Vacant

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin<br>March 4, 1789

| rowspan=4 | 7

| | 13

! 20

| 2

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | July 25, 1789

| | 14

! 21

| 1

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | July 27, 1789

| | 15

! 22

| rowspan=2 | 0

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 27, 1789

| rowspan=2 | 17

! 24

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | March 12, 1790

| rowspan=2 | 6

! 23

| 1

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | March 31, 1790

| | 18

! 24

| rowspan=3 | 0

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 7, 1790

| 7

| | 19

! rowspan=2 | 26

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 9, 1790

| rowspan=3 | 8

| | 18

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 13, 1790

| | 17

! 25

| 1

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 23, 1790

| | 18

! 26

| 0

! Final voting share

| 30.8%

| | 69.2%

| colspan=3 |

| colspan=5 |

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Beginning of the<br/>next Congress

| 8

| | 17

! 25

| 1

House of Representatives

{| width=300px align=right

| <gallery mode="slideshow" caption="House membership">

File:23-31-5V.svg|Beginning of the Congress

File:28-36-1V.svg|End of the Congress

</gallery>

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.

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"

|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"

! rowspan=3 |

! colspan=2 | Faction <div style="font-size:80%">(shading indicates faction control)</div>

! rowspan=3 | Total

|- style="height:5px"

| style="background-color:" |

| style="background-color:black" |

|- valign= bottom

! Anti-Administration<br/>(A)

! Pro-Administration<br/>(P)

! Vacant

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin<br>March 4, 1789

| rowspan=3 | 23

| | 31

! 54

| 5

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | April 13, 1789

| | 32

! 55

| 4

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | April 22, 1789

| rowspan=3 | 33

! 56

| 3

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | April 23, 1789

| 24

! 57

| 2

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | May 9, 1789

| rowspan=2 | 25

! 58

| 1

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 23, 1789

| rowspan=4 | 34

! 59

| rowspan=5 | 0

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | March 19, 1790

| 26

! 60

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | March 24, 1790

| 27

! 61

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | April 6, 1790

| rowspan=2 | 28

! 62

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | April 19, 1790

| rowspan=2 | 35

! 63

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 1, 1790

| rowspan=3 | 27

! 62

| rowspan=2 | 1

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 16, 1790

| | 36

! 63

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | August 14, 1790

| rowspan=2 | 35

! 62

| 2

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | December 7, 1790

| rowspan=2 | 28

! 63

| rowspan=2 | 1

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | December 17, 1790

| | 36

! 64

! Final voting share

| 43.7%

| | 56.3%

| colspan=3 |

| colspan=5 |

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Beginning of the<br/>next Congress

| 25

| | 37

! 62

| 3

Leadership

Senate

President: John Adams (P)
President pro tempore: John Langdon (P)

House of Representatives

Speaker: Frederick Muhlenberg (P)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.

:Skip to House of Representatives, below

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 re-election in 1790; Class 2 meant their term ended with the next Congress, requiring re-election in 1792; and Class 3 meant their term lasted through the next two Congresses, requiring re-election in 1794.

Connecticut

: 1. Oliver Ellsworth (P)

: 3. William Samuel Johnson (P)

Delaware

: 1. George Read (P)

: 2. Richard Bassett (A)

Georgia

: 2. William Few (A)

: 3. James Gunn (A)

Maryland

: 1. Charles Carroll of Carrollton (P)

: 3. John Henry (P)

Massachusetts

: 1. Tristram Dalton (P)

: 2. Caleb Strong (P)

New Hampshire

: 2. Paine Wingate (A)

: 3. John Langdon (P)

New Jersey

: 1. Jonathan Elmer (P)

: 2. William Paterson (P), until November 13, 1790

:: Philemon Dickinson (P), from December 6, 1790

New York

: 1. Philip Schuyler (P), from July 27, 1789

: 3. Rufus King (P), from July 25, 1789

North Carolina

: 2. Samuel Johnston (P), from November 27, 1789

: 3. Benjamin Hawkins (P), from November 27, 1789

Pennsylvania

: 1. William Maclay (A)

: 3. Robert Morris (P)

Rhode Island

: 1. Theodore Foster (P), from June 25, 1790

: 2. Joseph Stanton Jr. (A), from June 25, 1790

South Carolina

: 2. Pierce Butler (P)

: 3. Ralph Izard (P)

Virginia

: 1. William Grayson (A), until March 12, 1790

:: John Walker (P), March 31, 1790 – November 9, 1790

:: James Monroe (A), from November 9, 1790

: 2. Richard Henry Lee (A)

[[File:1st United States Congress Senators.svg|thumb|375px|Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 1st Congress in March 1789.

]]

thumb|Senate President<br/>[[John Adams]]

thumb|Senate President pro tempore<br/>[[John Langdon (politician)|John Langdon]]

House of Representatives

The names of representatives are listed by their districts.

Connecticut

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . Benjamin Huntington (P)

: . Roger Sherman (P)

: . Jonathan Sturges (P)

: . Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (P)

: . Jeremiah Wadsworth (P)

Delaware

: . John Vining (P)

Georgia

: . James Jackson (A)

: . Abraham Baldwin (A)

: . George Mathews (A)

Maryland

: . Michael J. Stone (A)

: . Joshua Seney (A)

: . Benjamin Contee (A)

: . William Smith (A)

: . George Gale (P)

: . Daniel Carroll (P)

Massachusetts

: . Fisher Ames (P)

: . Benjamin Goodhue (P)

: . Elbridge Gerry (A)

: . Theodore Sedgwick (P)

: . George Partridge (P), until August 14, 1790, vacant thereafter

: . George Thatcher (P)

: . George Leonard (P)

: . Jonathan Grout (A)

New Hampshire

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . Abiel Foster (P), from June 23, 1789

: . Nicholas Gilman (P)

: . Samuel Livermore (A)

New Jersey

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . Elias Boudinot (P)

: . Lambert Cadwalader (P)

: . James Schureman (P)

: . Thomas Sinnickson (P)

New York

: . William Floyd (A)

: . John Laurance (P)

: . Egbert Benson (P)

: . John Hathorn (A), from April 23, 1789

: . Peter Silvester (P), from April 22, 1789

: . Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (A), from May 9, 1789

North Carolina

: . John Baptista Ashe (A), from March 24, 1790

: . Hugh Williamson (A), from March 19, 1790

: . Timothy Bloodworth (A), from April 6, 1790

: . John Steele (P), from April 19, 1790

: . John Sevier (P), from June 16, 1790

Pennsylvania

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . George Clymer (P)

: . Thomas Fitzsimons (P)

: . Thomas Hartley (P)

: . Daniel Hiester (A)

: . Frederick Muhlenberg (P)

: . Peter Muhlenberg (A)

: . Thomas Scott (P)

: . Henry Wynkoop (P)

Rhode Island

: . Benjamin Bourne (P), from December 17, 1790

South Carolina

: . William L. Smith (P), from April 13, 1789

: . Aedanus Burke (A)

: . Daniel Huger (P)

: . Thomas Sumter (A)

: . Thomas Tudor Tucker (A)

Virginia

: . Alexander White (P)

: . John Brown (A)

: . Andrew Moore (A)

: . Richard Bland Lee (P)

: . James Madison (P)

: . Isaac Coles (A)

: . John Page (A)

: . Josiah Parker (A)

: . Theodorick Bland (A), until June 1, 1790

:: William B. Giles (A), from December 7, 1790

: . Samuel Griffin (P)

thumb|Speaker of the House<br/>[[Frederick Muhlenberg of Pennsylvania]]

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.