The 7th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1801, to March 4, 1803, during the first two years of Thomas Jefferson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1790 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority, except when the Senate held a two-day Special Senate session in order to provide advice to the new President Thomas Jefferson, when there was still a Federalist majority in the Senate.

Major events

  • March 4, 1801: Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States.
  • May 10, 1801: The pascha of Tripoli declared war on United States by having the flagpole on the consulate chopped down
  • March 16, 1802: West Point established
  • February 24, 1803: First time an Act of Congress was declared unconstitutional: U.S. Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison

Major legislation

  • April 29, 1802: Judiciary Act of 1802, ch. 31,
  • April 30, 1802: Enabling Act of 1802, ch. 40,

States admitted

thumb|400px|[[United States Capitol with "Brick Oven"]]

  • Ohio was admitted as a state, having previously been a portion of the Northwest Territory. The exact date is unclear and in dispute, but it is undisputed that it was during this Congress. The official date when Ohio became a state was not set until 1953, when the 83rd U.S. Congress passed legislation retrospectively designating the date of the first meeting of the Ohio state legislature, March 1, 1803, as that date. However, on April 30, 1802, the 7th U.S. Congress had passed an act "authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union." (Sess. 1, ch. 40, ) On February 19, 1803, the same Congress passed an act "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio." (Sess. 2, ch. 7, ) The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Ohio was admitted to the Union on November 29, 1802, and counts its seats as vacant from that date.

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

The Federalists still controlled the Senate when they held a two-day special Senate session in March 1801, which was called by outgoing President John Adams so that the Senate could provide advice to the new President Thomas Jefferson, but by the time Congress began its first regular session in December 1801 to start official business, the Democratic-Republicans had gained Senate control.

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

|- style="vertical-align:bottom"

! rowspan=3 | Affiliation

! colspan=3 | Party <div style="font-size:80%">(Shading indicates majority caucus)</div>

! rowspan=3 | Vacant

|- style="height:5px"

| style="background-color:" |

| style="background-color:" |

| style="background-color:black" |

|-

! Democratic-Republican

! Federalist

! Total

|-

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | End of previous Congress

| 11

| | 21

! 32

| 0

|-

| colspan=1 |

|-

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | Begin

| rowspan=2| 14

| | 18

! 32

| 0

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | March 5, 1801

| rowspan=3 | 17

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | May 6, 1801

| 15

! 32

| 0

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 6, 1801

| rowspan=3| 14

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 12, 1801

| | 16

! 30

| 2

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 17, 1801

| rowspan=3 | 17

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 30, 1801

| 13

! 30

| 2

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | July 13, 1801

| rowspan=2| 14

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | September 1, 1801

| rowspan=2 | 16

! 30

| 2

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | October 1, 1801

| 15

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 19, 1801

| | 16

| rowspan=4| 15

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | December 15, 1801

| | 17

! 32

| 0

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | February 5, 1802

| | 16

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | February 9, 1802

| rowspan=3 | 17

! 32

| 0

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 14, 1802

| 14

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | June 17, 1802

| rowspan=4| 15

! 32

| 0

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | October 26, 1802

| | 16

! 31

| 1

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 4, 1802

| rowspan=3 | 17

! 32

| 0

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | November 29, 1802

! 32

| 2

|- style="text-align:center"

! nowrap style="font-size:80%" | March 2, 1803

| 14

! 31

| 3

|- style="text-align:center"

! Final voting share

! | 54.8%

! | 45.2%

| colspan=2 |

|-

| colspan=6 |

|-

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

| | 22

| 9

! 31

| 3

|}

House of Representatives

400px|thumb|State shares of party representatives

Leadership

Senate

  • President: Aaron Burr (DR)
  • President pro tempore: Abraham Baldwin (DR), first elected December 7, 1801
  • Stephen R. Bradley (DR), first elected December 14, 1802

House of Representatives

  • Speaker: Nathaniel Macon, (DR), elected December 7, 1801

Members

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

Senate

:Skip to House of Representatives, below

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 ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1802; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1804; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1806.

Connecticut

: 1. James Hillhouse (F)

: 3. Uriah Tracy (F)

Delaware

: 1. Samuel White (F)

: 2. William H. Wells (F)

Georgia

: 2. Abraham Baldwin (DR)

: 3. James Jackson (DR)

Kentucky

: 2. John Brown (DR)

: 3. John Breckinridge (DR)

Maryland

: 1. John Eager Howard (F)

: 3. William Hindman (F), until November 19, 1801

:: Robert Wright (DR), from November 19, 1801

Massachusetts

: 1. Jonathan Mason (F)

: 2. Dwight Foster (F), until March 2, 1803

New Hampshire

: 2. Samuel Livermore (F), until June 12, 1801

:: Simeon Olcott (F), from June 17, 1801

: 3. James Sheafe (F), until June 14, 1802

:: William Plumer (F), from June 17, 1802

New Jersey

: 1. Aaron Ogden (F)

: 2. Jonathan Dayton (F)

New York

: 1. Gouverneur Morris (F)

: 3. John Armstrong Jr. (DR), until February 5, 1802

:: DeWitt Clinton (DR), from February 9, 1802

North Carolina

: 2. Jesse Franklin (DR)

: 3. David Stone (DR)

Ohio

Due to uncertainty over Ohio's exact admittance date (see "States admitted, above") its two senators were not elected until the next Congress.

: 1: Vacant (newly admitted state)

: 3: Vacant (newly admitted state)

Pennsylvania

: 1. James Ross (F)

: 3. John Peter G. Muhlenberg (DR), until June 30, 1801

:: George Logan (DR), from July 13, 1801

Rhode Island

: 1. Theodore Foster (F)

: 2. Ray Greene (F), until March 5, 1801

:: Christopher Ellery (DR), from May 6, 1801

South Carolina

: 2. Charles Pinckney (DR), until June 6, 1801

:: Thomas Sumter (DR), from December 15, 1801

: 3. John E. Colhoun (DR), until October 26, 1802

:: Pierce Butler (DR), from November 4, 1802

Tennessee

: 1. Joseph Anderson (DR)

: 2. William Cocke (DR)

Vermont

: 1. Nathaniel Chipman (F)

: 3. Elijah Paine (F), until September 1, 1801

:: Stephen R. Bradley (DR), from October 15, 1801

Virginia

: 1. Stevens Mason (DR)

: 2. Wilson C. Nicholas (DR)

[[File:7th United States Congress Senators.svg|thumb|375px|Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 7th Congress in March 1801.

]]

House of Representatives

The names of representatives elected statewide on the general ticket or otherwise at-large, are preceded by an "At-large," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.

Connecticut

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . Samuel W. Dana (F)

: . John Davenport (F)

: . Calvin Goddard (F), from May 14, 1801

: . Roger Griswold (F)

: . Elias Perkins (F)

: . John Cotton Smith (F)

: . Benjamin Tallmadge (F)

Delaware

: . James A. Bayard (F)

Georgia

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . John Milledge (DR), until May 1802

:: Peter Early (DR), from January 10, 1803

: . Benjamin Taliaferro (DR), until May 1802

:: David Meriwether (DR), from December 6, 1802

Kentucky

: . Thomas T. Davis (DR)

: . John Fowler (DR)

Maryland

: . John Campbell (F)

: . Richard Sprigg Jr. (DR), until February 11, 1802

:: Walter Bowie (DR), from March 24, 1802

: . Thomas Plater (F)

: . Daniel Hiester (DR)

: . Samuel Smith (DR)

: . John Archer (DR)

: . Joseph H. Nicholson (DR)

: . John Dennis (F)

Massachusetts

: . John Bacon (DR)

: . William Shepard (F)

: . Ebenezer Mattoon (F)

: . Levi Lincoln Sr. (DR), until March 5, 1801

:: Seth Hastings (F), from January 11, 1802

: . Lemuel Williams (F)

: . Josiah Smith (DR)

: . Phanuel Bishop (DR)

: . William Eustis (DR)

: . Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR)

: . Nathan Read (F)

: . Manasseh Cutler (F)

: . Silas Lee (F), until August 20, 1801

:: Samuel Thatcher (F), from December 6, 1802

: . Peleg Wadsworth (F)

: . Richard Cutts (DR), from December 7, 1801

New Hampshire

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . Abiel Foster (F)

: . Joseph Peirce (F), until June 1802

:: Samuel Hunt (F), from December 6, 1802

: . Samuel Tenney (F)

: . George B. Upham (F)

New Jersey

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

: . John Condit (DR)

: . Ebenezer Elmer (DR)

: . William Helms (DR)

: . James Mott (DR)

: . Henry Southard (DR)

New York

: . John Smith (DR)

: . Samuel L. Mitchill (DR)

: . Philip Van Cortlandt (DR)

: . Lucas C. Elmendorf (DR)

: . Thomas Tillotson (DR), until August 10, 1801

:: Theodorus Bailey (DR), from December 7, 1801

: . John Bird (F), until July 25, 1801

:: John P. Van Ness (DR), December 7, 1801 – January 17, 1803; vacant thereafter

: . David Thomas (DR)

: . Killian K. Van Rensselaer (F)

: . Benjamin Walker (F)

: . Thomas Morris (F)

North Carolina

: . James Holland (DR)

: . Archibald Henderson (F)

: . Robert Williams (DR)

: . Richard Stanford (DR)

: . Nathaniel Macon (DR)

: . William H. Hill (F)

: . William Barry Grove (F)

: . Charles Johnson (DR), from December 7, 1801 until July 23, 1802

:: Thomas Wynns (DR), from December 7, 1802

: . Willis Alston (F, then D-R)

: . John Stanly (F)

Ohio

: . vacant (newly admitted state)

Pennsylvania

: . William Jones (DR)

: . Michael Leib (DR)

: . Joseph Hemphill (F)

: : Robert Brown (DR)

: :

|-

|

| | Levi Lincoln (DR)

| Resigned March 5, 1801, after being appointed US Attorney General.

| | Seth Hastings (F)

| January 11, 1802

|-

|

| | John Bird (F)

| Resigned July 25, 1801.

| | John Peter Van Ness (DR)

| December 7, 1801

|-

|

| | Thomas Tillotson (DR)

| Resigned August 10, 1801, upon appointment as NY Secretary of State.

| | Theodorus Bailey (DR)

| December 7, 1801

|-

|

| | Silas Lee (F)

| Resigned August 20, 1801.

| | Samuel Thatcher (F)

| December 6, 1802

|-

|

| | Thomas Sumter (DR)

| Resigned December 15, 1801, after being elected to the US Senate.

| | Richard Winn (DR)

| January 24, 1802

|-

|

| | Benjamin Taliaferro (DR)

| Resigned sometime in 1802.

| | David Meriwether (DR)

| December 6, 1802

|-

|

| | Joseph Peirce (F)

| Resigned sometime in 1802.

| | Samuel Hunt (F)

| December 6, 1802

|-

|

| | Richard Sprigg Jr. (DR)

| Resigned February 11, 1802.

| | Walter Bowie (DR)

| March 24, 1802

|-

|

| |Narsworthy Hunter (DR)

| Died March 11, 1802.

| |Thomas M. Green Jr. (DR)

| December 6, 1802

|-

|

| | John Milledge (DR)

| Resigned May 1802 after being elected Governor.

| | Peter Early (DR)

| January 10, 1803

|-

|

| | Charles Johnson (DR)

| Died July 23, 1802.

| | Thomas Wynns (DR)

| December 7, 1802

|-

|

| New seat

| Ohio was admitted to the Union on November 29, 1802.

| Vacant

| rowspan=2 | Not filled until next Congress

|-

|

| | John Peter Van Ness (DR)

| Seat declared forfeited January 17, 1803.

| Vacant

|}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

  • Whole

House of Representatives

  • Claims (Chairman: John C. Smith)
  • Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
  • Elections (Chairman: John Milledge then John Bacon)
  • Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: John Davenport)
  • Rules (Select)
  • Standards of Official Conduct (Chairman: N/A)
  • Ways and Means (Chairman: John Randolph)
  • Whole

Joint committees

  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Dwight Foster)

Officers

Legislative branch agency directors

  • Architect of the Capitol: William Thornton
  • Librarian of Congress: John J. Beckley, from 1802

Senate

  • Chaplain: Thomas J. Claggett (Episcopalian), until December 9, 1801
  • Edward Gantt (Episcopalian), elected December 9, 1801
  • Secretary: Samuel A. Otis
  • Doorkeeper: James Mathers

House of Representatives

  • Chaplain: Thomas Lyell (Methodist), until December 10, 1801
  • William Parkinson (Baptist), elected December 10, 1801
  • Clerk: John Holt Oswald, until December 7, 1801
  • John Beckley, elected December 7, 1801
  • Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
  • Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton

See also

  • 1800 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1800 United States presidential election
  • 1800–01 United States Senate elections
  • 1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections
  • 1802 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1802–03 United States Senate elections
  • 1802–03 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes

References

  • 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