1st United States Congress

The 1st United States Congress, consisting of 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.

Not to be confused with First Continental Congress.

1st United States Congress
Congress of the Confederation ←
→ 2nd
Federal Hall, site of the first two sessions of this Congress (1789)
March 4, 1789 – March 4, 1791
Senate PresidentJohn Adams (P)
Senate President pro temJohn Langdon (P)
House SpeakerFrederick Muhlenberg (P)
Members22–26 senators
59–65 members of the House
Senate MajorityPro-Administration
House MajorityPro-Administration
Sessions
1st: March 4, 1789 – September 29, 1789
2nd: January 4, 1790 – August 12, 1790
3rd: December 6, 1790 – March 3, 1791

Major events
Main articles: 1789 in the United States, 1790 in the United States, and 1791 in the United States
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 had been unanimously elected President of the United States and John Adams (having received 34 of 69 votes) was elected as Vice President.[1]
  • April 21, 1789: John Adams was inaugurated as the nation's first Vice President.[2][3]
  • 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
Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 1st United States Congress
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

Session 2

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

Session 3

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

Constitutional amendments
  • September 25, 1789: Approved 12 amendments to the United States Constitution establishing specific guarantees of personal freedoms and rights, clear limitations on government power, and submitted them to the state legislatures for ratification. 1 Stat. 97:
    • Article one has not been ratified and is still pending before the states.
    • Article two was much later ratified on May 7, 1992, as the Twenty-seventh Amendment.
    • Articles three through twelve, known as the "Bill of Rights," were later ratified on December 15, 1791.

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

Territories organized
  • May 26, 1790: Territory South of the River Ohio organized from land ceded by North Carolina. 1 Stat. 123

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.[4]

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

Senate
  • Senate membership
  • Beginning of the Congress
  • End of the Congress

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

Faction
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Anti-
Administration
(A)		 Pro-
Administration
(P)
End of previous congress 0 0 0 0
Begin 7 13 20 2
End 8 18 260
Final voting share 30.8% 69.2%
Beginning of next congress 9 16 25 1

House of Representatives
  • House membership
  • Beginning of the Congress
  • End of the Congress

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.

Faction
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Anti-
Administration
(A)		 Pro-
Administration
(P)
End of previous congress 0 0 0 0
Begin 23 31 54 5
End 28 36 641
Final voting share 43.8% 56.3%
Beginning of next congress 29 39 68 1

Leadership

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.

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.

House of Representatives

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

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.[4]

New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island, were the last states to ratify the U.S. Constitution, and because of their late ratification, were unable to send full representation at the beginning of this Congress. Six Senators and nine Representatives were subsequently seated from these states during the sessions as noted.

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

There was 1 resignation, 1 death, 1 replacement of a temporary appointee, and 6 new seats. The Anti-Administration Senators picked up 1 new seat and the Pro-Administration Senators picked up 5 new seats.

State
(class)		 Vacator Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
New York (3) New seats State legislature failed to choose Senator until after Congress began. Rufus King (P) July 25, 1789
New York (1) Philip John Schuyler (P) July 27, 1789
North Carolina (3) North Carolina ratified the constitution on November 21, 1789. Benjamin Hawkins (P) Elected November 27, 1789
North Carolina (2) Samuel Johnston (P)
Virginia
(1)		 William Grayson (A) Died March 12, 1790. John Walker (P) Appointed March 31, 1790
Rhode Island (1) New seats Rhode Island ratified the constitution on May 29, 1790. Theodore Foster (P) Elected June 7, 1790
Rhode Island (2) Joseph Stanton, Jr. (A)
Virginia
(1)		 John Walker (P) James Monroe was elected to the seat of Senator William Grayson. James Monroe (A) Elected November 9, 1790
New Jersey (2) William Paterson (P) Resigned November 13, 1790,
having been elected Governor of New Jersey.		 Philemon Dickinson (P) Elected November 23, 1790

House of Representatives
See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

There was 2 resignations, 1 death, and 6 new seats. Anti-Administration members picked up 3 seats and Pro-Administration members picked up 2 seats.

District Vacator Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
New Hampshire at-large Benjamin West (P) Member-elect declined to serve and a new member was elected in the first congressional special election. Abiel Foster (P) June 23, 1789
North Carolina 1 New seats North Carolina ratified the constitution November 21, 1789. John Baptista Ashe (A) March 24, 1790
North Carolina 2 Hugh Williamson (A) March 19, 1790
North Carolina 3 Timothy Bloodworth (A) April 6, 1790
North Carolina 4 John Steele (P) April 19, 1790
North Carolina 5 John Sevier (P) June 16, 1790
Rhode Island at-large New seat Rhode Island ratified the constitution May 29, 1790. Benjamin Bourne (P) December 17, 1790
Virginia 9 Theodorick Bland (A) Died June 1, 1790. William B. Giles (A) December 7, 1790
Massachusetts 5 George Partridge (P) Resigned August 14, 1790. Remained vacant until next Congress

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes
  1. This is the date the member was seated or an oath administered, not necessarily the same date her/his service began.

References
  1. "Journal of the First Session of the Senate of The United States of America, Begun and Held at the City of New York, March 4, 1789, And In The Thirteenth Year of the Independence of the Said States". Senate Journal. Gales & Seaton. 1820.
  2. Unger, Harlow Giles (September 4, 2012). John Quincy Adams. Da Capo Press. pp. 71. ISBN 9780306821301. john adams new york city vice president inauguration April 20.
  3. "Vice Presidential Inaugurations". Washington, D.C.: Architect of the Capitol. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  4. Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
  5. "American Memory: Remaining Collections". memory.loc.gov. Retrieved February 13, 2018.

Further reading
  • Bickford, Charlene Bangs, and Kenneth R. Bowling. Birth of the nation: the First Federal Congress, 1789–1791 (Rowman & Littlefield, 1989)
  • Bordewich, Fergus M. The First Congress: How James Madison, George Washington, and a Group of Extraordinary Men Invented the Government (2016)
  • Bowling, Kenneth R. Politics in the first Congress, 1789–1791 (Taylor & Francis, 1990)
  • Christman, Margaret C.S. The first federal congress, 1789–1791 (Smithsonian Inst Pr, 1989.)
  • Currie, David P. "The Constitution in Congress: Substantive Issues in the First Congress, 1789–1791." The University of Chicago Law Review 61 (1994): 775–865. online
  • Jillson, Calvin C., and Rick K. Wilson. Congressional Dynamics: Structure, Coordination, and Choice in the First American Congress, 1774–1789 (Stanford University Press, 1994)
  • 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.
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