Seventh United States Congress

All you want to know about Seventh United States Congress

The Seventh 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 3, 1803, during the first two years of the first administration of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the First Census of the United States in 1790. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority, except during the Special session of the Senate, when there was a Federalist majority in the Senate.

Dates of sessions

March 4, 1801 - March 3, 1803

Special session of the Senate: March 4, 1801 - March 5, 1801
First session: December 7, 1801 - May 3, 1802
Second session: December 6, 1802 - March 3, 1803 — a lame duck session

Previous: 6th Congress • Next: 8th Congress

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

Democratic-Republican (DR) : 17 (majority)
Federalist (F): 15
vacant: 2

TOTAL members: 34

House of Representatives

Democratic-Republican (DR) : 68 (majority)
Federalist (F): 38
vacant: 1

TOTAL members: 107

President of the Senate
Vice President
Aaron Burr

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

Major events

Main articles: 1801, 1802, and 1803

1801-03-04 — Presidential inauguration of Thomas Jefferson
1801-05-10 — The pascha of Tripoli declared war on United States by having the flagpole on the consulate chopped down
1802-03-16 — West Point established
1803-02-24 — First time an Act of Congress was declared unconstitutional: U.S. Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#7th United States Congress

April 29, 1802 — Judiciary Act of 1802, ch. 31, 2 Stat. 156
April 30, 1802 — Enabling Act of 1802, ch. 40, 2 Stat. 173

States admitted

November 29, 1802 — Ohio admitted as a state. It was formerly a portion of the Northwest Territory

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

See also: 7th United States Congress - political parties

See also: 7th United States Congress - State Delegations

See also: United States House of Representatives elections, 1800

President pro tempore
Abraham Baldwin

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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1802; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1804; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1806.

See also: Category:United States Senators

See also: Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

Connecticut

1: James Hillhouse (F)
3: Uriah Tracy (F)

Delaware

2: William H. Wells (F)
1: Samuel White (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)

Robert Wright (DR)

Massachusetts

2: Dwight Foster (F)
1: Jonathan Mason (F)

New Hampshire

2: Samuel Livermore (F)

Simeon Olcott (F)
3: James Sheafe (F)

William Plumer (F)

New Jersey

2: Jonathan Dayton (F)
1: Aaron Ogden (F)

New York

1: Gouverneur Morris (F)
3: John Armstrong, Jr. (DR)

DeWitt Clinton (DR)

North Carolina

2: Jesse Franklin (DR)
3: David Stone (DR)

Ohio

1: vacant ^[1]
3: vacant ^[1]

Pennsylvania

1: James Ross (F)
3: John Peter G. Muhlenberg (DR)

George Logan (DR)

Rhode Island

1: Theodore Foster (DR)
2: Ray Greene (F)

Christopher Ellery (DR)

South Carolina

2: Charles Pinckney (DR)

Thomas Sumter (DR)
3: John Ewing Colhoun (DR)

Pierce Butler (DR)

Tennessee

1: Joseph Anderson (DR)
2: William Cocke (DR)

Vermont

3: Elijah Paine (F)

Stephen R. Bradley (DR)
1: Nathaniel Chipman (F)

Virginia

1: Stevens T. Mason (DR)
2: Wilson C. Nicholas (DR)

Speaker of the House
Nathaniel Macon

House of Representatives

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

Many of the congressional district numbers are linked to articles describing the district itself. Since the boundaries of the districts have changed often and substantially, the linked article may only describe the district as it exists today, and not as it was at the time of this Congress.

See also: Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives

See also: Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

Connecticut

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

A/L: Samuel W. Dana (F)
A/L: John Davenport (F)
A/L: Elizur Goodrich (F), elected but did not serve because appointed collector of customs for the Port of New Haven

Calvin Goddard (F), May 14, 1801 – End
A/L: Roger Griswold (F)
A/L: Elias Perkins (F)
A/L: John Cotton Smith (F)
A/L: Benjamin Tallmadge (F)

Delaware

A/L: James A. Bayard (F)

Georgia

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

A/L: John Milledge (DR), Until May 1802 (resigned to become Governor)

Peter Early (DR), January 10, 1803 – End
A/L: Benjamin Taliaferro (DR), Until May 1802 (resigned)

David Meriwether (DR), December 6, 1802 – End

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

A/L: Joseph Stanton, Jr. (DR)
A/L: Thomas Tillinghast (DR)

South Carolina

1: Thomas Lowndes (F)
2: John Rutledge, Jr. (F)
3: Benjamin Huger (F)
4: Thomas Sumter (DR)

Richard Winn (DR)
5: William Butler, Sr. (DR)
6: Thomas Moore (DR)

Tennessee

A/L: William Dickson (DR)

Vermont

1: Israel Smith (DR)
2: Lewis R. Morris (F)

Virginia

Delegates

Mississippi Territory: Narsworthy Hunter, until March 11, 1802

Thomas M. Green Jr. (DR), December 6, 1802 – end

Northwest Territory: Paul Fearing (F)

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

See also: 7th United States Congress - Membership Changes

Senate

replacements: 5
- Democratic-Republicans: 1 seat net gain
- Federalists: 1 seat net loss
deaths: 1
resignations: 8
interim appointments: 1
vacancies: 1
Total seats with changes: 10

House of Representatives

replacements: 8
- Democratic-Republicans: no net change
- Federalists: no net change
deaths: 1
resignations: 9
forfeiture: 1
vacancy: 1
Total seats with changes: 11

Officers

Architect of the Capitol: William Thornton

Senate

Secretary: Samuel A. Otis of Massachusetts
Doorkeeper: James Mathers of New York
Chaplain:
- Thomas J. Claggett, Episcopalian
- Edward Gantt, Episcopalian, December 9, 1801 – End

House of Representatives

Clerk: John Beckley of Virginia, December 7, 1801 – End
Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton, December 7, 1801 – End
Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton, December 7, 1801 – End
Chaplain: William Parkinson, Baptist, December 7, 1801 – End

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c 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, 2 Stat. 173) 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, 2 Stat. 201) 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.
^ ^a ^b Pennsylvania's 4th district was a plural district with two representatives.

References

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.