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2nd United States Congress

Not to be confused with Second Continental Congress.

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.

2nd United States Congress
1st ←
→ 3rd
Congress Hall (2007)
March 4, 1791 – March 3, 1793
Members26–30 senators
65-69 representatives
Senate majorityPro-Administration
Senate PresidentJohn Adams (P)
House majorityPro-Administration
House SpeakerJonathan 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
Senate chamber at Congress Hall

Major events

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Main articles: 1791 in the United States, 1792 in the United States, and 1793 in the United States

Major legislation

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Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Main article: List of United States federal legislation, 1789–1901 § 2nd United States Congress

States admitted

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Constitutional amendments

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Party summary

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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

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During this congress, two new Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Vermont and Kentucky.

  • Senate membership
  •  
    Beginning of the Congress
  •  
    End of the Congress
Faction
(Shading indicates faction control)
 Total
Anti-Administration
(A) 		Pro-Administration
(P) 		Vacant
End of
previous Congress 		8 18 26 0
Begin 8 17 25 1
March 4, 1791[b] 16 24 2
June 13, 1791[c] 17 25 1
November 4, 1791[d] 10 27
June 18, 1792[e] 12 29
October 8, 1792[f] 11 28 2
October 18, 1792[g] 12 29 1
November 30, 1792[h] 16 28 2
January 10, 1793[i] 17 29 1
February 28, 1793[j] 13 30 0
Final voting share 43.3% 56.7%
Beginning of the
next Congress 		14 16 30 0

House of Representatives

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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)

  • House membership
  •  
    Beginning of the Congress
  •  
    End of the Congress
Faction
(Shading indicates faction control)
 Total
Anti-Administration
(A) 		Pro-Administration
(P) 		Vacant
End of
previous Congress 		28 36 64 1
Begin
March 4, 1791 		25 37 62 3
April 4, 1791[k] 38 63 2
October 24, 1791[l] 28 66 1
November 1791[m] 37 65 2
February 6, 1792 [n] 29 66 1
March 21, 1792[o] 28 65 2
April 2, 1792[p] 38 66 1
June 1, 1792[q] 27 65 4
November 8, 1792[r] 28 66 3
November 9, 1792[s] 29 67 2
November 22, 1792[t] 30 68 1
December 6, 1792[u] 29 67 2
January 30, 1793[v] 39 68 1
Final voting share 42.6% 57.4%
Beginning of the
next Congress 		55 50 105 0


Leadership

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Senate President
John Adams

Senate

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House of Representatives

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Members

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

Senate

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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

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

Membership changes

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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

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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.

See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
Senate changes
State
(class) 		Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[w]
Pennsylvania
(1) 		Vacant Legislature 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 seat Vermont 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 seat Kentucky 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

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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.

Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[w]
Massachusetts 8th Vacant Due 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 Vacant Representative-elect James Townsend died on May 24, 1790, before Congress assembled. Thomas Tredwell (A) October 24, 1791
Vermont 1st New seat Vermont 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 Vacant Due 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. Vacant Seat went with Kentucky
Kentucky 2nd New seat Kentucky 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

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Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

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House of Representatives

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Joint committees

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Employees

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Senate

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House of Representatives

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See also

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Notes

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  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. ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References

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  1. ^ a b Martis, Kenneth C. The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress.
  • 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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