21st United States Congress

21st United States Congress
20th ← → 22nd
United States Capitol (1827)
March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1831
Members	48 senators 213 representatives 3 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Jacksonian
Senate President	John C. Calhoun (J)
House majority	Jacksonian
House Speaker	Andrew Stevenson (J)
Sessions
Special (Senate): March 4, 1829 – March 17, 1829 1st[1]: December 7, 1829 – May 31, 1830 2nd: December 6, 1830 – March 3, 1831

The 21st 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, 1829, to March 4, 1831, during the first two years of Andrew Jackson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1820 United States census. Both chambers had a Jacksonian majority.

Major events

• March 4, 1829: Andrew Jackson became 7th President of the United States
• May 10–14, 1830: Confrontational meetings between the French Chargé d'affaires in Washington DC and a group of leaders consisting of Mark Alexander, William S. Archer, Robert H. Adams, Thomas Hinds, Dixon H. Lewis, Clement Comer Clay, Powhatan Ellis and John McKinley grew incredibly contentious and hostile. Arguments began when the aforementioned representatives and senators charged that France owed the United States reparations from damages incurred during the Quasi-War. At one point Thomas Hinds threatened the French Chargé d'affaires with a pistol. Eventually, only intervention by John Forsyth prevented a major diplomatic incident. Shortly after this the governor of Virginia John Floyd formally asked France's economic attaché to leave Virginia. This foreshadowed conflict with France over the same issue that would dominate American politics in 1835, at that point the main instigator on the American side would be President Andrew Jackson.^[2][3]
• May 28 – US congress passes the Indian Removal Act.
• September 27 – Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with Choctaw nation. (First removal treaty signed after the Removal Act.)

Major legislation

• May 28, 1830: Indian Removal Act, ch. 148, 4 Stat. 411

Not enacted

• May 27, 1830: Maysville Road Bill vetoed

Treaties

• September 27, 1830: The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty after the passage of the Indian Removal Act, is signed with the Choctaw.
• February 24, 1831: Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek proclaimed.

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

	Party (shading shows control)			Total	Vacant
	National Republican (NR)	Jacksonian (J)	Other
End of previous congress	21	27	0	48	0
Begin	22	26	0	48	0
End		25		47	1
Final voting share	46.8%	53.2%	0.0%
Beginning of next congress	21	24	2[a]	47	1

House of Representatives

	Party (shading shows control)				Total	Vacant
	National Republican (NR)	Anti- Masonic (AM)	Jacksonian (J)	Other (0)
End of previous congress	101	0	111	0	212	1
Begin	72	4	133	0	209	4
End		5	135		212	1
Final voting share	34.0%	2.4%	63.7%	0.0%
Beginning of next congress	64	16	128	4[b]	212	1

Leadership

Senate

• President: John C. Calhoun (J)
• President pro tempore: Samuel Smith (J)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Andrew Stevenson (J)

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, Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1832; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1834; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1830.

House of Representatives

Members are listed by their districts.

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 4
  • Jacksonians (J): no net change
  • National Republicans (NR): no net change
• Deaths: 4
• Resignations: 4
• Interim appointments: 1
• Total seats with changes: 7

Senate changes

State (class)	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation[c]
Georgia (3)	John M. Berrien (J)	Resigned March 9, 1829, to become U.S. Attorney General. Successor elected November 9, 1829.	John Forsyth (J)	Installed November 9, 1829
North Carolina (2)	John Branch (J)	Resigned March 9, 1829, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of the Navy. Successor elected December 9, 1829.	Bedford Brown (J)	Installed December 9, 1829
Tennessee (1)	John Eaton (J)	Resigned March 9, 1829, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of War. Successor elected October 19, 1829.	Felix Grundy (J)	Installed October 19, 1829
Delaware (1)	Louis McLane (J)	Resigned April 29, 1829, to become U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom. Successor elected January 7, 1830.	Arnold Naudain (NR)	Installed January 7, 1830
Mississippi (2)	Thomas B. Reed (J)	Died November 26, 1829. Successor elected January 6, 1830.	Robert H. Adams (J)	Installed January 6, 1830
Mississippi (2)	Robert H. Adams (J)	Died July 2, 1830. Successor appointed October 15, 1830, to continue the term, and subsequently elected.	George Poindexter (J)	Installed October 15, 1830
Illinois (2)	John McLean (J)	Died October 14, 1830. Successor appointed November 12, 1830, to continue the term.	David J. Baker (J)	Installed November 12, 1830
Illinois (2)	David J. Baker (J)	Appointee retired with elected successor qualified. Successor elected December 11, 1830.	John M. Robinson (J)	Installed December 11, 1830
Indiana (1)	James Noble (NR)	Died February 26, 1831. Seat filled next Congress.	Vacant	Not filled this Congress

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 5
  • Jacksonians (J): 1 seat net loss
  • National Republicans (NR): 1 seat net gain
• Deaths: 2
• Resignations: 10
• Contested election: 2

Total seats with changes: 15

House changes

District	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation[c]
Maryland 6th	Vacant	Maryland elected its members October 5, 1829, after the term began but before Congress convened. Rep-elect sworn in December after convening.	George Edward Mitchell (J)	Seated December 7, 1829
Georgia at-large	Vacant	George Gilmer (Jacksonian) was redistricted from the 1st district and re-elected but failed to accept the position within the legal time frame. Governor ordered a new election.	Henry G. Lamar (J)	Seated December 7, 1829
Maine 4th	Vacant	Peleg Sprague resigned in previous Congress	George Evans (NR)	Seated July 20, 1829
Pennsylvania 16th	Vacant	William Wilkins resigned before qualifying	Harmar Denny (AM)	Seated December 15, 1829
Pennsylvania 8th	George Wolf (J)	Resigned in 1829 before the convening of Congress	Samuel A. Smith (J)	Seated October 13, 1829
Virginia 10th	William C. Rives (J)	Resigned some time in 1829	William F. Gordon (J)	Seated January 25, 1830
Pennsylvania 8th	Samuel D. Ingham (J)	Resigned in March 1829 after being appointed Secretary of the Treasury	Peter Ihrie Jr. (J)	Seated October 13, 1829
North Carolina 5th	Gabriel Holmes (J)	Died September 26, 1829	Edward B. Dudley (J)	Seated November 10, 1829
New York 20th	George Fisher (NR)	Lost contested election February 5, 1830, to Silas Wright who in turn failed to qualify	Jonah Sanford (J)	Seated November 3, 1830
Virginia 1st	Thomas Newton Jr. (NR)	Lost contested election March 9, 1830	George Loyall (J)	Seated March 9, 1830
Maine 5th	James W. Ripley (J)	Resigned March 12, 1830	Cornelius Holland (J)	Seated December 6, 1830
Ohio 11th	John M. Goodenow (J)	Resigned April 9, 1830, after being appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio	Humphrey H. Leavitt (J)	Seated December 6, 1830
Virginia 22nd	Alexander Smyth (J)	Died April 17, 1830	Joseph Draper (J)	Seated December 6, 1830
New York 6th	Hector Craig (J)	Resigned July 12, 1830	Samuel W. Eager (NR)	Seated November 2, 1830
Virginia 11th	Philip P. Barbour (J)	Resigned October 15, 1830, after being appointed judge of US Circuit Court of the Eastern District of Virginia	John M. Patton (J)	Seated November 25, 1830
New York 21st	Robert Monell (J)	Resigned February 21, 1831	Vacant	Not filled this term
Michigan Territory At-large	John Biddle	Resigned February 21, 1831	Vacant	Not filled this term

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Accounts of James Monroe (Select)
• Agriculture (Chairman: William Marks)
• Amending the Constitution on the Election of the President and Vice President (Select)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Elias Kane then James Iredell Jr.)
• Claims (Chairman: Benjamin Ruggles)
• Commerce (Chairman: Levi Woodbury)
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Ezekiel F. Chambers)
• Dueling (Select)
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: William Marks)
• Finance (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: Littleton Tazewell)
• French Spoilations (Select)
• Impeachment of James H. Peck (Select)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Hugh Lawson White)
• Judiciary (Chairman: John Rowan)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Mahlon Dickerson)
• Memorial of the Manufacturers Iron (Select)
• Mileage of Members of Congress (Select)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
• Militia (Chairman: Isaac D. Barnard)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Robert Y. Hayne)
• Nomination of Amos Kendall (Select)
• Pensions (Chairman: John Holmes)
• Post Office Department (Select)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: George M. Bibb)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Jacob Burnet)
• Public Lands (Chairman: David Barton)
• Roads and Canals (Select) (Chairman: William Hendricks)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: Jehiel H. Halsey)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Ambrose Spencer)
• American Colonization Society (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: Elisha Whittlesey)
• Commerce (Chairman: Churchill C. Cambreleng)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Gershom Powers)
• Elections (Chairman: Willis Alston)
• Establishing an Assay Office in the Gold Region (Select)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Augustine H. Shepperd)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Joel Yancey)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Jonas Earll)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: George G. Leiper)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Lewis Maxwell)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Michael C. Sprigg)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: William S. Archer)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
• Judiciary (Chairman: James Buchanan)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Rollin C. Mallary)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: William Drayton)
• Military Pensions (Chairman: Isaac C. Bates)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Michael Hoffman)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Richard M. Johnson)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: John B. Sterigere)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: Thomas H. Hall)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Jacob C. Isacks then Charles A. Wickliffe)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Dutee J. Pearce)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Tristam Burges)
• Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: N/A)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories (Chairman: James Clark)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: George McDuffie)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills
• The Library

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

• Architect of the Capitol: Charles Bulfinch, until June 25, 1829 (office abolished)
• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate

• Chaplain: William Ryland (Methodist), until December 14, 1829
  • Henry V. Johns (Episcopalian), elected December 14, 1829
• Secretary: Walter Lowrie
• Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Reuben Post (Presbyterian), until December 13, 1830
  • Ralph R. Gurley (Presbyterian), elected December 13, 1830
• Clerk: Matthew St. Clair Clarke
• Doorkeeper: Benjamin Birch
• Reading Clerks:[data missing]
• Sergeant at Arms: John O. Dunn

See also

• 1828 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1828 United States presidential election
  • 1828–29 United States Senate elections
  • 1828–29 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1830 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1830–31 United States Senate elections
  • 1830–31 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes

References

External links

From American Memory at the Library of Congress:

• Statutes at Large, 1789-1875
• Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• Congressional Directory for the 21st Congress, 1st Session. 1830.

Other U.S. government websites:

• House Document No. 108-222 from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (1774–2005)
• House History from the U.S. House of Representatives
• Statistics and Lists from the U.S. Senate