6th United States Congress

6th United States Congress
5th ← → 7th
United States Capitol (1800)
March 4, 1799 – March 3, 1801
Members	32 senators 106 representatives 1 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Federalist
Senate President	Thomas Jefferson (DR)
House majority	Federalist
House Speaker	Theodore Sedgwick (F)
Sessions
1st: December 2, 1799 – May 14, 1800 2nd: November 17, 1800 – March 3, 1801

The 6th United States Congress was the 6th meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It initially met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then was the first congress to meet in the new Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.. Its term was from March 4, 1799, to March 4, 1801, during the last two years of John Adams's presidency. It was the last Congress of the 18th century and the first to convene in the 19th. The apportionment of seats in House of Representatives was based on the 1790 United States census. Both chambers had a Federalist majority. This was the last Congress in which the Federalist Party controlled the presidency or either chamber of Congress.

Major events

• December 14, 1799: Former President George Washington died
• February 24, 1800: Library of Congress founded
• November 17, 1800: Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C.
• January 20, 1801: John Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United States
• February 17, 1801: 1800 United States presidential election: Thomas Jefferson became the first President of the United States elected by the House of Representatives as no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes cast in the 1800 presidential election. The House was required to choose between Jefferson and Aaron Burr, with each of the 16 states having a single vote. Jefferson was elected on the 36th ballot by 10 to 4 (with 2 abstentions).^[1]

States for Jefferson	States for Burr	States casting blank ballots
Georgia Kentucky Maryland New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Tennessee Vermont Virginia	Connecticut Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island	Delaware South Carolina
Total: 10 (63%)	Total: 4 (25%)	Total: 2 (12%)

Major legislation

• April 4, 1800: Bankruptcy Act of 1800, Sess. 1, ch. 19, 2 Stat. 19
• May 7, 1800: Indiana Organic Act, Sess. 1, ch. 41, 2 Stat. 58; effective July 4, 1800
• May 10, 1800: Slave Trade Act of 1800, Sess. 2, ch. 51, 2 Stat. 70
• February 13, 1801: Judiciary Act of 1801, Sess. 2, ch. 4, 2 Stat. 89
• February 27, 1801: District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Sess.2, ch. 15, 2 Stat. 103

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

	Party (shading shows control)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic- Republican (DR)	Federalist (F)
End of previous congress	9	22	31	1
Begin	9	22	31	1
End	11	21	32	0
Final voting share	34.4%	65.6%
Beginning of next congress	17	15	32	0

House of Representatives

	Party (shading shows control)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic- Republican (DR)	Federalist (F)
End of previous congress	50	56	106	0
Begin	46	60	106	0
End	49	56	105	1
Final voting share	46.7%	53.3%
Beginning of next congress	72	33	105	1

Leadership

Senate

• President: Thomas Jefferson (DR)
• President pro tempore: Samuel Livermore (F), elected December 2, 1799
  • Uriah Tracy (F), elected May 14, 1800
  • John E. Howard, (F), elected November 21, 1800
  • James Hillhouse, (F), elected February 28, 1801

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Theodore Sedgwick (F)

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, requiring re-election in 1802; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1804; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1800.

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 "At-large," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.

Changes in membership

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

Senate

There were 7 resignations and 1 vacancy at the beginning of Congress. The Federalists had a 1-seat net loss and the Democratic-Republicans had a 2-seat net gain.

Senate changes

State (class)	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation[a]
Virginia (2)	Vacant	Henry Tazewell (DR) died before the beginning of this Congress	Wilson C. Nicholas (DR)	Elected December 5, 1799
New York (1)	James Watson (F)	Resigned March 19, 1800	Gouverneur Morris (F)	Elected April 3, 1800
Massachusetts (2)	Samuel Dexter (F)	Resigned May 30, 1800	Dwight Foster (F)	Elected June 6, 1800
New York (3)	John Laurance (F)	Resigned sometime in August, 1800	John Armstrong (DR)	Elected November 6, 1800
Massachusetts (1)	Benjamin Goodhue (F)	Resigned November 8, 1800	Jonathan Mason (F)	Elected November 14, 1800
Maryland (3)	James Lloyd (F)	Resigned December 1, 1800	William Hindman (F)	Elected December 12, 1800
New Jersey (1)	James Schureman (F)	Resigned February 16, 1801	Aaron Ogden (F)	Elected February 28, 1801
Delaware (1)	Henry Latimer (F)	Resigned February 28, 1801	Samuel White (F)	Appointed February 28, 1801

House of Representatives

There were 6 resignations and 3 deaths. The Federalists had a 4-seat net loss and the Democratic-Republicans had a 3-seat net gain.

House changes

District	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation[a]
New York 1st	Jonathan Havens (DR)	Died October 25, 1799	John Smith (DR)	February 27, 1800
Northwest Territory at-large	William Henry Harrison	Resigned May 14, 1800, to become Territorial Governor of Indiana	William McMillan (F)	November 24, 1800
Connecticut at-large	Jonathan Brace (F)	Resigned sometime in 1800	John Cotton Smith (F)	November 17, 1800
Massachusetts 10th	Samuel Sewall (F)	Resigned January 10, 1800, to become a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court	Nathan Read (F)	November 25, 1800
Massachusetts 4th	Dwight Foster (F)	Resigned June 6, 1800, having been elected U.S. Senator	Levi Lincoln (DR)	December 15, 1800
Virginia 13th	John Marshall (F)	Resigned June 7, 1800, to become Secretary of State	Littleton W. Tazewell (DR)	November 26, 1800
New Hampshire at-large	William Gordon (F)	Resigned June 12, 1800, to become New Hampshire Attorney General	Samuel Tenney (F)	December 8, 1800
Massachusetts 3rd	Samuel Lyman (F)	Resigned November 6, 1800	Ebenezer Mattoon (F)	February 2, 1801
Pennsylvania 8th	Thomas Hartley (F)	Died December 21, 1800	John Stewart (DR)	February 3, 1801
Georgia at-large	James Jones (F)	Died January 11, 1801	Vacant until next Congress

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Whole

House of Representatives

• Claims (Chairman: Dwight Foster then Nathaniel Macon)
• Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
• Elections (Chairman: Samuel W. Dana then George Dent)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Roger Griswold then Jonas Platt)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Ways and Means (Chairman: Robert Goodloe Harper then Roger Griswold)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Dwight Foster)

Administrative officers

• Architect of the Capitol: William Thornton

Senate

• Chaplain: William White, Episcopalian, until November 27, 1800
  • Thomas J. Claggett, Episcopalian, elected November 27, 1800
• Doorkeeper: James Mathers
• Secretary: Samuel Otis

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Ashbel Green, Presbyterian, until November 27, 1800
  • Thomas Lyell, Methodist, elected November 27, 1800
• Clerk: Jonathan W. Condy, resigned December 4, 1800
  • John H. Oswald, elected December 9, 1800
• Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
• Reading Clerks: [data missing]
• Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton

See also

• 1798 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1798–99 United States Senate elections
  • 1798–99 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1800 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1800 United States presidential election
  • 1800–01 United States Senate elections
  • 1800–01 United States House of Representatives elections

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.

Notes

External links

• 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