1st United States Congress

Federal Hall , the venue for the 1st Congress until August 12, 1790

Congress Hall , meeting place for the 1st to the 6th Congress from December 6, 1790

The 1st Congress of the United States met between March 4, 1789 and March 3, 1791, the first and second years of the first and second year in office of the first President George Washington . It met in Federal Hall , New York City until August 12, 1790, and in Philadelphia Congress Hall from December 6, 1790 . There was a majority for the pro-administration party in both chambers .

Significant events

• April 1, 1789: The House of Representatives achieves a quorum for the first time and elects its officials.
• April 6, 1789: The Senate has a quorum for the first time and elects its officials.
• April 30, 1789: George Washington is sworn in as the first President of the United States .
• November 21, 1789: North Carolina becomes the 12th state to ratify the constitution, joining the United States.
• January 8, 1790: President Washington gives the first State of the Union Address to Congress.
• March 1, 1790: The first census begins.
• April 10, 1790: Benjamin Franklin , one of the founding fathers of the United States , dies.
• May 29, 1790: Rhode Island becomes the 13th state to ratify the constitution, making it the last of the former British colonies to join the United States.
• June 20, 1790: With the compromise of 1790 , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison and Alexander Hamilton agree that the federal government will assume all war debts of the states from the American War of Independence , the largest portion of which accrued in the northern states. At the same time, the seat of the capital was to be built on the Potomac River on an area donated by the southern states of Virginia and Maryland .

Major legislation

With the re-establishment of the United States on the basis of the 1787 Constitution , the legislation of the First Congress was characterized by a multitude of fundamental determinations of the structure of the state and of substantive law.

1st session

• June 1, 1789: An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths , a law regulating the time and manner in which the oath of office is to be sworn , was the first law passed by Congress. Parts of the law are still in force today.
• July 4, 1789: The Hamilton Tariff sets an import duty of 5 to 10 percent of the value of the goods.
• July 27, 1789: The Foreign Ministry is established.
• August 7, 1789: The War Ministry is established.
• September 2, 1789: The Ministry of Finance is established.
• September 24, 1789: The Judiciary Act of 1789 establishes the constitution of the federal judiciary , including the size of the Supreme Court , structure and jurisdiction of the district and county courts, and the establishment of the offices of the United States Attorney General and federal attorneys .
• September 25, 1789: Congress passes twelve amendments to the constitution, which are submitted to the states for ratification. Ten of them make up the United States Bill of Rights .

2nd session

• March 1, 1790: Congress passes a law to conduct the first census .
• March 26, 1790: The Naturalization Act of 1790 defines how American citizenship can be obtained.
• April 10, 1790: The Patent Act of 1790 lays the foundation for United States patent law .
• May 26, 1790: An area ceded by North Carolina is organized as a federal territory as the Southwest Territory .
• May 31, 1790: With the Copyright Act of 1790 , Congress governs United States copyright law .
• July 6, 1790: The Residence Act establishes an area on the Potomac River to be specified by the President as the future seat of the capital of the United States. It is later referred to as the District of Columbia .
• July 22, 1790: The Indian Intercourse Act of 1790 specifies the conditions under which trade in goods and land with Native Americans may take place.

3rd session

• February 25: The First Bank of the United States is established.
• March 3, 1791: Congress passes the Whiskey Act, the first consumption tax on domestic goods. The law started the whiskey rebellion .

Parties

There were no parties in either the Senate or the House of Representatives at the time. There were, however, two groups, the Anti-Administration Party and the Pro-Administration Party . While members of the Anti-Administration Party later founded the Democratic Republican Party , the Pro-Administration Party was the forerunner of the Federalist Party .

House of Representatives

grouping		Beginning		The End
		MPs	Share of votes	MPs	Share of votes
	Pro-Administration (P)	34	57.6%	36	56.3%
	Anti-Administration (A)	25th	43.4%	28	43.8%
	Vacant	0		1
total		59		65

senate

grouping		Beginning		The End
		Senators	Share of votes	Senators	Share of votes
	Pro-Administration (P)	13	65%	18th	69%
	Anti-Administration (A)	7th	35%	8th	31%
	Vacant	2		0
total		22nd		26th

guide

• 

  Frederick Muhlenberg (P)
  Speaker of the House of Representatives
  1789–1791 and 1793–1795

• 

  John Adams (P)
  President of the Senate
  1789–1797

• 

  John Langdon (P)
  President pro tempore of the Senate
  1789 and 1792–1793

Members

House of Representatives

In the states of Connecticut, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and North Carolina, electoral districts were elected separately, and in the remaining areas nationwide.

Connecticut 1. Benjamin Huntington (P) 2. Roger Sherman (P) 3. Jonathan Sturges (P) 4. Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (P) 5. Jeremiah Wadsworth (P) Delaware John M. Vining (P) Georgia 1. Abraham Baldwin (A) 2. James Jackson (A) 3. George Mathews (A) Maryland 1. Michael J. Stone (P) 2. Joshua Seney (A) 3. Benjamin Contee (A) 4. William Smith (P) 5. George Gale (P) 6. Daniel Carroll (P) Massachusetts 1. Fisher Ames (P) 2. Benjamin Goodhue (P) 3. Elbridge Gerry (P) 4. Theodore Sedgwick (P) 5. George Partridge (P), until August 14, 1790 6. George Thatcher (P) 7. George Leonard (P) 8. Jonathan Grout (A) New Hampshire 1. Abiel Foster (P) 2. Nicholas Gilman (A) 3. Samuel Livermore (A) New Jersey Elias Boudinot (P) Lambert Cadwalader (P) James Schureman (P) Thomas Sinnickson (P)

new York 1. William Floyd (A) 2. John Laurance (P) 3. Egbert Benson (P) 4. John Hathorn (A), from April 23, 1789 5. Peter Silvester (P), from April 22, 1789 6. Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (A), from May 9, 1789 North Carolina 1. John Baptista Ashe (A), from March 24, 1790 2. John Steele (P), from April 19, 1790 3. Hugh Williamson (P), from March 19, 1790 4. Timothy Bloodworth (A), from April 6, 1790 5. John Sevier (A), from June 16, 1790 Pennsylvania George Clymer (P) Thomas Fitzsimons (P) Thomas Hartley (P) Daniel Hiester (A) Frederick Muhlenberg (P) Peter Muhlenberg (A) Thomas Scott (P) Henry Wynkoop (P) Rhode Island Benjamin Bourne (P), from December 17, 1790 South carolina Aedanus Burke (A) Daniel Huger (P) William L. Smith (P) Thomas Sumter (A) Thomas Tudor Tucker (A) Virginia Theodorick Bland (A), until June 1, 1790 William Branch Giles (A), from December 7, 1790 John Brown (A) Isaac Coles (A) Samuel Griffin (P) Richard Bland Lee (P) James Madison (A) Andrew Moore (A) John Page (A) Josiah Parker (P) Alexander White (P)

senate

→ Main article : List of Senate members in the 1st United States Congress

Connecticut Oliver Ellsworth (P) William Samuel Johnson (P) Delaware George Read (P) Richard Bassett (P) Georgia William Few (A) James Gunn (A) Maryland Charles Carroll (P) John Henry (P) Massachusetts Tristram Dalton (P) Caleb Strong (P) New Hampshire Paine Wingate (A) John Langdon (P) New Jersey Jonathan Elmer (P) William Paterson (P), until November 13, 1790 Philemon Dickinson (P), from November 13, 1790

new York Philip Schuyler (P), from July 16, 1789 Rufus King (P), from July 15, 1789 North Carolina Samuel Johnston (P), from November 27, 1789 Benjamin Hawkins (P), from November 27, 1789 Pennsylvania William Maclay (A) Robert Morris (P) Rhode Island Theodore Foster (P), from June 7, 1790 Joseph Stanton (P), from June 7, 1790 South carolina Pierce Butler (P) Ralph Izard (P) Virginia William Grayson (A), until March 12, 1790 John Walker (P), from March 31, 1790 to November 9, 1790 James Monroe (A), from November 9, 1790 Richard Henry Lee (A)

Personnel changes

Five senators and nine congressmen were added during the first legislative term, one senator and one congressman each died. Another senator and one congressman each resigned from their office.

Employees

House of Representatives

• Clerk : John James Beckley
• Sergeant at Arms : Joseph Wheaton
• Doorman : Gifford Dalley
• Clergyman :
  • William Linn - from May 1, 1789
  • Samuel Blair - from January 4, 1790

senate

• Secretary : Samuel Allyne Otis
• Sergeant at Arms : James Mathers
• Clergyman :
  • Samuel Provoost - from April 25, 1789
  • William White - from December 9, 1790

Web links

Commons : 1st United States Congress  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

• 1st Federal Congress Project
• Statutes at Large, 1789–1875
• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress 1774 – Present
• US House of Representatives: Congressional History
• US Senate: Statistics and Lists