15th United States Congress

The 15th Congress of the United States , consisting of the House and Senate , was the legislature of the United States . Its legislative period lasted from March 4, 1817 to March 4, 1819. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class II ) were elected in the 1816 congressional elections. This resulted in a majority for the Democratic Republican Party in both chambers . The Congress met in the American capital Washington, DC Since the Capitol was not available again after the destruction during the British-American War of 1812 , the Congress held its meetings in the so-called Old Capitol Prison . The United States then consisted of 19 states. During the legislative period, Mississippi and Illinois became the 20th and 21st states. President was James Monroe . The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1810 census .

Important events

See also 1817 1818 and 1819

• March 4, 1817: Beginning of the legislative period of the 15th Congress. At the same time, James Monroe will be inducted into his new office as US President. He replaces James Madison .
• July 4, 1817: Construction work on the Erie Canal begins .
• July 12, 1817: The journalist Benjamin Russell first uses the term Era of Good Feelings , which later describes the era of American politics between 1817 and 1825.
• August 15, 1817: Creation of the Alabama Territory .
• November 20, 1817: The first wars with the native Indians begin in Florida . See also Seminole Wars .
• December 10, 1817: Mississippi becomes the 20th state in the USA.
• October 20, 1818: The London Treaty regulates some (but not all) open border issues between the US and British Canada.
• December 3, 1818: Illinois becomes the 21st US state.
• 1818: The Democratic Republican Party defends its majorities in both chambers in the congressional elections.
• February 22, 1819: With the Adams-Onís Treaty , Spain cedes Florida to the United States.

The main laws

During the session of the 15th Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

• April 4, 1818: Flag Act of 1818

Composition according to parties

senate

• Democratic Republican Party: 28
• Federalist Party : 12
• Others (0
• Vacant: 2

Total: 42 at the end of the legislative period

House of Representatives

• Democratic Republican Party: 146
• Federalist Party: 39
• Others (0
• Vacant: 0

Total: 185 at the end of the legislative period

There were also four congressional delegates who were not entitled to vote

Public officials

senate

• President of the Senate : Daniel D. Tompkins (DR)
• President pro tempore : John Gaillard (DR) until February 15, 1819, then James Barbour (DR).

House of Representatives

• House Speaker : Henry Clay (DR)

Senate members

The following senators represented their respective states in the 15th Congress:

Connecticut 1. Samuel W. Dana (F) 3. David Daggett (F) Delaware 1. Outerbridge Horsey (F) 2. Nicholas Van Dyke (F) Georgia 2. George Troup (DR) until September 23, 1818 John Forsyth (DR) from November 23, 1818 to February 17, 1819 3. Charles Tait (DR) Illinois 2. Jesse B. Thomas (DR) from December 3, 1818 3. Ninian Edwards (DR) from December 3, 1818 Indiana 1. James Noble (DR) 3. Waller Taylor (DR) Kentucky 2. John J. Crittenden (DR) 3. Isham Talbot (DR) Louisiana 3. Eligius Fromentin (DR) 2. William CC Claiborne (DR) until November 23, 1817 (death) Henry Johnson (DR) from January 12, 1818 Maryland 1. Alexander Contee Hanson (F) 3. Robert Henry Goldsborough (F) Massachusetts 1. Eli P. Ashmun (F) until May 10, 1818 Prentiss Mellen (F) from June 5, 1818 2. Harrison Otis (F) Mississippi 1. Walter Leake (DR) from December 10, 1817 2. Thomas Hill Williams (DR) from December 10, 1817 New Hampshire 2. David L. Morril (DR) 3. Jeremiah Mason (F) until June 16, 1817 Clement Storer (DR) from June 27, 1817

New Jersey 1. James J. Wilson (DR) 2. Mahlon Dickerson (DR) new York 1. Nathan Sanford (DR) 3. Rufus King (F) North Carolina 2. Montfort Stokes (DR) 3. Nathaniel Macon (DR) Ohio 1. Benjamin Ruggles (DR) 3. Jeremiah Morrow (DR) Pennsylvania 1. Jonathan Roberts (DR) 3. Abner Lacock (DR) Rhode Island 1. William Hunter (F) 2. James Burrill (F) South carolina 2. William Smith (DR) 3. John Gaillard (DR) Tennessee 1. George W. Campbell (DR) until April 20, 1818 John Henry Eaton (DR) from September 5, 1818 2. John Williams (DR) Vermont 1. Isaac Tichenor (F) 3. Dudley Chase (DR) until November 3, 1817 James Fisk (DR) November 4, 1817 to January 8, 1818 William A. Palmer (DR) from October 20, 1818 Virginia 1. James Barbour (DR) 2. John Wayles Eppes (DR)

Members of the House of Representatives

The following congressmen represented the interests of their respective states in the 15th Congress:

Connecticut All MPs were state-elected. Uriel Holmes (F) until 1818 Sylvester Gilbert (DR) from November 16, 1818 Ebenezer Huntington (F) Jonathan O. Moseley (F) Timothy Pitkin (F) Samuel B. Sherwood (F) Nathaniel Terry (F) Thomas Scott Williams (F) Delaware All MPs were elected state-wide. Louis McLane (F) Willard Hall (DR) Georgia All MPs were elected state-wide. Zadock Cook (DR) John Forsyth (DR) until November 23, 1818 Robert Raymond Reid (DR) from February 18, 1819 Joel Abbott (DR) Thomas W. Cobb (DR) Joel Crawford (DR) William Terrell (DR) Illinois John McLean (DR) from December 3, 1818, elected state-wide Indiana William Hendricks (DR) elected nationwide Kentucky Ten Constituencies 1. David Trimble (DR) 2. Henry Clay (DR) 3. Richard Mentor Johnson (DR) 4. Joseph Desha (DR) 5. Anthony New (DR) 6. David Walker (DR) 7. George Robertson (DR) 8. Richard Clough Anderson (DR) 9. Tunstall Quarles (DR) 10. Thomas Speed (DR) Louisiana Elected to the State Thomas B. Robertson (DR) until April 20, 1818 Thomas Butler (DR) from November 16, 1818 Maryland Eight constituencies. The fifth electoral district had two MPs. 1. Philip Stuart (F) 2. John Carlyle Herbert (F) 3. George Peter (F) 4. Samuel Ringgold (DR) 5A. Peter Little (DR) 5B Samuel Smith (DR) 6. Philip Reed (DR) 7. Thomas Culbreth (DR) 8. Thomas Bayly (F) Massachusetts 20 constituencies 1. Jonathan Mason (F) 2. Nathaniel Silsbee (DR) 3. Jeremiah Nelson (F) 4. Timothy Fuller (DR) 5. Elijah H. Mills (F) 6. Samuel Clesson Allen (F) 7. Henry Shaw (DR) 8. Zabdiel Sampson (DR) 9. Walter Folger (DR) 10. Marcus Morton (DR) 11. Benjamin Adams (F) 12. Solomon Strong (F) 13. Nathaniel Ruggles (F) 14. John Holmes (DR) 15. Ezekiel Whitman (F) 16. Benjamin Orr (F) 17 John Wilson (F) 18 Thomas Rice (F) 19 Joshua Gage (DR) 20. Albion K. Parris (DR) until February 3, 1818 Enoch Lincoln (DR) from November 4, 1818 Mississippi George Poindexter (DR) from December 10, 1817, elected nationwide New Hampshire All MPs were state-elected. Josiah Butler (DR) Clifton Clagett (DR) Salma Hale (DR) Arthur Livermore (DR) John Fabyan Parrott (DR) Nathaniel Upham (DR) New Jersey All MPs were elected state-wide Ephraim Bateman (DR) Benjamin Bennet (DR) Joseph Bloomfield (DR) Charles Kinsey (DR) John Linn (DR) Henry Southard (DR) New York 21 constituencies. The 1st, 2nd, 12th, 15th, 20th and 21st constituencies each had two MPs. 1A. Tredwell Scudder DR 1B. George Townsend (DR) 2A. William Irving (DR) 2 B. Peter H. Wendover (DR) 3. Caleb Tompkins (DR) 4. James Tallmadge (DR) 5. Philip J. Schuyler (F) 6. James W. Wilkin (DR) 7. Josiah Hasbrouck (DR) 8. Dorrance Kirtland (DR) 9. Rensselaer Westerlo (F) 10. John P. Cushman (F) 11. John W. Taylor (DR) 12A. John Palmer (DR) 12B. John Savage (DR) 13. Thomas Lawyer (DR) 14. John Herkimer (DR) 15A. John R. Drake (DR) 15B. Isaac Williams (DR) 16. Henry R. Storrs (F) 17. Thomas H. Hubbard (DR) 18. David A. Ogden (F) 19. James Porter (DR) 20A. Oliver C. Comstock (DR) 20B. Daniel Cruger (DR) 21A. Benjamin Ellicott (DR) 21B. John Canfield Spencer (DR)

North Carolina 13 constituencies 1. Lemuel Sawyer (DR) 2. Joseph Hunter Bryan (DR) 3. Thomas H. Hall (DR) 4. Jesse Slocumb (F) 5. James Owen (DR) 6. Weldon Nathaniel Edwards (DR) 7. James Stewart (F) from January 5, 1818 8. James Strudwick Smith (DR) 9. Thomas Settle (DR) 10. George Mumford (DR) until December 31, 1818 Charles Fisher (DR) from February 11, 1819 11. Daniel Munroe Forney (DR) until 1818 William Davidson (F) 12. Felix Walker (DR) 13. Lewis Williams (DR) Ohio 6 constituencies 1. William Henry Harrison (DR) 2. John Wilson Campbell (DR) 3. Levi Barber (DR) 4. Samuel Herrick (DR) 5. Philemon Beecher (F) 6. Peter Hitchcock (DR) Pennsylvania 15 constituencies. The first constituency had four MPs, the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th and 10th constituencies had two MPs each. The rest one each. 1A. William Anderson (DR) 1B Joseph Hopkinson (F) 1C. John Sergeant (F) 1D. Adam Seybert (DR) 2A. Isaac Darlington (F) 2 B. Levi Pawling (F) 3A. James M. Wallace (DR) 3B. John Whiteside (DR) 4. Jacob Spangler (DR) until April 20, 1818 Jacob Hostetter (DR) from November 16, 1818 5A. Andrew Boden (DR) 5B. William Maclay (DR) 6A. Samuel D. Ingham (DR) until July 6, 1818 Samuel Moore (DR) from October 13, 1818 6B. John Ross (DR) until February 24, 1818 Thomas Jones Rogers (DR) from March 3, 1818 7. Joseph Hiester (DR) 8. Alexander Ogle (DR) 9. William Plunkett Maclay (DR) 10A. John Murray (DR) from October 14, 1817 10B. William Wilson (DR) 11 David Marchand (DR) 12 Thomas Patterson (DR) 13 Christian Tarr (DR) 14 Henry Baldwin (DR) 15 Robert Moore (DR) Rhode Island All MPs were state-elected. John Linscom Boss (F) James Brown Mason (F) South Carolina 9 constituencies 1. Henry Middleton (DR) 2. William Lowndes (DR) 3. James Ervin (DR) 4. Joseph Bellinger (DR) 5. Starling Tucker (DR) 6. John C. Calhoun (DR) until November 3, 1817 Eldred Simkins (DR) from January 24, 1818 7. Elias Earle (DR) 8. Wilson Nesbitt (DR) 9. Stephen Decatur Miller (DR) Tennessee 6 constituencies 1. John Rhea (DR) 2. William Grainger Blount (DR) 3. Francis Jones (DR) 4. Samuel E. Hogg (DR) 5. Thomas Claiborne (DR) 6. George Marr (DR) Vermont All six MPs were state-elected Herman Allen (DR) until April 20, 1818, after which the seat was vacant Samuel C. Crafts (DR) William Hunter (DR) Orsamus Cook Merrill (DR) Charles Rich (DR) Mark Richards (DR) Virginia 23 constituencies 1. James Pindall (F) 2. Edward Colston (F) 3. Henry St. George Tucker (DR) 4. William McCoy (DR) 5. John Floyd (DR) 6. Alexander Smyth (DR) 7. Ballard Smith (DR) 8. Charles F. Mercer (F) 9. William Lee Ball (DR) 10. George Strother (DR) 11. Philip Pendleton Barbour (DR) 12. Robert Garnett (DR) 13. Burwell Bassett (DR) 14. William A. Burwell (DR) 15. William J. Lewis (DR) 16. Archibald Austin (DR) 17. James Pleasants (DR) 18. Thomas M. Nelson (DR) 19. Peterson Goodwyn (DR) through February 21, 1818 John Pegram (DR) from April 21, 1818 20. James Johnson (DR) 21. Thomas Newton (DR) 22. Hugh Nelson (DR) 23. John Tyler (DR)

Members of the House of Representatives who are not entitled to vote:

• Alabama Territory : John Crowell from January 29, 1818
• Illinois Territory : Nathaniel Pope until November 30, 1818, after which the seat was vacant
• Mississippi Territory : Unoccupied until the founding of Mississippi.
• Missouri Territory : John Scott

Web links

Commons : 15th United States Congress  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 15 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 15th Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)