4th United States Congress
The 4th United States Congress met between March 4, 1795 and March 3, 1797, the last two years in office of President George Washington . It met in the Congress Hall in Philadelphia . There was a majority in the House of Representatives for the Democratic Republican Party , which is critical of the government, and a majority in the Senate for the Federalist Party, which supports Washington .
Major legislation
- March 7, 1796: The Pinckney Treaty came into effect when it was ratified by the Senate. This strengthened the efforts of the United States and Spain to establish friendly relations and established the borders with the Spanish colonies in North America.
- June 1, 1796: Congress approved the conversion of the federally owned Southwest Territory into the 16th state of Tennessee .
Parties
The 4th Congress was the first in the United States in which political parties were organized.
House of Representatives
Political party | Beginning | The End | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MPs | Share of votes | MPs | Share of votes | ||
Federalists (F) | 46 | 43.8% | 46 | 43.4% | |
Democratic Republican (DR) | 59 | 56.2% | 60 | 56.6% | |
Vacant | 1 | 0 | |||
total | 105 | 106 |
senate
Political party | Beginning | The End | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Senators | Share of votes | Senators | Share of votes | ||
Federalists (F) | 20th | 66.7% | 21st | 65.6% | |
Democratic Republican (DR) | 10 | 33.3% | 11 | 34.4% | |
Vacant | 0 | 0 | |||
total | 30th | 32 |
guide
Jonathan Dayton (F)
Speaker of the House of Representatives
1795–1799John Adams (F)
President of the Senate
1789–1797Samuel Livermore (F)
President pro tempore of the Senate
1796 and 1799
Members
House of Representatives
The seats in the House of Representatives were distributed among the states and elected there every two years by the electorate. Each state decided for itself whether the seats were to be distributed over several constituencies or occupied jointly.
senate
Senators were elected by the state legislatures for six-year terms. The Senate seats were divided into three almost equally large classes , one of which was up for election every two years.
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Personnel changes
The House of Representatives saw nine resignations, one death and one new seat for the new state of Tennessee. There were ten resignations in the Senate, two new seats, also for Tennessee, and a mid-term election to replace a provisionally appointed senator.
Employees
House of Representatives
- Clerk : John Beckley
- Sergeant at Arms : Joseph Wheaton
- Doorman : Thomas Claxton
- Clergyman : Ashbel Green