4th United States Congress

Congress Hall , meeting place from the 1st to the 6th 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
  1795–1799

• 

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

• 

  Henry Tazewell (F)
  President pro tempore of the Senate
  1795

• 

  Samuel Livermore (F)
  President pro tempore of the Senate
  1796 and 1799

• 

  William Bingham (F)
  President pro tempore of the Senate
  1797

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.

Connecticut Joshua Coit (F) Chauncey Goodrich (F) Roger Griswold (F) James Hillhouse (F), until July 1, 1796 James Davenport (F), from December 5, 1796 Nathaniel Smith (F) Zephaniah Swift (F) Uriah Tracy (F), until October 13, 1796 Samuel W. Dana (F), from January 3, 1797 Delaware John Patten (DR) Georgia Abraham Baldwin (DR) John Milledge (DR) Kentucky 1. Christopher Greenup (DR) 2. Alexander D. Orr (DR) Maryland 1. George Dent (F) 2. Gabriel Duvall (DR), until March 28, 1796 2. Richard Sprigg (DR), from May 5, 1796 3. Jeremiah Crabb (F), until 1796 3. William Craik (F), from December 5, 1796 4. Thomas Sprigg (DR) 5. Samuel Smith (DR) 6. Gabriel Christie (DR) 7. William Hindman (F) 8. William Vans Murray (F) Massachusetts 1. Theodore Sedgwick (F), until 1796 1. Thomson J. Skinner (DR), from January 27, 1797 2. William Lyman (DR) 3. Samuel Lyman (F) 4. Dwight Foster (F) 5. Nathaniel Freeman, Jr. (F) 6. John Reed, Sr. (F) 7. George Leonard (F) 8. Fisher Ames (F) 9. Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR) 10. Benjamin Goodhue (F), to June 1796 10. Samuel Sewall (F), from December 7, 1796 11. Theophilus Bradbury (F) 12. Henry Dearborn (DR) 13. Peleg Wadsworth (F) 14. George Thatcher (F) New Hampshire Abiel Foster (F) Nicholas Gilman (F) John Sherburne (DR) Jeremiah Smith (F) New Jersey Jonathan Dayton (F) Thomas Henderson (F) Aaron Kitchell (F) Isaac Smith (F) Mark Thomson (F) new York 1. Jonathan Havens (DR) 2. Edward Livingston (DR) 3. Philip Van Cortlandt (DR) 4. John Hathorn (DR) 5. Theodorus Bailey (DR) 6. Ezekiel Gilbert (F) 7. John Evert Van Alen (F) 8. Henry Glen (F) 9. John Williams (DR) 10. William Cooper (F)

North Carolina 1. James Holland (DR) 2. Matthew Locke (DR) 3. Jesse Franklin (DR) 4. Absalom Tatom (DR), until June 1, 1796 4. William Strudwick (F), from December 13, 1796 5. Nathaniel Macon (DR) 6. James Gillespie (DR) 7. William Barry Grove (F) 8. Dempsey Burges (DR) 9. Thomas Blount (DR) 10. Nathan Bryan (DR) Pennsylvania 1. John Swanwick (DR) 2. Frederick Muhlenberg (DR) 3. Richard Thomas (F) 4. Vacant until January 18, 1796 4. John Richards (DR), from January 18, 1796 4. Samuel Sitgreaves (F) 5. Daniel Hiester (DR), until July 1, 1796 5. George Ege (F), from December 8, 1796 6. Samuel Maclay (DR) 7. John Kittera (F) 8. Thomas Hartley (F) 9. Andrew Gregg (DR) 10. David Bard (DR) 11. William Findley (DR) 12. Albert Gallatin (DR) Rhode Island Benjamin Bourne (F), until 1796 Elisha Potter (F), from December 19, 1796 Francis Malbone (F) South carolina 1. William L. Smith (F) 2. Wade Hampton (DR) 3. Lemuel Benton (DR) 4. Richard Winn (DR) 5. Robert Goodloe Harper (F) 6. Samuel Earle (DR) Tennessee Andrew Jackson (DR), from December 5, 1796 Vermont 1. Israel Smith (DR) 2. Daniel Buck (F) Virginia 1. Robert Rutherford (DR) 2. Andrew Moore (DR) 3. George Jackson (DR) 4. Francis Preston (DR) 5. George Hancock (F) 6. Isaac Coles (DR) 7. Abraham B. Venable (DR) 8. Thomas Claiborne (DR) 9. William Giles (DR) 10. Carter Harrison (DR) 11. Josiah Parker (F) 12. John Page (DR) 13. John Clopton (DR) 14. Samuel Cabell (DR) 15. James Madison (DR) 16. Anthony New (DR) 17. Richard Brent (DR) 18. John Nicholas (DR) 19. John Heath (DR) Without voting rights Southwest Territory , later Tennessee James White , from June 1, 1796

senate

→ Main article : List of Senate members in the 4th United States Congress

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.

Connecticut 1. Oliver Ellsworth (F), until March 8, 1796 1. James Hillhouse (F), from March 12, 1796 3. Jonathan Trumbull junior (F), until June 10, 1796 3. Uriah Tracy (F), from October 13, 1796 Delaware 2. John Vining (F) 1. Henry Latimer (F) Georgia 3. James Gunn (F) 2. James Jackson (DR), until 1795 2. George Walton (F), November 16, 1795 - February 20, 1796 2. Josiah Tattnall (DR), from February 20, 1796 Kentucky 2. John Brown (DR) 3. Humphrey Marshall (F) Maryland 3. John Henry (F) 1. Richard Potts (F), until October 24, 1796 1. John Eager Howard (F), from November 30, 1796 Massachusetts 2. Caleb Strong (F), until June 1, 1796 2. Theodore Sedgwick (F), from June 11, 1796 1. George Cabot (F), until June 9, 1796 1. Benjamin Goodhue (F), from June 11, 1796 New Hampshire 3. John Langdon (DR) 2. Samuel Livermore (F)

New Jersey 1. John Rutherfurd (F) 2. Frederick Frelinghuysen (F), until November 12, 1796 2. Richard Stockton (F), from November 12, 1796 new York 3. Rufus King (F), until May 23, 1796 3. John Laurance (F), from November 9, 1796 1. Aaron Burr (DR) North Carolina 2. Alexander Martin (DR) 3. Timothy Bloodworth (DR) Pennsylvania 1. James Ross (F) 3. William Bingham (F) Rhode Island 1. Theodore Foster (F) 2. William Bradford (F) South carolina 2. Pierce Butler (DR), until October 25, 1796 2. John Hunter (DR), from December 8, 1796 3. Jacob Read (F) Tennessee 2. William Blount (DR), from August 2, 1796 1. William Cocke (DR), from August 2, 1796 Vermont 1. Moses Robinson (DR), from October 15, 1796 1. Isaac Tichenor (F), from October 18, 1796 3. Elijah Paine (F) Virginia 2. Henry Tazewell (DR) 1. Stevens Mason (DR)

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

• Architect : William Thornton

House of Representatives

• Clerk : John Beckley
• Sergeant at Arms : Joseph Wheaton
• Doorman : Thomas Claxton
• Clergyman : Ashbel Green

senate

• Secretary : Samuel A. Otis
• Sergeant at Arms : James Mathers
• Clergyman : William White

Web links

Commons : 4th United States Congress  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• 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