List of Senate Members of the 2nd United States Congress

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The senators in the 2nd Congress of the United States were one-third in 1790 and 1791 re-elected at different times. Before the 17th Amendment was passed in 1913, the Senate was not directly elected, but the Senators were appointed by the state parliaments. Each state elects two senators who belong to different classes . The term of office is six years, every two years one of the three classes is elected for the seats. Two thirds of the Senate therefore consists of senators whose term of office is still in force.

The term of office of the 2nd Congress ran from March 4, 1791 to March 3, 1793, its first session took place from October 1, 1791 to May 8, 1792 in Philadelphia , the second period from November 5, 1792 to November 2, 1792. March 1793. Before that, a special meeting took place on March 4, 1791.

Since there were as yet no parties, the senators are divided into supporters ( Pro-Administration Party , later Federalist Party ) and opponents ( Anti-Administration Party ) of the George Washington government according to their voting behavior .

Composition and changes

At the end of his term in office, there were 18 supporters and eight opponents of the government in the 1st Congress . At the constituent session of the 2nd Congress , this majority had fallen to 17 to eight, a seat in Pennsylvania was vacant because parliament could not find a majority for a candidate. The states of Vermont and Kentucky , newly admitted to the Union in 1791 and 1792 , each elected government opponents to the Senate, so that Washington's majority fell to 17 to twelve. With the election of Albert Gallatin it fell further to 17 to 13. Since Gallatin was only elected shortly before the end of the last session, he was not sworn in until the 3rd Congress . Since he had not held American citizenship long enough to be eligible for election as a Senator, his membership was later revoked and is therefore not on the official lists.

Richard Bassett from Delaware switched from the anti-government camp to the government camp, while Pierce Butler from South Carolina took the opposite path. In Connecticut , Roger Sherman was elected to succeed the resigned William S. Johnson , who refused to take part in the move of Congress to Philadelphia . Since Sherman, like Johnson, supported the government, that didn't change the majority in the Senate.

Special functions

Under the United States Constitution , the vice president is the chairman of the Senate without being a member. In the event of a tie, his vote is decisive. During the 2nd Congress, John Adams was Vice President. Contrary to current practice, the vice president actually presided over the Senate meetings until the late 19th century. A senator was elected pro tempore president, who assumed the chairmanship in the absence of the vice-president. From April 18 to October 8, 1792 Richard Henry Lee was President pro tempore of the Senate, from November 5 to December 4, 1792 and from March 1 to the end of Congress on March 3, 1793 John Langdon , who did this stayed in the 3rd Congress until December 2, 1793.

List of Senators

Under Attitude, it is noted whether a senator is counted among the supporters or opponents of the government, under State the lists of the senators of the respective state are linked. Class I senators were elected until March 3, 1797, Class II until March 3, 1793, and Class III until March 3, 1795. The date indicates when the relevant senator was admitted to the Senate. Under Sen. is the consecutive number of the senators in chronological order; the lower this is, the greater the senator's seniority . The table can be sorted with the arrow keys.

senator attitude Country class date Sen. annotation
Oliver Ellsworth supporter Connecticut I. 0March 4, 1789 05
William Samuel Johnson supporter Connecticut III 0March 4, 1789 12 resigned March 4, 1791
Roger Sherman supporter Connecticut III June 13, 1791 34 elected to succeed Johnson
George Read supporter Delaware I. 0March 4, 1789 18th
Richard Bassett supporter Delaware II 0March 4, 1789 01 originally opponent of the government
William Few opponent Georgia II 0March 4, 1789 07th
James Gunn opponent Georgia III 0March 4, 1789 09
John Brown opponent Kentucky II June 18, 1792 36
John Edwards opponent Kentucky III June 18, 1792 37
Charles Carroll supporter Maryland I. 0March 4, 1789 03 resigned November 30, 1792
Richard Potts supporter Maryland I. January 10, 1793 39 elected to succeed Carroll
John Henry supporter Maryland III 0March 4, 1789 10
George Cabot supporter Massachusetts I. 0March 4, 1791 32
Caleb Strong supporter Massachusetts II 0March 4, 1789 20th
Paine Wingate opponent New Hampshire II 0March 4, 1789 21st
John Langdon supporter New Hampshire III 0March 4, 1789 13 President pro tempore
John Rutherfurd supporter New Jersey I. 0March 4, 1791 33
Philemon Dickinson supporter New Jersey II November 23, 1790 29
Aaron Burr opponent new York I. 0March 4, 1791 31
Rufus King supporter new York III July 16, 1789 22nd
Samuel Johnston supporter North Carolina II November 26, 1789 23
Benjamin Hawkins supporter North Carolina III 0December 8, 1789 24
Albert Gallatin opponent Pennsylvania I. 0December 3, 1793 0a)
Robert Morris supporter Pennsylvania III 0March 4, 1789 16
Theodore Foster supporter Rhode Island I. June 12, 1790 26th
Joseph Stanton opponent Rhode Island II June 12, 1790 27
Pierce Butler opponent South carolina II 0March 4, 1789 02 originally a supporter of the government
Ralph Izard supporter South carolina III 0March 4, 1789 11
Moses Robinson opponent Vermont I. October 17, 1791 35
Stephen R. Bradley opponent Vermont III October 17, 1791 30 b
James Monroe opponent Virginia I. 0November 9, 1790 28
Richard Henry Lee opponent Virginia II 0March 4, 1789 14th President pro tempore
resigned October 8, 1792
John Taylor opponent Virginia II October 18, 1792 38 elected to succeed Lee
  • a) Gallatin's election was later invalidated and is therefore missing from the official list
  • b) Beadley is included in the Senate list when he took office on March 4th, which is wrong according to all other sources

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dates of Sessions of the Congress , senate.gov, accessed July 5, 2020
  2. ^ Party Division , www.senate.gov, accessed October 8, 2019
  3. ↑ President Pro Tempore on senate.gov, accessed June 18, 2020
  4. ↑ A Chronological Listing of US Senators , US Senate, PDF (approx. 356 kB), accessed June 19, 2020