Elected to the United States Senate in 1788 and 1789

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dark green: supporters, light green: opponents of the government
gray: territories

The election to the Senate of the United States in 1788 and in 1789 the first Congress of the United States took place at different times. Prior to the adoption of the 17th Amendment , the senators were not elected directly, but were appointed by the state parliaments.

Since it was the first election to the Senate, unlike later all senators were elected, not just a third of the Senate. The affiliation of the senators to the classes was determined after the election. Which of the classes should receive a term of office of two, four or six years was then determined by lot. Since North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the constitution and New York State had not yet elected its parliament, only the twenty senators from the other ten states were initially appointed. New York elected its senators in July 1789, North Carolina in November 1789, and Rhode Island in July 1790.

dark green: supporters, light green: opponents of the government
Stand by election in Rhode Island

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 . According to this division, 13 seats went to supporters of the government and 7 to their opponents. After the elections in New York and North Carolina, the majority of government supporters grew to 17 to 7, after the election in Rhode Island in 1790 the vote was 18 to 8.

Results

Elections to the 1st Congress

The Congress met for the first time on March 4, 1789 with 20 senators. The class I senators were elected until March 3, 1791, those of class II until March 3, 1793, and those of class III for a full term until March 3, 1795.

Country date class Result New senator
Connecticut October 16, 1788 Class I. Government supporters Oliver Ellsworth
Connecticut October 16, 1788 Class III Government supporters William Samuel Johnson
Delaware October 25, 1788 Class I. Government supporters George Read
Delaware October 25, 1788 Class II Opponent of the government Richard Bassett
Georgia January 17, 1789 Class II Opponent of the government William Few
Georgia January 17, 1789 Class III Opponent of the government James Gunn
Maryland December 10, 1788 Class I. Government supporters Charles Carroll
Maryland December 10, 1788 Class III Government supporters John Henry
Massachusetts November 24, 1788 Class I. Government supporters Tristram Dalton
Massachusetts November 24, 1788 Class II Government supporters Caleb Strong
New Hampshire 0January 3, 1789 Class II Opponent of the government Paine Wingate
New Hampshire November 12, 1788 Class III Government supporters John Langdon
New Jersey November 25, 1788 Class I. Government supporters Jonathan Elmer
New Jersey November 25, 1788 Class II Government supporters William Paterson
Pennsylvania September 30, 1788 Class I. Opponent of the government William Maclay
Pennsylvania September 30, 1788 Class III Government supporters Robert Morris
South carolina January 22, 1789 Class II Government supporters Pierce Butler
South carolina January 22, 1789 Class III Government supporters Ralph Izard
Virginia 0November 8, 1788 Class I. Opponent of the government William Grayson
Virginia 0November 8, 1788 Class II Opponent of the government Richard Henry Lee

Elections during the 1st Congress

The winners of these elections were accepted into the Senate after March 4, 1789, during the 1st Congress. The elections in New York took place late, North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet revised the constitution when the Congress met and therefore also voted later, Rhode Island even not until 1790. The class I senators were elected until March 3, 1791, Class II until March 3, 1793 and Class III for a full term until March 3, 1795.

Country date class Result New senator
new York July 16, 1789 Class I. Gaining government supporters Philip Schuyler
new York July 16, 1789 Class III Gaining government supporters Rufus King
North Carolina November 27, 1789 Class II Gaining government supporters Samuel Johnston
North Carolina November 27, 1789 Class III Gaining government supporters Benjamin Hawkins

Individual states

In all states, senators were elected by parliaments, as provided by the United States Constitution, prior to the passage of the 17th Amendment . The electoral process was determined by the states themselves and therefore differed from state to state. Sometimes the Senate and House of Representatives met together, sometimes a separate majority was required in both houses. Some states appointed both senators in one vote, so that each MP had two votes (but without the possibility of cumulative votes ), in some cases separate votes were held. In some cases, the sources only reveal who was elected, but not how.

Connecticut

The first Senators for Connecticut were Oliver Ellsworth and William Samuel Johnson on October 16, 1788, elected by the state's parliament. Both supported the George Washington government.

Delaware

George Read and Richard Bassett were elected as the first senators for Delaware on October 25, 1788 by the state's parliament. Read supported the government of George Washington, Bassett initially opposed the government, but later supported it. Because the first senators are usually sorted alphabetically, Basset is considered to be the senator with the highest seniority of any US senator elected.

Georgia

The first senators for Georgia were William Few and James Gunn on January 17, 1789, elected by the state's parliament. Both were opponents of the George Washington government.

Maryland

The first senators for Maryland were Charles Carroll and John Henry on December 10, 1788, elected by the state's parliament. Both supported the George Washington government.

The joint assembly of the Senate and the House of Representatives decided that one senator should represent the west and east coast of the state. Charles Carroll and Uriah Forrest were nominated for the west coast . In the first ballot, Forrest received 41 and Carroll 40 of the 83 votes, both of which missed an absolute majority. A second ballot ended 41:41, in the third ballot Carroll was just ahead with 42:39 votes. George Gale and John Henry were nominated for the east coast . Here the first ballot was even tighter, with both candidates each receiving 41 votes. Henry won the second ballot with 42 to 40 votes.

Massachusetts

In the first ballot, 201 members of the House of Representatives voted , so the absolute majority was 101 votes. Each MP could vote for two candidates, as both Senate seats were vacant. In the first ballot on November 24, 1788, Caleb Strong received 152 votes, Charles Jarvis received 79, Theodore Sedgwick 67 and John Lowell 56, the other votes were split between other candidates. Strong was subsequently confirmed by the Senate , making it the first Senator for Massachusetts .

Since none of the other candidates received the required majority, further ballots were necessary. Jarvis withdrew his candidacy after receiving the most, but not enough, votes twice. An adjournment did not find a majority, and in the seventh ballot, Tristram Dalton received 78 of just 145 votes and was thus also elected. The candidates who missed the majority included Azor Orne and Nathan Dane . Both elected senators supported the George Washington administration.

New Hampshire

On November 11, 1788, the New Hampshire House of Representatives elected John Langdon with 60 yes- to 2 no votes, which was confirmed by the Senate the following day . Langdon is considered a supporter of the Washington government. On November 12, the House of Representatives elected Nathaniel Peabody with 40 to 36 votes, but in the Senate he received only two votes and eight votes against. Josiah Bartlett was then elected by the state's Senate, which the House of Representatives confirmed with 61 votes to 16.

Bartlett did not accept the election, so the House of Representatives held another election at its next session on January 1, 1789. In this Paine Wingate was elected with 58 against 26 votes and was confirmed by the Senate on January 3rd. Wingate was known as a federalist because he had campaigned for the ratification of the constitution, but was considered an opponent of the government.

New Jersey

The Senators for New Jersey were chosen on November 25, 1788 by a joint vote of the General Assembly and the Legislative Council , which was the forerunner of the New Jersey Senate . Each MP had two votes, the absolute majority was 26. William Paterson received 45 votes, 12 in the Council and 33 in the Assembly, Jonathan Elmer received 29 (Council 7, Assembly 22), Abraham Clark 19 (Council 3, Assembly 16 ) and Elias Boudinot 7 (Council 2, Assembly 5). Paterson and Elmer were chosen. Both supported the George Washington government.

new York

Philip Schuyler and Rufus King were elected by the state's parliament as the first senators for New York on July 25 and 27, 1789 . Both supported the George Washington government.

North Carolina

Since North Carolina had not ratified the constitution until November 21, 1789, its first senators were not elected by the state's parliament until November 27, 1789. These were Samuel Johnston and Benjamin Hawkins. Both supported the George Washington administration.

Pennsylvania

The first Senators for Pennsylvania were elected on September 30, 1788, William Maclay and Robert Morris by the state parliament. Morris supported the government; Maclay was its opponent.

Rhode Island

Since Rhode Island did not ratify the constitution until May 29, 1790, it did not participate in the first congressional election. Its first senators were not appointed until 1790 .

South carolina

The first Senators for South Carolina were Pierce Butler and Ralph Izard on January 22, 1789, elected by the state's parliament. Both supported the George Washington government.

Virginia

The Senators for Virginia were elected on November 8, 1788. The 162 MPs could each vote for two candidates. However, many James Madison supporters gave their second vote to various non-nominees to ensure Madison's election. This failed, however, as Madison received only 77 votes, less than the required absolute majority of 83. William Grayson was elected with 98 votes and Richard Henry Lee with 86 votes. Both were opponents of the George Washington government.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Party Division , www.senate.gov, accessed October 8, 2019
  2. ↑ ELLSWORTH, Oliver, (1745-1807) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  3. ^ JOHNSON, William Samuel, (1727-1819) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  4. ^ READ, George, (1733-1798) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  5. ↑ BASSETT, Richard, (1745 - 1815) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  6. ↑ A chronological list of senators on senate.gov, accessed November 19, 2019
  7. ^ FEW, William, (1748-1828) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  8. ^ GUNN, James, (1753-1801) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  9. ↑ CARROLL, Charles (of Carrollton), (1737 - 1832) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  10. ^ HENRY, John, (1750-1798) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  11. ^ A New Nation Votes, Maryland 1788 Senate , January 11, 2012, accessed November 19, 2019
  12. ^ A New Nation Votes, Maryland 1788 US Senate, Ballot 2 , January 11, 2012, accessed November 19, 2019
  13. ^ A New Nation Votes, Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3 , January 11, 2012, accessed November 19, 2019
  14. ^ A New Nation Votes, Maryland 1788 Senate , January 11, 2012, accessed November 19, 2019
  15. ^ A New Nation Votes, Maryland 1788 US Senate, Ballot 2 , January 11, 2012, accessed November 19, 2019
  16. ↑ STRONG, Caleb, (1745-1819) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  17. ↑ A New Nation Votes, Massachusetts 1788 U.S. Senate , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  18. ↑ DALTON, Tristram (1738 - 1817) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  19. ^ A New Nation Votes, Massachusetts 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 7 , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  20. ↑ LANGDON, John, (1741 - 1819) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  21. ^ A New Nation Votes, New Hampshire 1788 Senate , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  22. ^ A New Nation Votes, New Hampshire 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2 , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  23. ^ New Hampshire 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3 , in A New Nation Votes , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  24. ↑ a b WINGATE, Paine (1739 - 1838) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  25. ^ New Hampshire 1788 U.S. Senate , A New Nation Votes , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  26. ↑ PATERSON, William, (1745-1806) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  27. ↑ ELMER, Jonathan, (1745-1817) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  28. ↑ New Jersey 1788 U.S. Senate , in A New Nation Votes , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019
  29. ↑ SCHUYLER, Philip John, (1733-1804) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  30. ^ KING, Rufus, (1755-1827) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  31. ↑ JOHNSTON, Samuel (1733 - 1816) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  32. ↑ HAWKINS, Benjamin, (1754 - 1816) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  33. ↑ MACLAY, William, (1737 - 1804) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  34. ↑ Morris, Robert, (1734 - 1806) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  35. ^ BUTLER, Pierce, (1744-1822) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  36. ↑ IZARD, Ralph, (about 1741 to 1804) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved 19 November 2019
  37. ↑ GRAYSON, William, (1740 - 1790) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress retrieved November 19, 2019
  38. ^ LEE, Richard Henry, (1732-1794) , Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, accessed November 19, 2019
  39. ↑ Virginia 1788 U.S. Senate , in A New Nation Votes , January 11, 2012, accessed November 20, 2019