1st United States Congress

The First United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met from March 4, 1789 to March 3, 1791, during the first two years of the first administration of U.S. President George Washington, first at Federal Hall at 26 Wall Street in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the provisions of of the United States Constitution. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority.

Dates of sessions

March 4, 1789 - March 3, 1791
*First session: March 4, 1789 - September 29, 1789 (in New York City)
*Second session: January 4, 1790 - August 12, 1790 (in New York City)
*Third session: December 6, 1790 - March 3, 1791 (in Philadelphia) — a lame duck sessionPrevious: Confederation Congress • Next: 2nd Congress

Major events

* April 1, 1789 — House of Representatives first achieved a quorum and elected its officers
* April 30, 1789 — George Washington was inaugurated at Federal Hall in New York City
* July 27, 1789 — Department of Foreign Affairs (later renamed the Department of State), was established
* August 7, 1789 — The War Department was established
* September 2, 1789 — The Treasury Department was founded
* January 8, 1790 — President Washington gave the first State of the Union Address
* March 1, 1790 — The first United States census was authorized
* April 10, 1790 — The United States patent system was established
* April 17, 1790 — Ben Franklin died
* June 20, 1790 — Compromise of 1790: Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton come to an agreement: Madison agrees to not be "strenuous" in opposition for the assumption of state debts by the federal government; Hamilton agrees to support the capital site being above the Potomac.

Major legislation

ession 1

*June 1, 1789 - An act to regulate the time and manner of administering certain oaths, ch. 1, USStat|1|23
*July 4, 1789 - Hamilton Tariff, ch. 2, USStat|1|24
*July 27, 1789 - The United States Department of State, was established, originally named the Department of Foreign Affairs.
*August 7, 1789 - The United States War Department was established.
*September 2, 1789 - The United States Department of the Treasury was established.
*September 24, 1789 - Judiciary Act of 1789, ch. 20, the Office of the U.S. Attorney General (USStat|1|73) and the U.S. Judicial System (USStat|1|73)

Session 2

*March 1, 1790 - Made provisions for the first U.S. Census
*March 26, 1790 - Naturalization Act of 1790, ch. 3, USStat|1|103
*April 10, 1790 - Patent Act, ch. 7, USStat|1|109
*May 26, 1790 - Southwest Territory was created from a portion of North Carolina: Southwest Ordinance, ch. 14, USStat|1|123.
*May 31, 1790 - Copyright Act of 1790, ch. 15, USStat|1|124
*July 6, 1790 - Residence Act, ch. 28, USStat|1|130, established Washington, D.C. as the seat of government of the United States.
*July 22, 1790 - Indian Intercourse Act of 1790, ch. 33, USStat|1|137, regulated commerce with the Indian tribes.

ession 3

*February 25, 1791 - First Bank of the United States, ch. 10, USStat|1|191
*March 3, 1791 - Whiskey Act, ch. 15, USStat|1|199, which triggered the Whiskey Rebellion

Constitutional amendments proposed

*September 25, 1789 - Twelve proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution were passed and sent to the states for ratification. USStat|1|97. Ten were ratified as "The Bill of Rights," and one was ratified two centuries later as the 27th Amendment.

tates admitted

*November 21, 1789 - North Carolina ratified the United States Constitution and became the 12th U.S. state
*May 29, 1790 - Rhode Island ratified the United States Constitution and became the 13th U.S. state

Party summary

There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record. [cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.]

Details on changes are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

enate

House of Representatives

*replacements: 1
** Anti-Administration: no net change
** Pro-Administration: no net change
*deaths: 1
*resignations: 1
*seats of newly ratifying states: 6
*Total seats with changes: 8

Officers

enate

*Secretary: Samuel A. Otis of Massachusetts, elected April 8, 1789
*Doorkeeper: James Mathers of New York, elected April 7, 1789
*Chaplain:
** Samuel Provoost, Episcopalian, elected April 25, 1789
** William White, Episcopalian, elected December 9, 1790

House of Representatives

*Clerk: John J. Beckley of Virginia
*Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton of Rhode Island
*Doorkeeper: Gifford Dalley
*Chaplain:
** William Linn, Presbyterian, elected May 1, 1789
** Samuel Blair, Presbyterian, elected January 4, 1790

Notes

References

*cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|authorlink =|coauthors =|year = 1989|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York|id =
*cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|authorlink =|coauthors =|year = 1982|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York|id =

External links

* [http://www.gwu.edu/~ffcp/ 1st Federal Congress Project]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html Statutes at Large, 1789-1875]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsjlink.html Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwhjlink.html#anchor2 House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress]
* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-222/index.html Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress]
* [http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html U.S. House of Representatives. House History]
* [http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/stats_and_lists.htm U.S. Senate. Statistics and Lists]