6th United States Congress

The 6th United States Congress was the 6th meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. It initially met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then was the first congress to meet in the new Capitol Building in Washington, D.C.. Its term was from March 4, 1799, to March 4, 1801, during the last two years of John Adams's presidency. It was the last Congress of the 18th century and the first to convene in the 19th. The apportionment of seats in House of Representatives was based on the 1790 United States census. Both chambers had a Federalist majority. This was the last Congress in which the Federalist Party controlled the presidency or either chamber of Congress.

Major events

 * December 14, 1799: Former President George Washington died
 * February 24, 1800: Library of Congress founded
 * November 17, 1800: Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C.
 * January 20, 1801: John Marshall was appointed Chief Justice of the United States
 * February 17, 1801: 1800 United States presidential election: Thomas Jefferson became the first President of the United States elected by the House of Representatives as no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes cast in the 1800 presidential election. The House was required to choose between Jefferson and Aaron Burr, with each of the 16 states having a single vote. Jefferson was elected on the 36th ballot by 10 to 4 (with 2 abstentions).
 * {| class="wikitable"

! | States for Jefferson ! | States for Burr ! States casting blank ballots


 * -style="vertical-align:top;"
 * Georgia
 * Kentucky
 * Maryland
 * New Jersey
 * New York
 * North Carolina
 * Pennsylvania
 * Tennessee
 * Vermont
 * Virginia
 * Connecticut
 * Massachusetts
 * New Hampshire
 * Rhode Island
 * Delaware
 * South Carolina
 * Delaware
 * South Carolina
 * South Carolina


 * |Total: 10 (63%)
 * |Total: 4 (25%)
 * bgcolor="#DFDFFF" | Total: 2 (12%)
 * }
 * }

Major legislation

 * April 4, 1800: Bankruptcy Act of 1800, Sess. 1, ch. 19,
 * May 7, 1800: Indiana Organic Act, Sess. 1, ch. 41, ; effective July 4, 1800
 * May 10, 1800: Slave Trade Act of 1800, Sess. 2, ch. 51,
 * February 13, 1801: Judiciary Act of 1801, Sess. 2, ch. 4,
 * February 27, 1801: District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Sess.2, ch. 15,

Party summary
The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

 * President: Thomas Jefferson (DR)
 * President pro tempore: Samuel Livermore (F), elected December 2, 1799
 * Uriah Tracy (F), elected May 14, 1800
 * John E. Howard, (F), elected November 21, 1800
 * James Hillhouse, (F), elected February 28, 1801

House of Representatives

 * Speaker: Theodore Sedgwick (F)

Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.


 * Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate
Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1802; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1804; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1800.

Connecticut

 * 1. James Hillhouse (F)
 * 3. Uriah Tracy (F)

Delaware

 * 1. Henry Latimer (F), until February 28, 1801
 * Samuel White (F), from February 28, 1801
 * 2. William H. Wells (F)

Georgia

 * 2. Abraham Baldwin (DR)
 * 3. James Gunn (F)

Kentucky

 * 2. John Brown (DR)
 * 3. Humphrey Marshall (F)

Maryland

 * 1. John Eager Howard (F)
 * 3. James Lloyd (F), until December 1, 1800
 * William Hindman (F), from December 12, 1800

Massachusetts

 * 1. Benjamin Goodhue (F), until November 8, 1800
 * Jonathan Mason (F), from November 14, 1800
 * 2. Samuel Dexter (F), until May 30, 1800
 * Dwight Foster (F), from June 6, 1800

New Hampshire

 * 2. Samuel Livermore (F)
 * 3. John Langdon (DR)

New Jersey

 * 1. James Schureman (F), until February 16, 1801
 * Aaron Ogden (F), from February 28, 1801
 * 2. Jonathan Dayton (F)

New York

 * 1. James Watson (F), until March 19, 1800
 * Gouverneur Morris (F), from April 3, 1800
 * 3. John Laurance (F), until August 1800
 * John Armstrong Jr. (DR), from November 6, 1800

North Carolina

 * 2. Jesse Franklin (DR)
 * 3. Timothy Bloodworth (DR)

Pennsylvania

 * 1. James Ross (F)
 * 3. William Bingham (F)

Rhode Island

 * 1. Theodore Foster (F)
 * 2. Ray Greene (F)

South Carolina

 * 2. Charles Pinckney (DR)
 * 3. Jacob Read (F)

Tennessee

 * 1. Joseph Anderson (DR)
 * 2. William Cocke (DR)

Vermont

 * 1. Nathaniel Chipman (F)
 * 3. Elijah Paine (F)

Virginia

 * 1. Stevens Mason (DR)
 * 2. Wilson C. Nicholas (DR), from December 5, 1799



House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide on the general ticket or otherwise at-large, are preceded by an "At-large," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.

Connecticut
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. Jonathan Brace (F), until May 1800
 * John Cotton Smith (F), from November 17, 1800
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. Samuel W. Dana (F)
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. John Davenport (F)
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. William Edmond (F)
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. Chauncey Goodrich (F)
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. Elizur Goodrich (F)
 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district. Roger Griswold (F)

Delaware

 * Delaware's at-large congressional district. James A. Bayard (F)

Georgia
Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
 * Georgia's at-large congressional district. James Jones (F), until January 11, 1801, vacant thereafter
 * Georgia's at-large congressional district. Benjamin Taliaferro (F)

Kentucky

 * Kentucky's 1st congressional district. Thomas T. Davis (DR)
 * Kentucky's 2nd congressional district. John Fowler (DR)

Maryland

 * Maryland's 1st congressional district. George Dent (F)
 * Maryland's 2nd congressional district. John C. Thomas (F)
 * Maryland's 3rd congressional district. William Craik (F)
 * Maryland's 4th congressional district. George Baer Jr. (F)
 * Maryland's 5th congressional district. Samuel Smith (DR)
 * Maryland's 6th congressional district. Gabriel Christie (DR)
 * Maryland's 7th congressional district. Joseph H. Nicholson (DR)
 * Maryland's 8th congressional district. John Dennis (F)

Massachusetts

 * Massachusetts's 1st congressional district. Theodore Sedgwick (F)
 * Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district. William Shepard (F)
 * Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district. Samuel Lyman (F), until November 6, 1800
 * Ebenezer Mattoon (F), from February 2, 1801
 * Massachusetts's 4th congressional district. Dwight Foster (F), until June 6, 1800
 * Levi Lincoln Sr. (DR), from December 15, 1800
 * Massachusetts's 5th congressional district. Lemuel Williams (F)
 * Massachusetts's 6th congressional district. John Reed Sr. (F)
 * Massachusetts's 7th congressional district. Phanuel Bishop (DR)
 * Massachusetts's 8th congressional district. Harrison Gray Otis (F)
 * Massachusetts's 9th congressional district. Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR)
 * Massachusetts's 10th congressional district. Samuel Sewall (F), until January 10, 1800
 * Nathan Read (F), from November 25, 1800
 * Massachusetts's 11th congressional district. Bailey Bartlett (F)
 * Massachusetts's 12th congressional district. Silas Lee (F)
 * Massachusetts's 13th congressional district. Peleg Wadsworth (F)
 * Massachusetts's 14th congressional district. George Thatcher (F)

New Hampshire
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
 * New Hampshire's at-large congressional district. Abiel Foster (F)
 * New Hampshire's at-large congressional district. Jonathan Freeman (F)
 * New Hampshire's at-large congressional district. William Gordon (F), until June 12, 1800
 * Samuel Tenney (F), from December 8, 1800
 * New Hampshire's at-large congressional district. James Sheafe (F)

New Jersey

 * New Jersey's 1st congressional district. John Condit (DR)
 * New Jersey's 2nd congressional district. Aaron Kitchell (DR)
 * New Jersey's 3rd congressional district. James Linn (DR)
 * New Jersey's 4th congressional district. James H. Imlay (F)
 * New Jersey's 5th congressional district. Franklin Davenport (F)

New York

 * New York's 1st congressional district. Jonathan N. Havens (DR), until October 25, 1799
 * John Smith (DR), from February 27, 1800
 * New York's 2nd congressional district. Edward Livingston (DR)
 * New York's 3rd congressional district. Philip Van Cortlandt (DR)
 * New York's 4th congressional district. Lucas C. Elmendorf (DR)
 * New York's 5th congressional district. Theodorus Bailey (DR)
 * New York's 6th congressional district. John Bird (F)
 * New York's 7th congressional district. John Thompson (DR)
 * New York's 8th congressional district. Henry Glen (F)
 * New York's 9th congressional district. Jonas Platt (F)
 * New York's 10th congressional district. William Cooper (F)

North Carolina

 * North Carolina's 1st congressional district. Joseph Dickson (F)
 * North Carolina's 2nd congressional district. Archibald Henderson (F)
 * North Carolina's 3rd congressional district. Robert Williams (DR)
 * North Carolina's 4th congressional district. Richard Stanford (DR)
 * North Carolina's 5th congressional district. Nathaniel Macon (DR)
 * North Carolina's 6th congressional district. William H. Hill (F)
 * North Carolina's 7th congressional district. William Barry Grove (F)
 * North Carolina's 8th congressional district. David Stone (DR)
 * North Carolina's 9th congressional district. Willis Alston (F)
 * North Carolina's 10th congressional district. Richard Dobbs Spaight (DR)

Pennsylvania
The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives.
 * Pennsylvania's 1st congressional district. Robert Waln (F)
 * Pennsylvania's 2nd congressional district. Michael Leib (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district. Richard Thomas (F)
 * Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. Robert Brown (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district. John Peter G. Muhlenberg (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district. Joseph Hiester (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district. John A. Hanna (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district. John Wilkes Kittera (F)
 * Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district. Thomas Hartley (F), until December 21, 1800
 * John Stewart (DR), from January 15, 1801
 * Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district. Andrew Gregg (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district. Henry Woods (F)
 * Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district. John Smilie (DR)
 * Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district. Albert Gallatin (DR)

Rhode Island
Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
 * Rhode Island's at-large congressional district. John Brown (F)
 * Rhode Island's at-large congressional district. Christopher G. Champlin (F)

South Carolina

 * South Carolina's 1st congressional district. Thomas Pinckney (F)
 * South Carolina's 2nd congressional district. John Rutledge Jr. (F)
 * South Carolina's 3rd congressional district. Benjamin Huger (F)
 * South Carolina's 4th congressional district. Thomas Sumter (DR)
 * South Carolina's 5th congressional district. Robert Goodloe Harper (F)
 * South Carolina's 6th congressional district. Abraham Nott (F)

Tennessee

 * Tennessee's at-large congressional district. William C. C. Claiborne (DR)

Vermont

 * Vermont's 1st congressional district. Matthew Lyon (DR)
 * Vermont's 2nd congressional district. Lewis R. Morris (F)

Virginia

 * Virginia's 1st congressional district. Robert Page (F)
 * Virginia's 2nd congressional district. David Holmes (DR)
 * Virginia's 3rd congressional district. George Jackson (DR)
 * Virginia's 4th congressional district. Abram Trigg (DR)
 * Virginia's 5th congressional district. John J. Trigg (DR)
 * Virginia's 6th congressional district. Matthew Clay (DR)
 * Virginia's 7th congressional district. John Randolph (DR)
 * Virginia's 8th congressional district. Samuel Goode (DR)
 * Virginia's 9th congressional district. Joseph Eggleston (DR)
 * Virginia's 10th congressional district. Edwin Gray (DR)
 * Virginia's 11th congressional district. Josiah Parker (F)
 * Virginia's 12th congressional district. Thomas Evans (F)
 * Virginia's 13th congressional district. John Marshall (F), until June 7, 1800
 * Littleton W. Tazewell (DR), from November 26, 1800
 * Virginia's 14th congressional district. Samuel J. Cabell (DR)
 * Virginia's 15th congressional district. John Dawson (DR)
 * Virginia's 16th congressional district. Anthony New (DR)
 * Virginia's 17th congressional district. Leven Powell (F)
 * Virginia's 18th congressional district. John Nicholas (DR)
 * Virginia's 19th congressional district. Henry Lee (F)

Non-voting members

 * Northwest Territory's at-large congressional district. William Henry Harrison, until May 14, 1800
 * William McMillan (F), from November 24, 1800



Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress

Senate
There were 7 resignations and 1 vacancy at the beginning of Congress. The Federalists had a 1-seat net loss and the Democratic-Republicans had a 2-seat net gain.


 * Virginia (2)
 * Vacant
 * Henry Tazewell (DR) died before the beginning of this Congress
 * | Wilson C. Nicholas (DR)
 * Elected December 5, 1799
 * Elected December 5, 1799


 * New York (1)
 * | James Watson (F)
 * Resigned March 19, 1800
 * | Gouverneur Morris (F)
 * Elected April 3, 1800
 * Elected April 3, 1800


 * Massachusetts (2)
 * | Samuel Dexter (F)
 * Resigned May 30, 1800
 * | Dwight Foster (F)
 * Elected June 6, 1800
 * Elected June 6, 1800


 * New York (3)
 * | John Laurance (F)
 * Resigned sometime in August, 1800
 * | John Armstrong (DR)
 * Elected November 6, 1800
 * Elected November 6, 1800


 * Massachusetts (1)
 * | Benjamin Goodhue (F)
 * Resigned November 8, 1800
 * | Jonathan Mason (F)
 * Elected November 14, 1800
 * Elected November 14, 1800


 * Maryland (3)
 * | James Lloyd (F)
 * Resigned December 1, 1800
 * | William Hindman (F)
 * Elected December 12, 1800
 * Elected December 12, 1800


 * New Jersey (1)
 * | James Schureman (F)
 * Resigned February 16, 1801
 * | Aaron Ogden (F)
 * Elected February 28, 1801
 * Elected February 28, 1801


 * Delaware (1)
 * | Henry Latimer (F)
 * Resigned February 28, 1801
 * | Samuel White (F)
 * Appointed February 28, 1801
 * }
 * }

House of Representatives
There were 6 resignations and 3 deaths. The Federalists had a 4-seat net loss and the Democratic-Republicans had a 3-seat net gain.


 * New York's 1st congressional district
 * | Jonathan Havens (DR)
 * Died October 25, 1799
 * | John Smith (DR)
 * February 27, 1800
 * February 27, 1800


 * Northwest Territory's at-large congressional district
 * William Henry Harrison
 * Resigned May 14, 1800, to become Territorial Governor of Indiana
 * |William McMillan (F)
 * November 24, 1800
 * November 24, 1800


 * Connecticut's at-large congressional district
 * | Jonathan Brace (F)
 * Resigned sometime in 1800
 * | John Cotton Smith (F)
 * November 17, 1800
 * November 17, 1800


 * Massachusetts's 10th congressional district
 * | Samuel Sewall (F)
 * Resigned January 10, 1800, to become a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
 * | Nathan Read (F)
 * November 25, 1800
 * November 25, 1800


 * Massachusetts's 4th congressional district
 * | Dwight Foster (F)
 * Resigned June 6, 1800, having been elected U.S. Senator
 * | Levi Lincoln (DR)
 * December 15, 1800
 * December 15, 1800


 * Virginia's 13th congressional district
 * | John Marshall (F)
 * Resigned June 7, 1800, to become Secretary of State
 * | Littleton W. Tazewell (DR)
 * November 26, 1800
 * November 26, 1800


 * New Hampshire's at-large congressional district
 * | William Gordon (F)
 * Resigned June 12, 1800, to become New Hampshire Attorney General
 * | Samuel Tenney (F)
 * December 8, 1800
 * December 8, 1800


 * Massachusetts's 3rd congressional district
 * | Samuel Lyman (F)
 * Resigned November 6, 1800
 * | Ebenezer Mattoon (F)
 * February 2, 1801
 * February 2, 1801


 * Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district
 * | Thomas Hartley (F)
 * Died December 21, 1800
 * | John Stewart (DR)
 * February 3, 1801
 * February 3, 1801


 * Georgia's at-large congressional district
 * | James Jones (F)
 * Died January 11, 1801
 * colspan=2 | Vacant until next Congress
 * }
 * }

Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

 * Whole

House of Representatives

 * Claims (Chairman: Dwight Foster then Nathaniel Macon)
 * Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
 * Elections (Chairman: Samuel W. Dana then George Dent)
 * Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Roger Griswold then Jonas Platt)
 * Rules (Select)
 * Standards of Official Conduct
 * Ways and Means (Chairman: Robert Goodloe Harper then Roger Griswold)
 * Whole

Joint committees

 * Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Dwight Foster)

Administrative officers

 * Architect of the Capitol: William Thornton

Senate

 * Chaplain: William White, Episcopalian, until November 27, 1800
 * Thomas J. Claggett, Episcopalian, elected November 27, 1800
 * Doorkeeper: James Mathers
 * Secretary: Samuel Otis

House of Representatives

 * Chaplain: Ashbel Green, Presbyterian, until November 27, 1800
 * Thomas Lyell, Methodist, elected November 27, 1800
 * Clerk: Jonathan W. Condy, resigned December 4, 1800
 * John H. Oswald, elected December 9, 1800
 * Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
 * Reading Clerks:
 * Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton