16th United States Congress

Major events

Main article: 1819 in the United States, 1820 in the United States, 1821 in the United States

• A "speech for Buncombe County, North Carolina" given by North Carolina representative Felix Walker in 1820 was credited with introducing into the language the term "bunkum".
• March 6, 1819: McCulloch v. Maryland: Supreme Court ruled that the Bank of the United States is constitutional.
• July 3, 1820: United States House of Representatives elections, 1820 began in Louisiana
• August 7, 1820: 1820 United States census conducted, eventually determining a population of 9,638,453, of which 1,538,022 were slaves.
• November 13–15, 1820: A special election for the House speakership takes 22 ballots.
• December 3, 1820: U.S. presidential election, 1820: James Monroe was re-elected, virtually unopposed.

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#16th United States Congress

• March 6, 1820: Missouri Compromise, Sess. 1, ch. 22,
• April 24, 1820: Land Act of 1820, Sess. 1, ch. 51,

Proposed but not enacted

• Tallmadge Amendment would allow Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but would also implement gradual emancipation in Missouri. The amendment passed the House of Representatives, but not the Senate. The Tallmadge Amendment led to the passage of the Missouri Compromise.

Treaties

• February 22, 1819: Adams-Onís Treaty (Transcontinental Treaty of 1819): Spain ceded Florida to the United States.

States admitted

• December 14, 1819: Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state, .
• March 15, 1820: Maine was admitted as the 23rd state. It was formerly the District of Maine, part of Massachusetts, .

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Alabama and Maine.

House of Representatives

During this congress, one House seat was added for the new state of Alabama and one seat was reapportioned from Massachusetts to the new state of Maine. For the beginning of the next congress, six more seats from Massachusetts would be reapportioned to Maine.

Leadership

Senate

• President: Daniel D. Tompkins (DR)
• President pro tempore: James Barbour, (DR), until December 26, 1819
  • John Gaillard, (DR), elected January 25, 1820

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Henry Clay (DR), resigned October 28, 1820
  • John Taylor, (DR), elected November 15, 1820, on the 22nd ballot

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

Main article: List of United States senators in the 16th Congress

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 ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1820; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1822; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1824.

[[List of United States senators from Alabama|Alabama]]

: 2. William R. King (DR), from December 14, 1819 (newly admitted state) : 3. John W. Walker (DR), from December 14, 1819 (newly admitted state)

[[List of United States senators from Connecticut|Connecticut]]

: 1. Samuel W. Dana (F) : 3. James Lanman (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Delaware|Delaware]]

: 1. Outerbridge Horsey (F) : 2. Nicholas Van Dyke (F)

[[List of United States senators from Georgia|Georgia]]

: 2. Freeman Walker (DR), from November 6, 1819 : 3. John Elliott (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Illinois|Illinois]]

: 2. Jesse B. Thomas (DR) : 3. Ninian Edwards (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Indiana|Indiana]]

: 1. James Noble (DR) : 3. Waller Taylor (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Kentucky|Kentucky]]

: 2. Richard M. Johnson (DR), from December 10, 1819 : 3. William Logan (DR), until May 28, 1820 :: Isham Talbot (DR), from October 19, 1820

[[List of United States senators from Louisiana|Louisiana]]

: 2. Henry Johnson (DR) : 3. James Brown (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Maine|Maine]]

: 1. John Holmes (DR), from June 13, 1820 (newly admitted state) : 2. John Chandler (DR), from June 14, 1820 (newly admitted state)

[[List of United States senators from Maryland|Maryland]]

: 1. Alexander C. Hanson (F), until April 23, 1819 :: William Pinkney (DR), from December 21, 1819 : 3. Edward Lloyd (DR), from December 21, 1819

[[List of United States senators from Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]

: 1. Prentiss Mellen (F), until May 15, 1820 :: Elijah H. Mills (F), from June 12, 1820 : 2. Harrison Gray Otis (F)

[[List of United States senators from Mississippi|Mississippi]]

: 1. Walter Leake (DR), until May 15, 1820 :: David Holmes (DR), from August 30, 1820 : 2. Thomas H. Williams (DR)

[[List of United States senators from New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]

: 2. David L. Morril (DR) : 3. John F. Parrott (DR)

[[List of United States senators from New Jersey|New Jersey]]

: 1. James J. Wilson (DR), until January 8, 1821 :: Samuel L. Southard (DR), from January 26, 1821 : 2. Mahlon Dickerson (DR)

[[List of United States senators from New York|New York]]

: 1. Nathan Sanford (DR) : 3. Rufus King (F), from January 25, 1820

[[List of United States senators from North Carolina|North Carolina]]

: 2. Montfort Stokes (DR) : 3. Nathaniel Macon (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Ohio|Ohio]]

: 1. Benjamin Ruggles (DR) : 3. William A. Trimble (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]

: 1. Jonathan Roberts (DR) : 3. Walter Lowrie (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]

: 1. William Hunter (F) : 2. James Burrill Jr. (F), until December 25, 1820 :: Nehemiah R. Knight (DR), from January 9, 1821

[[List of United States senators from South Carolina|South Carolina]]

: 2. William Smith (DR) : 3. John Gaillard (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Tennessee|Tennessee]]

: 1. John H. Eaton (DR) : 2. John Williams (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Vermont|Vermont]]

: 1. Isaac Tichenor (F) : 3. William A. Palmer (DR)

[[List of United States senators from Virginia|Virginia]]

: 1. James Barbour (DR) : 2. John W. Eppes (DR), until December 4, 1819 :: James Pleasants (DR), from December 10, 1819

]]

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 16th Congress

[[List of United States representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]

: . John Crowell (DR), from December 14, 1819 (newly admitted state)

[[List of United States representatives from Connecticut|Connecticut]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Henry W. Edwards (DR) : . Samuel A. Foote (DR) : . Jonathan O. Moseley (DR) : . Elisha Phelps (DR) : . John Russ (DR) : . James Stevens (DR) : . Gideon Tomlinson (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Delaware|Delaware]]

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Willard Hall (DR), until January 22, 1821, vacant thereafter : . Louis McLane (F)

[[List of United States representatives from Georgia|Georgia]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Joel Abbot (DR) : . Thomas W. Cobb (DR) : . Joel Crawford (DR) : . John A. Cuthbert (DR) : . Robert R. Reid (DR) : . William Terrell (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Illinois|Illinois]]

: . Daniel P. Cook (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Indiana|Indiana]]

: . William Hendricks (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Kentucky|Kentucky]]

: . David Trimble (DR) : . Henry Clay (DR) : . William Brown (DR) : . Thomas Metcalfe (DR) : . Alney McLean (DR) : . David Walker (DR), until March 1, 1820 :: Francis Johnson (DR), from November 13, 1820 : . George Robertson (DR) : . Richard C. Anderson Jr. (DR) : . Tunstal Quarles (DR), until June 15, 1820 :: Thomas Montgomery (DR), from November 13, 1820 : . Benjamin Hardin (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Louisiana|Louisiana]]

: . Thomas Butler (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Maine|Maine]]

: . Joseph Dane (F), seated December 11, 1820 (newly admitted state)

[[List of United States representatives from Maryland|Maryland]]

The 5th district was a plural district with two representatives. : . Raphael Neale (F) : . Joseph Kent (DR) : . Henry R. Warfield (F) : . Samuel Ringgold (DR) : . Peter Little (DR) : . Samuel Smith (DR) : . Stevenson Archer (DR) : . Thomas Culbreth (DR) : . Thomas Bayly (F)

[[List of United States representatives from Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]

: . Jonathan Mason (F), until May 15, 1820 :: Benjamin Gorham (DR), from November 27, 1820 : . Nathaniel Silsbee (DR) : . Jeremiah Nelson (F) : . Timothy Fuller (DR) : . Samuel Lathrop (F) : . Samuel C. Allen (F) : . Henry Shaw (DR) : . Zabdiel Sampson (DR), until July 26, 1820 :: Aaron Hobart (DR), from December 18, 1820 : . Walter Folger Jr. (DR) : . Marcus Morton (DR) : . Benjamin Adams (F) : . Jonas Kendall (F) : . Edward Dowse (DR), until May 26, 1820 :: William Eustis (DR), from November 13, 1820 : . John Holmes (DR), until March 15, 1820, vacant thereafter : . Ezekiel Whitman (F) : . Mark L. Hill (DR) : . Martin Kinsley (DR) : . James Parker (DR) : . Joshua Cushman (DR) : . Enoch Lincoln (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Mississippi|Mississippi]]

: . Christopher Rankin (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Joseph Buffum Jr. (DR) : . Josiah Butler (DR) : . Clifton Clagett (DR) : . Arthur Livermore (DR) : . William Plumer Jr. (DR) : . Nathaniel Upham (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from New Jersey|New Jersey]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Ephraim Bateman (DR) : . Joseph Bloomfield (DR) : . John Condit (DR), until November 4, 1819 :: Charles Kinsey (DR), from February 16, 1820 : . John Linn (DR), until January 5, 1821, vacant thereafter : . Bernard Smith (DR) : . Henry Southard (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from New York|New York]]

There were six plural districts, the 1st, 2nd, 12th, 15th, 20th & 21st, each had two representatives. : . James Guyon Jr. (DR), from January 14, 1820 : . Silas Wood (F) : . Henry Meigs (DR) : . Peter H. Wendover (DR) : . Caleb Tompkins (DR) : . Randall S. Street (F) : . James Strong (F) : . Walter Case (DR) : . Jacob H. De Witt (DR) : . Robert Clark (DR) : . Solomon Van Rensselaer (F) : . John D. Dickinson (F) : . John W. Taylor (DR) : . Ezra C. Gross (DR) : . Nathaniel Pitcher (DR) : . Harmanus Peek (DR) : . John Fay (DR) : . Joseph S. Lyman (DR) : . Robert Monell (DR) : . Henry R. Storrs (F) : . Aaron Hackley Jr. (DR) : . William D. Ford (DR) : . George Hall (DR) : . Caleb Baker (DR) : . Jonathan Richmond (DR) : . Nathaniel Allen (DR) : . Albert H. Tracy (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from North Carolina|North Carolina]]

: . Lemuel Sawyer (DR) : . Hutchins G. Burton (DR), from December 6, 1819 : . Thomas H. Hall (DR) : . Jesse Slocumb (F), until December 20, 1820 :: William S. Blackledge (DR), from February 7, 1821 : . Charles Hooks (DR) : . Weldon N. Edwards (DR) : . John Culpepper (F) : . James S. Smith (DR) : . Thomas Settle (DR) : . Charles Fisher (DR) : . William Davidson (F) : . Felix Walker (DR) : . Lewis Williams (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Ohio|Ohio]]

: . Thomas R. Ross (DR) : . John W. Campbell (DR) : . Henry Brush (DR) : . Samuel Herrick (DR) : . Philemon Beecher (F) : . John Sloane (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]

There were six plural districts, the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th & 10th had two representatives each, the 1st had four representatives. : . Samuel Edwards (F) : . Thomas Forrest (F) : . Joseph Hemphill (F) : . John Sergeant (F) : . William Darlington (DR) : . Samuel Gross (DR) : . Jacob Hibshman (DR) : . James M. Wallace (DR) : . Jacob Hostetter (DR) : . Andrew Boden (DR) : . David Fullerton (DR), until May 15, 1820 :: Thomas G. McCullough (F), from November 13, 1820 : . Samuel Moore (DR) : . Thomas J. Rogers (DR) : . Joseph Hiester (DR), until December 1820 :: Daniel Udree (DR), from January 8, 1821 : . Robert Philson (DR) : . William P. Maclay (DR) : . George Denison (DR) : . John Murray (DR) : . David Marchand (DR) : . Thomas Patterson (DR) : . Christian Tarr (DR) : . Henry Baldwin (DR) : . Robert Moore (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Samuel Eddy (DR) : . Nathaniel Hazard (DR), until December 17, 1820; vacant thereafter

[[List of United States representatives from South Carolina|South Carolina]]

: . Charles Pinckney (DR) : . William Lowndes (DR) : . James Ervin (DR) : . James Overstreet (DR) : . Starling Tucker (DR) : . Eldred Simkins (DR) : . Elias Earle (DR) : . John McCreary (DR) : . Joseph Brevard (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Tennessee|Tennessee]]

: . John Rhea (DR) : . John Cocke (DR) : . Francis Jones (DR) : . Robert Allen (DR) : . Newton Cannon (DR) : . Henry H. Bryan (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Vermont|Vermont]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Samuel C. Crafts (DR) : . Ezra Meech (DR) : . Orsamus C. Merrill (DR), until January 12, 1820 :: Rollin C. Mallary (DR), from January 13, 1820 : . Charles Rich (DR) : . Mark Richards (DR) : . William Strong (DR)

[[List of United States representatives from Virginia|Virginia]]

: . James Pindall (F), until July 26, 1820 :: Edward B. Jackson (DR), from November 13, 1820 : . Thomas Van Swearingen (F) : . Jared Williams (DR) : . William McCoy (DR) : . John Floyd (DR) : . Alexander Smyth (DR) : . Ballard Smith (DR) : . Charles F. Mercer (F) : . William Lee Ball (DR) : . George F. Strother (DR), until February 10, 1820 :: Thomas L. Moore (DR), from November 13, 1820 : . Philip P. Barbour (DR) : . Robert S. Garnett (DR) : . Severn E. Parker (DR) : . William A. Burwell (DR), until February 16, 1821, vacant for remainder of term : . George Tucker (DR) : . John Randolph (DR) : . James Pleasants (DR), until December 14, 1819 :: William S. Archer (DR), from January 18, 1820 : . Mark Alexander (DR) : . James Jones (DR) : . James Johnson (DR), until February 1, 1820 :: John C. Gray (DR), from November 13, 1820 : . Thomas Newton Jr. (DR) : . Hugh Nelson (DR) : . John Tyler (DR)

Non-voting members

: : Vacant until statehood : . James W. Bates, from December 21, 1819 : . William Woodbridge, until August 9, 1820 :: Solomon Sibley, from November 20, 1820 : . John Scott

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.

Senate

There were 5 resignations, 2 deaths, 2 vacancies before the Congress, and 4 new seats. The Democratic-Republicans had a 7-seat net gain and the Federalists had a 1-seat net loss.

Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

|- | Georgia (2) | Vacant | | Freeman Walker (DR)

House of Representatives

Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

There were 13 resignations, 5 deaths, 2 contested elections, and 2 new seats. The Democratic-Republicans had a 1-seat net gain and the Federalists had no net change.

Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

|- | | Vacant | | Hutchins G. Burton (DR)

| |- | |- | | Vacant | James W. Bates

| | Vacant | | James Guyon Jr. (DR)

| | | John Condit (DR) | | Charles Kinsey (DR)

| | | James Pleasants (DR) | | William S. Archer (DR)

| | | Orsamus C. Merrill (DR) | | Rollin C. Mallary (DR)

| | | James Johnson (DR) | | John C. Gray (DR)

| | | George F. Strother (DR) | | Thomas L. Moore (DR)

| | | David Walker (DR) | | Francis Johnson (DR)

| | | John Holmes (DR) | District moved to Maine

| | New seat | | Joseph Dane (F)

| | | Jonathan Mason (F) | | Benjamin Gorham (DR)

| | | David Fullerton (DR) | | Thomas G. McCullough (F) |- | | | Edward Dowse (DR) | | William Eustis (DR) |- | | | Tunstall Quarles (DR) | | Thomas Montgomery (DR) |- | | | James Pindall (F) | | Edward B. Jackson (DR) |- | | | Zabdiel Sampson (DR) | | Aaron Hobart (DR) | Seated December 18, 1820

|- | | William Woodbridge | Solomon Sibley

| | | Joseph Hiester (DR) | | Daniel Udree (DR)

| | | Nathaniel Hazard (DR) | Vacant

| | | Jesse Slocumb (F) | | William S. Blackledge (DR)

| | | John Linn (DR) | Vacant

| | | Willard Hall (DR) | Vacant

| | | William A. Burwell (DR) | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Amendments to the Constitution (Select)
• American Colonization Society (Select)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Jonathan Roberts)
• Claims (Chairman: Jonathan Roberts then James J. Wilson)
• Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Nathan Sanford then Mahlon Dickerson)
• Constitution of the State of Alabama (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Outerbridge Horsey)
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Prentiss Mellen)
• Finance (Chairman: Nathan Sanford)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Brown then James Barbour)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: David Holmes)
• Judiciary (Chairman: William Smith)
• Land Commissioner Reports (Select)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: John Williams)
• Militia (Chairman: James Noble)
• Missouri's Admission to the Union (Select)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: James Pleasants)
• Pensions (Chairman: Nicholas Van Dyke then James Noble)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Montfort Stokes)
• Public Buildings (Select)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Thomas Hill Williams then Jesse B. Thomas)
• Purchase of Fire Engines (Select)
• Reduction of Congressional Salaries (Select)
• Roads and Canals (Select) (Chairman: Rufus King)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: James S. Smith)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Thomas Forrest)
• Apportionment of Representatives (Select)
• Army Appropriations Inquiry (Select)
• Bank of the United States (Select)
• Brownstown Treaty (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: Lewis Williams)
• Commerce (Chairman: Thomas Newton Jr.)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Joseph Kent)
• Elections (Chairman: John W. Taylor then David Trimble)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Stevenson Archer)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Arthur Livermore)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: John Holmes)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: David Trimble)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Henry Brush)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry Meigs)
• Judiciary (Chairman: John Sergeant)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Henry Baldwin)
• Pensions and Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: John Rhea)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Arthur Livermore)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: John W. Campbell)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: Eldred Simkins)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Richard C. Anderson Jr.)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Marcus Morton)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Ways and Means (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills
• Investigate Safety of Roofs over Senate and House Wings of the Capitol
• The Library

Officers

[[List of federal agencies in the United States#United States Congress|Legislative branch agency]] directors

• Architect of the Capitol: Charles Bulfinch
• Librarian of Congress: George Watterston

Senate

• Chaplain: John Clark (Presbyterian), until December 9, 1819
  • Reuben Post (Presbyterian), elected December 9, 1819
  • William Ryland (Methodist), elected November 17, 1820
• Secretary: Charles Cutts
• Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Burgiss Allison (Baptist), until November 16, 1820
  • John N. Campbell (Presbyterian), elected November 16, 1820
• Clerk: Thomas Dougherty
• Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Thomas Dunn

Notes

References

References

1. (2000). "debunk". [[Houghton Mifflin]].
2. (November 1820). "Proceedings and Debates of the House of Representatives of the United States at the Second Session of the Sixteenth Congress Begun at the City of Washington, Monday, November 13, 1820". Annuals of Congress.
3. (November 1820). "Election of Speaker". Annuals of Congress.