17th United States Congress

Major events

Main article: 1821 in the United States, 1822 in the United States, 1823 in the United States

• March 5, 1821: Second inauguration of James Monroe as President of the United States.
• July 10, 1821: In accordance with the terms of the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty, sovereignty over Spanish Florida is officially transferred to the United States from Spain.
• December 3–4, 1821: The election for the House speakership takes 12 ballots.

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#17th United States Congress

States admitted and territories organized

• August 10, 1821: Missouri was admitted as the 24th U.S. state
• March 30, 1822: Florida Territory was formed from the lands ceded by Spain known by the name East and West Florida

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 the new state of Missouri.

House of Representatives

For the beginning of this congress, six seats from Massachusetts were reapportioned to the new state of Maine (one seat had already moved during the previous congress), . During this congress, one House seat was added for the new state of Missouri, .

Leadership

Senate

• President: Daniel D. Tompkins (DR)
• President pro tempore: John Gaillard (DR), elected December 3, 1821

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Philip P. Barbour (DR), elected December 4, 1821, on the 12th 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 17th 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 began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1826; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1822; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1824.

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

: 2. William R. King (DR) : 3. John W. Walker (DR), until December 12, 1822 :: William Kelly (DR), from December 12, 1822

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

: 1. Elijah Boardman (DR) : 3. James Lanman (DR)

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

: 1. Caesar A. Rodney (DR), January 24, 1822 – January 29, 1823, vacant for remainder of term : 2. Nicholas Van Dyke (F)

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

: 2. Freeman Walker (DR), until August 6, 1821 :: Nicholas Ware (DR), from November 10, 1821 : 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) : 3. Isham Talbot (DR)

[[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) : 2. John Chandler (DR)

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

: 1. William Pinkney (DR), until February 25, 1822 :: Samuel Smith (DR), from December 17, 1822 : 3. Edward Lloyd (DR)

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

: 1. Elijah H. Mills (F) : 2. Harrison Gray Otis (F), until May 30, 1822 :: James Lloyd (F), from June 5, 1822

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

: 1. David Holmes (DR) : 2. Thomas H. Williams (DR)

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

: 1. Thomas H. Benton (DR), from August 10, 1821 (newly admitted state) : 3. David Barton (DR), from August 10, 1821 (newly admitted state)

[[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. Samuel L. Southard (DR) : 2. Mahlon Dickerson (DR)

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

: 1. Martin Van Buren (DR) : 3. Rufus King (F)

[[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), until December 13, 1821 :: Ethan Allen Brown (DR), from January 3, 1822

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

: 1. William Findlay (DR), from December 10, 1821 : 3. Walter Lowrie (DR)

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

: 1. James DeWolf (DR) : 2. Nehemiah R. Knight (DR)

[[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), from September 27, 1821 : 2. John Williams (DR)

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

: 1. Horatio Seymour (DR) : 3. William A. Palmer (DR)

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

: 1. James Barbour (DR) : 2. James Pleasants (DR), until December 15, 1822 :: John Taylor of Caroline (DR), from December 18, 1822

]]

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 17th Congress

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

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

: . Gabriel Moore (DR)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Noyes Barber (DR) : . Daniel Burrows (DR) : . Henry W. Edwards (DR) : . John Russ (DR) : . Ansel Sterling (DR) : . Ebenezer Stoddard (DR) : . Gideon Tomlinson (DR)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Louis McLane (F) : . Caesar A. Rodney (DR), until January 24, 1822 :: Daniel Rodney (F), from October 1, 1822

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Joel Abbot (DR) : . Alfred Cuthbert (DR) : . George R. Gilmer (DR) : . Robert R. Reid (DR) : . Edward F. Tattnall (DR) : . Wiley Thompson (DR)

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

: . Daniel P. Cook (DR)

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

: . William Hendricks (DR), until July 25, 1822 :: Jonathan Jennings (DR), from December 2, 1822

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

: . David Trimble (DR) : . Samuel H. Woodson (DR) : . John T. Johnson (DR) : . Thomas Metcalfe (DR) : . Anthony New (DR) : . Francis Johnson (DR) : . George Robertson (DR), until sometime in 1821 before the convening of Congress :: John S. Smith (DR), from August 6, 1821 : . Wingfield Bullock (DR), until October 13, 1821 :: James D. Breckinridge (DR), from November 21, 1821 : . Thomas Montgomery (DR) : . Benjamin Hardin (DR)

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

: . Josiah S. Johnston (DR)

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

: . Joseph Dane (F) : . Ezekiel Whitman (F), until June 1, 1822 :: Mark Harris (DR), from December 2, 1822 : . Mark L. Hill (DR) : . William D. Williamson (DR) : . Ebenezer Herrick (DR) : . Joshua Cushman (DR) : . Enoch Lincoln (DR)

[[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) : . John Nelson (DR) : . Peter Little (DR) : . Samuel Smith (DR), until December 17, 1822 :: Isaac McKim (DR), from January 4, 1823 : . Jeremiah Cosden (DR), until March 19, 1822 :: Philip Reed (DR), from March 19, 1822 : . Robert Wright (DR) : . Thomas Bayly (F)

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

: . Benjamin Gorham (DR) : . Gideon Barstow (DR) : . Jeremiah Nelson (F) : . Timothy Fuller (DR) : . Samuel Lathrop (F) : . Samuel C. Allen (F) : . Henry W. Dwight (F) : . Aaron Hobart (DR) : . John Reed Jr. (F) : . Francis Baylies (F) : . Jonathan Russell (DR) : . Lewis Bigelow (F) : . William Eustis (DR)

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

: . Christopher Rankin (DR)

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

: . John Scott (DR), from August 10, 1821 (newly admitted state)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Josiah Butler (DR) : . Matthew Harvey (DR) : . Aaron Matson (DR) : . William Plumer Jr. (DR) : . Nathaniel Upham (DR) : . Thomas Whipple Jr. (DR)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Ephraim Bateman (DR) : . George Cassedy (DR) : . Lewis Condict (DR) : . George Holcombe (DR) : . James Matlack (DR) : . Samuel Swan (DR)

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

There were five plural districts: the 1st, 2nd, 12th, 15th & 20th each had two representatives. : . Cadwallader D. Colden (F), from December 12, 1821 : . Silas Wood (F) : . Churchill C. Cambreleng (DR) : . John J. Morgan (DR) : . Jeremiah H. Pierson (DR) : . William W. Van Wyck (DR) : . Walter Patterson (F) : . Selah Tuthill (DR), until September 7, 1821 :: Charles Borland Jr. (DR), from December 3, 1821 : . Charles H. Ruggles (F) : . Richard McCarty (DR) : . Solomon Van Rensselaer (F), until January 14, 1822 :: Stephen Van Rensselaer (F), from March 12, 1822 : . John D. Dickinson (F) : . John W. Taylor (DR) : . Nathaniel Pitcher (DR) : . Reuben H. Walworth (DR) : . John Gebhard (DR) : . Alfred Conkling (DR) : . Samuel Campbell (DR) : . James Hawkes (DR) : . Joseph Kirkland (F) : . Thomas H. Hubbard (DR) : . Micah Sterling (F) : . Elisha Litchfield (DR) : . William B. Rochester (DR) : . David Woodcock (DR) : . Elijah Spencer (DR) : . Albert H. Tracy (DR)

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

: . Lemuel Sawyer (DR) : . Hutchins G. Burton (DR) : . Thomas H. Hall (DR) : . William S. Blackledge (DR) : . Charles Hooks (DR) : . Weldon N. Edwards (DR) : . Archibald McNeill (F) : . Josiah Crudup (DR) : . Romulus M. Saunders (DR) : . John Long (DR) : . Henry W. Connor (DR) : . Felix Walker (DR) : . Lewis Williams (DR)

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

: . Thomas R. Ross (DR) : . John W. Campbell (DR) : . Levi Barber (DR) : . David Chambers (DR), from October 9, 1821 : . Joseph Vance (DR) : . 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, and the 1st had four representatives. : . Samuel Edwards (F) : . Joseph Hemphill (F) : . William Milnor (F), until May 8, 1822 :: Thomas Forrest (F), from October 8, 1822 : . John Sergeant (F) : . William Darlington (DR) : . Samuel Gross (DR) : . James Buchanan (F) : . John Phillips (F) : . James S. Mitchell (DR) : . John Findlay (DR), from October 9, 1821 : . James McSherry (F) : . Samuel Moore (DR), until May 20, 1822 :: Samuel D. Ingham (DR), from October 8, 1822 : . Thomas J. Rogers (DR) : . Ludwig Worman (F), until October 17, 1822 :: Daniel Udree (DR), from October 17, 1822 : . John Tod (DR) : . John Brown (DR) : . George Denison (DR) : . Thomas Murray Jr. (DR), from October 9, 1821 : . George Plumer (DR) : . Thomas Patterson (DR) : . Andrew Stewart (DR) : . Henry Baldwin (DR), until May 8, 1822 :: Walter Forward (DR), from October 8, 1822 : . Patrick Farrelly (DR)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Job Durfee (DR) : . Samuel Eddy (DR)

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

: . Joel R. Poinsett (DR) : . William Lowndes (DR), until May 8, 1822 :: James Hamilton Jr. (DR), from December 13, 1822 : . Thomas R. Mitchell (DR) : . James Overstreet (DR), until May 24, 1822 :: Andrew R. Govan (DR), from December 4, 1822 : . Starling Tucker (DR) : . George McDuffie (DR) : . John Wilson (DR) : . Joseph Gist (DR) : . James Blair (DR), until May 8, 1822 :: John Carter (DR), from December 11, 1822

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

: . John Rhea (DR) : . John Cocke (DR) : . Francis Jones (DR) : . Robert Allen (DR) : . Newton Cannon (DR) : . Vacant

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

: . Rollin C. Mallary (DR) : . Phineas White (DR) : . Charles Rich (DR) : . Elias Keyes (DR) : . Samuel C. Crafts (DR) : . John Mattocks (DR)

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

: . Edward B. Jackson (DR) : . Thomas Van Swearingen (F), until August 19, 1822 :: James Stephenson (F), from October 28, 1822 : . Jared Williams (DR) : . William McCoy (DR) : . John Floyd (DR) : . Alexander Smyth (DR) : . William Smith (DR) : . Charles F. Mercer (F) : . William Lee Ball (DR) : . Thomas L. Moore (DR) : . Philip P. Barbour (DR) : . Robert S. Garnett (DR) : . Burwell Bassett (DR) : . Jabez Leftwich (DR) : . George Tucker (DR) : . John Randolph (DR) : . William S. Archer (DR) : . Mark Alexander (DR) : . James Jones (DR) : . Arthur Smith (DR) : . Thomas Newton Jr. (DR) : . Hugh Nelson (DR), until January 14, 1823, vacant thereafter : . Andrew Stevenson (DR)

Non-voting members

: . James W. Bates : . Joseph M. Hernández, from September 30, 1822 : . Solomon Sibley : . Vacant until statehood

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 5
  • Democratic-Republicans: no net change
  • Federalists: no net change
• Deaths: 2
• Resignations: 6
• Seats of newly admitted states: 2
• Vacancies: 3
• Total seats with changes: 12 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy --

|- | Tennessee (1) | Vacant | | John Eaton (DR) | Elected September 27, 1821

|- | Pennsylvania (1) | Vacant | | William Findlay (DR) | Elected December 10, 1821

|- | Delaware (1) | Vacant | | Caesar A. Rodney (DR) | Elected January 24, 1822

|- | Georgia (2) | | Freeman Walker (DR) | | Nicholas Ware (DR) | Elected November 10, 1821

|- | Missouri (1) | | Thomas Hart Benton (DR) | Elected August 10, 1821

|- | Missouri (3) | | David Barton (DR) | Elected August 10, 1821

|- | Ohio (3) | | William A. Trimble (DR) | | Ethan Allen Brown (DR) | Elected January 3, 1822

|- | Maryland (1) | | William Pinkney (DR) | | Samuel Smith (DR) | Elected December 17, 1822

|- | Massachusetts (2) | | Harrison Gray Otis (F) | | James Lloyd (F) | Elected June 5, 1822

|- | Alabama (3) | | John W. Walker (DR) | | William Kelly (DR) | Elected December 12, 1822

|- | Virginia (2) | | James Pleasants (DR) | | John Taylor (DR) | Elected December 18, 1822

|- | Delaware (1) | | Caesar A. Rodney (DR) | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |}

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 13
  • Democratic-Republicans: 1 seat net gain
  • Federalists: 1 seat net loss
• Deaths: 5
• Resignations: 15
• Contested election: 2
• Seats of newly admitted states: 1
• Total seats with changes: 23

Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

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

|- | | Vacant | Vacant | |- | | Vacant | | David Chambers (DR)

| | Vacant | | John Findlay (DR)

| | Vacant | | Thomas Murray Jr. (DR)

| | Vacant | | Cadwallader D. Colden (F)

| | | George Robertson (DR) | | John S. Smith (DR)

| |- | | Vacant | | Charles Borland Jr. (DR)

| | | Wingfield Bullock (DR) | | James D. Breckinridge (DR)

| | | Solomon Van Rensselaer (F) | | Stephen Van Rensselaer (F)

| | | Caesar A. Rodney (DR) | | Daniel Rodney (F)

| | | Jeremiah Cosden (DR) | | Philip Reed (DR)

| | | William Milnor (F) | | Thomas Forrest (F)

| | | Henry Baldwin (DR) | | Walter Forward (DR)

| | | James Blair (DR) | | John Carter (DR)

| | | William Lowndes (DR) | | James Hamilton Jr. (DR)

| | | Samuel Moore (DR) | | Samuel D. Ingham (DR)

| | | James Overstreet (DR) | | Andrew R. Govan (DR)

| | | Ezekiel Whitman (F) | | Mark Harris (DR)

| | | William Hendricks (DR) | | Jonathan Jennings (DR)

| | | Thomas Van Swearingen (F) | | James Stephenson (F)

| | Vacant | Joseph M. Hernández

| | | Ludwig Worman (F) | | Daniel Udree (DR)

| | | Samuel Smith (DR) | | Isaac McKim (DR)

| | | Hugh Nelson (DR) | Vacant | |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Amendments to the Constitution (Select)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: James Lanman then Nathaniel Macon)
• Claims (Chairman: Benjamin Ruggles)
• Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Mahlon Dickerson)
• Debt Imprisonment Abolition (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: James Barbour)
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: James Lanman)
• Finance (Chairman: John Holmes then Walter Lowrie)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: Rufus King then James Barbour)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Henry Johnson)
• Judiciary (Chairman: William Smith)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: John Williams)
• Militia (Chairman: James Noble)
• National Road from Cumberland to Wheeling (Select)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: James Pleasants)
• Pensions (Chairman: James Noble)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Montfort Stokes)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Jesse B. Thomas)
• Roads and Canals (Select)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accountability of Public Moneys (Select)
• Accounts (Chairman: Samuel C. Allen)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Josiah Butler)
• Arkansas Territorial Limits (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: Lewis Williams)
• Commerce (Chairman: Thomas Newton Jr.)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Joseph Kent)
• Elections (Chairman: John Sloane)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Samuel Edwards)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: George Denison)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Silas Wood)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Albert H. Tracy)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Starling Tucker)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Hugh Nelson)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Jonathan Russell)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Metcalfe)
• Judiciary (Chairman: John Sergeant then Hugh Nelson)
• Manufactures (Chairman: John Tod)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: William Eustis)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Timothy Fuller)
• Pensions and Revolutionary War Claims (Chairman: John Rhea)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Francis Johnson)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Samuel Campbell)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: Thomas Montgomery)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Christopher Rankin)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Thomas R. Ross)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Ways and Means (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills
• The Library

Employees

[[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: William Ryland (Methodist), until December 9, 1822
  • Charles P. McIlvaine (Episcopalian), elected December 9, 1822
• Secretary: Charles Cutts
• Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: John Nicholson Campbell (Presbyterian), until December 10, 1821
  • Jared Sparks (Unitarian), elected December 10, 1821
  • John Brackenridge (Presbyterian), elected December 5, 1822
• Clerk: Thomas Dougherty (died)
  • Matthew St. Clair Clarke, elected December 3, 1822
• Doorkeeper: Benjamin Birch, elected December 4, 1821
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Thomas Dunn

Notes

References

Bibliography

References

1. Letter: Erskine College, [Due West, South Carolina], to John K. Gaillard, Double Branches, Anderson District, [South Carolina] by W. A. Thomson, 1849
2. "President James Monroe, 1821". Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies.
3. "EATON, John Henry, (1790-1856)".