20th United States Congress

Major events

Main article: 1827 in the United States, 1828 in the United States, 1829 in the United States

• December 3, 1828: U.S. presidential election, 1828: Challenger Andrew Jackson beat incumbent John Quincy Adams and was elected President of the United States

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#20th United States Congress

• May 24, 1828: Tariff of Abominations, ch. 111,

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

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

• President: John C. Calhoun (J)
• President pro tempore: Samuel Smith (J)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Andrew Stevenson (J)

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 20th 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, facing re-election in 1832; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1828; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1830.

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

: 2. William R. King (J) : 3. John McKinley (J)

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

: 1. Samuel A. Foot (NR) : 3. Calvin Willey (NR)

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

: 1. Louis McLane (J) : 2. Henry M. Ridgely (J)

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

: 2. Thomas W. Cobb (J), until November 7, 1828 :: Oliver H. Prince (J), from November 7, 1828 : 3. John Macpherson Berrien (J)

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

: 2. Jesse B. Thomas (NR) : 3. Elias K. Kane (J)

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

: 1. James Noble (NR) : 3. William Hendricks (NR)

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

: 2. Richard M. Johnson (J) : 3. John Rowan (J)

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

: 2. Dominique J. Bouligny (NR) : 3. Josiah S. Johnston (NR)

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

: 1. Albion K. Parris (J), until August 26, 1828 :: John Holmes (NR), from January 15, 1829 : 2. John Chandler (J)

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

: 1. Samuel Smith (J) : 3. Ezekiel F. Chambers (NR)

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

: 1. Daniel Webster (NR), from June 8, 1827 : 2. Nathaniel Silsbee (NR)

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

: 1. Powhatan Ellis (J) : 2. Thomas H. Williams (J)

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

: 1. Thomas H. Benton (J) : 3. David Barton (NR)

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

: 2. Samuel Bell (NR) : 3. Levi Woodbury (J)

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

: 1. Ephraim Bateman (NR), until January 12, 1829 :: Mahlon Dickerson (J), from January 30, 1829 : 2. Mahlon Dickerson (J), until January 30, 1829, vacant thereafter

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

: 1. Martin Van Buren (J), until December 20, 1828 :: Charles E. Dudley (J), from January 15, 1829 : 3. Nathan Sanford (NR)

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

: 2. John Branch (J) : 3. Nathaniel Macon (J), until November 14, 1828 :: James Iredell Jr. (J), from December 15, 1828

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

: 1. Benjamin Ruggles (NR) : 3. William Henry Harrison (NR), until May 20, 1828 :: Jacob Burnet (NR), from December 10, 1828

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

: 1. Isaac D. Barnard (J) : 3. William Marks (NR)

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

: 1. Asher Robbins (NR) : 2. Nehemiah R. Knight (NR)

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

: 2. Robert Y. Hayne (J) : 3. William Smith (J)

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

: 1. John H. Eaton (J) : 2. Hugh Lawson White (J)

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

: 1. Horatio Seymour (NR) : 3. Dudley Chase (NR)

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

: 1. John Tyler (J) : 2. Littleton W. Tazewell (J)

]]

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 20th Congress

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

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

: . Gabriel Moore (J) : . John McKee (J) : . George W. Owen (J)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . John Baldwin (NR) : . Noyes Barber (NR) : . Ralph I. Ingersoll (NR) : . Orange Merwin (NR) : . Elisha Phelps (NR) : . David Plant (NR)

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

: . Kensey Johns Jr. (NR), from October 2, 1827

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

Two representatives replacing those who had resigned were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Edward F. Tattnall (J), until sometime in 1827 :: George R. Gilmer (J), from October 1, 1827 : . John Forsyth (J), until November 7, 1827 :: Richard Henry Wilde (J), from November 17, 1827 : . Wiley Thompson (J) : . Wilson Lumpkin (J) : . Charles E. Haynes (J) : . Tomlinson Fort (J) : . John Floyd (J)

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

: . Joseph Duncan (J)

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

: . Thomas H. Blake (NR) : . Jonathan Jennings (NR) : . Oliver H. Smith (J)

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

: . Henry Daniel (J) : . Thomas Metcalfe (NR), until June 1, 1828 :: John Chambers (NR), from December 1, 1828 : . James Clark (NR) : . Robert P. Letcher (NR) : . Robert L. McHatton (J) : . Joseph Lecompte (J) : . Thomas P. Moore (J) : . Richard A. Buckner (NR) : . Charles A. Wickliffe (J) : . Joel Yancey (J) : . William S. Young (NR), until September 20, 1827 :: John Calhoon (NR), November 5, 1827 – November 7, 1827 :: Thomas Chilton (J), from December 22, 1827 : . Chittenden Lyon (J)

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

: . Edward Livingston (J) : . Henry H. Gurley (NR) : . William L. Brent (NR)

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

: . William Burleigh (NR), until July 2, 1827 :: Rufus McIntire (J), from September 10, 1827 : . John Anderson (J) : . Joseph F. Wingate (NR) : . Peleg Sprague (NR) : . James W. Ripley (J) : . Jeremiah O'Brien (NR) : . Samuel Butman (NR)

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

The 5th district was a plural district with two representatives. : . Clement Dorsey (NR) : . John C. Weems (J) : . George C. Washington (NR) : . Michael C. Sprigg (J) : . John Barney (NR) : . Peter Little (NR) : . Levin Gale (J) : . John L. Kerr (NR) : . Ephraim K. Wilson (NR)

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

: . Daniel Webster (NR), until May 30, 1827 :: Benjamin Gorham (NR), from July 23, 1827 : . Benjamin W. Crowninshield (NR) : . John Varnum (NR) : . Edward Everett (NR) : . John Davis (NR) : . John Locke (NR) : . Samuel C. Allen (NR) : . Isaac C. Bates (NR) : . Henry W. Dwight (NR) : . John Bailey (NR) : . Joseph Richardson (NR) : . James L. Hodges (NR) : . John Reed Jr. (NR)

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

: . William Haile (J), until September 12, 1828 :: Thomas Hinds (J), from October 21, 1828

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

: . Edward Bates (NR)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . David Barker Jr. (NR) : . Ichabod Bartlett (NR) : . Titus Brown (NR) : . Jonathan Harvey (J) : . Joseph Healy (NR) : . Thomas Whipple Jr. (NR)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Lewis Condict (NR) : . George Holcombe (J), until January 14, 1828 :: James F. Randolph (NR), from December 1, 1828 : . Isaac Pierson (NR) : . Samuel Swan (NR) : . Hedge Thompson (NR), until July 23, 1828 :: Thomas Sinnickson (NR), from December 1, 1828 : . Ebenezer Tucker (NR)

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

There were three plural districts: the 20th & 26th had two representatives each, and the 3rd had three representatives. : . Silas Wood (NR) : . John J. Wood (J) : . Churchill C. Cambreleng (J) : . Jeromus Johnson (J) : . Gulian C. Verplanck (J) : . Aaron Ward (NR) : . Thomas J. Oakley (J), until May 9, 1828 :: Thomas Taber II (J), from November 5, 1828 : . John Hallock Jr. (J) : . George O. Belden (J) : . James Strong (NR) : . John D. Dickinson (NR) : . Stephen Van Rensselaer (NR) : . Selah R. Hobbie (J) : . John I. De Graff (J) : . Samuel Chase (NR) : . Henry R. Storrs (NR) : . Michael Hoffman (J) : . Henry Markell (NR) : . John W. Taylor (NR) : . Henry C. Martindale (NR) : . Richard Keese (J) : . Rudolph Bunner (J) : . Silas Wright Jr. (J), until February 16, 1829, vacant thereafter : . John C. Clark (J) : . John G. Stower (J) : . Jonas Earll Jr. (J) : . Nathaniel Garrow (J) : . David Woodcock (NR) : . Dudley Marvin (NR) : . John Maynard (NR) : . Daniel D. Barnard (NR) : . John Magee (J) : . David E. Evans (J), until May 2, 1827 :: Phineas L. Tracy (NR), from November 5, 1827 : . Daniel G. Garnsey (J)

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

: . Lemuel Sawyer (J) : . Willis Alston (J) : . Thomas H. Hall (J) : . John H. Bryan (NR) : . Gabriel Holmes (J) : . Daniel Turner (J) : . John Culpepper (NR) : . Daniel L. Barringer (J) : . Augustine H. Shepperd (J) : . John Long (NR) : . Henry W. Connor (J) : . Samuel P. Carson (J) : . Lewis Williams (NR)

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

: . James Findlay (J) : . John Woods (NR) : . William McLean (NR) : . Joseph Vance (NR) : . William Russell (J) : . William Creighton Jr. (NR), until sometime in 1828 :: Francis S. Muhlenberg (NR), from December 19, 1828 : . Samuel F. Vinton (NR) : . William Wilson (NR), until June 6, 1827 :: William Stanbery (J), from October 9, 1827 : . Philemon Beecher (NR) : . John Davenport (NR) : . John C. Wright (NR) : . John Sloane (NR) : . Elisha Whittlesey (NR) : . Mordecai Bartley (NR)

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

There were six plural districts: the 7th, 8th, 11th & 16th had two representatives each, and the 4th & 9th had three representatives each. : . Joel B. Sutherland (J) : . John Sergeant (NR) : . Daniel H. Miller (J) : . Samuel Anderson (NR) : . James Buchanan (J) : . Charles Miner (NR) : . John B. Sterigere (J) : . Innis Green (J) : . William Addams (J) : . Joseph Fry Jr. (J) : . Samuel D. Ingham (J) : . George Wolf (J) : . George Kremer (J) : . Samuel McKean (J) : . Espy Van Horne (J) : . Adam King (J) : . William Ramsey (J) : . James Wilson (NR) : . John Mitchell (J) : . Chauncey Forward (J) : . Andrew Stewart (NR) : . Joseph Lawrence (NR) : . Robert Orr Jr. (J) : . James S. Stevenson (J) : . Richard Coulter (J) : . Stephen Barlow (J)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Tristam Burges (NR) : . Dutee J. Pearce (NR)

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

: . William Drayton (J) : . James Hamilton Jr. (J) : . Thomas R. Mitchell (J) : . William D. Martin (J) : . George McDuffie (J) : . Warren R. Davis (J) : . William T. Nuckolls (J) : . John Carter (J) : . Starling Tucker (J)

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

: . John Blair (J) : . Pryor Lea (J) : . James C. Mitchell (J) : . Jacob C. Isacks (J) : . Robert Desha (J) : . James K. Polk (J) : . John Bell (J) : . John H. Marable (J) : . Davy Crockett (J)

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

: . Jonathan Hunt (NR) : . Rollin C. Mallary (NR) : . George E. Wales (NR) : . Benjamin Swift (NR) : . Daniel A. A. Buck (NR)

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

: . Thomas Newton Jr. (NR) : . James Trezvant (J) : . William S. Archer (J) : . Mark Alexander (J) : . John Randolph (J) : . Thomas Davenport (J) : . Nathaniel H. Claiborne (J) : . Burwell Bassett (J) : . Andrew Stevenson (J) : . William C. Rives (J) : . Philip P. Barbour (J) : . John Roane (J) : . John Taliaferro (NR) : . Charles F. Mercer (NR) : . John S. Barbour (J) : . William Armstrong (NR) : . Robert Allen (J) : . Isaac Leffler (NR) : . William McCoy (J) : . John Floyd (J) : . Lewis Maxwell (NR) : . Alexander Smyth (J)

Non-voting members

: . Henry W. Conway, until November 9, 1827 :: Ambrose H. Sevier, from February 13, 1828 : . Joseph M. White : . Austin E. Wing (NR)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 6
  • National Republican (NR): no net change
  • Jacksonian (J): no net change
• Deaths: 0
• Resignations: 7
• Interim appointments: 0
• Total seats with changes: 8 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy --

|- | Massachusetts (1) | Vacant Winner was elected June 8, 1827. | | Daniel Webster (NR)

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 9
  • National Republican (NR): 1-seat net loss
  • Jacksonian (J): 1-seat net gain
• Deaths: 5
• Resignations: 9
• Contested election: 1
• Total seats with changes: 15 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy -- Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

|- | | | Edward F. Tattnall (J) | Resigned some time in 1827 before the assembling of Congress | | George R. Gilmer (J) | Seated October 1, 1827

|- | | Vacant | Louis McLane (J) resigned despite winning reelection in 1826 after being elected to the US Senate. | | Kensey Johns Jr. (NR) | Seated October 2, 1827

|- | | | David E. Evans (J) | Resigned May 2, 1827 | | Phineas L. Tracy (NR) | Seated November 5, 1827

|- | | | Daniel Webster (NR) | Resigned May 30, 1827, to run for the US Senate | | Benjamin Gorham (NR) | Seated July 23, 1827

|- | | | William Wilson (NR) | Died June 6, 1827 | | William Stanbery (J) | Seated October 9, 1827

|- | | | William Burleigh (NR) | Died July 2, 1827 | | Rufus McIntire (J) | Seated September 10, 1827

|- | | | William S. Young (NR) | Died September 20, 1827 | | John Calhoon (NR) | Seated November 5, 1827

|- | | | John Calhoon (NR) | Resigned November 7, 1827, to avoid an election dispute | | Thomas Chilton (J) | Seated December 22, 1827

|- | | | John Forsyth (J) | Resigned November 7, 1827, after being elected Governor of Georgia | | Richard H. Wilde (J) | Seated November 17, 1827

|- | | Henry W. Conway | Died November 9, 1827 | Ambrose H. Sevier | Seated February 13, 1828

|- | | | George Holcombe (J) | Died January 14, 1828 | | James F. Randolph (NR) | Seated December 1, 1828

|- | | | Thomas J. Oakley (J) | Resigned May 9, 1828, after being appointed judge of the Superior Court of New York City | | Thomas Taber II (J) | Seated November 5, 1828

|- | | | Thomas Metcalfe (NR) | Resigned June 1, 1828, after being elected Governor of Kentucky | | John Chambers (NR) | Seated December 1, 1828

|- | | | Hedge Thompson (NR) | Died July 23, 1828 | | Thomas Sinnickson (NR) | Seated December 1, 1828

|- | | | William Haile (J) | Resigned September 12, 1828 | | Thomas Hinds (J) | Seated October 21, 1828

|- | | | William Creighton Jr. (NR) | Resigned before December 19, 1828, after being nominated as a judge to district court | | Francis S. Muhlenberg (NR) | Seated December 19, 1828

|- | | | Silas Wright (J) | Resigned February 16, 1829 | Vacant | Not filled this Congress

|}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Agriculture (Chairman: John Branch)
• Alabama Land Purchase (Select)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Elias Kane)
• Claims (Chairman: Benjamin Ruggles)
• Commerce (Chairman: Levi Woodbury)
• Debt Imprisonment Abolition (Select)
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: John Eaton)
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: William Marks)
• Finance (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: Nathaniel Macon then Littleton Tazewell)
• French Spoilations (Select)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton then Hugh Lawson White)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Martin Van Buren then John M. Berrien)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: William Henry Harrison then Thomas Hart Benton)
• Militia (Chairman: John Chandler)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Robert Y. Hayne)
• Pensions (Chairman: James Noble)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Richard M. Johnson)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: William Smith)
• Public Lands (Chairman: David Barton)
• Revolutionary Officers (Select)
• Roads and Canals (Select) (Chairman: William Hendricks)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Vaccination (Select)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: Samuel C. Allen)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Stephen Van Rensselaer)
• Assault on the President's Secretary (Select)
• American Colonization Society (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: Lewis Williams)
• Commerce (Chairman: Churchill C. Cambreleng)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Mark Alexander)
• Elections (Chairman: John Sloane)
• Ethics (Chairman: N/A)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Peter Little)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Gabriel Holmes)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: John Blair)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Thomas H. Hall)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Charles Eaton Haynes)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Michael C. Sprigg)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Edward Everett)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: William McLean)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Philip P. Barbour)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Rollin C. Mallary)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: James Hamilton Jr.)
• Military Pensions (Chairman: Tristam Burges)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Michael Hoffman)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Samuel D. Ingham then Samuel McKean)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Richard Aylett Buckner)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: Jeromus Johnson)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Jacob C. Isacks)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Dutee J. Pearce)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: George Wolf)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories (Chairman: James Strong)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: George McDuffie)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills
• The Library
• To Prepare a Code of Laws for the District of Columbia

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)
• Secretary: Walter Lowrie
• Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Reuben Post (Presbyterian)
• Clerk: Matthew St. Clair Clarke
• Doorkeeper: Benjamin Birch
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: John O. Dunn

Notes

References