6th United States Congress

Major events

Main article: 1799 in the United States, 1800 in the United States, 1801 in the United States

• 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 !

|-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

|- | |Total: 10 (63%) | |Total: 4 (25%) |}

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation#6th United States Congress

• 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

House of Representatives

Leadership

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

Main article: List of United States senators in the 6th 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 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[[List of United States senators from Massachusetts|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

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

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

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

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

[[List of United States senators from New York|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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

]]

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 6th Congress

The names 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.

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Jonathan Brace (F), until May 1800 :: John Cotton Smith (F), from November 17, 1800 : . Samuel W. Dana (F) : . John Davenport (F) : . William Edmond (F) : . Chauncey Goodrich (F) : . Elizur Goodrich (F) : . Roger Griswold (F)

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

: . James A. Bayard (F)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . James Jones (F), until January 11, 1801, vacant thereafter : . Benjamin Taliaferro (F)

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

: . Thomas T. Davis (DR) : . John Fowler (DR)

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

: . George Dent (F) : . John C. Thomas (F) : . William Craik (F) : . George Baer Jr. (F) : . Samuel Smith (DR) : . Gabriel Christie (DR) : . Joseph H. Nicholson (DR) : . John Dennis (F)

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

: . Theodore Sedgwick (F) : . William Shepard (F) : . Samuel Lyman (F), until November 6, 1800 :: Ebenezer Mattoon (F), from February 2, 1801 : . Dwight Foster (F), until June 6, 1800 :: Levi Lincoln Sr. (DR), from December 15, 1800 : . Lemuel Williams (F) : . John Reed Sr. (F) : . Phanuel Bishop (DR) : . Harrison Gray Otis (F) : . Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR) : . Samuel Sewall (F), until January 10, 1800 :: Nathan Read (F), from November 25, 1800 : . Bailey Bartlett (F) : . Silas Lee (F) : . Peleg Wadsworth (F) : . George Thatcher (F)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Abiel Foster (F) : . Jonathan Freeman (F) : . William Gordon (F), until June 12, 1800 :: Samuel Tenney (F), from December 8, 1800 : . James Sheafe (F)

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

: . John Condit (DR) : . Aaron Kitchell (DR) : . James Linn (DR) : . James H. Imlay (F) : . Franklin Davenport (F)

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

: . Jonathan N. Havens (DR), until October 25, 1799 :: John Smith (DR), from February 27, 1800 : . Edward Livingston (DR) : . Philip Van Cortlandt (DR) : . Lucas C. Elmendorf (DR) : . Theodorus Bailey (DR) : . John Bird (F) : . John Thompson (DR) : . Henry Glen (F) : . Jonas Platt (F) : . William Cooper (F)

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

: . Joseph Dickson (F) : . Archibald Henderson (F) : . Robert Williams (DR) : . Richard Stanford (DR) : . Nathaniel Macon (DR) : . William H. Hill (F) : . William Barry Grove (F) : . David Stone (DR) : . Willis Alston (F) : . Richard Dobbs Spaight (DR)

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

The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives. : . Robert Waln (F) : . Michael Leib (DR) : . Richard Thomas (F) : . Robert Brown (DR) : . John Peter G. Muhlenberg (DR) : . Joseph Hiester (DR) : . John A. Hanna (DR) : . John Wilkes Kittera (F) : . Thomas Hartley (F), until December 21, 1800 :: John Stewart (DR), from January 15, 1801 : . Andrew Gregg (DR) : . Henry Woods (F) : . John Smilie (DR) : . Albert Gallatin (DR)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . John Brown (F) : . Christopher G. Champlin (F)

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

: . Thomas Pinckney (F) : . John Rutledge Jr. (F) : . Benjamin Huger (F) : . Thomas Sumter (DR) : . Robert Goodloe Harper (F) : . Abraham Nott (F)

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

: . William C. C. Claiborne (DR)

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

: . Matthew Lyon (DR) : . Lewis R. Morris (F)

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

: . Robert Page (F) : . David Holmes (DR) : . George Jackson (DR) : . Abram Trigg (DR) : . John J. Trigg (DR) : . Matthew Clay (DR) : . John Randolph (DR) : . Samuel Goode (DR) : . Joseph Eggleston (DR) : . Edwin Gray (DR) : . Josiah Parker (F) : . Thomas Evans (F) : . John Marshall (F), until June 7, 1800 :: Littleton W. Tazewell (DR), from November 26, 1800 : . Samuel J. Cabell (DR) : . John Dawson (DR) : . Anthony New (DR) : . Leven Powell (F) : . John Nicholas (DR) : . Henry Lee (F)

Non-voting members

: . 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. Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

House of Representatives

Main article: List of special elections to the United States 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. Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

|- | | | Jonathan Havens (DR) | Died October 25, 1799 | | John Smith (DR) | February 27, 1800

|- | | William Henry Harrison | Resigned May 14, 1800, to become Territorial Governor of Indiana | |William McMillan (F) | November 24, 1800

|- | | | Jonathan Brace (F) | Resigned sometime in 1800 | | John Cotton Smith (F) | November 17, 1800

|- | | | Samuel Sewall (F) | Resigned January 10, 1800, to become a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court | | Nathan Read (F) | November 25, 1800

|- | | | Dwight Foster (F) | Resigned June 6, 1800, having been elected U.S. Senator | | Levi Lincoln (DR) | December 15, 1800

|- | | | John Marshall (F) | Resigned June 7, 1800, to become Secretary of State | | Littleton W. Tazewell (DR) | November 26, 1800

|- | | | William Gordon (F) | Resigned June 12, 1800, to become New Hampshire Attorney General | | Samuel Tenney (F) | December 8, 1800

|- | | | Samuel Lyman (F) | Resigned November 6, 1800 | | Ebenezer Mattoon (F) | February 2, 1801

|- | | | Thomas Hartley (F) | Died December 21, 1800 | | John Stewart (DR) | February 3, 1801

|- | | | James Jones (F) | Died January 11, 1801 |}

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

References

Notes

References

1. "Annals of Congress, House of Representatives, 6th Congress, 2nd Session". A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875.