First United States Congress

Dates of Sessions

1789-1791

• The first session of this Congress took place in New York City from March 4, 1789 to September 29, 1789.
• The second session took place in New York City from January 4, 1790 to August 12, 1790.
• The third session took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from December 6, 1790 to March 3, 1791.

Major Political Events

• Senate and House of Representatives of eleven States first convene in New York, March 4, 1789.
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Georgia
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New York
  • Pennsylvania
  • South Carolina
  • Virginia
• House first meets with quorum of members to elect first Speaker, April 1, 1789
  • Frederick Muhlenberg, first House Speaker
• Senate first meets with quorum of members to elect first President pro tempore and tally results of Presidential election
  • John Langdon, first Senate President pro Tempore
• Inauguration of George Washington, first President of the United States, April 30, 1789
• Foreign Affairs (State) Department Established, July 27, 1789
• War (Defense) Department Established, August 7, 1789
• Adopts provisions of the Northwest Ordinance under the U.S. Constitution, August 7, 1789
• Treasury Department Established, September 2, 1789
• Judiciary Act established Office of Attorney General, the composition of Supreme Court, and the entire Judiciary system, September 24, 1789
• North Carolina ratifies Constitution, November 21, 1789
• Makes provisions for the first U.S. Census, March 1, 1790
• Accepts the cession of claims on western territory (which was to become the state of Tennessee) by North Carolina on April 2, 1790
• Passes first legislation regulating Patents, April 10, 1790
• Organizes the Southwest Territory out of territory ceded by North Carolina, May 26, 1790
• Passes first copyright legislation, May 31, 1790
• Rhode Island and Providence Plantations ratifies Constitution, May 29, 1790
• Kentucky admitted to Union, February 4, 1791, effective June 1, 1792
• Vermont admitted to Union, February 18, 1791, effective March 4, 1791

Officers

Senate

• President of the Senate - John Adams
• President pro tempore - John Langdon (6 April 1789-21 April 1789, 7 August 1789-9 August 1789)
• Secretary of the Senate - Samuel Allyne Otis
• Senate Sergeant at Arms - James Mathers
• Senate Chaplain -
  1. Samuel Provoost (April 25, 1789-December 9, 1790
  2. William White (from December 9, 1790)

House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House - Frederick Muhlenberg
• Clerk of the House - John Beckley
• House Doorkeeper - Gifford Dalley
• House Sergeant at Arms - Joseph Wheaton
• Chaplain of the House - William Lynn

Members of the First United States Congress

Senate

• Richard Bassett, Anti-Federalist, DE
• Pierce Butler, Federalist, SC
• Charles Carroll of Carrollton, Federalist, MD
• Tristram Dalton, Federalist, MA
• Philemon Dickinson, Federalist, NJ
• Oliver Ellsworth, Federalist, CT
• Jonathan Elmer, Federalist, NJ
• William Few, Anti-Federalist, GA
• Theodore Foster, Federalist, RI
• William Grayson, Anti-Federalist, VA
• James Gunn, Anti-Federalist, GA
• Benjamin Hawkins, Federalist, NC
• John Henry, Federalist, MD
• Ralph Izard, Federalist, SC
• William Samuel Johnson, Federalist, CT
• Samuel Johnston, Federalist, NC
• Rufus King, Federalist, NY
• John Langdon, Federalist, NH
• Richard Henry Lee, Anti-Federalist, VA
• William Maclay, Anti-Federalist, PA
• James Monroe, Anti-Federalist, VA
• Robert Morris, Federalist, PA
• William Paterson, Federalist, NJ
• George Read, Federalist, DE
• Philip Schuyler, Federalist, NY
• Joseph Stanton, Jr., Anti-Federalist, RI
• Caleb Strong, Federalist, MA
• John Walker, Federalist, VA
• Paine Wingate, Anti-Federalist, NH

House of Representatives

• Fisher Ames, Federalist, MA
• John Baptista Ashe, -, NC
• Abraham Baldwin, -, GA
• Egbert Benson, Federalist, NY
• Theodorick Bland, -, VA
• Timothy Bloodworth, -, NC
• Elias Boudinot, -, NJ
• Benjamin Bourne, Federalist, RI
• John Brown, Anti-Federalist,VA
• Aedanus Burke, -, SC
• Lambert Cadwalader, Federalist, NJ
• Daniel Carroll, -, MD
• George Clymer, -, PA
• Isaac Coles, Anti-Federalist, VA
• Benjamin Contee, -, MD
• Thomas Fitzsimons, -, PA
• William Floyd, -, NY
• Abiel Foster, Federalist, NH
• George Gale, -, MD
• Elbridge Gerry, -, MA
• William Branch Giles, Anti-Federalist, VA
• Nicholas Gilman, Anti-Federalist, NH
• Benjamin Goodhue, Federalist, MA
• Samuel Griffin, -, VA
• Jonathan Grout, -, MA
• Thomas Hartley, Federalist, PA
• John Hathorn, Anti-Federalist, NY
• Daniel Hiester, Anti-Federalist, PA
• Daniel Huger, -, SC
• Benjamin Huntington, -, CT
• James Jackson, Anti-Federalist, GA
• John Laurance, -, NY
• Richard Bland Lee, -, VA
• George Leonard, Federalist, MA
• Samuel Livermore, Federalist, NH
• James Madison, Anti-Federalist, VA
• George Mathews, -, GA
• Andrew Moore, Anti-Federalist, VA
• Frederick Muhlenberg (Speaker of the House), Federalist, PA
• John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, -, PA
• John Page, Anti-Federalist, VA
• Josiah Parker, Federalist, VA
• George Partridge, -, MA
• James Schureman, Federalist, NJ
• Thomas Scott, -, PA
• Theodore Sedgwick, Federalist, MA
• Joshua Seney, -, MD
• John Sevier, Anti-Federalist, NC
• Roger Sherman, -, CT
• Peter Silvester), -, NY
• Thomas Sinnickson, Federalist, NJ
• William Smith, -, MD
• William Loughton Smith, Federalist, SC
• John Steele, -, NC
• Michael Jenifer Stone, -, MD
• Jonathan Sturges, -, CT
• Thomas Sumter, Anti-Federalist, SC
• George Thatcher, Federalist, MA
• Jonathan Trumbull, Jr., -, CT
• Thomas Tudor Tucker, -, SC
• Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, -, NY
• John Vining, -, DE
• Jeremiah Wadsworth, -, CT
• Alexander White, -, VA
• Hugh Williamson, Federalist, NC
• Henry Wynkoop, -, PA

External Links

• First Federal Congress Project (http://www.gwu.edu/~ffcp/) at GWU