Harman Patil (Editor)

2nd United States Congress

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Senate President
  
John Adams (P)

House Majority
  
Pro-Administration

2nd United States Congress

Senate Pres. pro tem
  
Richard Henry Lee (P) John Langdon (P)

House Speaker
  
Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (P)

Members
  
28–30 (two additions) (with one vacancy) Senators 67–69 (two additions) (with 1-3 vacancies) Representatives

Senate Majority
  
Pro-Administration, then Anti-Administration

The Second United States Congress, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from March 4, 1791 to March 4, 1793, during the third and fourth years of George Washington's Presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 of the United States Constitution. Additional House seats were assigned to the two new states of Vermont and Kentucky. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority.

Contents

Major events

  • April 5, 1792: President George Washington used the veto for the first time, vetoing a bill designed to apportion representatives among U.S. states.
  • October 13, 1792: Foundation of Washington, D.C.: The cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion, now known as the White House, was laid.

    • Major legislation

  • February 20, 1792: Postal Service Act, Sess. 1, ch. 7, 1 Stat. 232, established the U.S. Post Office
  • April 2, 1792: Coinage Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 16, 1 Stat. 246, established the United States Mint and regulated coinage
  • April 14, 1792: Apportionment Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 23 1 Stat. 253, increased the size of the House of Representatives from 69 seats in the 2nd Congress to 105 in the 3rd and apportioned those seats among the several states according to the 1790 Census
  • May 2, 1792: First Militia Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 28, 1 Stat. 264, enabled the President to call in militia in case of invasion or rebellion, while providing for the organizations of state militias
  • May 8, 1792: Second Militia Act of 1792, Sess. 1, ch. 33, 1 Stat. 271
  • February 12, 1793: Fugitive Slave Act of 1793, Sess. 2, ch. 7, 1 Stat. 302
  • March 2, 1793: Judiciary Act of 1793 (including Anti-Injunction Act), Sess. 2, ch. 22, 1 Stat. 333

    • States admitted

  • March 4, 1791: Vermont was admitted as the 14th state, 1 Stat. 191
  • June 1, 1792: Kentucky was admitted as the 15th state, 1 Stat. 189

    • Constitutional amendments

  • December 15, 1791: The United States Bill of Rights, the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, were ratified by the states.

    • Party summary

    There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.

    Details on changes are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

    Senate

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

    House of Representatives

    During this congress, two new House seats were added for each of the new states of Vermont and Kentucky. (Sess. 3, ch. 9, 1 Stat. 191)

    Senate

  • President: John Adams (P)
  • President pro tempore:
  • Richard Henry Lee (P)
  • John Langdon (P), elected November 5, 1792

    • House of Representatives

  • Speaker: Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (P)

    • Members

    This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

    Senate

    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 this Congress, requiring reelection in 1796; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1792; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1794.

    Skip to House of Representatives, below

    House of Representatives

    The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their districts.

    Membership changes

    There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.

    Vermont and Kentucky were newly admitted as states and are first represented in this Congress.

    Senate

    There were three resignations, one contested election, and four new seats of admitted states, resulting in a four-seat net gain of the Anti-Administration Senators.

    House of Representatives

    There were 3 resignations, 1 vacancy of a member-elect, 1 contested election, and 4 new seats of admitted states, resulting in a 3-seat net gain of the Anti-Administration members and a 1-seat net gain of the Pro-Administration members.

    Committees

    Lists of committees and their party leaders.

    Senate

  • Whole

    • House of Representatives

  • Elections
  • Rules (Select)
  • Whole

    • Joint committees

  • Enrolled Bills

    • Senate

  • Secretary: Samuel A. Otis of Massachusetts
  • Doorkeeper: James Mathers of New York
  • Chaplain: William White (Episcopalian)

    • House of Representatives

  • Clerk: John Beckley of Virginia
  • Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton of Rhode Island
  • Doorkeeper: Gifford Dalley
  • Chaplain:
  • Samuel Blair (Presbyterian, elected October 24, 1791
  • Ashbel Green, Presbyterian, elected November 5, 1792

    • References

    2nd United States Congress Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA