6th United States Congress

The 6th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1799, to March 4, 1801, during the last two years of John Adams's presidency. It was the last Congress of the 18th century and the first to convene in the 19th. The apportionment of seats in House of Representatives was based on the First Census of the United States in 1790. Both chambers had a Federalist majority. This was the last Congress in which the Federalist Party controlled the presidency or either chamber of Congress.

6th United States Congress
5th ←
→ 7th
March 4, 1799 – March 4, 1801
Members32 senators
106 representatives
1 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityFederalist
Senate PresidentThomas Jefferson (DR)
House MajorityFederalist
House SpeakerTheodore Sedgwick (F)
Sessions
1st: December 2, 1799 – May 14, 1800
2nd: November 17, 1800 – March 3, 1801

Major events
Main articles: 1799 in the United States, 1800 in the United States, and 1801 in the United States
States for Jefferson States for Burr States casting blank ballots
  • 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%) Total: 2 (12%)

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

Territories organized

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
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic-
Republican
(DR)		 Federalist
(F)
End of previous congress 9 22 31 1
Begin 9 22 31 1
End 11 21 320
Final voting share 34.4% 65.6%
Beginning of next congress 17 15 32 0

House of Representatives
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic-
Republican
(DR)		 Federalist
(F)
End of previous congress 50 56 106 0
Begin 46 60 106 0
End 49 56 1051
Final voting share 46.7% 53.3%
Beginning of next congress 72 33 105 1

Leadership
President of the Senate Thomas Jefferson
President pro tempore
Samuel Livermore

Senate

House of Representatives

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

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.

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House 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.

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.

See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
State
(class)		 Vacator Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
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.

District Vacator Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
New York
1st		 Jonathan Havens (DR) Died October 25, 1799 John Smith (DR) February 27, 1800
Northwest Territory
at-large		 William Henry Harrison Resigned May 14, 1800, to become Territorial Governor of Indiana William McMillan November 24, 1800
Connecticut
at-large		 Jonathan Brace (F) Resigned sometime in 1800 John Cotton Smith (F) November 17, 1800
Massachusetts
10th		 Samuel Sewall (F) Resigned January 10, 1800, to become a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Nathan Read (F) November 25, 1800
Massachusetts
4th		 Dwight Foster (F) Resigned June 6, 1800, having been elected U.S. Senator Levi Lincoln (DR) December 15, 1800
Virginia
13th		 John Marshall (F) Resigned June 7, 1800, to become Secretary of State Littleton W. Tazewell (DR) November 26, 1800
New Hampshire
at-large		 William Gordon (F) Resigned June 12, 1800, to become New Hampshire Attorney General Samuel Tenney (F) December 8, 1800
Massachusetts
3rd		 Samuel Lyman (F) Resigned November 6, 1800 Ebenezer Mattoon (F) February 2, 1801
Pennsylvania
8th		 Thomas Hartley (F) Died December 21, 1800 John Stewart (DR) February 3, 1801
Georgia
at-large		 James Jones (F) Died January 11, 1801 Vacant until next Congress

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Administrative officers

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

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. pp. 1033–1034. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

Notes
  1. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
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