1st United States Congress - political parties

The First United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprised of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met at Federal Hall, 26 Wall Street in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia Pennsylvania from March 4 1789 to March 3 1791, during the first two years of the first administration of U.S. President George Washington.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the provisions of the United States Constitution. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority.

This article supplements the main article with a list of the members by political party.

Main article: 1st United States Congress
See also: 1st United States Congress - Membership Changes
See also: 1st United States Congress - State Delegations
See also: United States House elections, 1789

The list below is arranged by chamber, then by political party. Members are shown in alphabetical order.

Dates of sessions

March 4 1789 - March 3 1791

  • First session: March 4 1789 - September 29 1789 New York, New York
  • Second session: January 4 1790 - August 12 1790 New York, New York
  • Third session: December 6 1790 - March 3 1791 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — a lame duck session

Previous congress: Continental Congress
Next congress: 2nd Congress

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.

The count below identifies affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly ratifying states, when they were first seated.

Senate
  • Anti-Administration : 8
  • Pro-Administration : 18 (majority)

TOTAL members: 26
House of Representatives
  • Anti-Administration : 28
  • Pro-Administration : 37 (majority)

TOTAL members: 65

Senate

Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six year terms with each Congress.

Anti-Administration

A-L
  • Richard Bassett (1745-1815), Delaware
  • William Few (1748-1828), Georgia
  • William Grayson (1740-1790), Virginia ...died March 12 1790
  • James Gunn (1753-1801), Georgia
  • Richard Henry Lee (1732-1794), Virginia
M-Z
  • William Maclay (1737-1804), Pennsylvania
  • James Monroe (1758-1831), Virginia …elected to fill vacancy, November 9 1790
  • Joseph Stanton, Jr. (1739-1807), Rhode Island …elected June 7 1790
  • Paine Wingate (1739-1838), New Hampshire

Pro-Administration

A-L
  • Pierce Butler (1744-1822), South Carolina
  • Charles Carroll (1737-1832), Maryland
  • Tristram Dalton (1738-1817), Massachusetts
  • Philemon Dickinson (1739-1809), New Jersey ...elected to fill vacancy, November 13 1790
  • Oliver Ellsworth (1745-1807), Connecticut
  • Jonathan Elmer (1745-1817), New Jersey
  • Theodore Foster (1752-1828), Rhode Island …elected June 7 1790
  • Benjamin Hawkins (1754-1818), North Carolina …elected November 27 1789
  • John Henry (1750-1798), Maryland
  • Ralph Izard (1742-1804), South Carolina
  • William S. Johnson (1727-1819), Connecticut
  • Samuel Johnston (1733-1816), North Carolina …elected November 27 1789
  • Rufus King (1755-1827), New York …elected July 16 1789
  • John Langdon (1741-1819), New Hampshire
M-Z
  • Robert Morris (1734-1806), Pennsylvania
  • William Paterson (1745-1806), New Jersey ...resigned November 13 1790
  • George Read (1733-1798), Delaware
  • Philip John Schuyler (1733-1804), New York …elected July 15 1789
  • Caleb Strong (1745-1819), Massachusetts
  • John Walker (1744-1809), Virginia …appointed to fill vacancy, March 31 1790

House of Representatives

Members of the House of Representatives were elected by popular vote, variously to single member districts or at-large.

Anti-Administration

A-F
  • John Baptista Ashe (1748-1802), North Carolina ...seated March 24 1790
  • Abraham Baldwin (1754-1807), Georgia
  • Theodorick Bland (1742-1790), Virginia …died June 1 1790
  • Timothy Bloodworth (1736-1814), North Carolina ...seated April 6 1790
  • John Brown (1757-1837), Virginia
  • Aedanus Burke (1743-1802), South Carolina
  • Isaac Coles (1747-1813), Virginia
  • Benjamin Contee (1755-1815), Maryland
  • William Floyd (1734-1821), New York
G-L
  • Elbridge Gerry (1744-1814), Massachusetts
  • William B. Giles (1762-1830), Virginia …elected to fill vacancy, seated December 7 1790
  • Jonathan Grout (1737-1807), Massachusetts
  • John Hathorn (1749-1825), New York …seated April 23 1789
  • Daniel Hiester (1747-1804), Pennsylvania
  • James Jackson (1757-1806), Georgia
  • Samuel Livermore (1732-1803), New Hampshire
M-R
  • James Madison (1751-1836), Virginia
  • George Mathews (1739-1812), Georgia
  • Andrew Moore (1752-1821), Virginia
  • John Peter G. Muhlenberg (1746-1807), Pennsylvania
  • John Page (1743-1808), Virginia
  • Josiah Parker (1751-1810), Virginia
S-Z
  • Joshua Seney (1756-1798), Maryland
  • William Smith (1728-1814), Maryland
  • Michael Jenifer Stone (1747-1812), Maryland
  • Thomas Sumter (1734-1832), South Carolina
  • Thomas Tudor Tucker (1745-1828), South Carolina
  • Jeremiah Van Rensselaer (1738-1810), New York …seated May 9 1789
  • Hugh Williamson (1735-1819), North Carolina ...seated March 19 1790

Pro-Administration

A-F
  • Fisher Ames (1758-1808), Massachusetts
  • Egbert Benson (1746-1833), New York
  • Elias Boudinot (1740-1821), New Jersey
  • Benjamin Bourne (1755-1808), Rhode Island ...seated December 17 1790
  • Lambert Cadwalader (1742-1823), New Jersey
  • Daniel Carroll (1730-1796), Maryland
  • George Clymer (1739-1813), Pennsylvania
  • Thomas Fitzsimons (1741-1811), Pennsylvania
  • Abiel Foster (1735-1806), New Hampshire
G-L
  • George Gale (1756-1815), Maryland
  • Nicholas Gilman (1755-1814), New Hampshire
  • Benjamin Goodhue (1748-1814), Massachusetts
  • Samuel Griffin (1746-1810), Virginia
  • Thomas Hartley (1748-1800), Pennsylvania
  • Daniel Huger (1742-1799), South Carolina
  • Benjamin Huntington (1736-1800), Connecticut
  • John Laurance (1750-1810), New York
  • Richard Bland Lee (1761-1827), Virginia
  • George Leonard (1729-1819), Massachusetts
M-R
  • Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg (1746-1807), Pennsylvania
  • George Partridge (1740-1828), Massachusetts …resigned August 14 1790
S-Z
  • James Schureman (1756-1824), New Jersey
  • Thomas Scott (1739-1796), Pennsylvania
  • Theodore Sedgwick (1746-1813), Massachusetts
  • John Sevier (1745-1815), North Carolina ...seated June 16 1790
  • Roger Sherman (1721-1793), Connecticut
  • Peter Silvester (1734-1808), New York …seated April 22 1789
  • Thomas Sinnickson (1744-1817), New Jersey
  • William L. Smith (1758-1812), South Carolina
  • John Steele (1764-1815), North Carolina ...seated April 19 1790
  • Jonathan Sturges (1740-1819), Connecticut
  • George Thatcher (1754-1824), Massachusetts
  • Jonathan Trumbull, Jr. (1740-1809), Connecticut
  • John Vining (1758-1802), Delaware
  • Jeremiah Wadsworth (1743-1804), Connecticut
  • Alexander White (1738-1804), Virginia
  • Henry Wynkoop (1737-1816), Pennsylvania


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