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7th United States Congress
1801–1803 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 7th 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 in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1801, to March 4, 1803, during the first two years of Thomas Jefferson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1790 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority, except when the Senate held a two-day Special Senate session in order to provide advice to the new President Thomas Jefferson, when there was still a Federalist majority in the Senate.
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Major events
- March 4, 1801: Thomas Jefferson became President of the United States.
- May 10, 1801: The pascha of Tripoli declared war on United States by having the flagpole on the consulate chopped down
- March 16, 1802: West Point established
- February 24, 1803: First time an Act of Congress was declared unconstitutional: U.S. Supreme Court case, Marbury v. Madison
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Major legislation
- April 29, 1802: Judiciary Act of 1802, ch. 31, 2 Stat. 156
- April 30, 1802: Enabling Act of 1802, ch. 40, 2 Stat. 173
States admitted

- Ohio was admitted as a state, having previously been a portion of the Northwest Territory. The exact date is unclear and in dispute, but it is undisputed that it was during this Congress. The official date when Ohio became a state was not set until 1953, when the 83rd U.S. Congress passed legislation retrospectively designating the date of the first meeting of the Ohio state legislature, March 1, 1803, as that date. However, on April 30, 1802, the 7th U.S. Congress had passed an act "authorizing the inhabitants of Ohio to form a Constitution and state government, and admission of Ohio into the Union." (Sess. 1, ch. 40, 2 Stat. 173) On February 19, 1803, the same Congress passed an act "providing for the execution of the laws of the United States in the State of Ohio." (Sess. 2, ch. 7, 2 Stat. 201) The Biographical Directory of the United States Congress states that Ohio was admitted to the Union on November 29, 1802, and counts its seats as vacant from that date.
Party summary
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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
The Federalists still controlled the Senate when they held a two-day special Senate session in March 1801, which was called by outgoing President John Adams so that the Senate could provide advice to the new President Thomas Jefferson,[1][2] but by the time Congress began its first regular session in December 1801 to start official business, the Democratic-Republicans had gained Senate control.
House of Representatives

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Leadership
Senate
President of the Senate
Aaron Burr
Aaron Burr
President pro tempore of the Senate
Abraham Baldwin
Abraham Baldwin
- President: Aaron Burr (DR)
- President pro tempore: Abraham Baldwin (DR), first elected December 7, 1801
- Stephen R. Bradley (DR), first elected December 14, 1802
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Nathaniel Macon, (DR), elected December 7, 1801
Members
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This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, 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 ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1802; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1804; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1806.
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Kentucky
Maryland
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
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North Carolina
OhioDue to uncertainty over Ohio's exact admittance date (see "States admitted, above") its two senators were not elected until the next Congress.
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Virginia
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![]() 2 Democratic-Republicans
1 Democratic-Republican and 1 Federalist
2 Federalists
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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.
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Changes in membership
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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
There was 1 death, 8 resignations, and 2 seats added for a new state.
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 8
- Democratic-Republicans: no net change
- Federalists: no net change
- Deaths: 1
- Resignations: 9
- Forfeiture: 1
- Vacancy: 1
- Total seats with changes: 11
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Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
House of Representatives
- Claims (Chairman: John C. Smith)
- Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
- Elections (Chairman: John Milledge then John Bacon)
- Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: John Davenport)
- Rules (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct (Chairman: N/A)
- Ways and Means (Chairman: John Randolph)
- Whole
Joint committees
- Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Dwight Foster)
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Officers
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
- Chaplain: Thomas J. Claggett (Episcopalian), until December 9, 1801
- Edward Gantt (Episcopalian), elected December 9, 1801
- Secretary: Samuel A. Otis
- Doorkeeper: James Mathers
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Thomas Lyell (Methodist), until December 10, 1801
- William Parkinson (Baptist), elected December 10, 1801
- Clerk: John Holt Oswald, until December 7, 1801
- John Beckley, elected December 7, 1801
- Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
- Reading Clerks: [data missing]
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton
See also
- 1800 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1802 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
- Class 2 Rhode Island senator Ray Greene (F) resigned March 5, 1801, and Christopher Ellery (DR) was elected, then was seated on May 6, 1801 to continue that term.
- Charles Pinckney (DR) resigned June 6, 1801, after being appointed Minister to Spain. His successor Thomas Sumter (DR) was elected, then was seated on December 15, 1801.
- Samuel Livermore(F) resigned June 12, 1801. His successor Simeon Olcott (F) was elected, then was seated on June 17, 1801.
- Peter Muhlenberg (DR) resigned June 30, 1801. His successor George Logan (DR) was appointed July 13, 1801, and then elected December 17, 1801.
- Elijah Paine (F) resigned September 1, 1801. His successor Stephen R. Bradley (DR) was elected, and then was seated on October 1, 1801.
- William Hindman (F) resigned November 19, 1801. His successor Robert Wright (DR) was elected and seated that same day.
- John Armstrong Jr. (DR) resigned February 5, 1802. His successor Dewitt Clinton (DR) was elected, then was seated February 9, 1802.
- James Sheafe (F) resigned June 14, 1802. His successor William Plumer (F) was elected, then was seated June 17, 1802.
- John E. Colhoun (DR) died October 26, 1802. His successor Pierce Butler (DR) was elected, then was seated November 4, 1802.
- Dwight Foster (F) resigned March 2, 1803. His seat remained vacant for the remainder of Congress.
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References
External links
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