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16th United States Congress
1819-1821 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 16th 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, 1819, to March 4, 1821, during the third and fourth years of James Monroe's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1810 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.
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Major events
- A "speech for Buncombe County, North Carolina" given by North Carolina representative Felix Walker in 1820 was credited with introducing into the language the term "bunkum".[1]
- March 6, 1819: McCulloch v. Maryland: Supreme Court ruled that the Bank of the United States is constitutional.
- July 3, 1820: United States House of Representatives elections, 1820 began in Louisiana
- August 7, 1820: 1820 United States census conducted, eventually determining a population of 9,638,453, of which 1,538,022 were slaves.
- November 13–15, 1820: A special election for the House speakership takes 22 ballots.
- December 3, 1820: U.S. presidential election, 1820: James Monroe was re-elected, virtually unopposed.
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Major legislation
- March 6, 1820: Missouri Compromise, Sess. 1, ch. 22, 3 Stat. 545
- April 24, 1820: Land Act of 1820, Sess. 1, ch. 51, 3 Stat. 566
Proposed but not enacted
- Tallmadge Amendment would allow Missouri into the Union as a slave state, but would also implement gradual emancipation in Missouri. The amendment passed the House of Representatives, but not the Senate. The Tallmadge Amendment led to the passage of the Missouri Compromise.
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Treaties
- February 22, 1819: Adams-Onís Treaty (Transcontinental Treaty of 1819): Spain ceded Florida to the United States.
States admitted
- December 14, 1819: Alabama was admitted as the 22nd state, 3 Stat. 492.
- March 15, 1820: Maine was admitted as the 23rd state. It was formerly the District of Maine, part of Massachusetts, 3 Stat. 544.
Party summary
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The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
Senate
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Alabama and Maine.
House of Representatives
During this congress, one House seat was added for the new state of Alabama and one seat was reapportioned from Massachusetts to the new state of Maine. For the beginning of the next congress, six more seats from Massachusetts would be reapportioned to Maine.
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Leadership

Senate
- President: Daniel D. Tompkins (DR)
- President pro tempore: James Barbour, (DR), until December 26, 1819
- John Gaillard, (DR), elected January 25, 1820
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Henry Clay (DR), resigned October 28, 1820[2]
- John Taylor, (DR), elected November 15, 1820, on the 22nd ballot[3]
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, requiring re-election in 1820; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1822; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1824.
Alabama
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Mississippi
|
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Virginia
|
![]() 2 Democratic-Republicans
1 Democratic-Republican and 1 Federalist
2 Federalists
|
House of Representatives
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Changes in membership
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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Senate
There were 5 resignations, 2 deaths, 2 vacancies before the Congress, and 4 new seats. The Democratic-Republicans had a 7-seat net gain and the Federalists had a 1-seat net loss.
House of Representatives
There were 13 resignations, 5 deaths, 2 contested elections, and 2 new seats. The Democratic-Republicans had a 1-seat net gain and the Federalists had no net change.
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Committees
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Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Amendments to the Constitution (Select)
- American Colonization Society (Select)
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Jonathan Roberts)
- Claims (Chairman: Jonathan Roberts then James J. Wilson)
- Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Nathan Sanford then Mahlon Dickerson)
- Constitution of the State of Alabama (Select)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Outerbridge Horsey)
- Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Prentiss Mellen)
- Finance (Chairman: Nathan Sanford)
- Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Brown then James Barbour)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: David Holmes)
- Judiciary (Chairman: William Smith)
- Land Commissioner Reports (Select)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: John Williams)
- Militia (Chairman: James Noble)
- Missouri's Admission to the Union (Select)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: James Pleasants)
- Pensions (Chairman: Nicholas Van Dyke then James Noble)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Montfort Stokes)
- Public Buildings (Select)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Thomas Hill Williams then Jesse B. Thomas)
- Purchase of Fire Engines (Select)
- Reduction of Congressional Salaries (Select)
- Roads and Canals (Select) (Chairman: Rufus King)
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accounts (Chairman: James S. Smith)
- Agriculture (Chairman: Thomas Forrest)
- Apportionment of Representatives (Select)
- Army Appropriations Inquiry (Select)
- Bank of the United States (Select)
- Brownstown Treaty (Select)
- Claims (Chairman: Lewis Williams)
- Commerce (Chairman: Thomas Newton Jr.)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Joseph Kent)
- Elections (Chairman: John W. Taylor then David Trimble)
- Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Stevenson Archer)
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Arthur Livermore)
- Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: John Holmes)
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: David Trimble)
- Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Henry Brush)
- Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry Meigs)
- Judiciary (Chairman: John Sergeant)
- Manufactures (Chairman: Henry Baldwin)
- Pensions and Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: John Rhea)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Arthur Livermore)
- Private Land Claims (Chairman: John W. Campbell)
- Public Expenditures (Chairman: Eldred Simkins)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Richard C. Anderson Jr.)
- Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Marcus Morton)
- Rules (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Ways and Means (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
- Whole
Joint committees
- Enrolled Bills
- Investigate Safety of Roofs over Senate and House Wings of the Capitol
- The Library
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Officers
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
- Chaplain: John Clark (Presbyterian), until December 9, 1819
- Reuben Post (Presbyterian), elected December 9, 1819
- William Ryland (Methodist), elected November 17, 1820
- Secretary: Charles Cutts
- Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Burgiss Allison (Baptist), until November 16, 1820
- John N. Campbell (Presbyterian), elected November 16, 1820
- Clerk: Thomas Dougherty
- Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
- Reading Clerks: [data missing]
- Sergeant at Arms: Thomas Dunn
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See also
- 1818 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1820 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
- Joseph Dane (Maine) was elected November 7, 1820.
- When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
References
External links
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