7th United States Congress

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.

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

Major legislation

April 29, 1802: Judiciary Act of 1802, ch. 31,
April 30, 1802: Enabling Act of 1802, ch. 40,

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, ) 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, ) 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

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, 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

Leadership

Senate

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

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.

Senate

Skip to House of Representatives, below

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.

3. William Hindman (F), until November 19, 1801

: Robert Wright (DR), from November 19, 1801

Massachusetts

1. Jonathan Mason (F)

2. Dwight Foster (F), until March 2, 1803

New Hampshire

2. Samuel Livermore (F), until June 12, 1801

: Simeon Olcott (F), from June 17, 1801

3. James Sheafe (F), until June 14, 1802

: William Plumer (F), from June 17, 1802

New Jersey

1. Aaron Ogden (F)

2. Jonathan Dayton (F)

New York

1. Gouverneur Morris (F)

3. John Armstrong Jr. (DR), until February 5, 1802

: DeWitt Clinton (DR), from February 9, 1802

North Carolina

2. Jesse Franklin (DR)

3. David Stone (DR)

Ohio

Due to uncertainty over Ohio's exact admittance date (see "States admitted, above") its two senators were not elected until the next Congress.

1: Vacant (newly admitted state)

3: Vacant (newly admitted state)

Pennsylvania

1. James Ross (F)

3. John Peter G. Muhlenberg (DR), until June 30, 1801

: George Logan (DR), from July 13, 1801

Rhode Island

1. Theodore Foster (F)

2. Ray Greene (F), until March 5, 1801

: Christopher Ellery (DR), from May 6, 1801

South Carolina

2. Charles Pinckney (DR), until June 6, 1801

: Thomas Sumter (DR), from December 15, 1801

3. John E. Colhoun (DR), until October 26, 1802

: Pierce Butler (DR), from November 4, 1802

Tennessee

1. Joseph Anderson (DR)

2. William Cocke (DR)

Vermont

1. Nathaniel Chipman (F)

3. Elijah Paine (F), until September 1, 1801

: Stephen R. Bradley (DR), from October 15, 1801

Virginia

1. Stevens Mason (DR)

2. Wilson C. Nicholas (DR)

House of Representatives

The names 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.