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.
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".
- 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 13âÂÂ15, 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.
Major legislation
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.
Treaties
States admitted
Party summary
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.
Leadership
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 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.
2. William R. King (DR), from December 14, 1819 (newly admitted state)
3. John W. Walker (DR), from December 14, 1819 (newly admitted state)
1. Samuel W. Dana (F)
3. James Lanman (DR)
1. Outerbridge Horsey (F)
2. Nicholas Van Dyke (F)
2. Freeman Walker (DR), from November 6, 1819
3. John Elliott (DR)
2. Jesse B. Thomas (DR)
3. Ninian Edwards (DR)
1. James Noble (DR)
3. Waller Taylor (DR)
2. Richard M. Johnson (DR), from December 10, 1819
3. William Logan (DR), until May 28, 1820
: Isham Talbot (DR), from October 19, 1820
2. Henry Johnson (DR)
3. James Brown (DR)
1. John Holmes (DR), from June 13, 1820 (newly admitted state)
2. John Chandler (DR), from June 14, 1820 (newly admitted state)
1. Alexander C. Hanson (F), until April 23, 1819
: William Pinkney (DR), from December 21, 1819
3. Edward Lloyd (DR), from December 21, 1819
1. Prentiss Mellen (F), until May 15, 1820
: Elijah H. Mills (F), from June 12, 1820
2. Harrison Gray Otis (F)
1. Walter Leake (DR), until May 15, 1820
: David Holmes (DR), from August 30, 1820
2. Thomas H. Williams (DR)
2. David L. Morril (DR)
3. John F. Parrott (DR)
1. James J. Wilson (DR), until January 8, 1821
: Samuel L. Southard (DR), from January 26, 1821
2. Mahlon Dickerson (DR)
1. Nathan Sanford (DR)
3. Rufus King (F), from January 25, 1820
2. Montfort Stokes (DR)
3. Nathaniel Macon (DR)
1. Benjamin Ruggles (DR)
3. William A. Trimble (DR)
1. Jonathan Roberts (DR)
3. Walter Lowrie (DR)
1. William Hunter (F)
2. James Burrill Jr. (F), until December 25, 1820
: Nehemiah R. Knight (DR), from January 9, 1821
2. William Smith (DR)
3. John Gaillard (DR)
1. John H. Eaton (DR)
2. John Williams (DR)
1. Isaac Tichenor (F)
3. William A. Palmer (DR)
1. James Barbour (DR)
2. John W. Eppes (DR), until December 4, 1819
: James Pleasants (DR), from December 10, 1819
House of Representatives
. John Crowell (DR), from December 14, 1819 (newly admitted state)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Henry W. Edwards (DR)
. Samuel A. Foote (DR)
. Jonathan O. Moseley (DR)
. Elisha Phelps (DR)
. John Russ (DR)
. James Stevens (DR)
. Gideon Tomlinson (DR)
Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Willard Hall (DR), until January 22, 1821, vacant thereafter
. Louis McLane (F)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Joel Abbot (DR)
. Thomas W. Cobb (DR)
. Joel Crawford (DR)
. John A. Cuthbert (DR)
. Robert R. Reid (DR)
. William Terrell (DR)
. Daniel P. Cook (DR)
. William Hendricks (DR)
. David Trimble (DR)
. Henry Clay (DR)
. William Brown (DR)
. Thomas Metcalfe (DR)
. Alney McLean (DR)
. David Walker (DR), until March 1, 1820
: Francis Johnson (DR), from November 13, 1820
. George Robertson (DR)
. Richard C. Anderson Jr. (DR)
. Tunstal Quarles (DR), until June 15, 1820
: Thomas Montgomery (DR), from November 13, 1820
. Benjamin Hardin (DR)
. Thomas Butler (DR)
. Joseph Dane (F), seated December 11, 1820 (newly admitted state)
The 5th district was a plural district with two representatives.
. Raphael Neale (F)
. Joseph Kent (DR)
. Henry R. Warfield (F)
. Samuel Ringgold (DR)
. Peter Little (DR)
. Samuel Smith (DR)
. Stevenson Archer (DR)
. Thomas Culbreth (DR)
. Thomas Bayly (F)
. Jonathan Mason (F), until May 15, 1820
: Benjamin Gorham (DR), from November 27, 1820
. Nathaniel Silsbee (DR)
. Jeremiah Nelson (F)
. Timothy Fuller (DR)
. Samuel Lathrop (F)
. Samuel C. Allen (F)
. Henry Shaw (DR)
. Zabdiel Sampson (DR), until July 26, 1820
: Aaron Hobart (DR), from December 18, 1820
. Walter Folger Jr. (DR)
. Marcus Morton (DR)
. Benjamin Adams (F)
. Jonas Kendall (F)
. Edward Dowse (DR), until May 26, 1820
: William Eustis (DR), from November 13, 1820
. John Holmes (DR), until March 15, 1820, vacant thereafter
. Ezekiel Whitman (F)
. Mark L. Hill (DR)
. Martin Kinsley (DR)
. James Parker (DR)
. Joshua Cushman (DR)
. Enoch Lincoln (DR)
. Christopher Rankin (DR)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Joseph Buffum Jr. (DR)
. Josiah Butler (DR)
. Clifton Clagett (DR)
. Arthur Livermore (DR)
. William Plumer Jr. (DR)
. Nathaniel Upham (DR)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Ephraim Bateman (DR)
. Joseph Bloomfield (DR)
. John Condit (DR), until November 4, 1819
: Charles Kinsey (DR), from February 16, 1820
. John Linn (DR), until January 5, 1821, vacant thereafter
. Bernard Smith (DR)
. Henry Southard (DR)
There were six plural districts, the 1st, 2nd, 12th, 15th, 20th & 21st, each had two representatives.
. James Guyon Jr. (DR), from January 14, 1820
. Silas Wood (F)
. Henry Meigs (DR)
. Peter H. Wendover (DR)
. Caleb Tompkins (DR)
. Randall S. Street (F)
. James Strong (F)
. Walter Case (DR)
. Jacob H. De Witt (DR)
. Robert Clark (DR)
. Solomon Van Rensselaer (F)
. John D. Dickinson (F)
. John W. Taylor (DR)
. Ezra C. Gross (DR)
. Nathaniel Pitcher (DR)
. Harmanus Peek (DR)
. John Fay (DR)
. Joseph S. Lyman (DR)
. Robert Monell (DR)
. Henry R. Storrs (F)
. Aaron Hackley Jr. (DR)
. William D. Ford (DR)
. George Hall (DR)
. Caleb Baker (DR)
. Jonathan Richmond (DR)
. Nathaniel Allen (DR)
. Albert H. Tracy (DR)
. Lemuel Sawyer (DR)
. Hutchins G. Burton (DR), from December 6, 1819
. Thomas H. Hall (DR)
. Jesse Slocumb (F), until December 20, 1820
: William S. Blackledge (DR), from February 7, 1821
. Charles Hooks (DR)
. Weldon N. Edwards (DR)
. John Culpepper (F)
. James S. Smith (DR)
. Thomas Settle (DR)
. Charles Fisher (DR)
. William Davidson (F)
. Felix Walker (DR)
. Lewis Williams (DR)
. Thomas R. Ross (DR)
. John W. Campbell (DR)
. Henry Brush (DR)
. Samuel Herrick (DR)
. Philemon Beecher (F)
. John Sloane (DR)
There were six plural districts, the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th & 10th had two representatives each, the 1st had four representatives.
. Samuel Edwards (F)
. Thomas Forrest (F)
. Joseph Hemphill (F)
. John Sergeant (F)
. William Darlington (DR)
. Samuel Gross (DR)
. Jacob Hibshman (DR)
. James M. Wallace (DR)
. Jacob Hostetter (DR)
. Andrew Boden (DR)
. David Fullerton (DR), until May 15, 1820
: Thomas G. McCullough (F), from November 13, 1820
. Samuel Moore (DR)
. Thomas J. Rogers (DR)
. Joseph Hiester (DR), until December 1820
: Daniel Udree (DR), from January 8, 1821
. Robert Philson (DR)
. William P. Maclay (DR)
. George Denison (DR)
. John Murray (DR)
. David Marchand (DR)
. Thomas Patterson (DR)
. Christian Tarr (DR)
. Henry Baldwin (DR)
. Robert Moore (DR)
Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Samuel Eddy (DR)
. Nathaniel Hazard (DR), until December 17, 1820; vacant thereafter
. Charles Pinckney (DR)
. William Lowndes (DR)
. James Ervin (DR)
. James Overstreet (DR)
. Starling Tucker (DR)
. Eldred Simkins (DR)
. Elias Earle (DR)
. John McCreary (DR)
. Joseph Brevard (DR)
. John Rhea (DR)
. John Cocke (DR)
. Francis Jones (DR)
. Robert Allen (DR)
. Newton Cannon (DR)
. Henry H. Bryan (DR)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
. Samuel C. Crafts (DR)
. Ezra Meech (DR)
. Orsamus C. Merrill (DR), until January 12, 1820
: Rollin C. Mallary (DR), from January 13, 1820
. Charles Rich (DR)
. Mark Richards (DR)
. William Strong (DR)
. James Pindall (F), until July 26, 1820
: Edward B. Jackson (DR), from November 13, 1820
. Thomas Van Swearingen (F)
. Jared Williams (DR)
. William McCoy (DR)
. John Floyd (DR)
. Alexander Smyth (DR)
. Ballard Smith (DR)
. Charles F. Mercer (F)
. William Lee Ball (DR)
. George F. Strother (DR), until February 10, 1820
: Thomas L. Moore (DR), from November 13, 1820
. Philip P. Barbour (DR)
. Robert S. Garnett (DR)
. Severn E. Parker (DR)
. William A. Burwell (DR), until February 16, 1821, vacant for remainder of term
. George Tucker (DR)
. John Randolph (DR)
. James Pleasants (DR), until December 14, 1819
: William S. Archer (DR), from January 18, 1820
. Mark Alexander (DR)
. James Jones (DR)
. James Johnson (DR), until February 1, 1820
: John C. Gray (DR), from November 13, 1820
. Thomas Newton Jr. (DR)
. Hugh Nelson (DR)
. John Tyler (DR)
Non-voting members
: Vacant until statehood
. James W. Bates, from December 21, 1819
. William Woodbridge, until August 9, 1820
: Solomon Sibley, from November 20, 1820
. John Scott
Changes in membership
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.
|- | Georgia<br/>(2) | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | John Forsyth had resigned before the beginning of the Congress. | | Freeman Walker (DR) | Elected November 6, 1819 |- | Kentucky<br/>(2) | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | John J. Crittenden had resigned before the beginning of the Congress. | | Richard Mentor Johnson (DR) | Elected December 10, 1819 |- | Maryland<br/>(3) | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Legislature did not elect until after the term began. | | Edward Lloyd (DR) | Elected December 14, 1819, and qualified December 21, 1819 |- | New York<br/>(3) | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Legislature failed to elect, held late election. | | Rufus King (F) | Elected January 8, 1820, and qualified January 25, 1820 |- | Maryland<br/>(1) | | Alexander C. Hanson (F) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 23, 1819 | | William Pinkney (DR) | Elected December 21, 1819 |- | Virginia<br/>(2) | | John W. Eppes (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 4, 1819 | | James Pleasants (DR) | Elected December 10, 1819 |- | Alabama<br/>(2) | rowspan=2 | New seats | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Alabama was admitted to the Union December 14, 1819. | | John W. Walker (DR) | Elected December 14, 1819 |- | Alabama<br/>(3) | | William R. King (DR) | Elected December 14, 1819 |- | Maine<br/>(2) | rowspan=2 | New seats | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" |Maine was admitted to the Union March 15, 1820. | | John Holmes (DR) | Elected June 13, 1820 |- | Maine<br/>(1) | | John Chandler (DR) | Elected June 14, 1820 |- | Massachusetts<br/>(1) | | Prentiss Mellen (F) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 15, 1820 | | Elijah H. Mills (F) | Elected June 12, 1820 |- | Mississippi<br/>(1) | | Walter Leake (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 15, 1820, after becoming US Marshal for Mississippi | | David Holmes (DR) | Appointed August 30, 1820 |- | Kentucky<br/>(3) | | William Logan (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 28, 1820, to run for Governor of Kentucky | | Isham Talbot (DR) | Elected October 19, 1820 |- | Rhode Island<br/>(2) | | James Burrill Jr. (F) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 25, 1820 | | Nehemiah R. Knight (DR) | Elected January 9, 1821 |- | New Jersey<br/>(1) | | James J. Wilson (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 8, 1821 | | Samuel L. Southard (DR) | Appointed January 26, 1821
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.
|- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | | | Hutchins G. Burton (DR) | Seated December 6, 1819 |- | | rowspan=2 | Vacant | rowspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Seat remained vacant until statehood | rowspan=2 | John Crowell (DR) | rowspan=2 | Seated December 14, 1819 |- | |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Arkansas Territory organized July 4, 1819 | James W. Bates | Seated December 21, 1819 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Contested election. Representative-elect Ebenezer Sage never qualified. | | James Guyon Jr. (DR) | Seated January 14, 1820 |- | | | John Condit (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 4, 1819 | | Charles Kinsey (DR) | Seated February 16, 1820 |- | | | James Pleasants (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 14, 1819 | | William S. Archer (DR) | Seated January 18, 1820 |- | | | Orsamus C. Merrill (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Contested election, served until January 12, 1820 | | Rollin C. Mallary (DR) | Seated January 13, 1820 |- | | | James Johnson (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned February 1, 1820 | | John C. Gray (DR) | Seated November 13, 1820 |- | | | George F. Strother (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned February 10, 1820 | | Thomas L. Moore (DR) | Seated November 13, 1820 |- | | | David Walker (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Died March 1, 1820 | | Francis Johnson (DR) | Seated November 13, 1820 |- | | | John Holmes (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 15, 1820, to become U.S. Senator from Maine. | District moved to Maine | District inactive until 1903 |- | | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | Massachusetts's 14th district became Maine's at-large district | | Joseph Dane (F) | Seated November 6, 1820 |- | | | Jonathan Mason (F) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 15, 1820 | | Benjamin Gorham (DR) | Seated November 27, 1820 |- | | | David Fullerton (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 15, 1820 | | Thomas G. McCullough (F) | rowspan= 4 | Seated November 13, 1820 |- | | | Edward Dowse (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 26, 1820 | | William Eustis (DR) |- | | | Tunstall Quarles (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned June 15, 1820 | | Thomas Montgomery (DR) |- | | | James Pindall (F) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 26, 1820 | | Edward B. Jackson (DR) |- | | | Zabdiel Sampson (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 26, 1820 | | Aaron Hobart (DR) | Seated December 18, 1820
|- | | William Woodbridge | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned August 9, 1820 | Solomon Sibley | Seated November 20, 1820 |- | | | Joseph Hiester (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned sometime in December 1820 | | Daniel Udree (DR) | Seated January 8, 1821 |- | | | Nathaniel Hazard (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 17, 1820 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |- | | | Jesse Slocumb (F) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 20, 1820 | | William S. Blackledge (DR) | Seated February 7, 1821 |- | | | John Linn (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Died January 5, 1821 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |- | | | Willard Hall (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 22, 1821 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |- | | | William A. Burwell (DR) | style="font-size:80%" | Died February 16, 1821 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
House of Representatives
Joint committees
Officers
Senate
House of Representatives
See also
Notes
References
External links