5th United States Congress

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5th United States Congress
4th ←
→ 6th
Congress Hall exterior.jpg
Congress Hall (2007)
March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1799
Members32 senators
106 representatives
Senate MajorityFederalist
Senate PresidentThomas Jefferson (DR)
House MajorityFederalist
House SpeakerJonathan Dayton (F)
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1797
1st: May 15, 1797 – July 10, 1797
2nd: November 13, 1797 – July 16, 1798
Special: July 17, 1798 – July 19, 1798
3rd: December 3, 1798 – March 3, 1799

The 5th 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 at Congress Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from March 4, 1797, to March 4, 1799, during the first two years of John Adams' presidency. In the context of the Quasi-War with France, the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by congress. The Acts were overwhelmingly supported by the Federalists and mostly opposed by the Democratic-Republicans. Some Democratic-Republicans, such as Timothy Bloodworth, said they would support formally going to war against France but they opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts which Bloodworth and others believed were unconstitutional.[1]

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the First Census of the United States in 1790. Both chambers had a Federalist majority.

One of the Alien and Sedition Acts

Major events[]

Main articles: 1797 in the United States, 1798 in the United States, and 1799 in the United States
  • March 4, 1797 – John Adams became President of the United States
  • July 8, 1797 – The Senate expelled Tennessee Senator William Blount for conspiring with the British
  • July 11, 1798 – The United States Marine Corps was established
  • XYZ Affair in the U.S., followed by naval skirmishes but no war is declared. The XYZ affair led to several Democratic-Republicans breaking ranks with Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson took pains to avoid blaming France for the incident, as a result John Hunter, Josiah Tattnall, Timothy Bloodworth, Alexander Martin, Lemuel Benton, Thomas Sumter, William Smith, John Milledge, Abraham Baldwin, Joseph McDowell, Matthew Locke, Robert Williams, Richard Stanford, Nathaniel Macon, James Gillespie, Dempsey Burges, Thomas Blount, Nathan Bryan, John Brown, Thomas T. Davis, John Fowler and Joseph Anderson all publicly broke ranks with Jefferson, despite the fact he was the de-facto leader of their party, and sided with Alexander Hamilton. The aforementioned congressmen and senators were referred to by Jefferson as a "reign of witches" and were described as the "Pro-British republicans" (as opposed to the "pro-French republicans" led by Jefferson.)[2]

Major legislation[]

Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 5th United States Congress
  • April 30, 1798: The U.S. Department of the Navy was established, Sess. 2, ch. 35, 1 Stat. 553
  • June 18, 1798: Alien and Sedition Acts: ("An Act to establish a uniform rule of naturalization") (Naturalization Act of 1798), Sess. 2, ch. 54, 1 Stat. 566
  • June 25, 1798: Alien and Sedition Acts: ("An Act concerning Aliens"), Sess. 2, ch. 58, 1 Stat. 570
  • July 6, 1798: Alien and Sedition Acts: ("An Act respecting Alien Enemies"), Sess. 2, ch. 66, 1 Stat. 577
  • July 9, 1798: Act Further to Protect the Commerce of the United States, Sess. 2, ch. 68, 1 Stat. 578
  • July 11, 1798: The United States Marine Corps was established, Sess. 2, ch. 72, 1 Stat. 594
  • July 14, 1798: Alien and Sedition Acts: ("An Act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States") (Sedition Act), Sess. 2, ch. 74, 1 Stat. 596
  • July 16, 1798: Marine Hospital Service Act ("An Act for the relief of sick and disabled Seamen"), Sess. 2, ch. 77, 1 Stat. 605

Territories organized[]

Treaties ratified[]

Party summary[]

Details on changes are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate[]

Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Democratic-
Republican
(DR) 		Federalist
(F)
End of previous congress 11 21 32 0
Begin 9 22 31 1
End
Final voting share 29.0% 71.0%
Beginning of next congress 9 22 31 1

House of Representatives[]

Fifth Congress with House Districts.svg
Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Democratic-
Republican
(DR) 		Federalist
(F)
End of previous congress 59 47 106 0
Begin 49 56 105 1
End 50 1060
Final voting share 47.2% 52.8%
Beginning of next congress 46 60 106 0
President of the Senate Thomas Jefferson

Leadership[]

Senate[]

  • President: Thomas Jefferson (DR)
  • President pro tempore: William Bradford (F), elected July 6, 1797
    • Jacob Read (F), elected November 22, 1797
    • Theodore Sedgwick (F), elected June 27, 1798
    • John Laurance (F), elected December 6, 1798
    • James Ross (F), elected March 1, 1799

House of Representatives[]

Members[]

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, 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 began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1802; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1798; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1800.

House of Representatives[]

Changes in membership[]

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress

Senate[]

There were 9 resignations, 2 deaths, 1 expulsion, 1 late selection, and 2 elections to replace appointees. Neither party had a net gain of seats.

See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
State
(class) 		Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Tennessee
(1) 		Vacant Tennessee failed to elect a Senator on time William Cocke (DR) Appointed May 15, 1797
Tennessee
(2) 		William Blount (DR) Expelled July 8, 1797 Joseph Anderson (DR) Elected September 26, 1797
Tennessee
(1) 		William Cocke (DR) Interim appointment until September 26, 1797 Andrew Jackson (DR) Elected September 26, 1797
Rhode Island
(2) 		William Bradford (F) Resigned sometime in October, 1797 Ray Greene (F) Elected November 13, 1797
Vermont
(1) 		Isaac Tichenor (F) Resigned October 17, 1797 Nathaniel Chipman (F) Elected October 17, 1797
Maryland
(3) 		John Henry (F) Resigned December 10, 1797 James Lloyd (F) Elected December 11, 1797
New York
(1) 		Philip John Schuyler (F) Resigned January 3, 1798 John Sloss Hobart (F) Elected January 11, 1798
Delaware
(2) 		John Vining (F) Resigned January 19, 1798 Joshua Clayton (F) Elected January 19, 1798
Tennessee
(1) 		Andrew Jackson (DR) Resigned sometime in April, 1798 Daniel Smith (DR) Appointed October 6, 1798
New York
(1) 		John Sloss Hobart (F) Resigned April 16, 1798 William North (F) Appointed May 5, 1798
Delaware
(2) 		Joshua Clayton (F) Died August 11, 1798 William H. Wells (F) Elected January 17, 1799
New York
(1) 		William North (F) Interim appointment until August 17, 1798 James Watson (F) Elected August 17, 1798
New Jersey
(1) 		John Rutherfurd (F) Resigned November 26, 1798 Franklin Davenport (F) Appointed December 5, 1798
South Carolina
(2) 		John Hunter (DR) Resigned November 26, 1798 Charles Pinckney (DR) Elected December 6, 1798
Virginia
(2) 		Henry Tazewell (DR) Died January 24, 1799 Vacant Not filled in this Congress

House of Representatives[]

There were 9 resignations and 3 deaths. The Federalists had a 1-seat net loss and the Democratic-Republicans had a 1-seat net gain.

Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Vermont 2 Vacant Daniel Buck (F) had been re-elected, but declined to serve.
Successor elected May 23, 1797.[4] 		Lewis R. Morris (F) May 24, 1797
Rhode Island at-large Elisha Potter (F) Resigned sometime in 1797.
Successor elected August 29, 1797.[4] 		Thomas Tillinghast (F) Seated November 13, 1797
South Carolina 1 William L. Smith (F) Resigned July 10, 1797.
Successor elected September 4–5, 1797.[4] 		Thomas Pinckney (F) Seated November 23, 1797
Massachusetts 11 Theophilus Bradbury (F) Resigned July 24, 1797.
Successor elected August 4, 1797.[4] 		Bailey Bartlett (F) Seated November 27, 1797
New Hampshire at-large Jeremiah Smith (F) Resigned July 26, 1797.
Successor elected August 28, 1797.[4] 		Peleg Sprague (F) Seated December 15, 1797
Connecticut at-large James Davenport (F) Died August 3, 1797.
Successor elected September 18, 1797.[4] 		William Edmond (F) Seated November 13, 1797
Tennessee at-large Andrew Jackson (DR) Resigned sometime in September 1797 to become U.S. Senator.
Successor elected September 26, 1797.[5] 		William C.C. Claiborne (DR) Seated November 23, 1797
Pennsylvania 5 George Ege (F) Resigned sometime in October 1797.
Successor elected October 10, 1797.[4] 		Joseph Hiester (DR) Seated December 1, 1797
Pennsylvania 4 Samuel Sitgreaves (F) Resigned sometime in 1798.
Successor elected October 9, 1798.[4] 		Robert Brown (DR) Seated December 4, 1798
North Carolina 10 Nathan Bryan (DR) Died June 4, 1798.
Successor elected August 2, 1798.[4] 		Richard Dobbs Spaight (DR) Seated December 10, 1798
Pennsylvania 1 John Swanwick (DR) Died July 31, 1798.
Successor elected October 9, 1798.[4] 		Robert Waln (F) Seated December 3, 1798
Connecticut at-large Joshua Coit (F) Died September 5, 1798.
Successor elected October 22, 1798.[4] 		Jonathan Brace (F) Seated December 3, 1798
Virginia 9 William Giles (DR) Resigned October 2, 1798.
Successor elected November 1, 1798.[4] 		Joseph Eggleston (DR) Seated December 3, 1798

Committees[]

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate[]

House of Representatives[]

  • Claims (Chairman: Dwight Foster)
  • Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Edward Livingston then Samuel Smith)
  • Elections (Chairman: Joshua Coit then Joseph B. Varnum)
  • Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Jeremiah Smith then Nathaniel Macon then George Thatcher)
  • Rules (Select)
  • Standards of Official Conduct
  • Ways and Means (Chairman: William L. Smith then Robert Goodloe Harper)
  • Whole

Joint committees[]

  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Isaac Tichenor)

Employees[]

  • Architect of the Capitol: William Thornton

Senate[]

  • Secretary: Samuel A. Otis
  • Doorkeeper: James Mathers
  • Chaplain: William White, Episcopalian

House of Representatives[]

  • Clerk: John J. Beckley, until May 15, 1797
    • Jonathan W. Condy, elected May 15, 1797
  • Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton
  • Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
  • Reading Clerks:[data unknown/missing]
  • Chaplain: Ashbel Green, Presbyterian

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References[]

  1. ^ The Presidency of John Adams by Ralph A. Brown, University Press of Kansas, 1975
  2. ^ The Reign of Witches: The Struggle Against the Alien and Sedition Laws, 1789-1800 by Elizabeth Lawson
  3. ^ "Executive Journal (Fourteenth session)". Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States of America. Library of Congress. June 7, 1797. p. 244.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Date cited is the election date, but the winner in some cases "took" his seat on a later date. See Dubin, Michael J. (1998). United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results of the Elections of the 1st Through 105th Congresses. McFarland and Company. ISBN 0786402830.
  5. ^ Election date, but winner was seated later. See https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:tn.ushouserepresentatives.1797 Archived March 11, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

External links[]

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