3rd United States Congress
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox United States Congress
The 3rd 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, 1793, to March 4, 1795, during the fifth and sixth years of George Washington's presidency.
The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was governed by the Apportionment Act of 1792 and based on the 1790 census. The Senate had a Pro-Administration majority, and the House had an Anti-Administration majority.
Major events
- March 4, 1793: President George Washington begins his second term.
- April 22, 1793: George Washington signed the Neutrality Proclamation
- February 11, 1794: Wishing to avoid charges of being a Star Chamber, the Senate holds its first public session, resolving "That the Senate doors be opened".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- March 14, 1794: Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin
- March 27, 1794: The federal government authorized the construction of the original six frigates of the United States Navy
- August 7, 1794: Whiskey Rebellion began: Farmers in the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania rebelled against the federal tax on liquor and distilled drinks.
- August 20, 1794: Battle of Fallen Timbers — American troops under General Anthony Wayne forced a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawatomie warriors into a disorganized retreat.
Major legislation
Template:Wikisource Template:Main
- January 13, 1794: Flag Act of 1794, Sess. 1, ch. 1, Template:USStat
- March 22, 1794: Slave Trade Act of 1794, Sess. 1, ch. 11, Template:USStat
- March 27, 1794: Naval Act of 1794, Sess. 1, ch. 12, Template:USStat
- January 29, 1795: Naturalization Act of 1795, Sess. 2, ch. 20, Template:USStat
Constitutional amendments
- March 4, 1794: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution clarifying judicial power over foreign nationals, and limiting the ability of citizens to sue states in federal courts and under federal law, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification Template:USStat.
- February 7, 1795: The Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 12) to become part of the Constitution.
Treaties
- November 19, 1794: The United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain signed the Jay Treaty, which attempted to clear up some of the lingering problems left over from the American Revolutionary War
Faction summary
There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Details on changes are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
Senate
Template:USCongress Party summary
House of Representatives
Template:USCongress Party summary
Leadership
Senate
.jpg)
- President: John Adams (P)
- President pro tempore: John Langdon (P), until December 2, 1793
- Ralph Izard (P), May 31, 1794 – November 9, 1794
- Henry Tazewell (P), from February 20, 1795
House of Representatives
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.
Senate
Template:Main 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. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break
- Template:Party stripe1. Oliver Ellsworth (P)
- Template:Party stripe3. Roger Sherman (P), until July 23, 1793
- Template:Party stripeStephen Mitchell (P), from December 2, 1793
- Template:Party stripe1. George Read (P), until September 18, 1793
- Template:Party stripeHenry Latimer (P), from February 7, 1795
- Template:Party stripe2. John Vining (P)
- Template:Party stripe1. Albert Gallatin (A), until February 28, 1794
- Template:Party stripeJames Ross (P), from April 24, 1794
- Template:Party stripe3. Robert Morris (P)
- Template:Party stripe1. James Monroe (A), until May 27, 1794
- Template:Party stripeStevens Mason (A), from November 18, 1794
- Template:Party stripe2. John Taylor of Caroline (A), until May 11, 1794
- Template:Party stripeHenry Tazewell (A), from December 29, 1794
Template:Col-break Template:Multiple image Template:Col-end
House of Representatives
Template:Main The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers. Template:Col-begin Template:Col-break
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Joshua Coit (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. James Hillhouse (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Amasa Learned (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Zephaniah Swift (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Uriah Tracy (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Jeremiah Wadsworth (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Patten (A), until February 14, 1794
- Template:Party stripeHenry Latimer (P), February 14, 1794 – February 7, 1795
- Vacant thereafter
Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Abraham Baldwin (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas P. Carnes (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Christopher Greenup (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Alexander D. Orr (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. George Dent (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Mercer (A), until April 13, 1794
- Template:Party stripeGabriel Duvall (A), from November 11, 1794
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Uriah Forrest (P), until November 8, 1794
- Template:Party stripeBenjamin Edwards (P), from January 2, 1795
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Sprigg (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Samuel Smith (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Gabriel Christie (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Hindman (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Vans Murray (P)
There was a single at-large seat along with four plural districts, each of which had multiple representatives elected at-large on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Fisher Ames (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Samuel Dexter (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Benjamin Goodhue (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Samuel Holten (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Dwight Foster (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Lyman (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Theodore Sedgwick (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Artemas Ward (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Shearjashub Bourne (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Peleg Coffin Jr. (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Henry Dearborn (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. George Thatcher (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Peleg Wadsworth (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. David Cobb (P)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Nicholas Gilman (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Sherburne (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Jeremiah Smith (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Paine Wingate (P)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Beatty (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Elias Boudinot (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Lambert Cadwalader (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Abraham Clark (P), until September 15, 1794
- Template:Party stripeAaron Kitchell (A), from January 29, 1795
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Jonathan Dayton (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Tredwell (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Watts (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Philip Van Cortlandt (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Peter Van Gaasbeck (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Theodorus Bailey (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Ezekiel Gilbert (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John E. Van Alen (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Henry Glen (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. James Gordon (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Silas Talbot (P), until June 5, 1794
- Vacant thereafter
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Joseph McDowell (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Matthew Locke (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Joseph Winston (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Alexander Mebane (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Nathaniel Macon (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. James Gillespie (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Barry Grove (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Johnston Dawson (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Blount (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Benjamin Williams (A)
All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. James Armstrong (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Findley (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Fitzsimons (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Andrew Gregg (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Hartley (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Daniel Hiester (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Irvine (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Wilkes Kittera (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William Montgomery (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Frederick A. C. Muhlenberg (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Peter G. Muhlenberg (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Scott (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Smilie (A)
Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Benjamin Bourne (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Francis Malbone (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William L. Smith (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Hunter (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Lemuel Benton (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Richard Winn (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Alexander Gillon (A), until October 6, 1794
- Template:Party stripeRobert Goodloe Harper (P), from February 9, 1795
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Andrew Pickens (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Israel Smith (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Nathaniel Niles (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Robert Rutherford (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Andrew Moore (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Joseph Neville (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Francis Preston (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. George Hancock (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Isaac Coles (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Abraham B. Venable (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Thomas Claiborne (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. William B. Giles (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Carter B. Harrison (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Josiah Parker (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Page (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Samuel Griffin (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Francis Walker (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. James Madison (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Anthony New (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. Richard Bland Lee (P)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Nicholas (A)
- Template:Party stripeTemplate:Ushr. John Heath (A)
Non-voting members
- Template:Ushr ("Southwest Territory", later "Tennessee"). James White, seated September 3, 1794
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress
United States Senate
There were 1 death, 3 resigns, 1 late election, and 1 contested election. Template:See also Template:Ordinal US Congress change
|-
| Connecticut
(3)
| Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Roger Sherman (P)
| Died July 23, 1793.
| Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Stephen M. Mitchell (P)
| Elected December 2, 1793
|-
| Delaware
(1)
| Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | George Read (P)
| Resigned on September 18, 1793. Kensey Johns was appointed on March 19, 1794, but not permitted to qualify.
| Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Henry Latimer (P)
| Appointed February 7, 1795
|-
| Pennsylvania
(1)
| Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | Albert Gallatin (A)
| Credentials were contested and the seat was declared vacant February 28, 1794.
| Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | James Ross (P)
| Elected April 24, 1794
|-
| Virginia
(1)
| Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | James Monroe (A)
| Resigned May 11, 1794, to become United States Minister to France.
| Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | Stevens T. Mason (A)
| Elected November 18, 1794
|-
| Virginia
(2)
| Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | John Taylor (A)
| Resigned May 11, 1794.
| Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | Henry Tazewell (A)
| Elected November 18, 1794
|}
House of Representatives
There were 2 deaths, 3 resignations, and 1 contested election. Template:Main Template:Ordinal US Congress change
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | John Patten (A) | Contested election; served until February 14, 1794. | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Henry Latimer (P) | Seated February 14, 1794
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Vacant | Delegate seat established. | James White Non-voting delegate | Elected September 3, 1794
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | John Francis Mercer (A) | Resigned April 13, 1794. | Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | Gabriel Duvall (A) | Seated November 11, 1794
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Silas Talbot (P) | Accepted appointment to the U.S. Navy June 5, 1794. | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Abraham Clark (P) | Died September 15, 1794. | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Aaron Kitchell (P) | Seated January 29, 1795
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Anti-Administration | Alexander Gillon (A) | Died October 6, 1794. | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Robert Goodloe Harper (P) | Seated February 9, 1795
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Uriah Forrest (P) | Resigned November 8, 1794. | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Benjamin Edwards (P) | Seated January 2, 1795
|- | nowrap | Template:Ushr | Template:Party shading/Pro-Administration | Henry Latimer (P) | Resigned February 7, 1795, having been elected U.S. Senator. | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |}
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
House of Representatives
- Claims (Chairman: Uriah Tracy)
- Elections (Chairman: William Loughton Smith then Jonathan Dayton)
- Rules (Select)
- Ways and Means (Chairman: William Loughton Smith)
- Whole
Joint committees
- Enrolled Bills (Chairman: John Rutherfurd)
Employees
Senate
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Ashbel Green (Presbyterian)
- Clerk: John J. Beckley
- Doorkeeper: Gifford Dalley
- Reading Clerks: Template:Dm
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton
See also
- 1792 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1794 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)