17th United States Congress
The 17th 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. While its term was officially March 4, 1821, to March 4, 1823, during the fifth and sixth years of James Monroe's presidency, its first session began on December 3, 1821, ending on May 8, 1822, and its second session began on December 2, 1822, to March 3, 1823. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the third Census of the United States in 1810. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.
Major events
- March 5, 1821: Second inauguration of James Monroe as President of the United States.
- July 10, 1821: In accordance with the terms of the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty, sovereignty over Spanish Florida is officially transferred to the United States from Spain.
Major legislation
States admitted and territories organized
- August 10, 1821: Missouri was admitted as the 24th U.S. state
- March 30, 1822: Florida Territory was formed from the lands ceded by Spain known by the name East and West Florida
Party summary
Senate
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for the new state of Missouri.House of Representatives
For the beginning of this congress, six seats from Massachusetts were reapportioned to the new state of Maine,. During this congress, one House seat was added for the new state of Missouri,.Leadership
Senate
- President: Daniel D. Tompkins
- President pro tempore: John Gaillard, elected December 3, 1821
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Philip P. Barbour, elected December 4, 1821
Members
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 with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1826; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1822; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1824.[List of [United States Senators from Alabama|Alabama]]
- 2. William R. King
- 3. John W. Walker, until December 12, 1822
- * William Kelly, from December 12, 1822
Connecticut">List of United States Senators from Connecticut">Connecticut
- 1. Elijah Boardman
- 3. James Lanman
Delaware">List of United States Senators from Delaware">Delaware
- 1. Caesar A. Rodney, January 24, 1822 – January 29, 1823, vacant for remainder of term
- 2. Nicholas Van Dyke
Georgia">List of United States Senators from Georgia">Georgia
- 2. Freeman Walker, until August 6, 1821
- * Nicholas Ware, from November 10, 1821
- 3. John Elliott
Illinois">List of United States Senators from Illinois">Illinois
- 2. Jesse B. Thomas
- 3. Ninian Edwards
Indiana">List of United States Senators from Indiana">Indiana
- 1. James Noble
- 3. Waller Taylor
Kentucky">List of United States Senators from Kentucky">Kentucky
- 2. Richard M. Johnson
- 3. Isham Talbot
Louisiana">List of United States Senators from Louisiana">Louisiana
- 2. Henry Johnson
- 3. James Brown
Maine">List of United States Senators from Maine">Maine
- 1. John Holmes
- 2. John Chandler
Maryland">List of United States Senators from Maryland">Maryland
- 1. William Pinkney, until February 25, 1822
- * Samuel Smith, from December 17, 1822
- 3. Edward Lloyd
Massachusetts">List of United States Senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- 1. Elijah H. Mills
- 2. Harrison Gray Otis, until May 30, 1822
- * James Lloyd, from June 5, 1822
Mississippi">List of United States Senators from Mississippi">Mississippi
- 1. David Holmes
- 2. Thomas H. Williams
Missouri">List of United States Senators from Missouri">Missouri
- 1. Thomas H. Benton, from August 10, 1821
- 3. David Barton, from August 10, 1821
New Hampshire">List of United States Senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- 2. David L. Morril
- 3. John F. Parrott
New Jersey">List of United States Senators from New Jersey">New Jersey
- 1. Samuel L. Southard
- 2. Mahlon Dickerson
New York">List of United States Senators from New York">New York
- 1. Martin Van Buren
- 3. Rufus King
North Carolina">List of United States Senators from North Carolina">North Carolina
- 2. Montfort Stokes
- 3. Nathaniel Macon
Ohio">List of United States Senators from Ohio">Ohio
- 1. Benjamin Ruggles
- 3. William A. Trimble, until December 13, 1821
- * Ethan Allen Brown, from January 3, 1822
Pennsylvania">List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- 1. William Findlay, from December 10, 1821
- 3. Walter Lowrie
Rhode Island">List of United States Senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- 1. James DeWolf
- 2. Nehemiah R. Knight
South Carolina">List of United States Senators from South Carolina">South Carolina
- 2. William Smith
- 3. John Gaillard
Tennessee">List of United States Senators from Tennessee">Tennessee
- 1. John H. Eaton, from September 27, 1821
- 2. John Williams
Vermont">List of United States Senators from Vermont">Vermont
- 1. Horatio Seymour
- 3. William A. Palmer
Virginia">List of United States Senators from Virginia">Virginia
- 1. James Barbour
- 2. James Pleasants, until December 15, 1822
- * John Taylor of Caroline, from December 18, 1822
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]
- . Gabriel Moore
Connecticut">List of United States Representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut
- . Noyes Barber
- . Daniel Burrows
- . Henry W. Edwards
- . John Russ
- . Ansel Sterling
- . Ebenezer Stoddard
- . Gideon Tomlinson
Delaware">List of United States Representatives from Delaware">Delaware
- . Louis McLane
- . Caesar A. Rodney, until January 24, 1822
- * Daniel Rodney, from October 1, 1822
Georgia">List of United States Representatives from Georgia">Georgia
- . Joel Abbot
- . Alfred Cuthbert
- . George R. Gilmer
- . Robert R. Reid
- . Edward F. Tattnall
- . Wiley Thompson
Illinois">List of United States Representatives from Illinois">Illinois
- . Daniel P. Cook
Indiana">List of United States Representatives from Indiana">Indiana
- . William Hendricks, until July 25, 1822
- * Jonathan Jennings, from December 2, 1822
Kentucky">List of United States Representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky
- . David Trimble
- . Samuel H. Woodson
- . John T. Johnson
- . Thomas Metcalfe
- . Anthony New
- . Francis Johnson
- . George Robertson, until sometime in 1821 before the convening of Congress
- * John S. Smith, from August 6, 1821
- . Wingfield Bullock, until October 13, 1821
- * James D. Breckinridge, from November 21, 1821
- . Thomas Montgomery
- . Benjamin Hardin
Louisiana">List of United States Representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana
- . Josiah S. Johnston
Maine">List of United States Representatives from Maine">Maine
- . Joseph Dane
- . Ezekiel Whitman, until June 1, 1822
- * Mark Harris, from December 2, 1822
- . Mark L. Hill
- . William D. Williamson
- . Ebenezer Herrick
- . Joshua Cushman
- . Enoch Lincoln
Maryland">List of United States Representatives from Maryland">Maryland
- . Raphael Neale
- . Joseph Kent
- . Henry R. Warfield
- . John Nelson
- . Peter Little
- . Samuel Smith, until December 17, 1822
- * Isaac McKim, from January 4, 1823
- . Jeremiah Cosden, until March 19, 1822
- * Philip Reed, from March 19, 1822
- . Robert Wright
- . Thomas Bayly
Massachusetts">List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- . Benjamin Gorham
- . Gideon Barstow
- . Jeremiah Nelson
- . Timothy Fuller
- . Samuel Lathrop
- . Samuel C. Allen
- . Henry W. Dwight
- . Aaron Hobart
- . John Reed, Jr.
- . Francis Baylies
- . Jonathan Russell
- . Lewis Bigelow
- . William Eustis
Mississippi">List of United States Representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi
- . Christopher Rankin
Missouri">List of United States Representatives from Missouri">Missouri
- . John Scott, from August 10, 1821
New Hampshire">List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- . Josiah Butler
- . Matthew Harvey
- . Aaron Matson
- . William Plumer, Jr.
- . Nathaniel Upham
- . Thomas Whipple, Jr.
New Jersey">List of United States Representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey
- . Ephraim Bateman
- . George Cassedy
- . Lewis Condict
- . George Holcombe
- . James Matlack
- . Samuel Swan
New York">List of United States Representatives from New York">New York
- . Cadwallader D. Colden, from December 12, 1821
- . Silas Wood
- . Churchill C. Cambreleng
- . John J. Morgan
- . Jeremiah H. Pierson
- . William W. Van Wyck
- . Walter Patterson
- . Selah Tuthill, until September 7, 1821
- * Charles Borland, Jr., from December 3, 1821
- . Charles H. Ruggles
- . Richard McCarty
- . Solomon Van Rensselaer, until January 14, 1822
- * Stephen Van Rensselaer, from March 12, 1822
- . John D. Dickinson
- . John W. Taylor
- . Nathaniel Pitcher
- . Reuben H. Walworth
- . John Gebhard
- . Alfred Conkling
- . Samuel Campbell
- . James Hawkes
- . Joseph Kirkland
- . Thomas H. Hubbard
- . Micah Sterling
- . Elisha Litchfield
- . William B. Rochester
- . David Woodcock
- . Elijah Spencer
- . Albert H. Tracy
North Carolina">List of United States Representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina
- . Lemuel Sawyer
- . Hutchins G. Burton
- . Thomas H. Hall
- . William S. Blackledge
- . Charles Hooks
- . Weldon N. Edwards
- . Archibald McNeill
- . Josiah Crudup
- . Romulus M. Saunders
- . John Long
- . Henry W. Connor
- . Felix Walker
- . Lewis Williams
Ohio">List of United States Representatives from Ohio">Ohio
- . Thomas R. Ross
- . John W. Campbell
- . Levi Barber
- . David Chambers, from October 9, 1821
- . Joseph Vance
- . John Sloane
Pennsylvania">List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- . Samuel Edwards
- . Joseph Hemphill
- . William Milnor, until May 8, 1822
- * Thomas Forrest, from October 8, 1822
- . John Sergeant
- . William Darlington
- . Samuel Gross
- . James Buchanan
- . John Phillips
- . James S. Mitchell
- . John Findlay, from October 9, 1821
- . James McSherry
- . Samuel Moore, until May 20, 1822
- * Samuel D. Ingham, from October 8, 1822
- . Thomas J. Rogers
- . Ludwig Worman, until October 17, 1822
- * Daniel Udree, from October 17, 1822
- . John Tod
- . John Brown
- . George Denison
- . Thomas Murray, Jr., from October 9, 1821
- . George Plumer
- . Thomas Patterson
- . Andrew Stewart
- . Henry Baldwin, until May 8, 1822
- * Walter Forward, from October 8, 1822
- . Patrick Farrelly
Rhode Island">List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- . Job Durfee
- . Samuel Eddy
South Carolina">List of United States Representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina
- . Joel R. Poinsett
- . William Lowndes, until May 8, 1822
- * James Hamilton, Jr., from December 13, 1822
- . Thomas R. Mitchell
- . James Overstreet, until May 24, 1822
- * Andrew R. Govan, from December 4, 1822
- . Starling Tucker
- . George McDuffie
- . John Wilson
- . Joseph Gist
- . James Blair, until May 8, 1822
- * John Carter, from December 11, 1822
Tennessee">List of United States Representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee
- . John Rhea
- . John Cocke
- . Francis Jones
- . Robert Allen
- . Newton Cannon
- . Vacant
Vermont">List of United States Representatives from Vermont">Vermont
- . Rollin C. Mallary
- . Phineas White
- . Charles Rich
- . Elias Keyes
- . Samuel C. Crafts
- . John Mattocks
Virginia">List of United States Representatives from Virginia">Virginia
- . Edward B. Jackson
- . Thomas Van Swearingen, until August 19, 1822
- * James Stephenson, from October 28, 1822
- . Jared Williams
- . William McCoy
- . John Floyd
- . Alexander Smyth
- . William Smith
- . Charles F. Mercer
- . William Lee Ball
- . Thomas L. Moore
- . Philip P. Barbour
- . Robert S. Garnett
- . Burwell Bassett
- . Jabez Leftwich
- . George Tucker
- . John Randolph
- . William S. Archer
- . Mark Alexander
- . James Jones
- . Arthur Smith
- . Thomas Newton, Jr.
- . Hugh Nelson, until January 14, 1823, vacant thereafter
- . Andrew Stevenson
Non-voting members
- . James W. Bates
- . Joseph M. Hernández, from September 30, 1822
- . Solomon Sibley
- . Vacant until statehood
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.Senate
- Replacements: 5
- * Democratic-Republicans: no net change
- * Federalists: no net change
- Deaths: 2
- Resignations: 6
- Seats of newly admitted states: 2
- Vacancies: 3
- Total seats with changes: 12
House of Representatives
- replacements: 13
- * Democratic-Republicans: 1 seat net gain
- * Federalists: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 5
- resignations: 15
- contested election: 2
- seats of newly admitted states: 1
- Total seats with changes: 23
Committees
Senate
- Amendments to the Constitution
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
- Claims
- Commerce and Manufactures
- Debt Imprisonment Abolition
- District of Columbia
- Engrossed Bills
- Finance
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Judiciary
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- National Road from Cumberland to Wheeling
- Naval Affairs
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Public Lands
- Roads and Canals
- Tariff Regulation
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accountability of Public Moneys
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Arkansas Territorial Limits
- Claims
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Elections
- Expenditures in the Navy Department
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department
- Expenditures in the State Department
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department
- Expenditures in the War Department
- Expenditures on Public Buildings
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Judiciary
- Manufactures
- Military Affairs
- Naval Affairs
- Pensions and Revolutionary War Claims
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Private Land Claims
- Public Expenditures
- Public Lands
- Revisal and Unfinished Business
- Rules
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Enrolled Bills
- The Library
Employees
Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#Legislative branch">Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: Charles Bulfinch
- Librarian of Congress: George Watterston
Senate
- Chaplain: William Ryland, until December 9, 1822
- * Charles P. McIlvaine, elected December 9, 1822
- Secretary: Charles Cutts
- Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: John Nicholson Campbell, until December 10, 1821
- * Jared Sparks, elected December 10, 1821
- * John Brackenridge, elected December 5, 1822
- Clerk: Thomas Dougherty
- * Matthew St. Clair Clarke, elected December 3, 1822
- Doorkeeper: Benjamin Birch, elected December 4, 1821
- Reading Clerks:
- Sergeant at Arms: Thomas Dunn