5th United States Congress

5th United States Congress
4th ← → 6th
Congress Hall (2007)
March 4, 1797 – March 3, 1799
Members	32 senators 106 representatives
Senate majority	Federalist
Senate President	Thomas Jefferson (DR)
House majority	Federalist
House Speaker	Jonathan Dayton (F)
Sessions
Special[a]: March 4, 1797 – March 4, 1797 1st: May 15, 1797 – July 10, 1797 2nd: November 13, 1797 – July 16, 1798 Special[b]: 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 1790 United States census. Both chambers had a Federalist majority.

• 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]

• April 7, 1798: Mississippi Organic Act ("An Act for an amicable settlement of limits with the state of Georgia, and authorizing the establishment of a government in the Mississippi territory"), Sess. 2, ch. 28, 1 Stat. 549
• 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

• June 7, 1797: Treaty of Tripoli between the United States and Tripoli.^[3]
• July 7, 1797: Existing treaties with France were rescinded, Sess. 2, ch. 67, 1 Stat. 578

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

• 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

• Speaker: Jonathan Dayton (F)

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.

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.

Skip to House of Representatives, below Connecticut ▌1. James Hillhouse (F) ▌3. Uriah Tracy (F) Delaware ▌1. Henry Latimer (F) ▌2. John Vining (F), until January 19, 1798 ▌Joshua Clayton (F), from January 19, 1798, until August 11, 1798 ▌William H. Wells (F), from January 17, 1799 Georgia ▌2. Josiah Tattnall (DR) ▌3. James Gunn (F) Kentucky ▌2. John Brown (DR) ▌3. Humphrey Marshall (F) Maryland ▌1. John Eager Howard (F) ▌3. John Henry (F), until December 10, 1797 ▌James Lloyd (F), from December 11, 1797 Massachusetts ▌1. Benjamin Goodhue (F) ▌2. Theodore Sedgwick (F) New Hampshire ▌2. Samuel Livermore (F) ▌3. John Langdon (DR) New Jersey ▌1. John Rutherfurd (F), until November 26, 1798 ▌Franklin Davenport (F), from December 5, 1798 ▌2. Richard Stockton (F) New York ▌1. Philip Schuyler (F), until January 3, 1798 ▌John Sloss Hobart (F), from January 11, 1798, until April 16, 1798 ▌William North (F), from May 5, 1798, until August 17, 1798 ▌James Watson (F), from August 17, 1798 ▌3. John Laurance (F)

North Carolina ▌2. Alexander Martin (DR) ▌3. Timothy Bloodworth (DR) Pennsylvania ▌1. James Ross (F) ▌3. William Bingham (F) Rhode Island ▌1. Theodore Foster (F) ▌2. William Bradford (F), until October ????, 1797 ▌Ray Greene (F), from November 13, 1797 South Carolina ▌2. John Hunter (DR) until November 26, 1798 ▌Charles Pinckney (DR), from December 6, 1798 ▌3. Jacob Read (F) Tennessee ▌1. William Cocke (DR), May 15, 1797 - September 26, 1797 ▌Andrew Jackson (DR), September 26, 1797 - April ????, 1798 ▌Daniel Smith (DR), from October 6, 1798 ▌2. William Blount (DR), until July 8, 1797 ▌Joseph Anderson (DR), from September 26, 1797 Vermont ▌1. Isaac Tichenor (F), until October 17, 1797 ▌Nathaniel Chipman (F), from October 17, 1797 ▌3. Elijah Paine (F) Virginia ▌1. Stevens Mason (DR) ▌2. Henry Tazewell (DR), until January 24, 1799

Connecticut All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. John Allen (F) ▌At-large. Joshua Coit (F), until September 5, 1798 ▌Jonathan Brace (F), from December 3, 1798 ▌At-large. Samuel W. Dana (F) ▌At-large. James Davenport (F), until August 3, 1797 ▌William Edmond (F), from November 13, 1797 ▌At-large. Chauncey Goodrich (F) ▌At-large. Roger Griswold (F) ▌At-large. Nathaniel Smith (F) Delaware ▌At-large. James A. Bayard (F) Georgia Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. Abraham Baldwin (DR) ▌At-large. John Milledge (DR) Kentucky ▌1. Thomas T. Davis (DR) ▌2. John Fowler (DR) Maryland ▌1. George Dent (F) ▌2. Richard Sprigg Jr. (DR) ▌3. William Craik (F) ▌4. George Baer Jr. (F) ▌5. Samuel Smith (DR) ▌6. William Matthews (F) ▌7. William Hindman (F) ▌8. John Dennis (F) Massachusetts ▌1. Thomson J. Skinner (DR) ▌2. William Shepard (F) ▌3. Samuel Lyman (F) ▌4. Dwight Foster (F) ▌5. Nathaniel Freeman Jr. (DR) ▌6. John Reed Sr. (F) ▌7. Stephen Bullock (F) ▌8. Harrison Gray Otis (F) ▌9. Joseph Bradley Varnum (DR) ▌10. Samuel Sewall (F) ▌11. Theophilus Bradbury (F), until July 24, 1797 ▌Bailey Bartlett (F), from November 27, 1797 ▌12. Isaac Parker (F) ▌13. Peleg Wadsworth (F) ▌14. George Thatcher (F) New Hampshire All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. Abiel Foster (F) ▌At-large. Jonathan Freeman (F) ▌At-large. William Gordon (F) ▌At-large. Jeremiah Smith (F), until July 26, 1797 ▌Peleg Sprague (F), from December 15, 1797 New Jersey All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. Jonathan Dayton (F) ▌At-large. James H. Imlay (F) ▌At-large. James Schureman (F) ▌At-large. Thomas Sinnickson (F) ▌At-large. Mark Thomson (F) New York ▌1. Jonathan N. Havens (DR) ▌2. Edward Livingston (DR) ▌3. Philip Van Cortlandt (DR) ▌4. Lucas C. Elmendorf (DR) ▌5. David Brooks (F) ▌6. Hezekiah L. Hosmer (F) ▌7. John E. Van Alen (F) ▌8. Henry Glen (F) ▌9. John Williams (F) ▌10. James Cochran (F)

North Carolina ▌1. Joseph McDowell (DR) ▌2. Matthew Locke (DR) ▌3. Robert Williams (DR) ▌4. Richard Stanford (DR) ▌5. Nathaniel Macon (DR) ▌6. James Gillespie (DR) ▌7. William Barry Grove (F) ▌8. Dempsey Burges (DR) ▌9. Thomas Blount (DR) ▌10. Nathan Bryan (DR), until June 4, 1798 ▌Richard Dobbs Spaight (DR), from December 10, 1798 Pennsylvania The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives. ▌1. John Swanwick (DR), until July 31, 1798 ▌Robert Waln (F), from December 3, 1798 ▌2. Blair McClenachan (DR) ▌3. Richard Thomas (F) ▌4. John Chapman (F) ▌4. Samuel Sitgreaves (F), until 1798 ▌Robert Brown (DR), from December 4, 1798 ▌5. George Ege (F), until October 1797 ▌Joseph Hiester (DR), from December 1, 1797 ▌6. John A. Hanna (DR) ▌7. John Wilkes Kittera (F) ▌8. Thomas Hartley (F) ▌9. Andrew Gregg (DR) ▌10. David Bard (DR) ▌11. William Findley (DR) ▌12. Albert Gallatin (DR) Rhode Island Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. ▌At-large. Christopher G. Champlin (F) ▌At-large. Elisha R. Potter (F), until 1797 ▌Thomas Tillinghast (F), from November 13, 1797 South Carolina ▌1. William L. Smith (F), until July 10, 1797 ▌Thomas Pinckney (F), from November 23, 1797 ▌2. John Rutledge Jr. (F) ▌3. Lemuel Benton (DR) ▌4. Thomas Sumter (DR) ▌5. Robert Goodloe Harper (F) ▌6. William Smith (DR) Tennessee ▌At-large. Andrew Jackson (DR), until September, 1797 ▌William C. C. Claiborne (DR), from November 23, 1797 Vermont ▌1. Matthew Lyon (DR) ▌2. Lewis R. Morris (F), from May 24, 1797 Virginia ▌1. Daniel Morgan (F) ▌2. David Holmes (DR) ▌3. James Machir (F) ▌4. Abram Trigg (DR) ▌5. John J. Trigg (DR) ▌6. Matthew Clay (DR) ▌7. Abraham B. Venable (DR) ▌8. Thomas Claiborne (DR) ▌9. William B. Giles (DR), until October 2, 1798 ▌Joseph Eggleston (DR), from December 3, 1798 ▌10. Carter B. Harrison (DR) ▌11. Josiah Parker (F) ▌12. Thomas Evans (F) ▌13. John Clopton (DR) ▌14. Samuel J. Cabell (DR) ▌15. John Dawson (DR) ▌16. Anthony New (DR) ▌17. Richard Brent (DR) ▌18. John Nicholas (DR) ▌19. Walter Jones (DR)

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress

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.

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.

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

• Whole

• 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

• Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Isaac Tichenor)

• Architect of the Capitol: William Thornton

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

• 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 missing]
• Chaplain: Ashbel Green, Presbyterian

• 1796 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1796 United States presidential election
  • 1796–97 United States Senate elections
  • 1796–97 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1798 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1798–99 United States Senate elections
  • 1798–99 United States House of Representatives elections

• 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.