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The 21st 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, 1829, to March 4, 1831, during the first two years of Andrew Jackson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1820 United States census. Both chambers had a Jacksonian majority.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2021) |
| 21st United States Congress | |
|---|---|
20th ← → 22nd | |
 United States Capitol (1827) | |
March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1831 | |
| Members | 48 senators 213 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Jacksonian |
| Senate President | John C. Calhoun (J) |
| House majority | Jacksonian |
| House Speaker | Andrew Stevenson (J) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1829 – March 17, 1829 1st[1]: December 7, 1829 – May 31, 1830 2nd: December 6, 1830 – March 3, 1831 | |
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- March 4, 1829: Andrew Jackson became 7th President of the United States
- May 10–14, 1830: Confrontational meetings between the French Chargé d'affaires in Washington DC and a group of leaders consisting of Mark Alexander, William S. Archer, Robert H. Adams, Thomas Hinds, Dixon H. Lewis, Clement Comer Clay, Powhatan Ellis and John McKinley grew incredibly contentious and hostile. Arguments began when the aforementioned representatives and senators charged that France owed the United States reparations from damages incurred during the Quasi-War. At one point Thomas Hinds threatened the French Chargé d'affaires with a pistol. Eventually, only intervention by John Forsyth prevented a major diplomatic incident. Shortly after this the governor of Virginia John Floyd formally asked France's economic attaché to leave Virginia. This foreshadowed conflict with France over the same issue that would dominate American politics in 1835, at that point the main instigator on the American side would be President Andrew Jackson.[2][3]
- May 28 – US congress passes the Indian Removal Act.
- September 27 – Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek with Choctaw nation. (First removal treaty signed after the Removal Act.)
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- May 28, 1830: Indian Removal Act, ch. 148, 4 Stat. 411
Not enacted
- May 27, 1830: Maysville Road Bill vetoed
- September 27, 1830: The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty after the passage of the Indian Removal Act, is signed with the Choctaw.
- February 24, 1831: Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek proclaimed.
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
John C. Calhoun.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Republican (NR) |
Jacksonian (J) | Other | |||
| End of previous congress | 21 | 27 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| Begin | 22 | 26 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| End | 25 | 47 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 46.8% | 53.2% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 21 | 24 | 2[b] | 47 | 1 |
House of Representatives
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Republican (NR) |
Anti- Masonic (AM) | Jacksonian (J) | Other (0) | |||
| End of previous congress | 101 | 0 | 111 | 0 | 212 | 1 |
| Begin | 72 | 4 | 133 | 0 | 209 | 4 |
| End | 5 | 135 | 212 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 34.0% | 2.4% | 63.7% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 64 | 16 | 128 | 4[c] | 212 | 1 |
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Samuel Smith.
Senate
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Andrew Stevenson (J)
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, 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 the last Congress, facing re-election in 1832; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1834; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1830.
Alabama
Connecticut
Delaware
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Mississippi
|
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Vermont
Virginia
|
 2 Jacksonians
1 Jacksonian and 1 Anti-Jacksonian
2 Anti-Jacksonians
|
House of Representatives
Members are listed by their districts.
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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- Replacements: 4
- Jacksonians (J): no net change
- National Republicans (NR): no net change
- Deaths: 4
- Resignations: 4
- Interim appointments: 1
- Total seats with changes: 7
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[d] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia (3) |
John M. Berrien (J) | Resigned March 9, 1829, to become U.S. Attorney General. Successor elected November 9, 1829. |
John Forsyth (J) | Installed November 9, 1829 |
| North Carolina (2) |
John Branch (J) | Resigned March 9, 1829, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of the Navy. Successor elected December 9, 1829. |
Bedford Brown (J) | Installed December 9, 1829 |
| Tennessee (1) |
John Eaton (J) | Resigned March 9, 1829, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of War. Successor elected October 19, 1829. |
Felix Grundy (J) | Installed October 19, 1829 |
| Delaware (1) |
Louis McLane (J) | Resigned April 29, 1829, to become U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom. Successor elected January 7, 1830. |
Arnold Naudain (NR) | Installed January 7, 1830 |
| Mississippi (2) |
Thomas B. Reed (J) | Died November 26, 1829. Successor elected January 6, 1830. |
Robert H. Adams (J) | Installed January 6, 1830 |
| Mississippi (2) |
Robert H. Adams (J) | Died July 2, 1830. Successor appointed October 15, 1830, to continue the term, and subsequently elected. |
George Poindexter (J) | Installed October 15, 1830 |
| Illinois (2) |
John McLean (J) | Died October 14, 1830. Successor appointed November 12, 1830, to continue the term. |
David J. Baker (J) | Installed November 12, 1830 |
| Illinois (2) |
David J. Baker (J) | Appointee retired with elected successor qualified. Successor elected December 11, 1830. |
John M. Robinson (J) | Installed December 11, 1830 |
| Indiana (1) |
James Noble (NR) | Died February 26, 1831. Seat filled next Congress. |
Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 5
- Jacksonians (J): 1 seat net loss
- National Republicans (NR): 1 seat net gain
- Deaths: 2
- Resignations: 10
- Contested election: 2
Total seats with changes: 15
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[d] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland 6th |
Vacant | Maryland elected its members October 5, 1829, after the term began but before Congress convened. Rep-elect sworn in December after convening. | George Edward Mitchell (J) | Seated December 7, 1829 |
| Georgia at-large |
Vacant | George Gilmer (Jacksonian) was redistricted from the 1st district and re-elected but failed to accept the position within the legal time frame. Governor ordered a new election. | Henry G. Lamar (J) | Seated December 7, 1829 |
| Maine 4th |
Vacant | Peleg Sprague resigned in previous Congress | George Evans (NR) | Seated July 20, 1829 |
| Pennsylvania 16th |
Vacant | William Wilkins resigned before qualifying | Harmar Denny (AM) | Seated December 15, 1829 |
| Pennsylvania 8th |
George Wolf (J) | Resigned in 1829 before the convening of Congress | Samuel A. Smith (J) | Seated October 13, 1829 |
| Virginia 10th |
William C. Rives (J) | Resigned some time in 1829 | William F. Gordon (J) | Seated January 25, 1830 |
| Pennsylvania 8th |
Samuel D. Ingham (J) | Resigned in March 1829 after being appointed Secretary of the Treasury | Peter Ihrie Jr. (J) | Seated October 13, 1829 |
| North Carolina 5th |
Gabriel Holmes (J) | Died September 26, 1829 | Edward B. Dudley (J) | Seated November 10, 1829 |
| New York 20th |
George Fisher (NR) | Lost contested election February 5, 1830, to Silas Wright who in turn failed to qualify | Jonah Sanford (J) | Seated November 3, 1830 |
| Virginia 1st |
Thomas Newton Jr. (NR) | Lost contested election March 9, 1830 | George Loyall (J) | Seated March 9, 1830 |
| Maine 5th |
James W. Ripley (J) | Resigned March 12, 1830 | Cornelius Holland (J) | Seated December 6, 1830 |
| Ohio 11th |
John M. Goodenow (J) | Resigned April 9, 1830, after being appointed judge of the Supreme Court of Ohio | Humphrey H. Leavitt (J) | Seated December 6, 1830 |
| Virginia 22nd |
Alexander Smyth (J) | Died April 17, 1830 | Joseph Draper (J) | Seated December 6, 1830 |
| New York 6th |
Hector Craig (J) | Resigned July 12, 1830 | Samuel W. Eager (NR) | Seated November 2, 1830 |
| Virginia 11th |
Philip P. Barbour (J) | Resigned October 15, 1830, after being appointed judge of US Circuit Court of the Eastern District of Virginia | John M. Patton (J) | Seated November 25, 1830 |
| New York 21st |
Robert Monell (J) | Resigned February 21, 1831 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Michigan Territory At-large |
John Biddle | Resigned February 21, 1831 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
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Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Accounts of James Monroe (Select)
- Agriculture (Chairman: William Marks)
- Amending the Constitution on the Election of the President and Vice President (Select)
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Elias Kane then James Iredell Jr.)
- Claims (Chairman: Benjamin Ruggles)
- Commerce (Chairman: Levi Woodbury)
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Ezekiel F. Chambers)
- Dueling (Select)
- Engrossed Bills (Chairman: William Marks)
- Finance (Chairman: Samuel Smith)
- Foreign Relations (Chairman: Littleton Tazewell)
- French Spoilations (Select)
- Impeachment of James H. Peck (Select)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: Hugh Lawson White)
- Judiciary (Chairman: John Rowan)
- Manufactures (Chairman: Mahlon Dickerson)
- Memorial of the Manufacturers Iron (Select)
- Mileage of Members of Congress (Select)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
- Militia (Chairman: Isaac D. Barnard)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: Robert Y. Hayne)
- Nomination of Amos Kendall (Select)
- Pensions (Chairman: John Holmes)
- Post Office Department (Select)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: George M. Bibb)
- Private Land Claims (Chairman: Jacob Burnet)
- Public Lands (Chairman: David Barton)
- Roads and Canals (Select) (Chairman: William Hendricks)
- Tariff Regulation (Select)
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accounts (Chairman: Jehiel H. Halsey)
- Agriculture (Chairman: Ambrose Spencer)
- American Colonization Society (Select)
- Claims (Chairman: Elisha Whittlesey)
- Commerce (Chairman: Churchill C. Cambreleng)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Gershom Powers)
- Elections (Chairman: Willis Alston)
- Establishing an Assay Office in the Gold Region (Select)
- Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Augustine H. Shepperd)
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Joel Yancey)
- Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Jonas Earll)
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: George G. Leiper)
- Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Lewis Maxwell)
- Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Michael C. Sprigg)
- Foreign Affairs (Chairman: William S. Archer)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
- Judiciary (Chairman: James Buchanan)
- Manufactures (Chairman: Rollin C. Mallary)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: William Drayton)
- Military Pensions (Chairman: Isaac C. Bates)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: Michael Hoffman)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Richard M. Johnson)
- Private Land Claims (Chairman: John B. Sterigere)
- Public Expenditures (Chairman: Thomas H. Hall)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Jacob C. Isacks then Charles A. Wickliffe)
- Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Dutee J. Pearce)
- Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Tristam Burges)
- Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: N/A)
- Rules (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories (Chairman: James Clark)
- Ways and Means (Chairman: George McDuffie)
- Whole
Joint committees
Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: Charles Bulfinch, until June 25, 1829 (office abolished)
- Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan
Senate
- Chaplain: William Ryland (Methodist), until December 14, 1829
- Henry V. Johns (Episcopalian), elected December 14, 1829
- Secretary: Walter Lowrie
- Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Reuben Post (Presbyterian), until December 13, 1830
- Ralph R. Gurley (Presbyterian), elected December 13, 1830
- Clerk: Matthew St. Clair Clarke
- Doorkeeper: Benjamin Birch
- Reading Clerks: [data missing]
- Sergeant at Arms: John O. Dunn
- 1828 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1830 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
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