21st United States Congress

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.

21st United States Congress
20th ←
→ 22nd

March 4, 1829 – March 4, 1831
Members48 senators
213 representatives
3 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityJacksonian
Senate PresidentJohn C. Calhoun (J)
House majorityJacksonian
House SpeakerAndrew Stevenson (J)
Sessions
Special (Senate): March 4, 1829 – March 17, 1829
1st[1]: December 7, 1829 – May 31, 1830
2nd: December 6, 1830 – March 3, 1831

Major events

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March 4, 1829: Andrew Jackson inaugurated President

Major legislation

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Not enacted

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Treaties

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Party summary

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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

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President of the 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 25 471
Final voting share 46.8% 53.2% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 21 24 2[a] 47 1

House of Representatives

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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 2121
Final voting share 34.0% 2.4% 63.7% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 64 16 128 4[b] 212 1

Leadership

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President pro tempore
Samuel Smith.

Senate

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House of Representatives

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Members

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This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate

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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.

House of Representatives

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Members are listed by their districts.

Changes in membership

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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

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Senate changes
State
(class)
Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[c]
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

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Total seats with changes: 15

House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[c]
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

Committees

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Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

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House of Representatives

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Joint committees

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Employees

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Senate

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House of Representatives

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See also

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Notes

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

References

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  1. ^ 21st Congress Archived 2012-01-19 at the Wayback Machine from the Office of the Clerk website
  2. ^ Andrew Jackson and the Course of American Democracy, 1833-1845 by Robert Vincent Remini · 1984
  3. ^ obert C. Thomas, “Andrew Jackson versus France,” Tennessee Historical Quarterly, 35 (1976), 51–64.
  • 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.
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From American Memory at the Library of Congress:

Other U.S. government websites: