| 16th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
15th ← → 17th | |
 United States Capitol (1827) | |
March 4, 1819 – March 4, 1821 | |
| Members | 46 senators 186 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic-Republican |
| Senate President | Daniel D. Tompkins (DR) |
| House majority | Democratic-Republican |
| House Speaker | Henry Clay (DR) John W. Taylor (DR) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: December 6, 1819 – May 15, 1820 2nd: November 13, 1820 – March 3, 1821 | |
The16th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of theUnited States Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives. It met inWashington, D.C. from March 4, 1819, to March 4, 1821, during the third and fourth years ofJames Monroe'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1810 United States census. Both chambers had aDemocratic-Republican majority.
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.
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Alabama and Maine.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic- Republican (DR) | Federalist (F) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 28 | 12 | 40 | 2 |
| Begin | 29 | 9 | 38 | 4 |
| End | 38 | 8 | 46 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 82.6% | 17.4% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 40 | 4 | 44 | 2 |
During this congress, one House seat was added for the new state of Alabama and one seat was reapportioned from Massachusetts to the new state of Maine. For the beginning of the next congress, six more seats from Massachusetts would be reapportioned to Maine.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic- Republican (DR) | Federalist (F) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 146 | 39 | 185 | 0 |
| Begin | 155 | 28 | 183 | 2 |
| End | 27 | 182 | 5 | |
| Final voting share | 85.2% | 14.8% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 150 | 31 | 181 | 5 |
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class 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 areSenate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1820; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1822; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1824.
|
|  2 Democratic-Republicans 1 Democratic-Republican and 1 Federalist 2 Federalists
|
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
There were 5 resignations, 2 deaths, 2 vacancies before the Congress, and 4 new seats. TheDemocratic-Republicans had a 7-seat net gain and theFederalists had a 1-seat net loss.
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia (2) | Vacant | John Forsyth had resigned before the beginning of the Congress. | Freeman Walker (DR) | Elected November 6, 1819 |
| Kentucky (2) | Vacant | John J. Crittenden had resigned before the beginning of the Congress. | Richard Mentor Johnson (DR) | Elected December 10, 1819 |
| Maryland (3) | Vacant | Legislature did not elect until after the term began. | Edward Lloyd (DR) | Elected December 14, 1819, and qualified December 21, 1819 |
| New York (3) | Vacant | Legislature failed to elect, held late election. | Rufus King (F) | Elected January 8, 1820, and qualified January 25, 1820 |
| Maryland (1) | Alexander C. Hanson (F) | Died April 23, 1819 | William Pinkney (DR) | Elected December 21, 1819 |
| Virginia (2) | John W. Eppes (DR) | Resigned December 4, 1819 | James Pleasants (DR) | Elected December 10, 1819 |
| Alabama (2) | New seats | Alabama was admitted to the Union December 14, 1819. | John W. Walker (DR) | Elected December 14, 1819 |
| Alabama (3) | William R. King (DR) | Elected December 14, 1819 | ||
| Maine (2) | New seats | Maine was admitted to the Union March 15, 1820. | John Holmes (DR) | Elected June 13, 1820 |
| Maine (1) | John Chandler (DR) | Elected June 14, 1820 | ||
| Massachusetts (1) | Prentiss Mellen (F) | Resigned May 15, 1820 | Elijah H. Mills (F) | Elected June 12, 1820 |
| Mississippi (1) | Walter Leake (DR) | Resigned May 15, 1820, after becomingUS Marshal for Mississippi | David Holmes (DR) | Appointed August 30, 1820 |
| Kentucky (3) | William Logan (DR) | Resigned May 28, 1820, to run forGovernor of Kentucky | Isham Talbot (DR) | Elected October 19, 1820 |
| Rhode Island (2) | James Burrill Jr. (F) | Died December 25, 1820 | Nehemiah R. Knight (DR) | Elected January 9, 1821 |
| New Jersey (1) | James J. Wilson (DR) | Resigned January 8, 1821 | Samuel L. Southard (DR) | Appointed January 26, 1821 |
There were 13 resignations, 5 deaths, 2 contested elections, and 2 new seats. TheDemocratic-Republicans had a 1-seat net gain and theFederalists had no net change.
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina 2nd | Vacant | Hutchins G. Burton (DR) | Seated December 6, 1819 | |
| Alabama Territory | Vacant | Seat remained vacant until statehood | John Crowell (DR) | Seated December 14, 1819 |
| Alabama at-large | ||||
| Arkansas Territory | Vacant | Arkansas Territory organized July 4, 1819 | James W. Bates | Seated December 21, 1819 |
| New York 1st | Vacant | Contested election. Representative-electEbenezer Sage never qualified. | James Guyon Jr. (DR) | Seated January 14, 1820 |
| New Jersey at-large | John Condit (DR) | Resigned November 4, 1819 | Charles Kinsey (DR) | Seated February 16, 1820 |
| Virginia 17th | James Pleasants (DR) | Resigned December 14, 1819 | William S. Archer (DR) | Seated January 18, 1820 |
| Vermont 1st | Orsamus C. Merrill (DR) | Contested election, served until January 12, 1820 | Rollin C. Mallary (DR) | Seated January 13, 1820 |
| Virginia 20th | James Johnson (DR) | Resigned February 1, 1820 | John C. Gray (DR) | Seated November 13, 1820 |
| Virginia 10th | George F. Strother (DR) | Resigned February 10, 1820 | Thomas L. Moore (DR) | Seated November 13, 1820 |
| Kentucky 6th | David Walker (DR) | Died March 1, 1820 | Francis Johnson (DR) | Seated November 13, 1820 |
| Massachusetts 14th | John Holmes (DR) | Resigned March 15, 1820, to become U.S. Senator from Maine. | District moved to Maine | District inactive until 1903 |
| Maine at-large | New seat | Massachusetts's 14th district became Maine's at-large district | Joseph Dane (F) | Seated November 6, 1820 |
| Massachusetts 1st | Jonathan Mason (F) | Resigned May 15, 1820 | Benjamin Gorham (DR) | Seated November 27, 1820 |
| Pennsylvania 5th | David Fullerton (DR) | Resigned May 15, 1820 | Thomas G. McCullough (F) | Seated November 13, 1820 |
| Massachusetts 13th | Edward Dowse (DR) | Resigned May 26, 1820 | William Eustis (DR) | |
| Kentucky 9th | Tunstall Quarles (DR) | Resigned June 15, 1820 | Thomas Montgomery (DR) | |
| Virginia 1st | James Pindall (F) | Resigned July 26, 1820 | Edward B. Jackson (DR) | |
| Massachusetts 8th | Zabdiel Sampson (DR) | Resigned July 26, 1820 | Aaron Hobart (DR) | Seated December 18, 1820 |
| Michigan Territory | William Woodbridge | Resigned August 9, 1820 | Solomon Sibley | Seated November 20, 1820 |
| Pennsylvania 7th | Joseph Hiester (DR) | Resigned sometime in December 1820 | Daniel Udree (DR) | Seated January 8, 1821 |
| Rhode Island at-large | Nathaniel Hazard (DR) | Died December 17, 1820 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |
| North Carolina 4th | Jesse Slocumb (F) | Died December 20, 1820 | William S. Blackledge (DR) | Seated February 7, 1821 |
| New Jersey at-large | John Linn (DR) | Died January 5, 1821 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |
| Delaware at-large | Willard Hall (DR) | Resigned January 22, 1821 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |
| Virginia 14th | William A. Burwell (DR) | Died February 16, 1821 | Vacant | Not filled in this Congress |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.