| 8th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
7th ← → 9th | |
 United States Capitol (1800) | |
March 4, 1803 – March 4, 1805 | |
| Members | 34 senators 142 representatives 1 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic-Republican |
| Senate President | Aaron Burr (DR) |
| House majority | Democratic-Republican |
| House Speaker | Nathaniel Macon (DR) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: October 17, 1803 – March 27, 1804 2nd: November 5, 1804 – March 3, 1805 | |
The8th 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, 1803, to March 4, 1805, during the last two years ofThomas Jefferson's firstterm in office. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1800 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, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic- Republican (DR) | Federalist (F) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 18 | 14 | 32 | 2 |
| Begin | 21 | 9 | 30 | 4 |
| End | 25 | 34 | 0 | |
| Final voting share | 73.5% | 26.5% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 27 | 7 | 34 | 0 |
Following the1800 census, the size of the House was increased to 142 seats from 108.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic- Republican (DR) | Federalist (F) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 64 | 41 | 105 | 3 |
| Begin | 100 | 39 | 139 | 3 |
| End | 101 | 140 | 2 | |
| Final voting share | 72.1% | 27.9% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 113 | 26 | 139 | 3 |
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 areSenate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1808; Class 2 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1804; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1806.
|
|  2 Democratic-Republicans 1 Democratic-Republican and 1 Federalist 2 Federalists
|
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect | John Smith (DR) | Seated April 1, 1803 |
| Ohio (3) | Vacant | Failure to elect | Thomas Worthington (DR) | Seated April 1, 1803 |
| New Jersey (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect | John Condit (DR) | Seated September 1, 1803 |
| Tennessee (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect | Joseph Anderson (DR) | Elected September 22, 1803 |
| Virginia (1) | Stevens T. Mason (DR) | Died May 10, 1803 | John Taylor (DR) | Appointed June 4, 1803 |
| New York (3) | DeWitt Clinton (DR) | Resigned November 4, 1803, to becomeMayor of New York City | John Armstrong Jr. (DR) | Appointed December 7, 1803 |
| Virginia (1) | John Taylor (DR) | Successor elected December 7, 1803 | Abraham B. Venable (DR) | Elected December 7, 1803 |
| New York (1) | Theodorus Bailey (DR) | Resigned January 16, 1804, to become Postmaster of New York City | John Armstrong Jr. (DR) | Seated February 25, 1804 |
| New York (3) | John Armstrong Jr. (DR) | Successor elected February 23, 1804 | John Smith (DR) | Elected February 23, 1804 |
| Virginia (2) | Wilson C. Nicholas (DR) | Resigned May 22, 1804, to become Collector of Port of Norfolk | Andrew Moore (DR) | Appointed August 11, 1804 |
| Virginia (1) | Abraham B. Venable (DR) | Resigned June 7, 1804 | William B. Giles (DR) | Appointed August 11, 1804 |
| New York (1) | John Armstrong Jr. (DR) | Resigned June 30, 1804, after being appointedMinister to France | Samuel Latham Mitchill (DR) | Seated November 23, 1804 |
| Rhode Island (1) | Samuel J. Potter (DR) | Died October 14, 1804 | Benjamin Howland (DR) | Seated October 29, 1804 |
| Delaware (2) | William H. Wells (F) | Resigned November 6, 1804 | James A. Bayard (F) | Seated November 13, 1804 |
| South Carolina (3) | Pierce Butler (DR) | Resigned November 21, 1804 | John Gaillard (DR) | Seated December 6, 1804 |
| Virginia (1) | William B. Giles (DR) | Successor elected December 4, 1804 | Andrew Moore (DR) | Elected December 4, 1804 |
| Virginia (2) | Andrew Moore (DR) | Successor elected December 4, 1804 | William B. Giles (DR) | Elected December 4, 1804 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York 7th | Vacant | John Cantine (DR) was elected, but resigned before the Congress began. | Josiah Hasbrouck (DR) | October 17, 1803 |
| Connecticut at-large | Vacant | IncumbentElias Perkins (F) elected but chose not to serve. Successorelected September 5, 1803. | Simeon Baldwin (F) | October 17, 1803 |
| Ohio at-large | Vacant | Seat vacant following Ohio's admission to Union until special election held on June 21, 1803. | Jeremiah Morrow (DR) | October 17, 1803 |
| New York 6th | Isaac Bloom (DR) | Died April 26, 1803 | Daniel C. Verplanck (DR) | October 17, 1803 |
| New York 1st | John Smith (DR) | Resigned February 23, 1804, after being elected toU.S. Senate | Samuel Riker (DR) | November 5, 1804 |
| Virginia 5th | Thomas Lewis Jr. (F) | Lost contested election March 5, 1804 | Andrew Moore (DR) | March 5, 1804 |
| Maryland 4th | Daniel Hiester (DR) | Died March 7, 1804 | Roger Nelson (DR) | November 6, 1804 |
| Virginia 13th | John J. Trigg (DR) | Died May 17, 1804 | Christopher H. Clark (DR) | November 5, 1804 |
| Massachusetts 12th | Thomson J. Skinner (DR) | Resigned August 10, 1804 | Simon Larned (DR) | November 5, 1804 |
| Virginia 5th | Andrew Moore (DR) | Resigned August 11, 1804, after being appointed toU.S. Senate | Alexander Wilson (DR) | December 4, 1804 |
| Pennsylvania 10th | William Hoge (DR) | Resigned October 15, 1804 | John Hoge (DR) | November 2, 1804 |
| New York 3rd | Samuel L. Mitchill (DR) | Resigned November 22, 1804, after being elected toU.S. Senate | George Clinton Jr. (DR) | February 14, 1805 |
| North Carolina 5th | James Gillespie (DR) | Died January 11, 1805 | Vacant | Not filled for remainder of term |
| Georgia at-large | Samuel Hammond (DR) | Resigned February 2, 1805, after becoming Civil and Military Governor of the Upper Louisiana Territory | Vacant | Not filled for remainder of term |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.