8th United States Congress

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

The 8th 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, 1803, to March 4, 1805, during the last two years of Thomas Jefferson's first term in office. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1800 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.

• April 30, 1803: The Louisiana Purchase was made by the United States from France
• February 16, 1804: In the First Barbary War, Stephen Decatur led a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate Philadelphia
• May 14, 1804: Lewis and Clark Expedition departed from Camp Dubois to begin their historic journey by traveling up the Missouri River
• July 11, 1804: Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton
• November 30, 1804: Impeachment trial of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase
• December 3, 1804: 1804 United States presidential election: Incumbent Thomas Jefferson (DR) beat challenger Charles Cotesworth Pinckney (F)
• March 1, 1805: Samuel Chase acquitted of impeachment charges by the U.S. Senate

• December 9, 1803: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution providing a new procedure for electing the President and Vice President, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification 2 Stat. 306
  • June 15, 1804: Twelfth Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 13) to become part of the Constitution

• October 20, 1803: Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase Treaty

• March 26, 1804: Territory of Orleans was organized from the portion of the Louisiana Purchase south of the 33rd parallel; the portion north of the 33rd parallel was organized as the District of Louisiana. 2 Stat. 283
• January 11, 1805: Michigan Territory was organized. 2 Stat. 309
• March 3, 1805: Louisiana Territory was organized from the District of Louisiana. 2 Stat. 331

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 of previous congress	18	14	32	2
Begin	21	9	30	4
End	25		34	0
Final voting share	73.5%	26.5%
Beginning of next congress	27	7	34	0

Following the 1800 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 of previous congress	64	41	105	3
Begin	100	39	139	3
End	101		140	2
Final voting share	72.1%	27.9%
Beginning of next congress	113	26	139	3

• President: Aaron Burr (DR)
• President pro tempore: John Brown (DR), October 17, 1803 – February 26, 1804
  • Jesse Franklin (DR), March 10, 1804 – November 4, 1804
  • Joseph Anderson (DR), January 15, 1805 – December 1, 1805

• Speaker: Nathaniel Macon (DR)

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

Skip to House of Representatives, below

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 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.

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.

Senate changes

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 become Mayor 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 appointed Minister 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

House changes

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	Incumbent Elias Perkins (F) elected but chose not to serve. Successor elected 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 to U.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 to U.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 to U.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.

• Whole

• Claims (Chairman: John C. Smith then Samuel W. Dana)
• Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Samuel L. Mitchill)
• Elections (Chairman: William Findley)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Samuel Tenney)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Ways and Means (Chairman: John Randolph)
• Whole

• Enrolled Bills (Chairman: N/A)

• Architect of the Capitol: Benjamin H. Latrobe, appointed March 6, 1803
• Librarian of Congress: John J. Beckley

• Secretary: Samuel A. Otis
• Sergeant at Arms: James Mathers
• Chaplain: Edward Gantt, Episcopalian, until November 7, 1804
  • Alexander T. McCormick, Episcopalian, elected November 7, 1804

• Clerk: John Beckley
• Sergeant at Arms: Joseph Wheaton
• Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
• Chaplain: William Parkinson, Baptist, until November 5, 1804
  • The Rev. James Laurie, Presbyterian, elected November 5, 1804
• Reading Clerks: [data missing]

• 1802 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1802–03 United States Senate elections
  • 1802–03 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1804 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1804 United States presidential election
  • 1804–05 United States Senate elections
  • 1804–05 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.

• Statutes at Large, 1789-1875
• Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• U.S. House of Representatives: House History
• U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists