United States House of Representatives elections, 1789

The U.S. House elections, 1789 were the first elections for the United States House of Representatives in 1789, which coincided with the election of President George Washington. Some candidates were chosen in 1788, others in 1789. Dates and manners of elections were set by the states. Actual political parties did not yet exist, but new members of Congress were informally categorized as either "pro-Administration" (i.e., pro-Washington and pro-Hamilton) or "anti-Administration."

The first session of the first House of Representatives came to order on March 4, 1789. The requisite quorum was not present until April 1, 1789. The first order of business was to elect a Speaker. On the first ballot, Frederick Muhlenberg was elected Speaker by a majority of votes. The business of the first session was largely a matter of procedure rather than policy.

It should be noted that in this period each state fixed its own date for a congressional general election. This article covers all such state elections to the 1st Congress. Elections to a Congress took place both in the even-numbered year before and in the odd-numbered year when the Congress convened. In some states the congressional delegation was not elected until after the legal start of the Congress (on the 4th day of March in the odd numbered year).

Election dates

Overall results

ee also

* 1st United States Congress
* United States presidential election, 1789
* History of the United States Constitution#The new government

References

* Source for election dates: "United States Congressional Elections, 1788-1997: The Official Results", by Michael J. Dubin (McFarland and Company, 1998).

External links

* [http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html Clerk of the House]