1820
Congress Profiles
16th Congress (1819–1821)
Congressional Profile
Total Membership:
- 186 Representatives
- 4 Delegates
Party Divisions:*
- 26 Federalists
- 160 Jeffersonian Republicans
*Party division totals are based on election day results.
About this object An 1820 seating chart from The Analectic Magazine provides a map to the House Chamber filled with Constantine Desks.
Congress Overview
Missouri statehood continued to monopolize the energies of the 16th Congress (1819–1821). The first session hammered out the Missouri Compromise that admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and codified Missouri’s southern boundary as the designating line between free and slave territories. In the second session, Henry Clay of Kentucky put the final touches on the Missouri Compromise after he convinced the territory’s officials to remove an offending clause in Missouri’s constitution which would have excluded all African Americans—whether slave or free—from residing in the state.
Member Information
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, (1774–2005), Official Annotated Membership Roster by State with Vacancy and Special Election Information for the 16th Congress. [PDF]
- Learn more about the House of Representatives with an interactive map
Learn more about the People of the People's House
Leadership & Officers
- Speaker of the House:
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Henry Clay (D–Kentucky) 1
John W. Taylor (D–New York)
- Clerk of the House:
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Thomas Dougherty
- Sergeant at Arms:
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Thomas Dunn
- Chaplain of the House:
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Burgess Allison – Baptist
John Nicholson Campbell – Presbyterian
- Doorkeeper:
-
Thomas Claxton
To view complete lists of individuals who have served in these leadership and official positions since the 1st Congress, visit the People section
Legislative Activities
- A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
- U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774-1875 (LOC)
Related Historical Highlights
December 18, 1820
Footnotes
1Resigned on October 28, 1820.
- For information on the current Congress, please visit the Office of the Clerk’s website.