# 15th United States Congress

The 15th 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 the Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1817, to March 4, 1819, during the first two years of James Monroe's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1810 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic-Republican majority.

## Letter of December 1818

Two major treaties with the United Kingdom were approved, finalized and signed during the 15th Congress, both the Rush–Bagot Treaty and the Treaty of 1818, both of which pertained to the United States-Canada border, and both of which were overwhelmingly popular in the United States. President James Monroe and Secretary of State John Quincy Adams were credited with the accomplishments. A letter signed by many members of congress expressing "Gratitude, amity and brotherhood with Great Britain" was addressed to British Prime Minister Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst, British foreign secretary Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh and Britain's minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinaire to the United States Charles Bagot. The letter also attacked King Louis XVIII of France for insulting remarks he had made towards American diplomats and about the United States, as well as his refusal to pay reparations owed to the United States from damages incurred during the Quasi-War. The letter was signed in December 1818 by Joel Abbot, Thomas W. Cobb, Zadock Cook, Joel Crawford, John Forsyth, William Terrell, Charles Tait, William Smith, John Gaillard, Henry Middleton, William Lowndes, James Ervin, Joseph Bellinger, Starling Tucker, Eldred Simkins, Elias Earle, Wilson Nesbitt, Stephen Decatur Miller, Montfort Stokes, Nathaniel Macon, Lemuel Sawyer, Joseph Hunter Bryan, Thomas H. Hall, Jesse Slocumb, James Owen, Weldon Nathaniel Edwards, James Stewart, James Strudwick Smith, Thomas Settle, George Mumford, Daniel Munroe Forney, Felix Walker, Lewis Williams, John J. Crittenden, Isham Talbot, David Trimble, Henry Clay, Richard Mentor Johnson, Joseph Desha, Anthony New, David Walker, George Robertson, Richard Clough Anderson Jr., Tunstall Quarles, Thomas Speed, William Hendricks, James Noble, Waller Taylor, John Eaton, John Williams, John Rhea, William Grainger Blount, Francis Jones, Samuel E. Hogg, Thomas Claiborne, George W.L. Marr, George Poindexter, Prentiss Mellen, Harrison Gray Otis, Enoch Lincoln, Jonathan Mason, Nathaniel Silsbee, Jeremiah Nelson, Timothy Fuller, Elijah H. Mills, Samuel Clesson Allen, Henry Shaw, Zabdiel Sampson, Walter Folger Jr., Marcus Morton, Benjamin Adams, Solomon Strong, Nathaniel Ruggles, John Holmes, Ezekiel Whitman, Benjamin Orr, John Wilson, Thomas Rice, Joshua Gage and Albion Parris, all of whom also voted to ratify both of the aforementioned treaties. Several governors also signed the letter, which was entirely symbolic and intended as a gesture of goodwill, including Gabriel Slaughter, William Rabun, John Geddes, John Branch, John Brooks, James Patton Preston and David Holmes. This was significant because the governors and the members of congress were from different regions (both Massachusetts and several southern states were represented), and because signers came from both the Whig Party and the Democratic-Republicans. Many members of congress and Washington DC had a very hostile relationship with France's notoriously combative ambassador Jean-Guillaume, baron Hyde de Neuville, which contributed to the letters contents as per France.

## Major events

* March 4, 1817: James Monroe became President of the United States
* July 4, 1817: Construction on the Erie Canal began
* November 20, 1817: The first Seminole War began in Florida
* January 2, 1819: The Panic of 1819, the first major financial crisis in the United States, began.
* February 2, 1819: Dartmouth College v. Woodward: Supreme Court allowed Dartmouth to keep its charter and remain a private institution.

## Major legislation

* April 4, 1818: Flag Act of 1818, Sess. 1, ch. 34, 3 Stat. 415

## Treaties

* April 29, 1817: Rush–Bagot Treaty signed between the U.S. and the United Kingdom
* October 20, 1818: Treaty of 1818 between the U.S. and the United Kingdom established the northern boundary as the 49th parallel from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains, also creating the Northwest Angle.
* February 22, 1819: Adams-Onís Treaty: Spain ceded Florida to the United States

## States admitted and territories created

* December 10, 1817: Mississippi admitted as the 20th state
* December 3, 1818: Illinois admitted as the 21st state
* March 2, 1819: Arkansas Territory was created, 3 Stat. 493; it was formerly part of the Missouri Territory

## Party summary

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.

### Senate

During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Mississippi and Illinois.
| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic- Republican (DR) | Federalist (F) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 25 | 13 | 38 | 0 |
| Begin | 25 | 13 | 38 | 0 |
| End | 28 | 12 | 40 | 2 |
| Final voting share | 70.0% | 30.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 29 | 9 | 38 | 4 |

### House of Representatives

During this congress, one House seat was added for each of the new states of Mississippi and Illinois.
| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic- Republican (DR) | Federalist (F) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 136 | 46 | 182 | 1 |
| Begin | 141 | 39 | 180 | 3 |
| End | 144 | 40 | 184 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 78.3% | 21.7% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 158 | 25 | 183 | 2 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: Daniel D. Tompkins (DR)
* President pro tempore:
** John Gaillard (DR), elected March 4, 1817
** James Barbour (DR), elected February 15, 1819

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: Henry Clay (DR)

## Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and representatives are listed by district.
    Skip to House of Representatives, below

### Senate

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 in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1820; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1822; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1818.

### House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

## Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

### House of Representatives
## Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

### Senate

* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Abner Lacock)
* Claims (Chairman: Jonathan Roberts then Robert Henry Goldsborough)
* Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Nathan Sanford)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Robert Henry Goldsborough)
* Engrossed Bills (Chairman: John J. Crittenden)
* Finance (Chairman: George W. Campbell then John Wayles Eppes)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Barbour then Nathaniel Macon)
* Indian Title to Certain Lands (Select)
* Judiciary (Chairman: John J. Crittenden then James Burrill Jr.)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: George M. Troup then John Williams)
* Militia (Chairman: Clement Storer then Benjamin Ruggles)
* Mississippi's Admission to the Union (Select)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Charles Tait then Nathan Sanford)
* Pensions (Chairman: James Noble then Abner Lacock)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: James J. Wilson then Montfort Stokes)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Jeremiah Morrow)
* Seminole War (Select)
* Slave Trade (Select)
* Whole

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: Peter Little)
* Alabama's Admission to the Union (Select)
* Arkansas Territory (Select)
* Bank of the United States (Select)
* Claims (Chairman: Lewis Williams)
* Commerce and Manufactures (Chairman: Thomas Newton Jr.)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: John C. Herbert)
* Elections (Chairman: John W. Taylor)
* Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: James Pleasants)
* Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Samuel D. Ingham)
* Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: John Forsyth)
* Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: William Lowndes)
* Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Richard M. Johnson)
* Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry S. Tucker)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Hugh Nelson)
* Pensions and Revolutionary War Claims (Chairman: John Rhea)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: Samuel Herrick then George Robertson)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Samuel D. Ingham then Arthur Livermore)
* Public Expenditures (Chairman: Joseph Desha)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Thomas B. Robertson then George Poindexter)
* Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: John Savage then John W. Taylor)
* Rules (Select)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Ways and Means (Chairman: William Lowndes then Samuel Smith)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Enrolled Bills
* The Library (Chairman: N/A)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: Benjamin H. Latrobe, resigned November 20, 1817
** Charles Bulfinch, appointed January 8, 1818
* Librarian of Congress: George Watterston

### Senate

* Chaplain: Sereno Edwards Dwight, Congregationalist, until December 9, 1817
** William D. Hawley, Episcopalian, elected December 9, 1817
** John Clark, Presbyterian, elected November 19, 1818
* Secretary: Charles Cutts
* Sergeant at Arms: Mountjoy Bayly

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: Burgiss Allison (Baptist)
* Clerk: Thomas Dougherty
* Doorkeeper: Thomas Claxton
* Reading Clerks: [data missing]
* Sergeant at Arms: Thomas Dunn