The Green Papers
The Green Papers
4th Session of the Congress, 1795-1797
session type convened adjourned President pro Tempore
of the Senate
Speaker of the House
of Representatives
Special SENATE 8 June 1795 26 June 1795 none - - - -

This Special Session of the SENATE was called by President George Washington via executive Proclamation issued on 3 March 1795; no President pro Tempore was elected by the Senate, as Vice President John Adams presided over the entire session.

1st long 7 December 1795 1 June 1796 Tazewell;
Livermore, Samuel
(Adm.- New Hampshire)
Dayton, Jonathan
(Adm.-New Jersey)

Senator Livermore was elected President pro Tempore by the Senate in place of Senator Tazewell on 6 May 1796.

2nd short 5 December 1796 3 March 1797 Bingham, William
(Fed.- Pennsylvania)
Dayton
(NOW Fed.)

With the favorable vote re: the funding for implementing Jay's Treaty in the House of Representatives during the previous ("long") session of the 4th Congress (a bill guided through a House controlled by the Opposition by the breaking of two crucial tie votes by Administration Speaker Dayton [it being a tradition that, except under extraordinary circumstances, the Speaker of a legislative chamber- even where a member of that body- does not speak from the Well of the House nor cast a vote: a tradition that Dayton more honored in the breach]), the office of Speaker of the House became politicized and, henceforth, usually would generally reflect the will of the Party which controlled that body. Likewise, the office of Senate President pro Tempore would follow suit during the "short" session of this Congress as the factions of the previous ("long") session of this Congress had already, by this time, become two Major Parties- the Federalists and the Republicans- as a result of the 1796 Presidential Election. From this session on, therefore, the Party affiliation of those who occupy these two Congressional offices is, much more often than not, reflective of which Party controls the given house of Congress.

Modified .


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