Birth of the Nation: The First Federal Congress 1789-1791
Next Page
    The First Federal Congress: Introduction
The Federal Procession in New York, 1788. Engraving by Martha J. Lamb
(History of the City of New York, New York: A.S. Barnes & Co., 1877)


"All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives."

Article I, Section 1

The importance of the First Federal Congress cannot be exaggerated. It played a critical role as the body which began to implement and interpret the new Constitution of the United States. The conception of the government occurred at the Federal Convention, but it was not until the First Federal Congress began to make decisions and pass enabling legislation that life was breathed into that government. The responsibility for the success or failure of the American Revolution rested with the members of this seminal Congress. Despite the difficult issues facing them, the members overcame their political and regional differences and left to the future a sturdy foundation on which a great nation could be built.

 
Next Topic
Go to Exhibit Home
First Federal Congress Project
 
Previous Page Table of Contents
Next Page

 Copyright © 2012 First Federal Congress Project. All rights reserved.