First Speaker of the House Elected in 1789

On April 1, 1789, the first U.S. House of Representatives, meeting in New York City, reached quorum and elected Pennsylvania Representative Frederick Augustus Conrad Muhlenberg as its first speaker.

Muhlenberg, a Lutheran minister and the former president of the Pennsylvania convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution, was the son of Henry Augustus Muhlenberg and grandson of Johann Conrad Weiser, two of the leading Germans in colonial Pennsylvania. His brother, Major General John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, also served in the first House of Representatives.

Although the Constitution does not require the Speaker to be a Member of the House, all Speakers have been Members. When a Congress convenes for the first time, each major party conference or caucus nominates a candidate for Speaker. Members customarily elect the Speaker by roll call vote.

The Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives customarily has the following roles:

• Institutional, as presiding officer and administrative head of the House
• Representative, as an elected Member of the House
• Party leader, as leader of the majority party in the House

By statute, the Speaker is second in line, after the Vice President of the United States, to succeed the President (3 U.S.C. §19).

The House website maintains a list of the Speakers of the House (1789 to present).

Thirteen Congressional Terms You May Not Know

Both the House and Senate have complex rules and regulations governing virtually everything elected members do in those chambers. They also have their own vocabulary and slang within the terminology of those rules. Here are some terms and what they mean in the context of the Federal Legislature.

1. Adjournment Sine Die — The end of a legislative session “without day.” These adjournments are used to indicate the final adjournment of an annual or the two-year session of a Congress. Under the Constitution, adjournment sine die (except when the next session is about to convene) requires the agreement of both chambers, accomplished through adoption of a concurrent resolution, which in current practice also authorizes leaders of either chamber to reconvene its session if circumstances warrant.
2. Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute — An amendment that would strike out the entire text of a bill or other measure and insert a different full text. A Congressperson or committee may choose to redraft the text of a bill or a great deal of that text, yet keep the title and secure the enabling clause or clauses. In other cases, an amendment in the nature of a substitute may be utilized for the simple purpose of clarifying the language used, because laws that are unclear can also be challenged on constitutional grounds. This practice is also sometimes called a Committee Substitute. (Learn More)
3. Baseline — A baseline projection takes into account the receipts, outlays, and other budgetary effects that would occur in the future without any change in existing policy. Baseline projections are used to gauge the extent to which proposed legislation, if enacted into law, would alter current spending and revenue levels.
4. “Christmas Tree” Bill — This is the informal term used to describe a bill on the House or Senate floor that attracts many, often unrelated, floor amendments. The amendments which ‘adorn’ the bill often provide special benefits to various groups or interests. (Related term: earmark)
5. Controlled Time — When a unanimous consent agreement limits the time for debate on a bill or other measure and places it under the control of bill floor managers, the time is said to be controlled. Each floor manager then allows any senator to participate in debate by yielding or allocating a specific amount of time to the legislator.
6. Entitlement — Any Federal program or provision of law that requires payments be made to any person or unit of government that meets the eligibility criteria established by the law. Entitlements constitute a binding obligation on the part of the Federal Government giving eligible recipients legal recourse if the obligation is not fulfilled. Social Security and veterans’ compensation and pensions are major examples of entitlement programs.
7. Executive Session — A period under Senate rules during which executive business is considered on the floor. Legislation is considered only in legislative session, with its own distinct rules and practices. The Senate may go back and forth between legislative and executive session, even within the course of a day. Executive business includes post nominations and treaties submitted by the president to the Senate for its “Advice and Consent;” the Senate rules treat this business as separate from its legislative business.
8. Germaneness — The requirement that an amendment be closely related–in terms of the precise subject or purpose, for example—to the text it proposes to amend. House rules require amendments to be germane; Senate rules apply this restriction only in limited circumstances.
9. Legislative Subject Term — The legislative subject term vocabulary consists of approximately 1,000 subject terms, geographic entities, and organization names. Multiple terms may be assigned to describe a measure’s substance and effects. The legislative subject term vocabulary is consistently used for all bills and resolutions introduced since 2009 (111th Congress). The current Legislative Subject Terms are listed here. The smaller list of broad Policy Areas are listed here.
10. “Must Pass” Bill – This informal term refers to any vitally important measure that Congress must enact, such as annual money bills to fund operations of the government. Because of their must-pass quality, these measures often attract “riders” (unrelated policy provisos).
11. Parliamentarian – Nonpartisan staff officials (one in each chamber, assisted by deputies and assistants) who provide expert advice and assistance to the presiding officer and to members on the application and interpretation of chamber rules, precedents, and practices (including referral of measures to committee). Staff from the parliamentarian’s office sit on the House and Senate dais and advise the presiding officer on the conduct of official business.
12. Simple Resolution — A form of legislative measure introduced and potentially acted upon by only one congressional chamber and used for the regulation of business only within the chamber of origin. Depending on the chamber of origin, they begin with a designation of either H.Res. or S.Res. Joint resolutions and concurrent resolutions are other types of resolutions.
13. Suspension of the Rules — In the House, a procedure that streamlines consideration of a measure with wide support by prohibiting floor amendments, limiting debate to 40 minutes, and requiring a two-thirds majority for passage. Although rarely used, the Senate may also suspend various rules by a vote of two-thirds following one day’s written notice.