The Handy American History Answer Book. David L. Hudson

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      Frederick Muhlenberg was the first Speaker of the House.

      What are the qualifications for a person to serve in the Senate?

      A person must be at least thirty years of age, be a citizen of the United States for nine years, and reside in the state for which they are elected to serve.

      What original members of the Senate later served on the U.S. Supreme Court?

      Oliver Ellsworth (1745–1807) and William Paterson (1745–1806) were members of the first U.S. Senate. Ellsworth served as senator for his home state of Connecticut from 1789 until 1796, when he was nominated by President George Washington to serve as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Paterson served as senator for his home state of New Jersey. He was not a senator for very long, as he served from March 1789 until November 1790 before becoming governor of New Jersey. He later served as an associate justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, beginning in 1793.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS AND PRESIDENTS

      What complication resulted from the election of 1800?

      The problem in the election of 1800 was that Thomas Jefferson received the same number of votes as his presumed vice-presidential candidate, Aaron Burr. Both Jefferson and Burr received seventy-three votes. Because each received the same number of votes, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to determine who would serve as president. This problem led to the relatively quick passage of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804.

      However, it took thirty-six ballots for the U.S. House of Representatives to break the electoral vote tie and resolve the controversy. The rules required the winner to receive an electoral margin in nine of the then existing sixteen states. In the first thirty-five ballots, Jefferson won eight states—one short of the necessary nine. Finally, on the thirty-sixth ballot, Maryland and Vermont shifted their support to Jefferson.

      What was America’s involvement in the Barbary War?

      Thomas Jefferson became the first president to send soldiers to fight on foreign soil when he sent troops to engage Tripoli, Libya, which had declared war on the United States. In the First Barbary War (1801–1805), America faced the so-called Barbary States, which included the Sultanate of Morocco and the Regencies of Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. Tripoli managed to capture the USS Philadelphia during the conflict, but a Marine unit secured the vessel and burned it, preventing its use by the enemy. Marines later defeated Tripoli forces in the city of Derna, Libya.

      Which former political foe actively lobbied for Jefferson and against Burr?

      Alexander Hamilton—Jefferson’s rival in President Washington’s administration—was not a supporter of Thomas Jefferson. But Hamilton absolutely despised Burr. Hamilton used his considerable influence among the Federalist members of the House of Representatives to swing the election in the House to Jefferson.