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Rep. Matthew Lyon

Former Representative for Kentucky’s 1st District

Lyon was the representative for Kentucky’s 1st congressional district and was a Republican. He served from 1807 to 1811.

He was previously the representative for Kentucky’s 1st congressional district as a Republican from 1805 to 1807; the representative for Kentucky’s 1st congressional district as a Republican from 1803 to 1805; the representative for Vermont’s 1st congressional district as a Republican from 1799 to 1801; and the representative for Vermont’s 1st congressional district as a Republican from 1797 to 1799.

Misconduct

Lyon faced an allegation of violating Sedition Act on October 9, 1798 by accusing President John Adams of having a taste for excessive pomp, for which he was convicted and fined and served four months in prison while a member of the House. On Feb. 22, 1799, the House of Representatives failed to expel him, 49-45. In 1799, he was re-elected after conviction and while still in jail.

Feb. 22, 1799 House of Representatives failed to expel, 49-45
1799 Re-elected after conviction and while still in jail.

Legislators who enslaved Black people

Lyon was among more than 1,800 legislators who enslaved Black people. The Washington Post compiled the first database of slaveholding members of Congress by examining thousands of pages of census records and historical documents. Lyon was one of them.

Voting Record

Missed Votes

From Jun 1797 to Mar 1811, Lyon missed 391 of 1,069 roll call votes, which is 36.6%. This is much worse than the median of 19.5% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Mar 1811. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses, major life events, and running for higher office.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: