| 29th United States Congress | |||
United States Capitol (1846) |
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| Duration: March 4, 1845 – March 3, 1847 | |||
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| Senate President: | George M. Dallas | ||
| Senate Pres. pro tem: | Willie P. Mangum Ambrose H. Sevier David R. Atchison |
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| House Speaker: | John W. Davis | ||
| Members: | 58 Senators 228 Representatives 2 Non-voting members |
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| Senate Majority: | Democratic | ||
| House Majority: | Democratic | ||
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| Sessions | |||
| 1st: December 1, 1845 – August 10, 1846 2nd: December 7, 1846 – March 3, 1847 |
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The Twenty-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1847, during the first two years of the administration of James Polk's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Sixth Census of the United States in 1840. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
| Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Liberty (L) |
Whig (W) |
Other |
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| End of the previous congress | 23 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 51 | 3 |
| Begin | 26 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 4 |
| End | 31 | 1 | 56 | 2 | ||
| Final voting share | 55.4% | 1.8% | 42.9% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 34 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 55 | 3 |
During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
| Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American (A) |
Democratic (D) |
Whig (W) |
Other |
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| End of the previous congress | 0 | 141 | 78 | 4 | 223 | 1 |
| Begin | 12 | 132 | 78 | 0 | 222 | 2 |
| End | 137 | 77 | 226 | |||
| Final voting share | 5.3% | 60.6% | 34.1% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 1 | 107 | 116 | 3 | 227 | 1 |
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.
Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1850; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1848.
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
| State (class) |
Former senator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (1) |
Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | David L. Yulee (D) | Elected July 1, 1845 |
| Florida (3) |
Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | James Westcott (D) | Elected July 1, 1845 |
| South Carolina (3) |
Vacant | Senator Daniel E. Huger resigned in previous congress | John C. Calhoun (D) | Elected November 26, 1845 |
| Virginia (1) |
Vacant | Failure to elect | Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) | Elected December 3, 1845 |
| Mississippi (2) |
Robert J. Walker (D) | Resigned March 5, 1845 after being appointed United States Secretary of the Treasury | Joseph W. Chalmers (D) | Elected November 3, 1845 |
| Pennsylvania (3) |
James Buchanan (D) | Resigned March 5, 1845 after being appointed United States Secretary of State | Simon Cameron (D) | Elected March 13, 1845 |
| Massachusetts (2) |
Isaac C. Bates (W) | Died March 16, 1845 | John Davis (W) | Elected March 24, 1845 |
| New Hampshire (2) |
Levi Woodbury (D) | Resigned November 20, 1845 after being appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States | Benning W. Jenness (D) | Appointed December 1, 1845 |
| Texas (1) |
Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845 and remained vacant until February 21, 1846 | Thomas J. Rusk (D) | Elected February 21, 1846 | |
| Texas (2) |
Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845 and remained vacant until February 21, 1846 | Sam Houston (D) | Elected February 21, 1846 | |
| New Hampshire (2) |
Benning W. Jenness (D) | Resigned June 13, 1846 after successor elected | Joseph Cilley (D) | Elected June 13, 1846 |
| North Carolina (3) |
William H. Haywood, Jr. (D) | Resigned July 25, 1846 after having refused to be instructed by the North Carolina state legislature on a tariff question | George E. Badger (W) | Elected November 25, 1846 |
| South Carolina (3) |
George McDuffie (D) | Resigned August 17, 1846 | Andrew Butler (D) | Elected December 4, 1846 |
| Iowa (2) |
Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | Vacant | Not filled this term | |
| Iowa (3) |
Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | Vacant | Not filled this term | |
| Louisiana (2) |
Alexander Barrow (W) | Died December 29, 1846 | Pierre Soulé (D) | Elected January 21, 1847 |
| Virginia (1) |
Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) | Died January 12, 1847 | James M. Mason (D) | Elected January 21, 1847 |
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida At-large | Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | Edward C. Cabell (W) | Seated October 6, 1845 |
| Georgia 3rd | Vacant | Rep-elect Washington Poe declined the seat | George W. Towns (D) | Seated January 5, 1846 |
| Texas 1st | Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845 and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846 | David S. Kaufman (D) | Seated March 30, 1846 | |
| Texas 2nd | Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845 and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846 | Timothy Pilsbury (D) | Seated March 30, 1846 | |
| New Jersey 2nd | Samuel G. Wright (W) | Died July 30, 1845 | George Sykes (D) | Seated November 4, 1845 |
| Louisiana 1st | John Slidell (D) | Resigned November 10, 1845 afer being appointed Minister to Mexico, but government refused to accept him | Emile La Sére (D) | Seated January 29, 1846 |
| Tennessee 8th | Joseph H. Peyton (W) | Died November 11, 1845 | Edwin H. Ewing (W) | Seated ?????? |
| Virginia 11th | William Taylor (D) | Died January 17, 1846 | James McDowell (D) | Seated March 6, 1846 |
| Florida At-large | Edward C. Cabell (W) | Lost contested election January 24, 1846 | William H. Brockenbrough (D) | Seated January 24, 1846 |
| Mississippi At-large | Jefferson Davis (D) | Resigned some time in June, 1846 in order to take part in the Mexican War | Henry T. Ellett (D) | Seated January 26, 1847 |
| New York 12th | Richard P. Herrick (W) | Died June 20, 1846 | Thomas C. Ripley (W) | Seated December 17, 1846 |
| Arkansas At-large | Archibald Yell (D) | Resigned July 1, 1846 in order to take part in the Mexican War | Thomas W. Newton (W) | Seated February 6, 1847 |
| Missouri At-large | Sterling Price (D) | Resigned August 12, 1846 in order to take part in the Mexican War | William McDaniel (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |
| Alabama 3rd | William L. Yancey (D) | Resigned September 1, 1846 | James L. Cottrell (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |
| Alabama 7th | Felix G. McConnell (D) | Died September 10, 1846 | Franklin W. Bowdon (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |
| Iowa Territory At-large | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Territory was dissolved after Iowa was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | ||
| Iowa At-large | Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 | S. Clinton Hastings (D) | Seated December 28, 1846 | |
| Iowa At-large | Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 | Shepherd Leffler (D) | Seated December 28, 1846 | |
| Illinois 7th | Edward D. Baker (W) | Resigned January 15, 1847 in order to take part in the Mexican War | John Henry (W) | Seated February 5, 1847 |
| Illinois 5th | Stephen A. Douglas (D) | Resigned March 3, 1847 at close of congress after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
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