42nd United States Congress

The Forty-second 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, 1871 to March 3, 1873, during the third and fourth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Eighth Census of the United States in 1860. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

1 Major events
2 Major legislation
3 Party summary
- 3.1 Senate
- 3.2 House of Representatives
4 Leadership
- 4.1 Senate
- 4.2 House of Representatives
5 Members
- 5.1 Senate
- 5.2 House of Representatives
6 Changes in membership
- 6.1 Senate
- 6.2 House of Representatives
7 Employees
- 7.1 Senate
- 7.2 House of Representatives
8 References
9 External links

Major events

Main articles: 1871 in the United States, 1872 in the United States, and 1873 in the United States

June 10, 1871: U.S. Marines make naval attack on the Han River forts in Korea
March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation

April 20, 1871: Civil Rights Act of 1871
March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park founded
May 10, 1872: General Mining Act of 1872
May 23, 1872: Amnesty Act of 1872
June 1, 1872: Practice Conformity Act (precursor to the Rules Enabling Act), ch. 255, 17 Stat. 196
February 12, 1873: Coinage Act of 1873
March 3, 1873: Timber Culture Act
March 3, 1873: Comstock Act

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total

	Democratic (D)	Liberal Republican (LR)	Republican (R)	Other		Vacant
End of previous congress	12	0	62	0	74	0

Begin	16	1	55	0	72	2
End	17	1	54	0	72	2
Final voting share	25.0%		75.0%	0.0%

Beginning of the next congress	19	3	50	0	72	2

House of Representatives

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)					Total

	Democratic (D)	Liberal Republican (LR)	Republican (R)	Independent Republican (IR)	Other		Vacant
End of previous congress	67	0	169	0	(Conservative -Virginia) 5	241	2

Begin	93	3	144	1	0	243	2
End	97	3	141	1	0	242	1
Final voting share	41.3%		58.7%		0.0%

Beginning of the next Congress	91	4	189	0	(Independent Democratic) 6	290	2

Leadership

Senate

President: Schuyler Colfax (R)
President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony (R)

House of Representatives

Speaker: James G. Blaine (R)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

Senate

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 in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1874; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1872.

Georgia

3. Joshua Hill (R)
2. Thomas M. Norwood (D), from November 14, 1871

Illinois

3. Lyman Trumbull (R)
2. John A. Logan (R)

Indiana

3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R)
1. Daniel D. Pratt (R)

Iowa

3. James Harlan (R)
2. George G. Wright (R)

Kansas

3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)
2. Alexander Caldwell (R)

Kentucky

3. Garrett Davis (D)
- Willis B. Machen (D)
2. John W. Stevenson (D)

Louisiana

3. William P. Kellogg (R), until November 1, 1872
2. J. Rodman West (R)

Maine

1. Hannibal Hamlin (R)
2. Lot M. Morrill (R)

Maryland

3. George Vickers (D)
1. William T. Hamilton (D)

Massachusetts

1. Charles Sumner (R)
2. Henry Wilson (R), until March 3, 1873

Michigan

1. Zachariah Chandler (R)
2. Thomas W. Ferry (R)

Minnesota

1. Alexander Ramsey (R)
2. William Windom (R)

Mississippi

1. Adelbert Ames (R)
2. James L. Alcorn (R), from December 1, 1871

Missouri

1. Carl Schurz (LR)
3. Francis P. Blair, Jr. (D)

Nebraska

1. Thomas Tipton (R)
2. Phineas Hitchcock (R)

Nevada

1. William M. Stewart (R)
3. James W. Nye (R)

New Hampshire

2. Aaron H. Cragin (R)
3. James W. Patterson (R)

New Jersey

1. John P. Stockton (D)
2. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R)

New York

3. Roscoe Conkling (R)
1. Reuben Fenton (R)

North Carolina

3. John Pool (R)
2. Matt W. Ransom (D)

Ohio

3. John Sherman (R)
1. Allen G. Thurman (D)

Oregon

3. Henry W. Corbett (R)
2. James K. Kelly (D)

Pennsylvania

3. Simon Cameron (R)
1. John Scott (R)

Rhode Island

2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
1. William Sprague (R)

South Carolina

2. Thomas J. Robertson (R)
3. Frederick A. Sawyer (R)

Tennessee

1. William G. Brownlow (R)
2. Henry Cooper (D)

Texas

2. Morgan C. Hamilton (R)
1. James W. Flanagan (R)

Vermont

1. George F. Edmunds (R)
3. Justin S. Morrill (R)

Virginia

2. John W. Johnston (D)
1. John F. Lewis (R)

West Virginia

1. Arthur I. Boreman (R)
2. Henry G. Davis (D)

Wisconsin

3. Timothy O. Howe (R)
1. Matthew H. Carpenter (R)

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Alabama

Arkansas

1. James M. Hanks (D)
2. Oliver P. Snyder (R)
3. John Edwards (LR), until February 9, 1872
- Thomas Boles (R), from February 9, 1872

California

Connecticut

1. Julius L. Strong (R), until September 7, 1872
- Joseph R. Hawley (R), from December 2, 1872
2. Stephen W. Kellogg (R)
3. Henry H. Starkweather (R)
4. William H. Barnum (D)

Delaware

At-large. Benjamin T. Biggs (D)

Florida

At-large. Josiah T. Walls (R), until January 29, 1873
- Silas L. Niblack (D), from January 29, 1873

Georgia

1. Archibald T. MacIntyre (D)
2. Richard H. Whiteley (R)
3. John S. Bigby (R)
4. Thomas J. Speer (R), until August 18, 1872
- Erasmus W. Beck (D), from December 2, 1872
5. Dudley M. Du Bose (D)
6. William P. Price (D)
7. Pierce M. B. Young (D)

Illinois

1. Charles B. Farwell (R)
2. John F. Farnsworth (R)
3. Horatio C. Burchard (R)
4. John B. Hawley (R)
5. Bradford N. Stevens (D)
6. Burton C. Cook (R), until August 26, 1871
- Henry Snapp (R), from December 4, 1871
7. Jesse H. Moore (R)
8. James C. Robinson (D)
9. Thompson W. McNeely (D)
10. Edward Y. Rice (D)
11. Samuel S. Marshall (D)
12. John B. Hay (R)
13. John M. Crebs (D)
At-large. John L. Beveridge (R), November 7, 1871 – January 4, 1873

At-large. David P. Lowe (R)

Kentucky

Louisiana

1. J. Hale Sypher (R)
2. Lionel A. Sheldon (R)
3. Chester B. Darrall (R)
4. James McCleery (R), until November 5, 1871
- Alexander Boarman (LR), from December 3, 1872
5. Frank Morey (R)

1. James Buffinton (R)
2. Oakes Ames (R)
3. Ginery Twichell (R)
4. Samuel Hooper (R)
5. Benjamin F. Butler (R)
6. Nathaniel P. Banks (R)
7. George M. Brooks (R), until May 13, 1872
- Constantine C. Esty (R), from December 2, 1872
8. George F. Hoar (R)
9. William B. Washburn (R), until December 5, 1871
- Alvah Crocker (R), from January 2, 1872
10. Henry L. Dawes (R)

Michigan

1. Henry Waldron (R)
2. William L. Stoughton (R)
3. Austin Blair (R)
4. Wilder D. Foster (R), from December 4, 1871
5. Omar D. Conger (R)
6. Jabez G. Sutherland (D)

Minnesota

1. Mark H. Dunnell (R)
2. John T. Averill (R)

At-large. John Taffe (R)

Nevada

At-large. Charles W. Kendall (D)

1. Aaron F. Perry (R), until ????, 1872
- Ozro J. Dodds (D), from August 8, 1872
2. Job E. Stevenson (R)
3. Lewis D. Campbell (D)
4. John F. McKinney (D)
5. Charles N. Lamison (D)
6. John A. Smith (R)
7. Samuel Shellabarger (R)
8. John Beatty (R)
9. Charles Foster (R)
10. Erasmus D. Peck (R)
11. John T. Wilson (R)
12. Philadelph Van Trump (D)
13. George W. Morgan (D)
14. James Monroe (R)
15. William P. Sprague (R)
16. John Bingham (R)
17. Jacob A. Ambler (R)
18. William H. Upson (R)
19. James A. Garfield (R)

Oregon

At-large. James H. Slater (D)

Pennsylvania

1. Samuel J. Randall (D)
2. John V. Creely (IR)
3. Leonard Myers (R)
4. William D. Kelley (R)
5. Alfred C. Harmer (R)
6. Ephraim L. Acker (D)
7. Washington Townsend (R)
8. J. Lawrence Getz (D)
9. Oliver J. Dickey (R)
10. John W. Killinger (R)
11. John B. Storm (D)
12. Lazarus D. Shoemaker (R)
13. Ulysses Mercur (R), until December 2, 1872
- Frank C. Bunnell (R), from December 24, 1872
14. John B. Packer (R)
15. Richard J. Haldeman (D)
16. Benjamin F. Meyers (D)
17. R. Milton Speer (D)
18. Henry Sherwood (D)
19. Glenni W. Scofield (R)
20. Samuel Griffith (D)
21. Henry D. Foster (D)
22. James S. Negley (R)
23. Ebenezer McJunkin (R)
24. William McClelland (D)

Rhode Island

1. Benjamin T. Eames (R)
2. James M. Pendleton (R)

1. William S. Herndon (D)
2. John C. Conner (D)
3. William T. Clark (R), until May 13, 1872
- De Witt C. Giddings (D), from May 13, 1872
4. John Hancock (D)

Non-voting members

Arizona Territory. Richard C. McCormick (D)
Colorado Territory. Jerome B. Chaffee (R)
Dakota Territory. Moses K. Armstrong (D)
District of Columbia. Norton P. Chipman (R), from April 21, 1871
Idaho Territory. Samuel A. Merritt (D)
Montana Territory. William H. Clagett (R)
New Mexico Territory. José Manuel Gallegos (D)
Utah Territory. William H. Hooper (D)
Washington Territory. Selucius Garfielde (R)
Wyoming Territory. William T. Jones (R)

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

replacements: 0
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
deaths: 0
resignations: 2
contested elections: 0
Total seats with changes: 4

State (class)	Former senator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's installation
Georgia (2)	Vacant	Failure to elect	Thomas M. Norwood (D)	November 14, 1871
Mississippi (2)	Vacant	Delayed taking seat in order to serve as Governor of Mississippi	James L. Alcorn (R)	December 1, 1871
Louisiana (3)	William P. Kellogg (R)	Resigned November 1, 1872 after being elected Governor of Louisiana	Vacant	Not filled this term
Massachusetts (2)	Henry Wilson (R)	Resigned March 3, 1873 after being elected Vice-President of the United States	Vacant	Not filled this term

House of Representatives

replacements: 11
- Democratic: 4 seat net gain
- Republican: 4 seat net loss
- Liberal Republican: 0 net change
deaths: 3
resignations: 6
contested election: 3
Total seats with changes: 15

District	Vacator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's installation
District of Columbia At-large	New seat	District of Columbia's At-large district created March 4, 1871 and remained vacant until April 21, 1871	Norton P. Chipman (R)	April 21, 1871
Illinois At-large	Vacant	Rep. John A. Logan resigned at the end of the previous congress after being elected to the US Senate	John L. Beveridge (R)	November 7, 1871
Michigan 4th	Vacant	Rep. Thomas W. Ferry resigned at the end of the previous congress after being elected to the US Senate	Wilder D. Foster (R)	December 4, 1871
Illinois 6th	Burton C. Cook (R)	Resigned August 26, 1871	Henry Snapp (R)	December 4, 1871
Louisiana 4th	James McCleery (R)	Died November 5, 1871	Alexander Boarman (LR)	December 3, 1872
Massachusetts 9th	William B. Washburn (R)	Resigned December 5, 1871 after being elected Governor of Massachusetts	Alvah Crocker (R)	January 2, 1872
Ohio 1st	Aaron F. Perry (R)	Resigned some time in 1872	Ozro J. Dodds (D)	August 8, 1872
Arkansas 3rd	John Edwards (LR)	Lost contested election February 9, 1872	Thomas Boles (R)	February 9, 1872
Massachusetts 7th	George M. Brooks (R)	Resigned May 13, 1872 after becoming judge of probate for Middlesex County	Constantine C. Esty (R)	December 2, 1872
Texas 3rd	William T. Clark (R)	Lost contested election May 13, 1872	Dewitt C. Giddings (D)	December 13, 1872
Georgia 4th	Thomas J. Speer (R)	Died August 18, 1872	Erasmus W. Beck (D)	December 2, 1872
Connecticut 1st	Julius L. Strong (R)	Died September 7, 1872	Joseph R. Hawley (R)	December 2, 1872
Pennsylvania 13th	Ulysses Mercur (R)	Resigned December 2, 1872 after becoming an assoc. justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania	Frank C. Bunnell (R)	December 24, 1872
Illinois At-large	John L. Beveridge (R)	Resigned January 4, 1873 after being elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois	Vacant	Not filled this term
Florida At-large	Josiah T. Walls (R)	Lost contested election January 29, 1873	Silas L. Niblack (D)	January 29, 1873

Employees

Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark

Senate

House of Representatives

Chaplain: John G. Butler (Presbyterian)
Clerk: Edward McPherson
Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: John M. Barclay
Doorkeeper: Otis S. Buxton
Postmaster: William S. King
Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway

References

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.