37th United States Congress

37th United States Congress
United States Capitol (1861)
Duration: March 4, 1861 – March 4, 1863
Senate President:	Hannibal Hamlin
Senate Pres. pro tem:	Solomon Foot
House Speaker:	Galusha A. Grow
Members:	50 Senators 183 Representatives 7 Non-voting members
Senate Majority:	Republican
House Majority:	Republican
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1861 – March 28, 1861 1st: July 4, 1861 – August 6, 1861 2nd: December 2, 1861 – July 17, 1862 3rd: December 1, 1862 – March 4, 1863
<36th 38th>

The Thirty-seventh 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, 1861 to March 4, 1863, during the first two years of Abraham Lincoln's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Seventh Census of the United States in 1850. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Major events

• March 1861 – July 1861:
  • Jefferson Davis called up 100,000 militia;
  • Rebels fired on Fort Sumter, SC. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus from Washington, D.C., to Philadelphia^[1] and called called up 75,000 militia.
  • Four more Southern states withdrew from Congress:^[2]
    • Virginia Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession on April 17; ratified by popular referendum on May 23.^[3]
    • Arkansas Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession on May 6.^[4]
    • Tennessee Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession on May 6; ratified by popular referendum on June 8.^[5]
    • North Carolina Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession on May 20.^[6]
  • Union forces lost First Bull Run, Va.

• August 1861 – March 1862:
  • Union blockade of the South began at Fort Monroe, Va; Davis began suspending habeas corpus at Norfolk.^[7]
  • Union forces won Mississippi River Fort Henry, Tn and Fort Donelson, Tn;
  • Ironclad ‘USS Monitor’ maintained blockade in the Hampton Roads, Va; Union forces took Port Royal, SC. Davis initiated conscription.^[8]

• April 1862 – August 1862:
  • Union forces captures New Orleans, La; Rebels turned back at Shiloh, Tn.
  • Union blockade closes Savannah, Ga; Union forces occupied upper Mississippi River Island #10, Tn.
  • Union forces lost Peninsular Campaign to capture Richmond; Union forces lost Second Bull Run, Va near Washington, D.C..

• September 1862 – March 1863:
  • Rebel invasion was turned back at Antietam, Md; Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.
  • In midterm elections, Democrats gained 31 House seats to 31%, lost 5 Senate seats to 19%.^[9]
  • Union forces lost at Fredericksburg, Va; Rebels lost at Murfreesboro, Tn; Lincoln initiates conscription.^[10]

Two special sessions

The Senate, a continuing body, was called into special session by President Buchanan, meeting in March 1861, to address national issues. It confirmed calling forth troops and raising money. The border states and Texas were still represented. Shortly after the Senate session adjourned, Fort Sumter was attacked. The immediate results were to draw four additional states^[11] "into the confederacy with their more Southern sisters", and Lincoln called Congress into extraordinary session on the Fourth of July, 1861.^[12]

Both Houses then duly met July 4, 1861. Seven states which would send representatives held their state elections for Representative over the months of May to June 1861.^[13] Members taking their seats had been elected before the secession crisis, during the formation of the Confederate government, and after Fort Sumter.^[14]

Once assembled with a quorum in the House, Congress approved Lincoln's war powers innovations as necessary to preserve the Union.^[15] Following the July Federal defeat at First Manassas, the Crittenden Resolution^[16] asserted the reason for "the present deplorable civil war." It was meant as an address to the nation, especially to the Border States at a time of U.S. military reverses, when the war support in border state populations was virtually the only thing keeping them in the Union.^[17]

Following resignations and expulsions occasioned by the outbreak of the Civil War, five states had some degree of dual representation in the U.S and the C.S. Congresses. Congress accredited Members elected running in these five as Unionist (19), Democratic (6), Constitutional Unionist (1) and Republican (1). All ten Kentucky and all seven Missouri representatives were accepted. The other three states seated four of thirteen representatives from Virginia, three of ten Tennessee, and two of four from Louisiana.^[18]

The Crittenden Resolution declared the civil war "… has been forced upon the country by the disunionists of the southern States…" and it would be carried out for the supremacy of the Constitution and the preservation of the Union, and, that accomplished, "the war ought to cease". Democrats seized on this document, especially its assurances of no conquest or overthrowing domestic institutions (emancipation of slaves).^[17]

Slaves and slavery

In the first regular session, Republicans superseded the Crittenden Resolution.^[17] Congressional policy and military strategy were intertwined.

steps to emancipation - by Congress and Generals

On May 24, 1861, General Benjamin Butler at Fort Monroe, Virginia at the mouth of the Hampton Roads, had declared slaves escaped into his lines as contraband of war, that is, forfeit to their rebel owners.^[19] On May 24, Congress followed General Butler's lead, and passed the First Confiscation Act in August, freeing slaves used for rebellion. John C. Frémont in Missouri exceeded his authority, declaring all slaves held by rebels would be freed.^[20] Congress responded on opening day. After the opening prayer, December 2, Sen. Lyman Trumbull introduced a bill for confiscation of rebel property and emancipation for their slaves. "Acrimonious debate on confiscation proved a major preoccupation" of Congress.^[17]

On March 13, 1862, Congress directed the armies of the United States to stop enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. The next month, the Congress abolished slavery in the District of Columbia with compensation for loyal citizens. An additional Confiscation Act in July declared free all slaves held by citizens in rebellion, but it had no practical effect without addressing where the act would take effect, or how ownership was to be proved.^[21] Emancipation politicians and political generals:

Lincoln's preliminary Emancipation Proclamation was issued September 22, 1862.^[21] It became the principle issue before the public in the mid-term elections that year for the 38th Congress. But Republican majorities in both houses held (see 'Congress as a campaign machine' below), and the Republicans actually increased their majority in the Senate.^[22]

On January 1, 1863, the war measure by executive proclamation directed the army and the navy to treat all escaped slaves as free when entering Union lines from territory still in rebellion.^[23] Congress passed enabling legislation to carry out the Proclamation including "Freedman's Bureau" legislation.^[24]

Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War

Congress assumed watchdog responsibilities with this and other investigating committees.

The principle conflict between the president and congress was found in the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. Eight thick volumes of testimony were filled with investigations of Union defeats and contractor scandals.

They were highly charged with partisan opinions "vehemently expressed" by chair Benjamin Wade of Ohio, Representative George Washington Julian of Indiana, and Zachariah Chandler of Michigan.^[25]

Sen. Chandler, who had been one of McClellan's advocates promoting his spectacular rise,^[26] particularly documented criticism of McClellan's Peninsular Campaign with its circuitous maneuvering, endless entrenchment and murderous camp diseases. It led to support for his dismissal.

A congressional committee could ruin a reputation, without itself having any military expertise. It would create the modern Congressional era in which generals fought wars with Congress looking over their shoulders, "and with public opinion following closely behind."^[25]

Republican Platform goals

Republican majorities in both houses, apart from pro-union Democrats, and without vacant southern delegations, were able to enact their party platform. These included the Legal Tender Act, February 20, 1862, and increases in the tariff that amounted to protective tariffs. The Homestead Act, May 20, for government lands, and the Morrill Land Grant Act, July 2, for universities promoting practical arts in agriculture and mining, had no immediate war purpose. But they would have long range effects, as would the Pacific Railroad Act, July 1, for a transcontinental railroad.^[27]

Treasury innovations were driven by Secretary Salmon P. Chase and necessity of war. The income tax of 1861, numerous taxes on consumer goods such as whiskey, and a national currency all began in Civil War Congresses.^[27]

Congress as election machinery

Member's floor speeches were not meant to be persuasive, but for publication in partisan newspapers. The real audience was the constituents back home. Congressional caucuses organized and funded political campaigns, publishing pamphlet versions of speeches and circulating them by the thousands free of postage on the member's franking privilege. Party congressional committees stayed in Washington during national campaigns, keeping an open flow of subsidized literature pouring back into the home districts.^[28]

Nevertheless, like other Congresses in the 1850s and 1860s, this Congress would see less than half of its membership reelected.^[29] The characteristic turmoil found in the "3rd Party Period, 1855-1896" stirred political party realignment in the North even in the midst of civil war. In this Congress, failure to gain nomination and loss at the general election together accounted for a Membership turnover of 25%.^[30]

This Congress in the generations cycle

This first Civil War Congress would be nearing the last of those with pluralities held by members of the “Transcendental” Generation, born 1792-1821.^[31] They amounted to 87% of national leadership, with 12% from the upcoming Gilded [Age], and only 1% elder Compromise Generation.^[32]

As an age cohort, they were idealistic and exalted “inner truth” on both sides. Neither Transcendentalist-led belligerent in the civil war would back down. Those few Compromisers left with a voice were pushed out of the way. Representative Thaddeus Stevens was typical of their northern expression, “Instruments of war are not selected on account of their harmlessness … lay waste to the whole South.”^[33]

In the Congresses following 1870, the “Gilded” generation, in their turn, will choose materialism over the Transcendentalists ideals and their bloodshed, skipping the civic-minded stage of other generational cycles in American history.^[34][35]

Major legislation

• August 5, 1861: Revenue Act of 1861, Sess. 1, ch. 45, 12 Stat. 292
• August 6, 1861: Confiscation Act of 1861, Sess. 1, ch. 60, 12 Stat. 319
• February 25, 1862: Legal Tender Act of 1862, Sess. 2, ch. 33, 12 Stat. 345
• April 16, 1862: Slavery in the District of Columbia abolished, Sess. 2, ch. 54, 12 Stat. 376
• May 15, 1862: An Act to Establish a Department of Agriculture, Sess. 2, ch. 72, 12 Stat. 387
• May 20, 1862: Homestead Act, Sess. 2, ch. 75, 12 Stat. 392
• July 1, 1862: Morrill Anti-Bigamy Act, Sess. 2, ch. 126, 12 Stat. 501
• July 1, 1862: Revenue Act of 1862, Sess. 2, ch. 119, 12 Stat. 432
• July 1, 1862: Pacific Railway Act, Sess. 2, ch. 120, 12 Stat. 489
• July 2, 1862: Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act, Sess. 2, ch. 130, 12 Stat. 503
• July 17, 1862: Militia Act of 1862, Sess. 2, ch. 201, 12 Stat. 597
• February 25, 1863: National Banking Act, Sess. 3, ch 58, 12 Stat. 665
• March 2, 1863: False Claims Act, Sess. 3, ch. 67, 12 Stat. 696
• March 3, 1863: Enrollment Act, Sess. 3, ch. 75, 12 Stat. 731
• March 3, 1863: Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, Sess. 3, ch. 81, 12 Stat. 755

States admitted and seceded and Territories organized

States admitted

• December 31, 1862: West Virginia admitted, Sess. 3, ch. 6, 12 Stat. 633 (Became a state on June 20, 1863)

Territories organized

• February 24, 1863: Arizona Territory organized, Sess. 3, ch. 56, 12 Stat. 664
• March 3, 1863: Idaho Territory organized, Sess. 3, ch. 117, 12 Stat. 808

Territories extended

• July 14, 1862: Nevada Territory extended, Sess. 2, ch. 12, 12 Stat. 575

Secession

Congress did not accept secession. Most of the Representatives and Senators from states that attempted to secede left Congress; those who took part in the rebellion were expelled.

• Secessions declared during previous Congress: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
• Secessions declared during this Congress:
  • April 17, 1861:^[36] Virginia^[37] (The pro-Union Restored Government of Virginia's two Senators and three Representatives were seated.)
  • May 6, 1861: Arkansas^[38]
  • May 20, 1861: North Carolina^[39]
  • June 8, 1861: Tennessee^[40][41] (Sen. Andrew Johnson and three members of the House did not recognize secession and retained their seats.)

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

	Party (Shading shows control)				Total	Vacant
	Democratic (D)	Republican (R)	Unionist (U)	Other (O)
End of the previous congress	26	28	0	(American) 1	55	13
Begin	23	29	1	0	53	15
End	13	30	7		50	20
Final voting share	26.0%	60.0%	14.0%	0.0%
Beginning of the next congress	10	33	4	(Unconditional Unionist) 3	50	20

House of Representatives

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority/pluality caucus)						Total
	Constitutional Unionist (CU)	Democratic (D)	Independent Democratic (ID)	Republican (R)	Unionist (U)	Other		Vacant
End of previous Congress	0	6	56	116	0	32	210	29
Begin	2	44	1	107	23	0	178	63
End	1	45		106	30		183	57
Final voting share	0.5%	24.6%	0.5%	57.9%	16.4%	0.0%
Beginning of the next Congress	0	72	0	85	9	14	180	61

Leadership

Senate

• President: Hannibal Hamlin (R)
• President pro tempore of the Senate: Solomon Foot (R)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Galusha A. Grow (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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1862; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1866.

Alabama 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Arkansas 2. William K. Sebastian (D), until July 11, 1861, vacant thereafter 3. Charles B. Mitchel (D), until July 11, 1861, vacant thereafter California 1. Milton S. Latham (D) 3. James A. McDougall (D) Connecticut 3. La Fayette S. Foster (R) 1. James Dixon (R) Delaware 1. James A. Bayard, Jr. (D) 2. Willard Saulsbury, Sr. (D) Florida 1. Vacant 3. Vacant Georgia 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Illinois 2. Stephen A. Douglas (D), until June 3, 1861 Orville H. Browning (R), June 26, 1861 – January 12, 1863 William A. Richardson (D), from January 30, 1863 3. Lyman Trumbull (R) Indiana 1. Jesse D. Bright (D), until February 5, 1862 Joseph A. Wright (U), February 24, 1862 – January 14, 1863 David Turpie (D), from January 14, 1863 3. Henry S. Lane (R) Iowa 3. James Harlan (R) 2. James W. Grimes (R) Kansas 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R), from April 4, 1861 2. James H. Lane (R), from April 4, 1861 Kentucky 2. Lazarus W. Powell (D) 3. John C. Breckinridge (D), until December 4, 1861 Garrett Davis (U), from December 23, 1861 Louisiana 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Maine 2. William P. Fessenden (R) 1. Lot M. Morrill (R) Maryland 3. James Pearce (D), until December 20, 1862 Thomas H. Hicks (U), from December 29, 1862 1. Anthony Kennedy (U) Massachusetts 1. Charles Sumner (R) 2. Henry Wilson (R) Michigan 1. Zachariah Chandler (R) 2. Kinsley S. Bingham (R), until October 5, 1861 Jacob M. Howard (R), from January 17, 1862 Minnesota 1. Henry M. Rice (D) 2. Morton S. Wilkinson (R)

Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Missouri 1. Trusten Polk (D), until January 10, 1862 John B. Henderson (U), from January 17, 1862 3. Waldo P. Johnson (D), March 17, 1861 – January 10, 1862 Robert Wilson (U), from January 17, 1862 New Hampshire 2. John P. Hale (R) 3. Daniel Clark (R) New Jersey 1. John R. Thomson (D), until September 12, 1862 Richard S. Field (R), November 21, 1862 – January 14, 1863 James W. Wall (D), from January 14, 1863 2. John C. Ten Eyck (R) New York 1. Preston King (R) 3. Ira Harris (R) North Carolina 3. Thomas L. Clingman (D), until March 28, 1861, vacant thereafter 2. Thomas Bragg (D), until March 6, 1861, vacant thereafter Ohio 1. Benjamin F. Wade (R) 3. Salmon P. Chase (R), until March 7, 1861 John Sherman (R), from March 21, 1861 Oregon 2. Edward D. Baker (R), until October 21, 1861 Benjamin Stark (D), October 29, 1861 – September 12, 1862 Benjamin F. Harding (D), from September 12, 1862 3. James W. Nesmith (D) Pennsylvania 1. Simon Cameron (R), until March 4, 1861 David Wilmot (R), from March 14, 1861 3. Edgar Cowan (R) Rhode Island 1. James F. Simmons (R), until August 15, 1862 Samuel G. Arnold (R), from December 1, 1862 2. Henry B. Anthony (R) South Carolina 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Tennessee 1. Andrew Johnson (D), until March 4, 1862, vacant thereafter 2. Vacant Texas 2. John Hemphill (D), until July 11, 1861, vacant thereafter 1. Louis T. Wigfall (D), until March 23, 1861, vacant thereafter Vermont 1. Solomon Foot (R) 3. Jacob Collamer (R) Virginia 1. James M. Mason (D), until March 28, 1861 Waitman T. Willey (U), from July 9, 1861 2. Robert M. T. Hunter (D), until March 28, 1861 John S. Carlile (U), from June 9, 1861 Wisconsin 1. James R. Doolittle (R) 3. Timothy O. Howe (R)

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are listed by their districts. Once source reports no Virginians in this Congress,^[42] while another source recognizes five.^[43]

Alabama 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant Arkansas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant California All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. At-large. Frederick F. Low (R), from June 3, 1862 At-large. Timothy G. Phelps (R) At-large. Aaron A. Sargent (R) Connecticut 1. Dwight Loomis (R) 2. James E. English (D) 3. Alfred A. Burnham (R) 4. George C. Woodruff (D) Delaware At-large. George P. Fisher (U) Florida At-large. Vacant Georgia 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant 8. Vacant Illinois 1. Elihu B. Washburne (R) 2. Isaac N. Arnold (R) 3. Owen Lovejoy (R) 4. William Kellogg (R) 5. William A. Richardson (D), until January 29, 1863, vacant thereafter 6. John A. McClernand (D), until October 28, 1861 Anthony L. Knapp (D), from December 12, 1861 7. James C. Robinson (D) 8. Philip B. Fouke (D) 9. John A. Logan (D), until April 2, 1862 William J. Allen (D), from June 2, 1862 Indiana 1. John Law (D) 2. James A. Cravens (D) 3. William McKee Dunn (R) 4. William S. Holman (D) 5. George W. Julian (R) 6. Albert G. Porter (R) 7. Daniel W. Voorhees (D) 8. Albert S. White (R) 9. Schuyler Colfax (R) 10. William Mitchell (R) 11. John P. C. Shanks (R) Iowa 1. Samuel Curtis (R), until August 4, 1861 James F. Wilson (R), from October 8, 1861 2. William Vandever (R) Kansas At-large. Martin F. Conway (R) Kentucky 1. Henry C. Burnett (D), until December 3, 1861 Samuel L. Casey (U), from March 10, 1862 2. James S. Jackson (U), until December 13, 1861 George H. Yeaman (U), from December 1, 1862 3. Henry Grider (U) 4. Aaron Harding (U) 5. Charles A. Wickliffe (U) 6. George W. Dunlap (U) 7. Robert Mallory (U) 8. John J. Crittenden (U) 9. William H. Wadsworth (U) 10. John W. Menzies (U) Louisiana 1. Benjamin F. Flanders (U), from December 3, 1862 2. Michael Hahn (U), from December 3, 1862 3. Vacant 4. Vacant Maine 1. John N. Goodwin (R) 2. Charles W. Walton (R), until May 26, 1862 Thomas A. D. Fessenden (R), from December 1, 1862 3. Samuel C. Fessenden (R) 4. Anson P. Morrill (R) 5. John H. Rice (R) 6. Frederick A. Pike (R) Maryland 1. John W. Crisfield (U) 2. Edwin H. Webster (U) 3. Cornelius L. L. Leary (U) 4. Henry May (U) 5. Francis Thomas (U) 6. Charles B. Calvert (U) Massachusetts 1. Thomas D. Eliot (R) 2. James Buffinton (R) 3. Charles F. Adams, Sr. (R), until May 1, 1861 Benjamin Thomas (U), from June 11, 1861 4. Alexander H. Rice (R) 5. William Appleton (CU), until September 27, 1861 Samuel Hooper (R), from December 2, 1861 6. John B. Alley (R) 7. Daniel W. Gooch (R) 8. Charles R. Train (R) 9. Goldsmith F. Bailey (R), until May 8, 1862 Amasa Walker (R), from December 1, 1862 10. Charles Delano (R) 11. Henry L. Dawes (R) Michigan 1. Bradley F. Granger (R) 2. Fernando C. Beaman (R) 3. Francis W. Kellogg (R) 4. Rowland E. Trowbridge (R) Minnesota 1. Cyrus Aldrich (R) 2. William Windom (R) Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant Missouri 1. Francis P. Blair, Jr. (R), until July, 1862, vacant thereafter 2. James S. Rollins (CU) 3. John B. Clark (D), until July 13, 1861 William A. Hall (D), from January 20, 1862 4. Elijah H. Norton (D) 5. John W. Reid (D), until August 3, 1861 Thomas L. Price (D), from January 21, 1862 6. John S. Phelps (D) 7. John W. Noell (D) New Hampshire 1. Gilman Marston (R) 2. Edward H. Rollins (R) 3. Thomas M. Edwards (R) New Jersey 1. John T. Nixon (R) 2. John L. N. Stratton (R) 3. William G. Steele (D) 4. George T. Cobb (D) 5. Nehemiah Perry (D)

New York 1. Edward H. Smith (D) 2. Moses F. Odell (D) 3. Benjamin Wood (D) 4. James E. Kerrigan (ID) 5. William Wall (R) 6. Frederick A. Conkling (R) 7. Elijah Ward (D) 8. Isaac C. Delaplaine (D) 9. Edward Haight (D) 10. Charles H. Van Wyck (R) 11. John B. Steele (D) 12. Stephen Baker (R) 13. Abram B. Olin (R) 14. Erastus Corning (D) 15. James B. McKean (R) 16. William A. Wheeler (R) 17. Socrates N. Sherman (R) 18. Chauncey Vibbard (D) 19. Richard Franchot (R) 20. Roscoe Conkling (R) 21. R. Holland Duell (R) 22. William E. Lansing (R) 23. Ambrose W. Clark (R) 24. Charles B. Sedgwick (R) 25. Theodore M. Pomeroy (R) 26. Jacob P. Chamberlain (R) 27. Alexander S. Diven (R) 28. Robert B. Van Valkenburg (R) 29. Alfred Ely (R) 30. Augustus Frank (R) 31. Burt Van Horn (R) 32. Elbridge G. Spaulding (R) 33. Reuben E. Fenton (R) North Carolina 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant 8. Vacant Ohio 1. George H. Pendleton (D) 2. John A. Gurley (R) 3. Clement Vallandigham (D) 4. William Allen (D) 5. James M. Ashley (R) 6. Chilton A. White (D) 7. Thomas Corwin (R), until March 12, 1861 Richard A. Harrison (U), from July 4, 1861 8. Samuel Shellabarger (R) 9. Warren P. Noble (D) 10. Carey A. Trimble (R) 11. Valentine B. Horton (R) 12. Samuel S. Cox (D) 13. John Sherman (R), until March 21, 1861 Samuel T. Worcester (R), from July 4, 1861 14. Harrison G. O. Blake (R) 15. Robert H. Nugen (D) 16. William P. Cutler (R) 17. James R. Morris (D) 18. Sidney Edgerton (R) 19. Albert G. Riddle (R) 20. John Hutchins (R) 21. John Bingham (R) Oregon At-large. Andrew J. Thayer (D), until July 30, 1861 George K. Shiel (D), from July 30, 1861 Pennsylvania 1. William E. Lehman (D) 2. Edward Joy Morris (R), until June 8, 1861 Charles J. Biddle (D), from July 2, 1861 3. John P. Verree (R) 4. William D. Kelley (R) 5. William Morris Davis (R) 6. John Hickman (R) 7. Thomas B. Cooper (D), until April 4, 1862 John D. Stiles (D), from June 3, 1862 8. Sydenham E. Ancona (D) 9. Thaddeus Stevens (R) 10. John W. Killinger (R) 11. James H. Campbell (R) 12. George W. Scranton (R), until March 24, 1861 Hendrick B. Wright (D), from July 4, 1861 13. Philip Johnson (D) 14. Galusha A. Grow (R) 15. James T. Hale (R) 16. Joseph Bailey (D) 17. Edward McPherson (R) 18. Samuel S. Blair (R) 19. John Covode (R) 20. Jesse Lazear (D) 21. James K. Moorhead (R) 22. Robert McKnight (R) 23. John W. Wallace (R) 24. John Patton (R) 25. Elijah Babbitt (R) Rhode Island 1. William P. Sheffield (U) 2. George H. Browne (U) South Carolina 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant Tennessee 1. Vacant 2. Horace Maynard (U) 3. George W. Bridges (U), from February 25, 1863 4. Andrew J. Clements (U) 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant 8. Vacant 9. Vacant 10. Vacant Texas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Vermont 1. Eliakim P. Walton (R) 2. Justin S. Morrill (R) 3. Portus Baxter (R) Virginia 1. Joseph E. Segar (U), from May 6, 1862[44] 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Charles H. Upton (U), July 4, 1861 – February 27, 1862[44] Lewis McKenzie (U), from February 16, 1863 8. Vacant 9. Vacant 10. William G. Brown, Sr. (U) 11. John S. Carlile (U), until July 9, 1861[44] Jacob B. Blair (U), from December 2, 1861 12. Kellian Whaley (U) 13. Vacant Wisconsin 1. John F. Potter (R) 2. Luther Hanchett (R), until November 24, 1862 Walter D. McIndoe (R), from January 26, 1863 3. A. Scott Sloan (R) Non-voting members Colorado Territory. Hiram P. Bennet (R), from August 19, 1861 Dakota Territory. John B. S. Todd (D), from December 9. 1861 Nebraska Territory. Samuel G. Daily (R) Nevada Territory. John Cradlebaugh, from December 2, 1861 New Mexico Territory. John S. Watts (R) Utah Territory. John M. Bernhisel (I) Washington Territory. William H. Wallace (R)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

State (class)	Former senator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's installation
Missouri (3)	Vacant	Did not take seat until after Congress commenced	Waldo P. Johnson (D)	March 17, 1861
Kansas (2)	Vacant	Election not recognized by US Senate	James H. Lane (R)	April 4, 1861
Kansas (3)	Vacant	Election not recognized by US Senate	Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)	April 4, 1861
Pennsylvania (1)	Simon Cameron (R)	Resigned March 4, 1861 to become Secretary of War. Successor was elected.	David Wilmot (R)	March 14, 1861
North Carolina (2)	Thomas Bragg (D)	Withdrew[45] March 6, 1861; expelled later in 1861.	Vacant thereafter
Ohio (3)	Salmon P. Chase (R)	Resigned March 7, 1861 to become Secretary of the Treasury. Successor was elected.	John Sherman (R)	March 21, 1861
Texas (1)	Louis T. Wigfall (D)	Withdrew March 23, 1861	Vacant	Vacant for remainder of term
North Carolina (3)	Thomas L. Clingman (D)	Withdrew[45] March 28, 1861; expelled later in 1861.	Vacant thereafter
Virginia (2)	Robert M. T. Hunter (D)	Withdrew[45] March 28, 1861 and later expelled for support of the rebellion. Successor was elected.	John S. Carlile (U)	July 9, 1861
Virginia (1)	James M. Mason (D)	Expelled March 28, 1861 for supporting the rebellion. Successor was elected.	Waitman T. Willey (U)	July 9, 1861
Illinois (2)	Stephen A. Douglas (D)	Died June 3, 1861. Successor was appointed.	Orville H. Browning (R)	June 26, 1861
Texas (2)	John Hemphill (D)	Expelled July ????, 1861	Vacant	Vacant for remainder of term
Illinois (2)	Orville H. Browning (R)	Retired January 12, 1863 upon election of a successor.	William A. Richardson (D)	January 30, 1863
Arkansas (2)	William K. Sebastian (D)	Expelled July 11, 1861		Vacant thereafter
Arkansas (3)	Charles B. Mitchel (D)
Michigan (2)	Kinsley S. Bingham (R)	Died October 5, 1861. Successor was elected.	Jacob M. Howard (R)	January 17, 1862
Oregon (2)	Edward D. Baker (R)	Killed at Battle of Ball's Bluff October 21, 1861. Successor was appointed.	Benjamin Stark (D)	October 29, 1861
Kentucky (3)	John C. Breckinridge (D)	Expelled December 4, 1861 for supporting the rebellion. Successor was elected.	Garrett Davis (U)	December 23, 1861
Missouri (1)	Trusten Polk (D)	Expelled January 10, 1862 for supporting the rebellion. Successor was appointed.	John B. Henderson (U)	January 17, 1862
Missouri (3)	Waldo P. Johnson (D)	Expelled January 10, 1862 for disloyalty to the government. Successor was appointed.	Robert Wilson (U)	January 17, 1862
Indiana (1)	Jesse D. Bright (D)	Expelled February 5, 1862 on charges of disloyalty. Successor was appointed.	Joseph A. Wright (U)	February 24, 1862
Tennessee (1)	Andrew Johnson (D)	Resigned March 4, 1862	Vacant thereafter
Rhode Island (1)	James F. Simmons (R)	Resigned August 15, 1862. Successor was elected.	Samuel G. Arnold (R)	December 1, 1862
New Jersey (1)	John R. Thomson (D)	Died September 12, 1862. Successor was appointed.	Richard S. Field (R)	November 21, 1862
Oregon (2)	Benjamin Stark (D)	Retired September 12, 1862 upon election of a successor.	Benjamin F. Harding (D)	September 12, 1862
Maryland (3)	James Pearce (D)	Died December 20, 1862. Successor was appointed.	Thomas H. Hicks (U)	December 29, 1862
Indiana (1)	Joseph A. Wright (U)	Retired January 14, 1863 upon election of a successor.	David Turpie (D)	January 14, 1863
New Jersey (1)	Richard S. Field (R)	Retired January 14, 1863 upon election of a successor.	James W. Wall (D)	January 14, 1863

House of Representatives

District	Vacator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's installation
Colorado Territory At-large	New seat		Hiram P. Bennett (Conservative R)	August 19, 1861
Nevada Territory At-large	New seat		John Cradlebaugh	December 2, 1861
Dakota Territory At-large	New seat		John B. S. Todd (D)	December 9, 1861
Louisiana 1st	Vacant		Benjamin F. Flanders (U)	December 3, 1862
Louisiana 2nd	Vacant		Michael Hahn (U)	December 3, 1862
Tennessee 3rd	Vacant	Representative-elect George W. Bridges was arrested by Confederate troops while en route to Washington, D.C. and held prisoner before he escaped.	George W. Bridges (U)	February 25, 1863
Virginia 1st	Vacant		Joseph E. Segar (U)	May 6, 1862[44]
California At-large	Vacant	Low not permitted to take seat, qualified later under special act of Congress	Frederick F. Low (R)	June 3, 1862
Virginia 7th	Vacant		Charles H. Upton (U)	July 4, 1861[44]
Ohio 7th	Thomas Corwin (R)	Resigned March 12, 1861 to become Minister to Mexico	Richard A. Harrison (U)	July 4, 1861
Ohio 13th	John Sherman (R)	Resigned March 12, 1861 when elected U.S. Senator	Samuel T. Worcester (R)	July 4, 1861
Pennsylvania 12th	George W. Scranton (R)	Died March 24, 1861	Hendrick B. Wright (D)	July 4, 1861
Massachusetts 3rd	Charles F. Adams, Sr. (R)	Resigned May 1, 1861 to become Ambassador to Great Britain	Benjamin Thomas (U)	June 11, 1861
Pennsylvania 2nd	Edward Joy Morris (R)	Resigned June 8, 1861 to become Minister Resident to Turkey	Charles J. Biddle (D)	July 2, 1861
Virginia 11th	John S. Carlile (U)	Resigned July 9, 1861 to become United States Senator from the loyal faction of Virginia	Jacob B. Blair (U)	December 2, 1861
Missouri 3rd	John B. Clark (D)	Expelled July 13, 1861 for having taken up arms against the Union	William A. Hall (D)	January 20, 1862
Oregon At-large	Andrew J. Thayer (D)	Election was successfully contested July 30, 1861	George K. Shiel (D)	July 30, 1861
Missouri 5th	John W. Reid (D)	Withdrew August 3, 1861 and then expelled December 2, 1861 for having taken up arms against the Union	Thomas L. Price (D)	January 21, 1862
Iowa 1st	Samuel Curtis (R)	Resigned August 4, 1861 to become colonel of the 2nd Iowa Infantry	James F. Wilson (R)	October 8, 1861
Massachusetts 5th	William Appleton (CU)	Resigned September 27, 1861 due to failing health	Samuel Hooper (R)	December 2, 1861
Illinois 6th	John A. McClernand (D)	Resigned October 28, 1861 to accept a commission as brigadier general of volunteers for service in the Civil War	Anthony L. Knapp (D)	December 12, 1861
Kentucky 1st	Henry C. Burnett (D)	Expelled December 3, 1861 for support of secession	Samuel L. Casey (U)	March 10, 1862
Kentucky 2nd	James S. Jackson (U)	Resigned December 13, 1861 to enter the Union Army	George H. Yeaman (U)	December 1, 1862
Virginia 7th	Charles H. Upton (U)	Declared not entitled to seat February 27, 1862	Lewis McKenzie (U)	February 16, 1863
Illinois 9th	John A. Logan (D)	Resigned April 2, 1862 to enter the Union Army	William J. Allen (D)	June 2, 1862
Pennsylvania 7th	Thomas B. Cooper (D)	Died April 4, 1862	John D. Stiles (D)	June 3, 1862
Massachusetts 9th	Goldsmith F. Bailey (R)	Died May 8, 1862	Amasa Walker (R)	December 1, 1862
Maine 2nd	Charles W. Walton (R)	Resigned May 26, 1862 to become associate justice of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court	Thomas A. D. Fessenden (R)	December 1, 1862
Missouri 1st	Francis P. Blair, Jr. (R)	Resigned July, 1862 to become colonel in Union Army	Vacant	Vacant for remainder of term
Wisconsin 2nd	Luther Hanchett (R)	Died November 24, 1862	Walter D. McIndoe (R)	January 26, 1863
Illinois 5th	William A. Richardson (D)	Resigned January 29, 1863 after being elected to US Senate	Vacant	Vacant for remainder of term

Committees

Senate

Standing committees of the Senate resolved, Friday, March 8, 1861^[46]

Foreign Relations Sumner (Chairman) Collamer Doolittle Harris Douglas Polk Breckinridge Finance Fessenden (Chairman) Simmons Wade Howe Hunter Pearce Bright Commerce Chandler (Chairman) King Morrill Wilson Clingman Saulsbury Johnson Military Affairs and Militia Wilson (Chairman) King Baker Lane Rice Latham Breckinridge Naval Affairs Hale (Chairman) Grimes Foot Cowan Thomson Nicholson Kennedy Judiciary Trumbull (Chairman) Foster Ten Eyck Cowan Bayard Powell Clingman Post Offices and Post Roads Collamer (Chairman) Dixon Wade Trumbull Rice Bright Latham

Public Lands Harlan (Chairman) Bingham Clark Wilkinson Johnson Mitchel Bragg Private Land Claims Harris (Chairman) Ten Eyck Sumner Polk Bayard Indian Affairs Doolittle (Chairman) Baker Cowan Ten Eyck Sebastian Rice Nesmith Pensions Foster (Chairman) Bingham Lane Simmons Saulsbury Powell Mitchel Revolutionary Claims King (Chairman) Chandler Wilkinson Nicholson Nesmith Claims Clark (Chairman) Simmons Howe Cowan Bragg Polk District of Columbia Grimes (Chairman) Anthony Morrill Wade Kennedy Clingman Powell Patents and Patent Office Simmons (Chairman) Sumner Doolittle Thomson Sebastian

Public Buildings and Grounds Foot (Chairman) Dixon Chandler Bright Kennedy Territories Wade (Chairman) Wilkinson Cowan Hale Douglas Sebastian Bragg Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate Dixon (Chairman) Clark Johnson Printing Anthony (Chairman) Harlan Nicholson Engrossed Bills Lane (Chairman) Morrill Mitchel Enrolled Bills Bingham (Chairman) Baker Saulsbury The Library Pearce (Chairman) Collamer Fessenden Order in the Galleries (Select) Anthony Mason Wade

House of Representatives

Members by committee assignments, Congressional Globe, as published July 8, 1861^[47] Spellings conform to those found in the Congressional Biographical Dictionary.

Unless otherwise noted, all committees listed are Standing, as found at the Library of Congress^[48]

Accounts James Buffinton Edward H. Rollins William E. Lehman Samuel T. Worcester George W. Dunlap Agriculture Owen Lovejoy Dwight Loomis CT Charles B. Calvert Edward H. Smith Jacob P. Chamberlain John P.C. Shanks Joseph Bailey Samuel T. Worcester Cyrus Aldrich Claims Reuben E. Fenton Eliakim Persons Walton[49] William S. Holman John Hutchins James T. Hale John W. Noell R. Holland Duell Edwin H. Webster John W. Wallace Commerce Elihu B. Washburne Thomas D. Eliot Elijah Ward John T. Nixon Elijah Babbitt John A. Gurley James S. Rollins Cornelius L. L. Leary William P. Sheffield Confiscation of Rebel Property (Select) Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 District of Columbia James M. Ashley Charles B. Calvert Richard Franchot Edward H. Rollins William Morris Davis Charles H. Upton Elections Henry L. Dawes James H. Campbell Daniel W. Voorhees James B. McKean Dwight Loomis Portus Baxter George H. Browne John W. Menzies Emancipation Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Expenditures in the State Department James B. McKean James C. Robinson John T. Nixon William Vandever Charles H. Upton Expenditures in the Treasury Department Moses F. Odell James H. Campbell John A. Bingham Alexander H. Rice William G. Steele Expenditures in the War Department William A. Wheeler Samuel R. Curtis IA Chauncey Vibbard William Mitchell James S. Rollins Expenditures in the Post Office Department John W. Killinger Charles A. Wickliffe Carey A. Trimble Francis W. Kellogg Edward H. Smith Expenditures in the Interior Department William Allen Martin F. Conway Socrates N. Sherman Samuel Shellabarger Thomas B. Cooper Finance Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Foreign Affairs Also known as Foreign Relations John J. Crittenden Daniel W. Gooch Samuel S. Cox Albert S. White Robert McKnight Alfred A. Burnham Francis Thomas Theodore M. Pomeroy George P. Fisher

Indian Affairs Cyrus Aldrich Thomas M. Edwards Robert Mallory Martin F. Conway William Mitchell Moses F. Odell William E. Lansing John Patton Andrew J. Thayer Invalid Pensions Alfred Ely Socrates N. Sherman John A. Logan Richard A. Harrison William P. Cutler Kellian V. Whaley John N. Goodwin Benjamin Wood George T. Cobb Judiciary Albert G. Porter John S. Carlile Benjamin F. Thomas Henry May Alexander S. Diven Lake and River Defences Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Manufactures Listed in the Congressional Globe, but not listed in the Library of Congress summary page John Hutchins James K. Moorhead Edward Haight John B. Alley Albert G. Porter Alfred Ely Isaac N. Arnold Sydenham E. Ancona William G. Brown Mileage Listed in the Congressional Globe, but not listed in the Library of Congress summary page James C. Robinson John W. Killinger Augustus Frank Henry Grider Benjamin Wood Military Affairs Also known as Military Francis P. Blair, Jr. William A. Richardson James Buffinton Abram B. Olin William Allen Gilman Marston Hendrick B. Wright James S. Jackson Military Railroad Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Militia Also known as Military Affairs and the Militia Robert B. Van Valkenburg William M. Dunn Sydenham E. Ancona Charles Delano Charles J. Biddle Richard A. Harrison William G. Brown William P. Cutler John N. Goodwin Naval Affairs Charles B. Sedgwick Alexander H. Rice Philip B. Fouke James K. Moorhead James E. English John P. Verree Frederick A. Pike Frederick A. Conkling William H. Wadsworth Niagara Ship Canal (Select) Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Burt Van Horn, Chairman[50] Pacific Railroad Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Patents Also known as Patents and Patent Office William M. Dunn John H. Rice Stephen Baker Philip Johnson Warren P. Noble Pensions Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Post Offices and Post Roads Schuler Colfax John B. Alley Charles A. Wickliffe Anson P. Morrill William Windom Harrison G. Blake Chauncey Vibbard Rowland E. Trowbridge Elijah H. Norton

Printing Also known as Joint Committee on Printing Eliakim Persons Walton[49] Ambrose W. Clark Joseph Bailey Private Land Claims John W. Noell Luther Hanchett Burt Van Horn John P. C. Shanks Charles W. Walton Samuel Shellabarger Jesse Lazear Public Lands John F. Potter John Covode Clement L. Vallandingham George W. Julian Carey A. Trimble William Vandever Francis W. Kellogg John W. Crisfield George C. Woodruff Public Buildings and Grounds Charles R. Train Owen Lovejoy Isaac C. Delaplaine Robert McKnight James R. Morris Public Expenditures John Covode Thomas M. Edwards James E. Kerrigan Charles R. Train William Windom Edwin H. Webster George W. Julian Luther Hanchett Chilton A. White Revised and Unfinished Business Listed in the Congressional Globe, but not listed in the Library of Congress summary page John A. Logan Elijah Babbitt John W. Menzies Samuel C. Fessenden Edward Haight Revolutionary Claims R. Holland Duell Sidney Edgerton Thomas B. Cooper John H. Rice William Wall Nehemiah Perry Henry Grider Albert G. Riddle Anson P. Morrill Revolutionary Pensions Charles H. Van Wyck Samuel S. Blair John S. Carlile John F. Potter William Morris Davis John B. Steele Bradley F. Granger John Law William G. Steele Roads and Canals Robert Mallory John A. Gurley James T. Hale Burt Van Horn Isaac N. Arnold Robert H. Nugen Stephen Baker Philip Johnson Fernando C. Beaman State of the Union Listed in Library of Congress summary, but not in Congressional Globe of July 22, 1861 Territories James M. Ashley Charles H. Van Wyck James A. Cravens William Kellogg Fernando C. Beaman John W. Reid A. Scott Sloan Goldsmith F. Bailey Aaron Harding Ways and Means Thaddeus Stevens Justin S. Morrill John S. Phelps Elbridge G. Spaulding William Appleton Erastus Corning Valentine B. Horton John A. McClernand John L. N. Stratton

Joint committees

Enrolled Bills

• Bradley F. Granger
• George T. Cobb

Library

• Edward McPherson
• Augustus Frank
• John Law

Employees

• Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter

Senate

• Chaplain
  • Phineas D. Gurley (Presbyterian)
  • Byron Sunderland (Presbyterian), elected July 10, 1861
• Secretary:
  • Asbury Dickens^[51]
  • John W. Forney, elected July 15, 1861
    • William Hickey (Chief Clerk) apptd "Acting Sec'y", March 22, 1861^[52]
• Sergeant at Arms:
  • Dunning R. McNair
  • George T. Brown, elected July 6, 1861

House of Representatives

• Chaplain of the House:
  • Thomas H. Stockton (Methodist)
• Clerk:
  • John W. Forney
  • Emerson Etheridge, elected July 4, 1861
• Doorkeeper:
  • Ira Goodnow
• Messenger to the Speaker:
  • Thaddeus Morrice
• Postmaster:
  • William S. King
• Sergeant at Arms:
  • Henry W. Hoffman
  • Edward Ball, elected July 5, 1861

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. 

External links

• Statutes at Large, 1789-1875
• Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• House History from the U.S. House of Representatives
• Statistics & Lists from the U.S. Senate
• Congressional Directory: Main Page, Government Printing Office Online. Detailed listings of many aspects of previous memberships and sessions of Congress.

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