42nd United States Congress
| 42nd United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 4, 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.
Major events
- 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
- 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 | 54 | ||||
| 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 | 141 | 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.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
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) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal 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: 4
- Total seats with changes: 16
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Ohio 1st | Aaron F. Perry (R) | Resigned July 14, 1872 | Ozro J. Dodds (D) | October 9, 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 |
| South Carolina 2nd | Robert C. De Large (R) | Seat declared vacant January 24, 1873 after election was contested by Christopher C. Bowen | 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
Senate
- Chaplain: John P. Newman (Methodist)
- Secretary: George C. Gorham of Massachusetts
- Sergeant at Arms: John R. French
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.
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 U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
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