39th United States Congress
| 39th United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Thirty-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, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of Abraham Lincoln's fifth year as president, and the first two years of his successor, U.S. President Andrew Johnson.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Eighth Census of the United States in 1860. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Major events
- March 4, 1865: Second inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln.
- April 9, 1865: Surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the American Civil War
- April 15, 1865: Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became President of the United States
- December 11, 1865: Creation of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Committee on Banking and Commerce, reducing the tasks of the House Committee on Ways and Means
- January, 1866: The second and current United States Capitol dome completed after 11 years of work.
- July 24, 1866: Tennessee became the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.
- November 5, 1866: United States House of Representatives elections, 1866
- January 8, 1867: African American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia
Major legislation
- April 9, 1866: Civil Rights Act of 1866, Sess. 1, ch. 31, 14 Stat. 27
- July 16, 1866: Freedmen's Bureau Bill, Sess. 1, ch. 200, 14 Stat. 173
- July 23, 1866: Judicial Circuits Act, Sess. 1, ch. 210, 14 Stat. 209, reduced the number of United States circuit courts to nine and the number of Supreme Court justices to seven
- July 25, 1866: An Act to revive the Grade of General in the United States Army, Sess. 1, ch. 232, 14 Stat. 223, (now called "5-star general"); Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant became the first to have this rank.
- July 28, 1866: Metric Act of 1866, Sess. 1, ch. 301, 14 Stat. 339, legalized the use of the metric system for weights and measures in the United States.
Constitutional amendments
- December 18, 1865: Thirteenth Amendment declared ratified
- June 13, 1866: Fourteenth Amendment passed Congress and sent to the states for ratification.[1]
States admitted
- March 1, 1867: Nebraska admitted as the 37th state, Sess. 2, ch. 36, 14 Stat. 391 (over president's veto)
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.
During this Congress, Tennessee was readmitted to representation.
Senate
During this Congress, two seats were added for the new state of Nebraska.
| Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) | Unionist (U) | Unconditional Unionist (UU) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 10 | 33 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 22 |
| Begin | 11 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 23 |
| End | 9 | 41 | 1 | 3 | 54 | 20 |
| Final voting share | 16.7% | 75.9% | 1.9% | 5.6% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 8 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 21 |
House of Representatives
During this Congress, one seat was added for the new state of Nebraska.
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority/plurality caucus) |
Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) |
Independent Republican (IR) |
Unionist (U) |
Unconditional Unionist (UU) |
Other | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Congress | 72 | 84 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 0 | 183 | 56 |
| Begin | 40 | 132 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 191 | 51 |
| End | 41 | 134 | 13 | 193 | 49 | |||
| Final voting share | 21.2% | 69.9% | 2.1% | 6.7% | 0.0% | |||
| Beginning of the next Congress | 45 | 140 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 188 | 55 |
Leadership
President of the Senate
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Senate
- President: Andrew Johnson (D), succeeded to the U.S. Presidency April 15, 1865, vacant thereafter.
- President pro tempore: Lafayette S. Foster (R), until March 2, 1867
- Benjamin F. Wade (R), elected March 2, 1867
House of Representatives
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.
Senate
President pro tempore
Lafayette S. Foster
Lafayette S. Foster
President pro tempore
Benjamin F. Wade
Benjamin F. Wade
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 1868; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1870; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1866.
See also: United States Senate elections, 1864
House of Representatives
Speaker of the House
Schuyler Colfax
Schuyler Colfax
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: 8
- Democratic: 2-seat net loss
- Republican: 2-seat net gain
- Unionist: no net change
- Unconditional Union: no net change
- deaths: 4
- resignations: 2
- vacancy: 1
- seats of newly admitted states: 2
- seats of re-admitted states: 2
- Total seats with changes: 12
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland (3) | Vacant | Sen. Thomas H. Hicks died during previous congress | John Creswell (UU) | March 9, 1865 |
| New Jersey (2) | Vacant | Presented credentials as Sen-elect | John P. Stockton (D) | March 15, 1865 |
| Tennessee (2) | Vacant | Tennessee re-admitted to the Union | Joseph S. Fowler (UU) | July 24, 1866 |
| Tennessee (1) | David T. Patterson (U) | July 28, 1866 | ||
| Iowa (3) | James Harlan (R) | Resigned May 15, 1865 after being appointed United States Secretary of the Interior | Samuel J. Kirkwood (R) | January 13, 1866 |
| Vermont (3) | Jacob Collamer (R) | Died November 9, 1865 | Luke P. Poland (R) | November 21, 1865 |
| New Jersey (2) | John P. Stockton (D) | Election was in dispute. Senate declared seat vacant March 27, 1866 and new election called. | Alexander G. Cattell (R) | September 16, 1866 |
| Vermont (1) | Solomon Foot (R) | Died March 28, 1866 | George F. Edmunds (R) | April 3, 1866 |
| Kansas (2) | James H. Lane (R) | Died July 11, 1866 after being mortally wounded from a self-inflicted gunshot 10 days earlier | Edmund G. Ross (R) | July 19, 1866 |
| New Hampshire (3) | Daniel Clark (R) | Resigned July 27, 1866 after being appointed a judge for a US district court in NH | George G. Fogg (R) | August 31, 1866 |
| New Jersey (1) | William Wright (D) | Died November 1, 1866 | Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R) | November 12, 1866 |
| Nebraska (1) | New seat | Nebraska admitted to the Union March 1, 1867. | Thomas Tipton (R) | March 1, 1867 |
| Nebraska (2) | John M. Thayer (R) |
House of Representatives
- replacements: 9
- Democratic: 1-seat net gain
- Republican: 2-seat net gain
- Unconditional Unionist: 1 seat net loss
- Unionist: 0 net change
- deaths: 4
- resignations: 4
- contested election: 3
- seats from newly admitted states: 1
- seats from re-admitted states: 8
- Total seats with changes: 21
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee 1st | Vacant | Tennessee re-admitted into the Union | Nathaniel G. Taylor (U) | July 24, 1866 |
| Tennessee 2nd | Horace Maynard (UU) | |||
| Tennessee 3rd | William B. Stokes (UU) | |||
| Tennessee 4th | Edmund Cooper (U) | |||
| Tennessee 5th | William B. Campbell (U) | |||
| Tennessee 6th | Samuel M. Arnell (UU) | |||
| Tennessee 7th | Isaac R. Hawkins (U) | |||
| Tennessee 8th | John W. Leftwich (UU) | |||
| Maryland 2nd | Edwin H. Webster (UU) | Resigned some time in July, 1865 after being appointed Collector of Customs for the port of Baltimore | John L. Thomas, Jr. (UU) | December 4, 1865 |
| New York 16th | Orlando Kellogg (R) | Died August 24, 1865 | Robert S. Hale (R) | December 3, 1865 |
| Massachusetts 6th | Daniel W. Gooch (R) | Resigned September 1, 1865 after being appointed Navy Agent for the port of Boston | Nathaniel P. Banks (R) | December 4, 1865 |
| Pennsylvania 16th | Alexander H. Coffroth (D) | Lost contested election February 19, 1866 | William H. Koontz (R) | July 18, 1866 |
| Indiana 7th | Daniel W. Voorhees (D) | Lost contested election February 23, 1866 | Henry D. Washburn (R) | February 23, 1866 |
| New York 8th | James Brooks (D) | Lost contested election April 7, 1866 | William E. Dodge (R) | April 7, 1866 |
| New York 3rd | James Humphrey (R) | Died June 16, 1866 | John W. Hunter (D) | December 4, 1866 |
| Kentucky 6th | Green C. Smith (UU) | Resigned some time in July, 1866 after being appointed Governor of the Montana Territory. | Andrew H. Ward (D) | December 3, 1866 |
| Kentucky 5th | Lovell Rousseau (UU) | Resigned July 21, 1866 after being reprimanded for his assault of Iowa Rep. Josiah B. Grinnell. Was re-elected to fill his own seat. | Lovell Rousseau (UU) | December 3, 1866 |
| Kentucky 3rd | Henry Grider (D) | Died September 7, 1866 | Elijah Hise (D) | December 3, 1866 |
| Pennsylvania 11th | Philip Johnson (D) | Died January 29, 1867 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Nebraska Territory At-large | Phineas Hitchcock (R) | Nebraska achieved statehood March 1, 1867 | District eliminated | |
| Nebraska At-large | New State | Nebraska admitted to the Union March 1, 1867. Seat remained vacant until March 2, 1867 | Turner M. Marquette (R) | March 2, 1867 |
Employees
- Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter, resigned May 26, 1865
- Edward Clark, appointed August 30, 1865
Senate
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Charles B. Boynton (Congregationalist)
- Clerk: Edward McPherson
- Doorkeeper: Ira Goodnow
- Messenger to the Speaker: William D. Todd
- Postmaster: Joshua Given
- Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway
References
- ↑ "The Constitution: Amendments 11–27". National Archives. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
Further reading
- Aynes, Richard L. "The 39th Congress (1865–1867) and the 14th Amendment: Some Preliminary Perspectives," Akron Law Review, 42 (no. 4, 2009), 1019–49.
- 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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