26th United States Congress
"26th Congress" redirects here. For the Soviet congress, see 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
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The Twenty-sixth 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, 1839 to March 4, 1841, during the third and fourth years of Martin Van Buren's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fifth Census of the United States in 1830. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
Major events
- 1839: The first state law permitting women to own property was passed in Jackson, Mississippi
- January 19, 1840: Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigated Antarctica, claiming what becomes known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
- November 7, 1840: U.S. presidential election, 1840: William Henry Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren
- February 18, 1841: The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate began and lasted until March 11
Major legislation
Main article: Major legislation: 26th United States Congress
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Party summary
Senate
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Whig (W) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 35 | 16 | 51 | 1 |
| Begin | 28 | 19 | 47 | 5 |
| End | 29 | 23 | 52 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 55.8% | 44.2% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 22 | 29 | 51 | 1 |
House of Representatives
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti- Masonic (AM) |
Conservative (C) | Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | Other | |||
| End of the previous congress | 7 | 0 | 114 | 105 | (Nullifer) 7 |
233 | 2 |
| Begin | 6 | 2 | 124 | 109 | 0 | 241 | 1 |
| End | 5 | 111 | 242 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 2.1% | 0.8% | 51.2% | 45.9% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 0 | 0 | 99 | 142 | 1 | 242 | 0 |
Leadership
President of the Senate
Richard M. Johnson
Richard M. Johnson
Senate
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
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 1844; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1840; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1842.
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: 8
- Democrats: 0-seat net loss
- Whigs: 0-seat net gain
- Deaths: 3
- Resignations: 7
- Interim appointments: 0
- Total seats with changes: 11
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee (1) |
Vacant after previous Congress | Felix Grundy (D) | Elected November 19, 1839 | |
| New York (1) |
Vacant after previous Congress | Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (w) | Elected January 14, 1840 | |
| Pennsylvania (1) |
Vacant after previous Congress | Daniel Sturgeon (D) | Elected January 14, 1840 | |
| Michigan (1) |
Vacant after previous Congress | Augustus S. Porter (W) | Elected January 20, 1840 | |
| Delaware (1) |
Richard H. Bayard (W) | Resigned September 19, 1839 to become Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court | Richard H. Bayard (W) | Elected January 12, 1841 to his former position |
| Tennessee (2) |
Hugh Lawson White (W) | Resigned January 13, 1840 because he could not conscientiously obey the intentions of his constituents | Alexander O. Anderson (D) | Elected February 26, 1840 |
| Connecticut (1) |
Thaddeus Betts (W) | Died April 7, 1840 | Jabez W. Huntington (W) | Elected May 4, 1840 |
| Maryland (3) |
John S. Spence (W) | Died October 24, 1840 | John L. Kerr (W) | Elected January 5, 1841 |
| North Carolina (2) |
Bedford Brown (D) | Resigned November 16, 1840 because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly | Willie P. Mangum (W) | Elected November 25, 1840 |
| North Carolina (3) |
Robert Strange (D) | Resigned November 16, 1840 | William A. Graham (W) | Elected November 25, 1840 |
| Tennessee (1) |
Felix Grundy (D) | Died December 19, 1840 | Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) | Elected December 25, 1840 |
| Massachusetts (2) |
John Davis (W) | Resigned January 5, 1841 after being elected Governor of Massachusetts | Isaac C. Bates (W) | Elected January 13, 1841 |
| Massachusetts (1) |
Daniel Webster (W) | Resigned February 22, 1841 | Rufus Choate (W) | Elected February 23, 1841 |
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 15
- Democrats: 2-seat net loss
- Whigs: 3-seat net gain
- Anti-Masonic: 1-seat net loss
- Deaths: 6
- Resignations: 10
- Contested election: 0
- Total seats with changes: 17
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana 7th | Vacant | Rep-elect Howard presented credentials August 5, 1839 | Tilghman Howard (D) | Seated August 5, 1839 |
| Missouri At-large | Albert G. Harrison (D) | Died September 7, 1839 | John Jameson (D) | Seated December 12, 1839 |
| Massachusetts 6th | James C. Alvord (W) | Died September 27, 1839 | Osmyn Baker (W) | Seated January 14, 1840 |
| Pennsylvania 14th | William W. Potter (D) | Died October 28, 1839 | George McCulloch (D) | Seated November 20, 1839 |
| Virginia 14th | Charles F. Mercer (W) | Resigned December 26, 1839 | William M. McCarty (W) | Seated January 25, 1840 |
| Pennsylvania 22nd | Richard Biddle (AM) | Resigned some time in 1840 | Henry M. Brackenridge (W) | Seated October 13, 1840 |
| Virginia 1st | Joel Holleman (D) | Resigned some time in 1840 | Francis Mallory (W) | Seated December 28, 1840 |
| Ohio 4th | Thomas Corwin (W) | Resigned May 30, 1840 having become a candidate for Governor of Ohio | Jeremiah Morrow (W) | Seated October 13, 1840 |
| Connecticut 2nd | William L. Storrs (W) | Resigned some time in June, 1840 | William W. Boardman (W) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| New York 11th | Anson Brown (W) | Died June 14, 1840 | Nicholas B. Doe (W) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| Indiana 7th | Tilghman Howard (D) | Resigned July 1, 1840 | Henry S. Lane (W) | Seated August 3, 1840 |
| Georgia At-large | Walter T. Colquitt (W) | Resigned July 21, 1840 | Hines Holt (W) | Seated February 1, 1841 |
| Louisiana 3rd | Rice Garland (W) | Resigned July 21, 1840 to accept appointment as judge of Louisiana Supreme Court | John Moore (W) | Seated December 17, 1840 |
| Kentucky 5th | Simeon H. Anderson (W) | Died August 11, 1840 | John B. Thompson (W) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| Massachusetts 1st | Abbott Lawrence (W) | Resigned September 18, 1840 | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | Seated November 9, 1840 |
| Pennsylvania 13th | William S. Ramsey (D) | Died October 17, 1840 | Charles McClure (D) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| Iowa Territory At-large | William W. Chapman (D) | Term expired by law October 27, 1840 | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Seated October 28, 1840 |
| Maine 4th | George Evans (W) | Resigned March 3, 1841 after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Agriculture
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
- Bank Note Circulation
- Bankruptcy (Select)
- Claims
- Commerce
- Debts of the States (Select)
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
- District of Columbia
- Finance
- Fishing Bounties and Allowances (Select)
- Florida and Its Admission to the Union (Select)
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Judiciary
- Manufactures
- Mileage of Members of Congress (Select)
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Naval Affairs
- Patents and the Patent Office
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Private Land Claims
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Revolutionary Claims
- Roads and Canals
- Tariff Regulation (Select)
- Washington City Charter (Select)
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Claims
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Elections
- Expenditures in the Navy Department
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department
- Expenditures in the State Department
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department
- Expenditures in the War Department
- Expenditures on Public Buildings
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Invalid Pensions
- Manufactures
- Mileage
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Naval Affairs
- Patents
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Expenditures
- Public Lands
- Revisal and Unfinished Business
- Revolutionary Claims
- Roads and Canals
- Rules (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
Employees
Senate
- Chaplain: George G. Cookman (Methodist)
- Secretary: Asbury Dickens
- Sergeant at Arms: Stephen Haight
House of Representatives
- Chaplain:
- Joshua Bates (Congregationalist), elected February 4, 1840
- Thomas W. Braxton (Baptist), elected December 7, 1840
- Clerk: Hugh A. Garland
- Doorkeeper: Joseph Follansbee
- Postmaster: William J. McCormick
- Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey
See also
- United States elections, 1838 (elections leading to this Congress)
- United States elections, 1840 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
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
- Congressional Directory for the 26th Congress, 1st Session.
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