32nd United States Congress

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Contents 1 Dates of sessions 2 Major events 3 Major legislation 4 Party summary 4.1 Senate 4.2 House of Representatives 5 Leadership 5.1 Senate 5.2 House of Representatives 6 Members 6.1 Senate 6.2 House of Representatives 6.3 Delegates 7 Changes in membership 7.1 Senate 7.2 House of Representatives 8 Officers 8.1 Senate 8.2 House of Representatives 8.3 Other 9 Notes 10 References 11 External links

The Thirty-second United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, comprised of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1851 to March 3, 1853, during the last two years of the administration of U.S. President Millard Fillmore.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Sixth Census of the United States in 1840. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

[edit] Dates of sessions

March 4, 1851 - March 3, 1853

• Special session of the Senate: March 4, 1851 - March 13, 1851
• First session: December 1, 1851 - August 31, 1852
• Second session: December 6, 1852 - March 3, 1853 — a lame duck session

Previous congress: 31st Congress
Next congress: 33rd Congress

[edit] Major events

Main article: Events of 1851; Events of 1852; Events of 1853

[edit] Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation in the 32nd Congress

• May 30, 1854 - Kansas-Nebraska Act, ch. 59, 10 Stat. 277

[edit] 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.

[edit] Senate

• Democratic: 36 (majority)
• Whig: 23
• Free Soil: 3

TOTAL members: 62

[edit] House of Representatives

• Democratic: 127 (majority)
• Whig: 85
• Free Soil: 4
• Independent Democrat: 3
• Independent Whig: 1
• States Rights: 3
• Unionists: 10

TOTAL members: 233

[edit] Leadership

[edit] Senate

• Vice President of the United States (President of the Senate):
  • vacant
• President pro tempore of the Senate:
  • William R. King, Democrat of Alabama, elected March 4, 1851
  • David R. Atchison, Democrat of Missouri, elected December 20, 1852

[edit] House of Representatives

• Speaker of the House
  • Linn Boyd, Democrat of Kentucky, elected December 1, 1851

[edit] Members

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

See also: 32nd United States Congress - Political Parties

See also: 32nd United States Congress - State Delegations

See also: United States House election, 1850

[edit] Senate

At this time, 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 1856; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1852; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1854.

Alabama

• 3. William R.D. King (Dem.) …resigned December 20, 1852.

  Benjamin Fitzpatrick (Dem.) …appointed to fill vacancy, January 14, 1853.

• 2. Jeremiah Clemens (Dem.)

Arkansas

• 2. William K. Sebastian (Dem.)
• 3. Solon Borland (Dem.)

California

• 3. William M. Gwin (Dem.)
• 1. John B. Weller (Dem.) …elected to fill vacancy in class, January 30, 1852.

Connecticut

• 3. Truman Smith (Whig)
• 1. Isaac Toucey (Dem.) …elected to fill vacancy in class, May 12, 1852.

Delaware

• 2. Presley Spruance (Whig)
• 1. James A. Bayard, Jr. (Dem.)

Florida

• 3. Jackson Morton (Whig)
• 1. Stephen R. Mallory (Dem.)

Georgia

• 2. John M. Berrien (Whig) …resigned May 28, 1852.

  Robert M. Charlton (Dem.) …appointed to fill vacancy, May 31, 1852.

• 3. William C. Dawson (Whig)

Illinois

• 2. Stephen A. Douglas (Dem.)
• 3. James Shields (Dem.)

Indiana

• 1. Jesse D. Bright (Dem.)
• 3. James Whitcomb (Dem.) …died October 4, 1852.

  Charles W. Cathcart (Dem.) …appointed to fill vacancy, November 23, 1852.

  John Pettit (Dem.) …elected to fill vacancy, January 11, 1853.

Iowa

• 3. Augustus C. Dodge (Dem.)
• 2. George W. Jones (Dem.)

Kentucky

• 2. Joseph R. Underwood (Whig)
• 3. Henry Clay (Whig) …died June 29, 1852.

  David Meriwether (Dem.) …appointed to fill vacancy, July 6, 1852.

  Archibald Dixon (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, September 1, 1852.

Louisiana

• 2. Solomon W. Downs (Dem.)
• 3. Pierre Soulé (Dem.)

Maine

• 2. James W. Bradbury (Dem.)
• 1. Hannibal Hamlin (Dem.)

Maryland

• 3. James A. Pearce (Whig)
• 1. Thomas G. Pratt (Whig)

Massachusetts

• 2. John Davis (Whig)
• 1. Charles Sumner (Free Soil) …elected to fill vacancy in class, April 23, 1851.

Michigan

• 1. Lewis Cass (Dem.)
• 2. Alpheus Felch (Dem.)

Mississippi

• 2. Henry S. Foote (Dem.) …resigned January 8, 1852.

  Walker Brooke (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, February 18, 1852.

• 1. Jefferson Davis (Dem.) …resigned September 23, 1851.

  John J. McRae (Dem.) …appointed to fill vacancy, December 1, 1851.

  Stephen Adams (Dem.) …elected to fill vacancy, March 17, 1852.

Missouri

• 3. David R. Atchison (Dem.)
• 1. Henry S. Geyer (Whig)

New Hampshire

• 2. John P. Hale (Free Soil)
• 3. Moses Norris, Jr. (Dem.)

New Jersey

• 2. Jacob W. Miller (Whig)
• 1. Robert F. Stockton (Dem.) …resigned January 10, 1853.

New York

• 3. William H. Seward (Whig)
• 1. Hamilton Fish (Whig)

North Carolina

• 2. Willie P. Mangum (Whig)
• 3. George E. Badger (Whig)

Ohio

• 3. Salmon P. Chase (Free Soil)
• 1. Benjamin F. Wade (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, March 15, 1851.

Pennsylvania

• 3. James Cooper (Whig)
• 1. Richard Brodhead (Dem.)

Rhode Island

• 2. John H. Clarke (Whig)
• 1. Charles T. James (Dem.)

South Carolina

• 3. Andrew P. Butler (Dem.)
• 2. Robert B. Rhett (Dem.) …resigned May 7, 1852.

  William F. De Saussure (Dem.) …appointed to fill vacancy, May 24, 1852.

Tennessee

• 2. John Bell (Whig)
• 1. James C. Jones (Whig)

Texas

• 2. Samuel Houston (Dem.)
• 1. Thomas J. Rusk (Dem.)

Vermont

• 3. William Upham (Whig) …died January 14, 1853.

  Samuel S. Phelps (Whig) …appointed to fill vacancy, January 17, 1853.

• 1. Solomon Foot (Whig)

Virginia

• 1. James M. Mason (Dem.)
• 2. Robert M.T. Hunter (Dem.)

Wisconsin

• 1. Henry Dodge (Dem.)
• 3. Isaac P. Walker (Dem.)

[edit] House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide on the general ticket or otherwise at-large, are preceded by an "A/L," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.

Many of the congressional district numbers are linked to articles describing the district itself. Since the boundaries of the districts have changed often and substantially, the linked article may only describe the district as it exists today, and not as it was at the time of this Congress.

Alabama

• 1. John Bragg (Dem.)
• 2. James Abercrombie (Whig)
• 3. Sampson W. Harris (Dem.)
• 4. William R. Smith (Unionist)
• 5. George S. Houston (Dem.)
• 6. Williamson R.W. Cobb (Dem.)
• 7. Alexander White (Whig)

Arkansas

• A/L. Robert W. Johnson (Dem.)

California ^[1]

• A/L. Edward C. Marshall (Dem.)
• A/L. Joseph W. McCorkle (Dem.)

Connecticut

• 1. Charles Chapman (Whig)
• 2. Colin M. Ingersoll (Dem.)
• 3. Chauncey F. Cleveland (Dem.)
• 4. Origen S. Seymour (Dem.)

Delaware

• A/L. George R. Riddle (Dem.)

Florida

• A/L. Edward C. Cabell (Whig)

Georgia

• 1. Joseph W. Jackson (States Rights)
• 2. James Johnson (Unionist)
• 3. David J. Bailey (States Rights)
• 4. Charles Murphey (Unionist)
• 5. Elijah W. Chastain (Unionist)
• 6. Junius Hillyer (Unionist)
• 7. Alexander H. Stephens (Unionist)
• 8. Robert A. Toombs (Unionist)

Illinois

• 1. William H. Bissell (Dem.)
• 2. Willis Allen (Dem.)
• 3. Orlando B. Ficklin (Dem.)
• 4. Richard S. Molony (Dem.)
• 5. William A. Richardson (Dem.)
• 6. Thompson Campbell (Dem.)
• 7. Richard Yates (Whig)

Indiana

• 1. James Lockhart (Dem.)
• 2. Cyrus L. Dunham (Dem.)
• 3. John L. Robinson (Dem.)
• 4. Samuel W. Parker (Whig)
• 5. Thomas A. Hendricks (Dem.)
• 6. Willis A. Gorman (Dem.)
• 7. John G. Davis (Dem.)
• 8. Daniel Mace (Dem.)
• 9. Graham N. Fitch (Dem.)
• 10. Samuel Brenton (Whig)

Iowa

• 1. Bernhart Henn (Dem.)
• 2. Lincoln Clark (Dem.)

Kentucky

• 1. Linn Boyd (Dem.)
• 2. Benjamin E. Grey (Whig)
• 3. Presley U. Ewing (Whig)
• 4. William T. Ward (Whig)
• 5. James W. Stone (Dem.)
• 6. Addison White (Whig)
• 7. Humphrey Marshall (Whig) …resigned August 4, 1852.

  William Preston (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, seated December 6, 1852.

• 8. John C. Breckinridge (Dem.)
• 9. John C. Mason (Dem.)
• 10. Richard H. Stanton (Dem.)

Louisiana

• 1. Louis St. Martin (Dem.)
• 2. Joseph A. Landry (Whig)
• 3. Alexander G. Penn (Dem.)
• 4. John Moore (Whig)

Maine

• 1. Moses MacDonald (Dem.)
• 2. John Appleton (Dem.)
• 3. Robert Goodenow (Whig)
• 4. Charles Andrews (Dem.) …died April 30, 1852.

  Isaac Reed (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, seated June 25, 1852.

• 5. Ephraim K. Smart (Dem.)
• 6. Israel Washburn, Jr. (Whig)
• 7. Thomas J.D. Fuller (Dem.)

Maryland

• 1. Richard J. Bowie (Whig)
• 2. William T. Hamilton (Dem.)
• 3. Edward Hammond (Dem.)
• 4. Thomas Y. Walsh (Whig)
• 5. Alexander Evans (Whig)
• 6. Joseph S. Cottman (Independent Whig)

Massachusetts

• 1. William Appleton (Whig)
• 2. Robert Rantoul, Jr. (Dem.) …died August 7, 1852.

  Francis B. Fay (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, seated December 29, 1852.

• 3. James H. Duncan (Whig)
• 4. Benjamin Thompson (Whig) …died September 24, 1852.

  Lorenzo Sabine (Whig) …elected to fill vacancy, seated December 28, 1852.

• 5. Willis Allen (Free Soil)
• 6. George T. Davis (Whig)
• 7. John Z. Goodrich (Whig)
• 8. Horace Mann (Free Soil)
• 9. Orin Fowler (Whig) …died September 3, 1852.

  Edward P. Little (Dem.) …elected to fill vacancy, seated December 30, 1852.

• 10. Zeno Scudder (Whig)

Michigan

• 1. Ebenezer J. Penniman (Whig)
• 2. Charles E. Stuart (Dem.)
• 3. James L. Conger (Whig)

Mississippi

• 1. Benjamin D. Nabers (Unionist)
• 2. John A. Wilcox (Unionist)
• 3. John D. Freeman (Unionist)
• 4. Albert G. Brown (States Rights)

Missouri

• 1. John F. Darby (Whig)
• 2. Gilchrist Porter (Whig)
• 3. John G. Miller (Whig)
• 4. Willard P. Hall (Dem.)
• 5. John S. Phelps (Dem.)

New Hampshire

• 1. Amos Tuck (Whig)
• 2. Charles H. Peaslee (Dem.)
• 3. Jared Perkins (Whig)
• 4. Harry Hibbard (Dem.)

New Jersey

• 1. Nathan T. Stratton (Dem.)
• 2. Charles Skelton (Dem.)
• 3. Isaac Wildrick (Dem.)
• 4. George H. Brown (Whig)
• 5. Rodman M. Price (Dem.)

New York

• 1. John G. Floyd (Dem.)
• 2. Obadiah Bowne (Whig)
• 3. Emanuel B. Hart (Dem.)
• 4. John H.H. Haws (Whig)
• 5. George Briggs (Whig)
• 6. James Brooks (Whig)
• 7. Abraham P. Stephens (Dem.)
• 8. Gilbert Dean (Dem.)
• 9. William Murray (Dem.)
• 10. Marius Schoonmaker (Whig)
• 11. Josiah Sutherland (Dem.)
• 12. David L. Seymour (Dem.)
• 13. John L. Schoolcraft (Whig)
• 14. John H. Boyd (Whig)
• 15. Joseph Russell (Dem.)
• 16. John Wells (Whig)
• 17. Alexander H. Buell (Dem.) …died January 29, 1853.
• 18. Preston King (Dem.)
• 19. Willard Ives (Dem.)
• 20. Timothy Jenkins (Dem.)
• 21. William W. Snow (Dem.)
• 22. Henry Bennett (Whig)
• 23. Leander Babcock (Dem.)
• 24. Daniel T. Jones (Dem.)
• 25. Thomas Y. Howe, Jr. (Dem.)
• 26. Henry S. Walbridge (Whig)
• 27. William A. Sackett (Whig)
• 28. Abraham M. Schermerhorn (Whig)
• 29. Jerediah Horsford (Whig)
• 30. Reuben Robie (Dem.)
• 31. Frederick S. Martin (Whig)
• 32. Solomon G. Haven (Whig)
• 33. Augustus P. Hascall (Whig)
• 34. Lorenzo Burrows (Whig)

North Carolina

• 1. Thomas L. Clingman (Whig)
• 2. Joseph P. Caldwell (Whig)
• 3. Alfred Dockery (Whig)
• 4. James T. Morehead (Whig)
• 5. Abraham W. Venable (Dem.)
• 6. John R.J. Daniel (Dem.)
• 7. William S. Ashe (Dem.)
• 8. Edward Stanly (Whig)
• 9. David Outlaw (Whig)

Ohio

• 1. David T. Disney (Dem.)
• 2. Lewis D. Campbell (Whig)
• 3. Hiram Bell (Whig)
• 4. Benjamin Stanton (Whig)
• 5. Alfred P. Edgerton (Dem.)
• 6. Frederick W. Green (Dem.)
• 7. Nelson Barrere (Whig)
• 8. John L. Taylor (Whig)
• 9. Edson B. Olds (Dem.)
• 10. Charles Sweetser (Dem.)
• 11. George H. Busby (Dem.)
• 12. John Welch (Whig)
• 13. James M. Gaylord (Dem.)
• 14. Alexander Harper (Whig)
• 15. William F. Hunter (Whig)
• 16. John Johnson (Independent Dem.)
• 17. Joseph Cable (Dem.)
• 18. David K. Cartter (Dem.)
• 19. Eben Newton (Whig)
• 20. Joshua R. Giddings (Free Soil)
• 21. Norton S. Townshend (Dem.)

Pennsylvania

• 1. Thomas B. Florence (Dem.)
• 2. Joseph R. Chandler (Whig)
• 3. Henry D. Moore (Whig)
• 4. John Robbins (Dem.)
• 5. John McNair (Dem.)
• 6. Thomas Ross (Dem.)
• 7. John A. Morrison (Dem.)
• 8. Thaddeus Stevens (Whig)
• 9. Jehu G. Jones (Dem.)
• 10. Milo M. Dimmick (Dem.)
• 11. Henry M. Fuller (Whig)
• 12. Galusha A. Grow (Dem.)
• 13. James Gamble (Dem.)
• 14. Thomas M. Bibighaus (Whig)
• 15. William H. Kurtz (Dem.)
• 16. James X. McLanahan (Dem.)
• 17. Andrew Parker (Dem.)
• 18. John L. Dawson (Dem.)
• 19. Joseph H. Kuhns (Whig)
• 20. John Allison (Whig)
• 21. John W. Howe (Whig)
• 22. Thomas M. Howe (Whig)
• 23. Carlton B. Curtis (Dem.)
• 24. Alfred Gilmore (Dem.)

Rhode Island

• 1. George G. King (Whig)
• 2. Benjamin B. Thurston (Dem.)

South Carolina

• 1. Daniel Wallace (Dem.)
• 2. James L. Orr (Dem.)
• 3. Joseph A. Woodward (Dem.)
• 4. John McQueen (Dem.)
• 5. Armistead Burt (Dem.)
• 6. William Aiken (Dem.)
• 7. William F. Colcock (Dem.)

Tennessee

• 1. Andrew Johnson (Dem.)
• 2. Albert G. Watkins (Whig)
• 3. William M. Churchwell (Dem.)
• 4. John H. Savage (Dem.)
• 5. George W.Jones (Dem.)
• 6. William H. Polk (Independent Dem.)
• 7. Meredith P. Gentry (Whig)
• 8. William Cullom (Whig)
• 9. Isham G. Harris (Dem.)
• 10. Frederick P. Stanton (Dem.)
• 11. Christopher H. Williams (Whig)

Texas

• 1. Richardson Scurry (Dem.)
• 2. Volney E. Howard (Dem.)

Vermont

• 1. Ahiman L. Miner (Whig)
• 2. William Hebard (Whig)
• 3. James Meacham (Whig)
• 4. Thomas Bartlett, Jr. (Dem.)

Virginia

• 1. John S. Millson (Dem.)
• 2. Richard K. Meade (Dem.)
• 3. Thomas H. Averett (Dem.)
• 4. Thomas S. Bocock (Dem.)
• 5. Paulus Powell (Dem.)
• 6. John Caskie (Dem.)
• 7. Thomas H. Bayly (Dem.)
• 8. Alexander Holladay (Dem.)
• 9. James F. Strother (Whig)
• 10. Charles J. Faulkner (Whig)
• 11. John Letcher (Dem.)
• 12. Henry A. Edmundson (Dem.)
• 13. LaFayette McMullen (Dem.)
• 14. James M.H. Beale (Dem.)
• 15. George W. Thompson (Dem.) …resigned July 30, 1852.

  Sherrard Clemens (Dem.) …elected to fill vacancy, seated December 6, 1852.

Wisconsin

• 1. Charles Durkee (Free Soil)
• 2. Ben C. Eastman (Dem.)
• 3. James D. Doty (Dem.)

[edit] Delegates

Minnesota Territory

• A/L. Henry Hastings Sibley (Dem.)

New Mexico Territory

• A/L. Richard H. Weightman (Dem.) …newly created territory, seated December 1, 1851.

Oregon Territory

• A/L. Joseph Lane (Dem.)

Utah Territory

• A/L. John M. Bernhisel …newly created territory, seated December 1, 1851

[edit] Changes in membership

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

See also: 32nd United States Congress - Membership Changes

[edit] Senate

• replacements: 8
  • Democratic: 1 seat net gain
  • Whig: 1 seat net loss

• deaths: 3
• resignations: 6
• interim appointments: 3
• Total seats with changes: 13

[edit] House of Representatives

• replacements: 6
  • Democratic: 1 seat net loss
  • Whig: 1 seat net gain

• deaths: 2
• resignations: 5
• Total seats with changes: 7

[edit] Officers

[edit] Senate

• Secretary of the Senate:
  • Asbury Dickens of North Carolina elected December 12, 1836
• Sergeant at Arms of the Senate:
  • Robert Beale of Virginia, elected December 9, 1845
• Chaplain of the Senate
  • The Rev. Clement M. Butler, Episcopalian, elected January 9, 1850

[edit] House of Representatives

• Clerk of the House:
  • John M. Forney of Pennsylvania elected December 1, 1851
• Sergeant at Arms of the House:
  • Adam J. Glossbrenner of Pennsylvania, elected December 1, 1851
• Doorkeeper of the House:
  • Zadock W. McKnew of Maryland, elected December 1, 1851
• Postmaster of the House:
  • John M. Johnson of Virginia, elected December 1, 1851
• Chaplain of the House
  • The Rev. Littleton F. Morgan Methodist, elected December 1, 1851
  • The Rev. James Gallagher Presbyterian, elected December 6, 1852

[edit] Other

• Architect of the Capitol:
  • Thomas U. Walter, appointed June 11, 1851

[edit] Notes

1. ^ all representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket

[edit] 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. 

[edit] External links

• Statutes at Large, 1789-1875 [1]
• Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress [2]
• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress [3]
• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress [4]
• U.S. House of Representatives: Congressional History [5]
• U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists [6]

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