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Wikipedia / 42nd United States Congress

The 42nd 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 1860 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Major events

Major legislation

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

House of Representatives

Leadership

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.

  1. Skip to House of Representatives, below

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 re-election in 1874; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1872.

List of United States senators from AlabamaAlabama

  1. 2. George Goldthwaite (D)

  2. 3. George E. Spencer (R)

List of United States senators from ArkansasArkansas

  1. 2. Powell Clayton (R)

  2. 3. Benjamin F. Rice (R)

List of United States senators from CaliforniaCalifornia

  1. 1. Eugene Casserly (D)

  2. 3. Cornelius Cole (R)

List of United States senators from ConnecticutConnecticut

  1. 1. William A. Buckingham (R)

  2. 3. Orris S. Ferry (R)

List of United States senators from DelawareDelaware

  1. 1. Thomas F. Bayard Sr. (D)

  2. 2. Eli Saulsbury (D)

List of United States senators from FloridaFlorida

  1. 1. Abijah Gilbert (R)

  2. 3. Thomas W. Osborn (R)

List of United States senators from GeorgiaGeorgia

  1. 2. Thomas M. Norwood (D), from November 14, 1871

  2. 3. Joshua Hill (R)

List of United States senators from IllinoisIllinois

  1. 2. John A. Logan (R)

  2. 3. Lyman Trumbull (LR)

List of United States senators from IndianaIndiana

  1. 1. Daniel D. Pratt (R)

  2. 3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R)

List of United States senators from IowaIowa

  1. 2. George G. Wright (R)

  2. 3. James Harlan (R)

List of United States senators from KansasKansas

  1. 2. Alexander Caldwell (R)

  2. 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)

List of United States senators from KentuckyKentucky

  1. 2. John W. Stevenson (D)

  2. 3. Garrett Davis (D), until September 22, 1872

    1. Willis B. Machen (D), from September 27, 1872

List of United States senators from LouisianaLouisiana

  1. 2. J. Rodman West (R)

  2. 3. William P. Kellogg (R), until November 1, 1872

List of United States senators from MaineMaine

  1. 1. Hannibal Hamlin (R)

  2. 2. Lot M. Morrill (R)

List of United States senators from MarylandMaryland

  1. 1. William T. Hamilton (D)

  2. 3. George Vickers (D)

List of United States senators from MassachusettsMassachusetts

  1. 1. Charles Sumner (R)

  2. 2. Henry Wilson (R), until March 3, 1873

List of United States senators from MichiganMichigan

  1. 1. Zachariah Chandler (R)

  2. 2. Thomas W. Ferry (R)

List of United States senators from MinnesotaMinnesota

  1. 1. Alexander Ramsey (R)

  2. 2. William Windom (R)

List of United States senators from MississippiMississippi

  1. 1. Adelbert Ames (R)

  2. 2. James L. Alcorn (R), from December 1, 1871

List of United States senators from MissouriMissouri

  1. 1. Carl Schurz (R)

  2. 3. Francis P. Blair Jr. (D)

List of United States senators from NebraskaNebraska

  1. 1. Thomas Tipton (R)

  2. 2. Phineas Hitchcock (R)

List of United States senators from NevadaNevada

  1. 1. William M. Stewart (R)

  2. 3. James W. Nye (R)

List of United States senators from New HampshireNew Hampshire

  1. 2. Aaron H. Cragin (R)

  2. 3. James W. Patterson (R)

List of United States senators from New JerseyNew Jersey

  1. 1. John P. Stockton (D)

  2. 2. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R)

List of United States senators from New YorkNew York

  1. 1. Reuben E. Fenton (R)

  2. 3. Roscoe Conkling (R)

List of United States senators from North CarolinaNorth Carolina

  1. 2. Matt W. Ransom (D), from January 30, 1872

  2. 3. John Pool (R)

List of United States senators from OhioOhio

  1. 1. Allen G. Thurman (D)

  2. 3. John Sherman (R)

List of United States senators from OregonOregon

  1. 2. James K. Kelly (D)

  2. 3. Henry W. Corbett (R)

List of United States senators from PennsylvaniaPennsylvania

  1. 1. John Scott (R)

  2. 3. Simon Cameron (R)

List of United States senators from Rhode IslandRhode Island

  1. 1. William Sprague IV (R)

  2. 2. Henry B. Anthony (R)

List of United States senators from South CarolinaSouth Carolina

  1. 2. Thomas J. Robertson (R)

  2. 3. Frederick A. Sawyer (R)

List of United States senators from TennesseeTennessee

  1. 1. William G. Brownlow (R)

  2. 2. Henry Cooper (D)

List of United States senators from TexasTexas

  1. 1. James W. Flanagan (R)

  2. 2. Morgan C. Hamilton (R)

List of United States senators from VermontVermont

  1. 1. George F. Edmunds (R)

  2. 3. Justin S. Morrill (R)

List of United States senators from VirginiaVirginia

  1. 1. John F. Lewis (R)

  2. 2. John W. Johnston (D), from March 15, 1871

List of United States senators from West VirginiaWest Virginia

  1. 1. Arthur I. Boreman (R)

  2. 2. Henry G. Davis (D)

List of United States senators from WisconsinWisconsin

  1. 1. Matthew H. Carpenter (R)

  2. 3. Timothy O. Howe (R)

House of Representatives

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

List of United States representatives from AlabamaAlabama

  1. . Benjamin S. Turner (R)

  2. . Charles W. Buckley (R)

  3. . William A. Handley (D)

  4. . Charles Hays (R)

  5. . Peter M. Dox (D)

  6. . Joseph H. Sloss (D)

List of United States representatives from ArkansasArkansas

  1. . James M. Hanks (D)

  2. . Oliver P. Snyder (R)

  3. . John Edwards (LR), until February 9, 1872

    1. Thomas Boles (R), from February 9, 1872

List of United States representatives from CaliforniaCalifornia

  1. . Sherman O. Houghton (R)

  2. . Aaron A. Sargent (R)

  3. . John M. Coghlan (R)

List of United States representatives from ConnecticutConnecticut

  1. . Julius L. Strong (R), until September 7, 1872

    1. Joseph R. Hawley (R), from December 2, 1872

    . Stephen W. Kellogg (R)

  2. . Henry H. Starkweather (R)

  3. . William H. Barnum (D)

List of United States representatives from DelawareDelaware

  1. . Benjamin T. Biggs (D)

List of United States representatives from FloridaFlorida

  1. . Josiah T. Walls (R), until January 29, 1873

    1. Silas L. Niblack (D), from January 29, 1873

List of United States representatives from GeorgiaGeorgia

  1. . Archibald T. MacIntyre (D)

  2. . Richard H. Whiteley (R)

  3. . John S. Bigby (R)

  4. . Thomas J. Speer (R), until August 18, 1872

    1. Erasmus W. Beck (D), from December 2, 1872

    . Dudley M. Du Bose (D)

  5. . William P. Price (D)

  6. . Pierce M. B. Young (D)

List of United States representatives from IllinoisIllinois

  1. . Charles B. Farwell (R)

  2. . John F. Farnsworth (R)

  3. . Horatio C. Burchard (R)

  4. . John B. Hawley (R)

  5. . Bradford N. Stevens (D)

  6. . Burton C. Cook (R), until August 26, 1871

    1. Henry Snapp (R), from December 4, 1871

    . Jesse H. Moore (R)

  7. . James C. Robinson (D)

  8. . Thompson W. McNeely (D)

  9. . Edward Y. Rice (D)

  10. . Samuel S. Marshall (D)

  11. . John B. Hay (R)

  12. . John M. Crebs (D)

  13. . John L. Beveridge (R), November 7, 1871 – January 4, 1873

List of United States representatives from IndianaIndiana

  1. . William E. Niblack (D)

  2. . Michael C. Kerr (D)

  3. . William S. Holman (D)

  4. . Jeremiah M. Wilson (R)

  5. . John Coburn (R)

  6. . Daniel W. Voorhees (D)

  7. . Mahlon D. Manson (D)

  8. . James N. Tyner (R)

  9. . John P. C. Shanks (R)

  10. . William Williams (R)

  11. . Jasper Packard (R)

List of United States representatives from IowaIowa

  1. . George W. McCrary (R)

  2. . Aylett R. Cotton (R)

  3. . William G. Donnan (R)

  4. . Madison M. Walden (R)

  5. . Francis W. Palmer (R)

  6. . Jackson Orr (R)

List of United States representatives from KansasKansas

  1. . David P. Lowe (R)

List of United States representatives from KentuckyKentucky

  1. . Edward Crossland (D)

  2. . Henry D. McHenry (D)

  3. . Joseph H. Lewis (D)

  4. . William B. Read (D)

  5. . Boyd Winchester (D)

  6. . William E. Arthur (D)

  7. . James B. Beck (D)

  8. . George M. Adams (D)

  9. . John M. Rice (D)

List of United States representatives from LouisianaLouisiana

  1. . J. Hale Sypher (R)

  2. . Lionel A. Sheldon (R)

  3. . Chester B. Darrall (R)

  4. . James McCleery (R), until November 5, 1871

    1. Alexander Boarman (LR), from December 3, 1872

    . Frank Morey (R)

List of United States representatives from MaineMaine

  1. . John Lynch (R)

  2. . William P. Frye (R)

  3. . James G. Blaine (R)

  4. . John A. Peters (R)

  5. . Eugene Hale (R)

List of United States representatives from MarylandMaryland

  1. . Samuel Hambleton (D)

  2. . Stevenson Archer (D)

  3. . Thomas Swann (D)

  4. . John Ritchie (D)

  5. . William M. Merrick (D)

List of United States representatives from MassachusettsMassachusetts

  1. . James Buffington (R)

  2. . Oakes Ames (R)

  3. . Ginery Twichell (R)

  4. . Samuel Hooper (R)

  5. . Benjamin F. Butler (R)

  6. . Nathaniel P. Banks (R) then (LR)

  7. . George M. Brooks (R), until May 13, 1872

    1. Constantine C. Esty (R), from December 2, 1872

    . George F. Hoar (R)

  8. . William B. Washburn (R), until December 5, 1871

    1. Alvah Crocker (R), from January 2, 1872

    . Henry L. Dawes (R)

List of United States representatives from MichiganMichigan

  1. . Henry Waldron (R)

  2. . William L. Stoughton (R)

  3. . Austin Blair (R)

  4. . Wilder D. Foster (R), from December 4, 1871

  5. . Omar D. Conger (R)

  6. . Jabez G. Sutherland (D)

List of United States representatives from MinnesotaMinnesota

  1. . Mark H. Dunnell (R)

  2. . John T. Averill (R)

List of United States representatives from MississippiMississippi

  1. . George E. Harris (R)

  2. . Joseph L. Morphis (R)

  3. . Henry W. Barry (R)

  4. . George C. McKee (R)

  5. . Legrand W. Perce (R)

List of United States representatives from MissouriMissouri

  1. . Erastus Wells (D)

  2. . Gustavus A. Finkelnburg (LR)

  3. . James R. McCormick (D)

  4. . Harrison E. Havens (R)

  5. . Samuel S. Burdett (R)

  6. . Abram Comingo (D)

  7. . Isaac C. Parker (R)

  8. . James G. Blair (LR)

  9. . Andrew King (D)

List of United States representatives from NebraskaNebraska

  1. . John Taffe (R)

List of United States representatives from NevadaNevada

  1. . Charles W. Kendall (D)

List of United States representatives from New HampshireNew Hampshire

  1. . Ellery A. Hibbard (D)

  2. . Samuel N. Bell (D)

  3. . Hosea W. Parker (D)

List of United States representatives from New JerseyNew Jersey

  1. . John W. Hazelton (R)

  2. . Samuel C. Forker (D)

  3. . John T. Bird (D)

  4. . John Hill (R)

  5. . George A. Halsey (R)

List of United States representatives from New YorkNew York

  1. . Dwight Townsend (D)

  2. . Thomas Kinsella (D)

  3. . Henry W. Slocum (D)

  4. . Robert Roosevelt (D)

  5. . William R. Roberts (D)

  6. . Samuel S. Cox (D)

  7. . Smith Ely Jr. (D)

  8. . James Brooks (D)

  9. . Fernando Wood (D)

  10. . Clarkson N. Potter (D)

  11. . Charles St. John (R)

  12. . John H. Ketcham (R)

  13. . Joseph H. Tuthill (D)

  14. . Eli Perry (D)

  15. . Joseph M. Warren (D)

  16. . John Rogers (D)

  17. . William A. Wheeler (R)

  18. . John M. Carroll (D)

  19. . Elizur H. Prindle (R)

  20. . Clinton L. Merriam (R)

  21. . Ellis H. Roberts (R)

  22. . William E. Lansing (R)

  23. . R. Holland Duell (R)

  24. . John E. Seeley (R)

  25. . William H. Lamport (R)

  26. . Milo Goodrich (R)

  27. . H. Boardman Smith (R)

  28. . Freeman Clarke (R)

  29. . Seth Wakeman (R)

  30. . William Williams (D)

  31. . Walter L. Sessions (R)

List of United States representatives from North CarolinaNorth Carolina

  1. . Clinton L. Cobb (R)

  2. . Charles R. Thomas (R)

  3. . Alfred M. Waddell (D)

  4. . Sion H. Rogers (D)

  5. . James M. Leach (D)

  6. . Francis E. Shober (D)

  7. . James C. Harper (D)

List of United States representatives from OhioOhio

  1. . Aaron F. Perry (R), until July 14, 1872

    1. Ozro J. Dodds (D), from October 9, 1872

    . Job E. Stevenson (R)

  2. . Lewis D. Campbell (D)

  3. . John F. McKinney (D)

  4. . Charles N. Lamison (D)

  5. . John A. Smith (R)

  6. . Samuel Shellabarger (R)

  7. . John Beatty (R)

  8. . Charles Foster (R)

  9. . Erasmus D. Peck (R)

  10. . John T. Wilson (R)

  11. . Philadelph Van Trump (D)

  12. . George W. Morgan (D)

  13. . James Monroe (R)

  14. . William P. Sprague (R)

  15. . John Bingham (R)

  16. . Jacob A. Ambler (R)

  17. . William H. Upson (R)

  18. . James A. Garfield (R)

List of United States representatives from OregonOregon

  1. . James H. Slater (D)

List of United States representatives from PennsylvaniaPennsylvania

  1. . Samuel J. Randall (D)

  2. . John V. Creely (IR)

  3. . Leonard Myers (R)

  4. . William D. Kelley (R)

  5. . Alfred C. Harmer (R)

  6. . Ephraim L. Acker (D)

  7. . Washington Townsend (R)

  8. . J. Lawrence Getz (D)

  9. . Oliver J. Dickey (R)

  10. . John W. Killinger (R)

  11. . John B. Storm (D)

  12. . Lazarus D. Shoemaker (R)

  13. . Ulysses Mercur (R), until December 2, 1872

    1. Frank C. Bunnell (R), from December 24, 1872

    . John B. Packer (R)

  14. . Richard J. Haldeman (D)

  15. . Benjamin F. Meyers (D)

  16. . R. Milton Speer (D)

  17. . Henry Sherwood (D)

  18. . Glenni W. Scofield (R)

  19. . Samuel Griffith (D)

  20. . Henry D. Foster (D)

  21. . James S. Negley (R)

  22. . Ebenezer McJunkin (R)

  23. . William McClelland (D)

List of United States representatives from Rhode IslandRhode Island

  1. . Benjamin T. Eames (R)

  2. . James M. Pendleton (R)

List of United States representatives from South CarolinaSouth Carolina

  1. . Joseph Rainey (R)

  2. . Robert C. De Large (R), until January 24, 1873; vacant thereafter

  3. . Robert B. Elliott (R)

  4. . Alexander S. Wallace (R)

List of United States representatives from TennesseeTennessee

  1. . Roderick R. Butler (R)

  2. . Horace Maynard (R)

  3. . Abraham E. Garrett (D)

  4. . John M. Bright (D)

  5. . Edward I. Golladay (D)

  6. . Washington C. Whitthorne (D)

  7. . Robert P. Caldwell (D)

  8. . William W. Vaughan (D)

List of United States representatives from TexasTexas

  1. . William S. Herndon (D)

  2. . John C. Conner (D)

  3. . William T. Clark (R), until May 13, 1872

    1. Dewitt C. Giddings (D), from May 13, 1872

    . John Hancock (D)

List of United States representatives from VermontVermont

  1. . Charles W. Willard (R)

  2. . Luke P. Poland (R)

  3. . Worthington C. Smith (R)

List of United States representatives from VirginiaVirginia

  1. . John Critcher (D)

  2. . James H. Platt Jr. (R)

  3. . Charles H. Porter (R)

  4. . William H. H. Stowell (R)

  5. . Richard T. W. Duke (D)

  6. . John T. Harris (D)

  7. . Elliott M. Braxton (D)

  8. . William Terry (D)

List of United States representatives from West VirginiaWest Virginia

  1. . John J. Davis (D)

  2. . James C. McGrew (R)

  3. . Frank Hereford (D)

List of United States representatives from WisconsinWisconsin

  1. . Alexander Mitchell (D)

  2. . Gerry W. Hazelton (R)

  3. . J. Allen Barber (R)

  4. . Charles A. Eldredge (D)

  5. . Philetus Sawyer (R)

  6. . Jeremiah M. Rusk (R)

Non-voting members

  1. . Richard C. McCormick (D)

  2. . Jerome B. Chaffee (R)

  3. . Moses K. Armstrong (D)

  4. . Norton P. Chipman (R), from April 21, 1871

  5. . Samuel A. Merritt (D)

  6. . William H. Clagett (R)

  7. . José Manuel Gallegos (D)

  8. . William H. Hooper (D)

  9. . Selucius Garfielde (R)

  10. . William T. Jones (R)

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

|- | Virginia (2) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect.Previous incumbent re-elected March 15, 1871. | nowrap | John W. Johnston (D) | March 15, 1871

|- | Georgia (2) | Vacant | Foster Blodgett presented credentials as Senator-elect, but the Senate declared him not elected.Successor elected November 14, 1871. | nowrap | Thomas M. Norwood (D) | November 14, 1871

|- | Mississippi (2) | Vacant | Delayed taking seat in order to serve as Governor of Mississippi | nowrap | James L. Alcorn (R) | December 1, 1871

|- | North Carolina (2) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect.Successor elected January 30, 1872. | | Matt W. Ransom (D) | January 30, 1872

|- | Kentucky (3) | nowrap | Garrett Davis (D) | Died September 22, 1872.Successor appointed September 27, 1872.Appointee was later elected January 21, 1873, to finish the term. | | Willis B. Machen (D) | September 27, 1872

|- | Louisiana (3) | nowrap | William P. Kellogg (R) | Resigned November 1, 1872, after being elected Governor of Louisiana | Vacant | Not filled this Congress

|- | Massachusetts (2) | nowrap | Henry Wilson (R) | Resigned March 3, 1873, after being elected U.S. Vice President | Vacant | Not filled this Congress

|}

House of Representatives

Replacements: 11

|- | | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | District of Columbia's At-large district created March 4, 1871, and remained vacant until April 21, 1871 | nowrap | Norton P. Chipman (R) | April 21, 1871 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep. John A. Logan resigned at the end of the previous congress after being elected to the US Senate | nowrap | John L. Beveridge (R) | November 7, 1871 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep. Thomas W. Ferry resigned at the end of the previous congress after being elected to the US Senate | nowrap | Wilder D. Foster (R) | December 4, 1871 |- | | nowrap | Burton C. Cook (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned August 26, 1871 | nowrap | Henry Snapp (R) | December 4, 1871 |- | | nowrap | James McCleery (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 5, 1871 | nowrap | Alexander Boarman (LR) | December 3, 1872 |- | | nowrap | William B. Washburn (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 5, 1871, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts | nowrap | Alvah Crocker (R) | January 2, 1872 |- | | nowrap | John Edwards (LR) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election February 9, 1872 | nowrap | Thomas Boles (R) | February 9, 1872 |- | | nowrap | George M. Brooks (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 13, 1872, after becoming judge of probate for Middlesex County | nowrap | Constantine C. Esty (R) | December 2, 1872 |- | | nowrap | William T. Clark (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election May 13, 1872 | nowrap | Dewitt C. Giddings (D) | December 13, 1872 |- | | nowrap | Aaron F. Perry (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 14, 1872 | nowrap | Ozro J. Dodds (D) | October 9, 1872 |- | | nowrap | Thomas J. Speer (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died August 18, 1872 | nowrap | Erasmus W. Beck (D) | December 2, 1872 |- | | nowrap | Julius L. Strong (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died September 7, 1872 | nowrap | Joseph R. Hawley (R) | December 2, 1872 |- | | nowrap | Ulysses Mercur (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 2, 1872, after becoming an assoc. justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania | nowrap | Frank C. Bunnell (R) | December 24, 1872 |- | | nowrap | John L. Beveridge (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 4, 1873, after being elected Lieutenant Governor of Illinois | Vacant | Not filled this term |- | | nowrap | Robert C. De Large (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Seat declared vacant January 24, 1873, after election was contested by Christopher C. Bowen | Vacant | Not filled this term |- | | nowrap | Josiah T. Walls (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election January 29, 1873 | nowrap | Silas L. Niblack (D) | January 29, 1873 |}

Committees

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

List of federal agencies in the United States#United States CongressLegislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

1870 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)

1872 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)

Notes

References