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Wikipedia / 32nd United States Congress

The 32nd 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, 1851, to March 4, 1853, during the last two years of Millard Fillmore's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

It was one of the least active Congresses, forwarding only 74 bills that were signed by the president.

Major events

Major legislation

  • March 2, 1853: An act providing for administering the oath of office to William R. King, Vice President elect of the United States of America. Sess. 2, Ch. 93,

Territories organized

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

President pro tempore: William R. King (D), until December 20, 1852

House of Representatives

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and representatives 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, facing re-election in 1856; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1852; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1854.

List of United States senators from AlabamaAlabama

  1. 2. Jeremiah Clemens (D)

  2. 3. William R. King (D), until December 20, 1852

    1. Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), from January 14, 1853

List of United States senators from ArkansasArkansas

  1. 2. William K. Sebastian (D)

  2. 3. Solon Borland (D)

List of United States senators from CaliforniaCalifornia

  1. 1. John B. Weller (D), from January 30, 1852

  2. 3. William M. Gwin (D)

List of United States senators from ConnecticutConnecticut

  1. 1. Isaac Toucey (D), from May 12, 1852

  2. 3. Truman Smith (W)

List of United States senators from DelawareDelaware

  1. 1. James A. Bayard Jr. (D)

  2. 2. Presley Spruance (W)

List of United States senators from FloridaFlorida

  1. 1. Stephen Mallory (D)

  2. 3. Jackson Morton (W)

List of United States senators from GeorgiaGeorgia

  1. 2. John Macpherson Berrien (W), until May 28, 1852

    1. Robert M. Charlton (D), from May 31, 1852

    3. William C. Dawson (W)

List of United States senators from IllinoisIllinois

  1. 2. Stephen A. Douglas (D)

  2. 3. James Shields (D)

List of United States senators from IndianaIndiana

  1. 1. Jesse D. Bright (D)

  2. 3. James Whitcomb (D), until October 4, 1852

    1. Charles W. Cathcart (D), from December 6, 1852, until January 18, 1853

    2. John Pettit (D), from January 18, 1853

List of United States senators from IowaIowa

  1. 2. George Wallace Jones (D)

  2. 3. Augustus C. Dodge (D)

List of United States senators from KentuckyKentucky

  1. 2. Joseph R. Underwood (W)

  2. 3. Henry Clay (W), until June 29, 1852

    1. David Meriwether (D), from July 6, 1852, until August 31, 1852

    2. Archibald Dixon (W), from September 1, 1852

List of United States senators from LouisianaLouisiana

  1. 2. Solomon W. Downs (D)

  2. 3. Pierre Soulé (D)

List of United States senators from MaineMaine

  1. 1. Hannibal Hamlin (D)

  2. 2. James W. Bradbury (D)

List of United States senators from MarylandMaryland

  1. 1. Thomas Pratt (W)

  2. 3. James A. Pearce (W)

List of United States senators from MassachusettsMassachusetts

  1. 1. Charles Sumner (FS), from April 24, 1851

  2. 2. John Davis (W)

List of United States senators from MichiganMichigan

  1. 1. Lewis Cass (D)

  2. 2. Alpheus Felch (D)

List of United States senators from MississippiMississippi

  1. 1. Jefferson Davis (D), until September 23, 1851

    1. John J. McRae (D), from December 1, 1851, until March 17, 1852

    2. Stephen Adams (D), from March 17, 1852

    2. Henry S. Foote (D), until January 8, 1852

    1. Walker Brooke (W), from February 18, 1852

List of United States senators from MissouriMissouri

  1. 1. Henry S. Geyer (W)

  2. 3. David R. Atchison (D)

List of United States senators from New HampshireNew Hampshire

  1. 2. John P. Hale (FS)

  2. 3. Moses Norris Jr. (D)

List of United States senators from New JerseyNew Jersey

  1. 1. Robert F. Stockton (D), until January 1, 1853

  2. 2. Jacob W. Miller (W)

List of United States senators from New YorkNew York

  1. 1. Hamilton Fish (W), from March 19, 1851

  2. 3. William H. Seward (W)

List of United States senators from North CarolinaNorth Carolina

  1. 2. Willie P. Mangum (W)

  2. 3. George E. Badger (W)

List of United States senators from OhioOhio

  1. 1. Benjamin Wade (W), from March 15, 1851

  2. 3. Salmon P. Chase (FS)

List of United States senators from PennsylvaniaPennsylvania

  1. 1. Richard Brodhead (D)

  2. 3. James Cooper (W)

List of United States senators from Rhode IslandRhode Island

  1. 1. Charles T. James (D)

  2. 2. John H. Clarke (W)

List of United States senators from South CarolinaSouth Carolina

  1. 2. Robert Rhett (D), until May 7, 1852

    1. William F. De Saussure (D), from May 10, 1852

    3. Andrew Butler (D)

List of United States senators from TennesseeTennessee

  1. 1. James C. Jones (W)

  2. 2. John Bell (W)

List of United States senators from TexasTexas

  1. 1. Thomas J. Rusk (D)

  2. 2. Samuel Houston (D)

List of United States senators from VermontVermont

  1. 1. Solomon Foot (W)

  2. 3. William Upham (W), until January 14, 1853

    1. Samuel S. Phelps (W), from January 17, 1853

List of United States senators from VirginiaVirginia

  1. 1. James M. Mason (D)

  2. 2. Robert M. T. Hunter (D)

List of United States senators from WisconsinWisconsin

  1. 1. Henry Dodge (D)

  2. 3. Isaac P. Walker (D)

House of Representatives

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

List of United States representatives from AlabamaAlabama

  1. . John Bragg (D)

  2. . James Abercrombie (W)

  3. . Sampson W. Harris (D)

  4. . William R. Smith (U)

  5. . George S. Houston (D)

  6. . Williamson R. W. Cobb (D)

  7. . Alexander White (W)

List of United States representatives from ArkansasArkansas

  1. . Robert W. Johnson (D)

List of United States representatives from CaliforniaCalifornia

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

  1. . Edward C. Marshall (D)

  2. . Joseph W. McCorkle (D)

List of United States representatives from ConnecticutConnecticut

  1. . Charles Chapman (W)

  2. . Colin M. Ingersoll (D)

  3. . Chauncey F. Cleveland (D)

  4. . Origen S. Seymour (D)

List of United States representatives from DelawareDelaware

  1. . George Read Riddle (D)

List of United States representatives from FloridaFlorida

  1. . Edward C. Cabell (W)

List of United States representatives from GeorgiaGeorgia

  1. . Joseph W. Jackson (SR)

  2. . James Johnson (U)

  3. . David J. Bailey (SR)

  4. . Charles Murphey (U)

  5. . Elijah W. Chastain (U)

  6. . Junius Hillyer (U)

  7. . Alexander H. Stephens (U)

  8. . Robert A. Toombs (U)

List of United States representatives from IllinoisIllinois

  1. . William H. Bissell (D)

  2. . Willis Allen (D)

  3. . Orlando B. Ficklin (D)

  4. . Richard S. Molony (D)

  5. . William A. Richardson (D)

  6. . Thompson Campbell (D)

  7. . Richard Yates (W)

List of United States representatives from IndianaIndiana

  1. . James Lockhart (D)

  2. . Cyrus L. Dunham (D)

  3. . John L. Robinson (D)

  4. . Samuel W. Parker (W)

  5. . Thomas A. Hendricks (D)

  6. . Willis A. Gorman (D)

  7. . John G. Davis (D)

  8. . Daniel Mace (D)

  9. . Graham N. Fitch (D)

  10. . Samuel Brenton (W)

List of United States representatives from IowaIowa

  1. . Bernhart Henn (D)

  2. . Lincoln Clark (D)

List of United States representatives from KentuckyKentucky

  1. . Linn Boyd (D)

  2. . Benjamin E. Grey (W)

  3. . Presley Ewing (W)

  4. . William T. Ward (W)

  5. . James W. Stone (D)

  6. . Addison White (W)

  7. . Humphrey Marshall (W), until August 4, 1852

    1. William Preston (W), from December 6, 1852

    . John C. Breckinridge (D)

  8. . John C. Mason (D)

  9. . Richard H. Stanton (D)

List of United States representatives from LouisianaLouisiana

  1. . Louis St. Martin (D)

  2. . J. Aristide Landry (W)

  3. . Alexander G. Penn (D)

  4. . John Moore (W)

List of United States representatives from MaineMaine

  1. . Moses MacDonald (D)

  2. . John Appleton (D)

  3. . Robert Goodenow (W)

  4. . Charles Andrews (D), until April 30, 1852

    1. Isaac Reed (W), from June 25, 1852

    . Ephraim K. Smart (D)

  5. . Israel Washburn Jr. (W)

  6. . Thomas J. D. Fuller (D)

List of United States representatives from MarylandMaryland

  1. . Richard Bowie (W)

  2. . William T. Hamilton (D)

  3. . Edward Hammond (D)

  4. . Thomas Yates Walsh (W)

  5. . Alexander Evans (W)

  6. . Joseph S. Cottman (IW)

List of United States representatives from MassachusettsMassachusetts

  1. . William Appleton (W)

  2. . Robert Rantoul Jr. (D), until August 7, 1852

    1. Francis B. Fay (W), from December 13, 1852

    . James H. Duncan (W)

  3. . Benjamin Thompson (W), until September 24, 1852

    1. Lorenzo Sabine (W), from December 13, 1852

    . Charles Allen (FS)

  4. . George T. Davis (W)

  5. . John Z. Goodrich (W)

  6. . Horace Mann (FS)

  7. . Orin Fowler (W), until September 3, 1852

    1. Edward P. Little (D), from December 13, 1852

    . Zeno Scudder (W)

List of United States representatives from MichiganMichigan

  1. . Ebenezer J. Penniman (W)

  2. . Charles E. Stuart (D)

  3. . James L. Conger (W)

List of United States representatives from MississippiMississippi

  1. . Benjamin D. Nabers (U)

  2. . John A. Wilcox (U)

  3. . John D. Freeman (U)

  4. . Albert G. Brown (SR)

List of United States representatives from MissouriMissouri

  1. . John F. Darby (W)

  2. . Gilchrist Porter (W)

  3. . John G. Miller (W)

  4. . Willard P. Hall (D)

  5. . John S. Phelps (D)

List of United States representatives from New HampshireNew Hampshire

  1. . Amos Tuck (W)

  2. . Charles H. Peaslee (D)

  3. . Jared Perkins (W)

  4. . Harry Hibbard (D)

List of United States representatives from New JerseyNew Jersey

  1. . Nathan T. Stratton (D)

  2. . Charles Skelton (D)

  3. . Isaac Wildrick (D)

  4. . George H. Brown (W)

  5. . Rodman M. Price (D)

List of United States representatives from New YorkNew York

  1. . John G. Floyd (D)

  2. . Obadiah Bowne (W)

  3. . Emanuel B. Hart (D)

  4. . John Haws (W)

  5. . George Briggs (W)

  6. . James Brooks (W)

  7. . Abraham P. Stephens (D)

  8. . Gilbert Dean (D)

  9. . William Murray (D)

  10. . Marius Schoonmaker (W)

  11. . Josiah Sutherland (D)

  12. . David L. Seymour (D)

  13. . John L. Schoolcraft (W)

  14. . John H. Boyd (W)

  15. . Joseph Russell (D)

  16. . John Wells (W)

  17. . Alexander H. Buell (D), until January 29, 1853

  18. . Preston King (D)

  19. . Willard Ives (D)

  20. . Timothy Jenkins (D)

  21. . William W. Snow (D)

  22. . Henry Bennett (W)

  23. . Leander Babcock (D)

  24. . Daniel T. Jones (D)

  25. . Thomas Y. Howe Jr. (D)

  26. . Henry S. Walbridge (W)

  27. . William A. Sackett (W)

  28. . Abraham M. Schermerhorn (W)

  29. . Jerediah Horsford (W)

  30. . Reuben Robie (D)

  31. . Frederick S. Martin (W)

  32. . Solomon G. Haven (W)

  33. . Augustus P. Hascall (W)

  34. . Lorenzo Burrows (W)

List of United States representatives from North CarolinaNorth Carolina

  1. . Thomas L. Clingman (W)

  2. . Joseph P. Caldwell (W)

  3. . Alfred Dockery (W)

  4. . James T. Morehead (W)

  5. . Abraham W. Venable (D)

  6. . John R. J. Daniel (D)

  7. . William S. Ashe (D)

  8. . Edward Stanly (W)

  9. . David Outlaw (W)

List of United States representatives from OhioOhio

  1. . David T. Disney (D)

  2. . Lewis D. Campbell (W)

  3. . Hiram Bell (W)

  4. . Benjamin Stanton (W)

  5. . Alfred P. Edgerton (D)

  6. . Frederick W. Green (D)

  7. . Nelson Barrere (W)

  8. . John L. Taylor (W)

  9. . Edson B. Olds (D)

  10. . Charles Sweetser (D)

  11. . George H. Busby (D)

  12. . John Welch (W)

  13. . James M. Gaylord (D)

  14. . Alexander Harper (W)

  15. . William F. Hunter (W)

  16. . John Johnson (ID)

  17. . Joseph Cable (D)

  18. . David K. Cartter (D)

  19. . Eben Newton (W)

  20. . Joshua R. Giddings (FS)

  21. . Norton S. Townshend (D)

List of United States representatives from PennsylvaniaPennsylvania

  1. . Thomas B. Florence (D)

  2. . Joseph R. Chandler (W)

  3. . Henry D. Moore (W)

  4. . John Robbins Jr. (D)

  5. . John McNair (D)

  6. . Thomas Ross (D)

  7. . John A. Morrison (D)

  8. . Thaddeus Stevens (W)

  9. . J. Glancey Jones (D)

  10. . Milo M. Dimmick (D)

  11. . Henry M. Fuller (W)

  12. . Galusha A. Grow (D)

  13. . James Gamble (D)

  14. . Thomas M. Bibighaus (W)

  15. . William H. Kurtz (D)

  16. . James X. McLanahan (D)

  17. . Andrew Parker (D)

  18. . John L. Dawson (D)

  19. . Joseph H. Kuhns (W)

  20. . John Allison (W)

  21. . Thomas M. Howe (W)

  22. . John W. Howe (W)

  23. . Carlton B. Curtis (D)

  24. . Alfred Gilmore (D)

List of United States representatives from Rhode IslandRhode Island

  1. . George G. King (W)

  2. . Benjamin B. Thurston (D)

List of United States representatives from South CarolinaSouth Carolina

  1. . Daniel Wallace (D)

  2. . James L. Orr (D)

  3. . Joseph A. Woodward (D)

  4. . John McQueen (D)

  5. . Armistead Burt (D)

  6. . William Aiken Jr. (D)

  7. . William F. Colcock (D)

List of United States representatives from TennesseeTennessee

  1. . Andrew Johnson (D)

  2. . Albert G. Watkins (W)

  3. . William M. Churchwell (D)

  4. . John H. Savage (D)

  5. . George W.Jones (D)

  6. . William H. Polk (ID)

  7. . Meredith P. Gentry (W)

  8. . William Cullom (W)

  9. . Isham G. Harris (D)

  10. . Frederick P. Stanton (D)

  11. . Christopher H. Williams (W)

List of United States representatives from TexasTexas

  1. . Richardson A. Scurry (D)

  2. . Volney E. Howard (D)

List of United States representatives from VermontVermont

  1. . Ahiman L. Miner (W)

  2. . William Hebard (W)

  3. . James Meacham (W)

  4. . Thomas Bartlett Jr. (D)

List of United States representatives from VirginiaVirginia

  1. . John S. Millson (D)

  2. . Richard K. Meade (D)

  3. . Thomas H. Averett (D)

  4. . Thomas S. Bocock (D)

  5. . Paulus Powell (D)

  6. . John Caskie (D)

  7. . Thomas H. Bayly (D)

  8. . Alexander Holladay (D)

  9. . James F. Strother (W)

  10. . Charles J. Faulkner Sr. (W)

  11. . John Letcher (D)

  12. . Henry A. Edmundson (D)

  13. . LaFayette McMullen (D)

  14. . James M. H. Beale (D)

  15. . George W. Thompson (D), until July 30, 1852

    1. Sherrard Clemens (D), from December 6, 1852

List of United States representatives from WisconsinWisconsin

  1. . Charles Durkee (FS)

  2. . Ben C. Eastman (D)

  3. . James D. Doty (ID)

Non-voting members

  1. . Henry H. Sibley

  2. . Richard H. Weightman (D)

  3. . Joseph Lane (D)

  4. . John M. Bernhisel

Changes in membership

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

Senate

Replacements: 8

  • Democrats (D): 1 seat net gain

  • Whigs (W): 1 seat net loss

    Deaths: 3

  • Resignations: 6

  • Interim appointments: 3

  • Total seats with changes: 13

|- | Ohio(1) | Vacant | Failure to elect.The winner was elected late on March 15, 1851, on the 37th ballot over the incumbent appointee.Successor was elected March 15, 1851. | | Benjamin Wade (W) | Elected March 15, 1851

|- | New York(1) | Vacant | Failure to elect.Successor was elected March 19, 1851. | | Hamilton Fish (W) | Elected March 19, 1851

|- | Massachusetts(1) | Vacant | Failure to elect.Successor was elected April 24, 1851. | | Charles Sumner (FS) | Elected April 24, 1851

|- | California(1) | Vacant | Failure to elect.Successor was elected January 30, 1852. | | John B. Weller (D) | Elected January 30, 1852

|- | Connecticut(1) | Vacant | Failure to elect.Successor was elected May 12, 1852. | | Isaac Toucey (D) | Seated May 12, 1852

|- | Mississippi(1) | | Jefferson Davis (D) | Resigned September 23, 1851, to run for Governor of Mississippi.Successor appointed December 1, 1851. | | John J. McRae (D) | Appointed December 1, 1851

|- | Mississippi(2) | | Henry S. Foote (D) | Resigned January 8, 1852, to become Governor of Mississippi.Successor elected February 18, 1852. | | Walker Brooke (W) | Elected February 18, 1852

|- | Mississippi(1) | | John J. McRae (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor.Successor elected March 17, 1852. | | Stephen Adams (D) | Elected March 17, 1852

|- | South Carolina(2) | | Robert Rhett (D) | Resigned May 7, 1852.Successor appointed May 10, 1852, and elected sometime thereafter to finish the term. | | William F. De Saussure (D) | Appointed May 10, 1852

|- | Georgia(2) | | John M. Berrien (W) | Resigned May 28, 1852.Successor appointed May 31, 1852, to finish the term. | | Robert M. Charlton (D) | Appointed May 31, 1852

|- | Kentucky(3) | | Henry Clay (W) | Died June 29, 1852.Successor appointed July 6, 1852. | | David Meriwether (D) | Appointed July 6, 1852

|- | Indiana(3) | | James Whitcomb (D) | Died October 4, 1852.Successor appointed December 6, 1852. | | Charles W. Cathcart (D) | Appointed December 6, 1852

|- | Kentucky(3) | | David Meriwether (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor.Successor elected September 1, 1852. | | Archibald Dixon (W) | Elected September 1, 1852

|- | Alabama(3) | | William R. King (D) | Resigned December 20, 1852, due to ill health, having recently being elected Vice President of the United StatesSuccessor appointed January 14, 1853, and elected December 12, 1853 thereafter to finish the term. | | Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) | Appointed January 14, 1853

|- | New Jersey(1) | | Robert F. Stockton (D) | Resigned January 1, 1853, to become president of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company.Successor was not elected until the next Congress. | Vacant | Not filled this term

|- | Vermont(3) | | William Upham (W) | Died January 14, 1853.Successor appointed January 17, 1853, to continue the term. | | Samuel S. Phelps (W) | Appointed January 17, 1853

|- | Indiana(3) | | Charles W. Cathcart (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor.Successor elected January 18, 1853. | | John Pettit (D) | Elected January 18, 1853 |}

House of Representatives

Replacements: 6

|- | | | Charles Andrews (D) | Died April 30, 1852 | | Isaac Reed (W) | Seated June 25, 1852 |- | | | George W. Thompson (D) | Resigned July 30, 1852, after being appointed judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia | | Sherrard Clemens (D) | Seated December 6, 1852 |- | | | Humphrey Marshall (W) | Resigned August 4, 1852, after being appointed Minister to China | | William Preston (W) | Seated December 6, 1852 |- | | | Robert Rantoul Jr. (D) | Died August 7, 1852 | | Francis B. Fay (W) | Seated December 13, 1852 |- | | | Orin Fowler (W) | Died September 3, 1852 | | Edward P. Little (D) | Seated December 13, 1852 |- | | | Benjamin Thompson (W) | Died September 24, 1852 | | Lorenzo Sabine (W) | Seated December 13, 1852 |- | | | Alexander H. Buell (D) | Died January 29, 1853 | Vacant | Not filled this term |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

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

Chaplain: Ralph Randolph Gurley (Presbyterian), until December 1, 1851

Clerk: Richard M. Young, until December 1, 1851

See also

1850 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)

1852 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)

Notes

References