26TH UNITED STATES CONGRESS

The 'Twenty-sixth 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 1839 to March 3 1841, during the last two years of the administration of U.S. President Martin Van Buren.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Fifth Census of the United States in 1830. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Contents

Dates of sessions

Party summary

Leadership

Major events

Major legislation

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

Delegates

Changes in membership

Officers

Notes

References

External links

Dates of sessions

March 4 1839 - March 3 1841

★ First session: December 2 1839 - July 21 1840

★ Second session: December 7 1840 - March 3 1841 — a lame duck session
Previous congress: ''25th Congress''

Next congress: ''27th Congress''

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' ★ Democratic '' (D) '': 30 ''(majority)'' ★ Whig '' (W) '': 22'TOTAL members: 52'

:'House of Representatives' ★ Democratic '' (D) '': 125 ''(majority)'' ★ Whig '' (W) '': 109 ★ Anti Masonic '' (AM) '': 6 ★ Conservative-Virginia '' (C) '': 2'TOTAL members: 242'

Leadership

:'Senate'

★ Vice President of the United States ''(President of the Senate)'':

★
★ Richard M. Johnson, ''Democrat'' of Kentucky

★ President ''pro tempore'' of the Senate:

★
★ William R. King, ''Democrat'' of Alabama, elected December 2 1839
:'House of Representatives'

★ Speaker of the House

★
★ Robert M.T. Hunter, ''Democrat'' of Virginia, elected December 16 1839

Major events

:''Main article: Events of 1839; Events of 1840; Events of 1841''

Major legislation

:''Main article: List of United States federal legislation in the 26th Congress

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: 26th United States Congress - political parties''
:''See also: 26th United States Congress - State Delegations''
:''See also: United States House elections, 1838''

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.
:''See also:
:''See also:

:'Alabama' ★ 2: William R. D. King ''(D)'' ★ 3: Clement C. Clay ''(D)'' :'Arkansas' ★ 2: William S. Fulton ''(D)'' ★ 3: Ambrose H. Sevier ''(D)'' :'Connecticut' ★ 3: Perry Smith ''(D)'' ★ 1: Thaddeus Betts ''(W)'' ★ : Jabez W. Huntington ''(W)'' :'Delaware' ★ 1: Richard H. Bayard ''(W)'' ★ 2: Thomas Clayton ''(W)'' :'Georgia' ★ 3: Alfred Cuthbert ''(D)'' ★ 2: Wilson Lumpkin ''(D)'' :'Illinois' ★ 2: John M. Robinson ''(D)'' ★ 3: Richard M. Young ''(D)'' :'Indiana' ★ 3: Oliver H. Smith ''(W)'' ★ 1: Albert S. White ''(W)'' :'Kentucky' ★ 3: Henry Clay ''(W)'' ★ 2: John J. Crittenden ''(W)'' :'Louisiana' ★ 2: Robert C. Nicholas ''(D)'' ★ 3: Alexander Mouton ''(D)''

:'Maine' ★ 2: John Ruggles ''(D)'' ★ 1: Reuel Williams ''(D)'' :'Maryland' ★ 3: John S. Spence ''(W)'' ★ : John L. Kerr ''(W)'' ★ 1: William D. Merrick ''(W)'' :'Massachusetts' ★ 1: Daniel Webster ''(W)'' ★ : Rufus Choate ''(W)'' ★ 2: John Davis ''(W)'' ★ : Isaac C. Bates ''(W)'' :'Michigan' ★ 2: John Norvell ''(D)'' ★ 1: Augustus S. Porter ''(W)'' :'Mississippi' ★ 2: Robert J. Walker ''(D)'' ★ 1: John Henderson ''(W)'' :'Missouri' ★ 1: Thomas H. Benton ''(D)'' ★ 3: Lewis F. Linn ''(D)'' :'New Hampshire' ★ 2: Henry Hubbard ''(D)'' ★ 3: Franklin Pierce ''(D)'' :'New Jersey' ★ 1: Samuel L. Southard ''(W)'' ★ 2: Garret D. Wall ''(D)'' :'New York' ★ 3: Silas Wright, Jr. ''(D)'' ★ 1: Nathaniel P. Tallmadge ''(W)''

:'North Carolina' ★ 2: Bedford Brown ''(D)'' ★ : Willie P. Mangum ''(W)'' ★ 3: Robert Strange ''(D)'' ★ : William A. Graham ''(W)'' :'Ohio' ★ 3: William Allen ''(D)'' ★ 1: Benjamin Tappan ''(D)'' :'Pennsylvania' ★ 3: James Buchanan ''(D)'' ★ 1: Daniel Sturgeon ''(D)'' :'Rhode Island' ★ 2: Nehemiah R. Knight ''(W)'' ★ 1: Nathan F. Dixon ''(W)'' :'South Carolina' ★ 2: John C. Calhoun ''(D)'' ★ 3: William C. Preston ''(W)'' :'Tennessee' ★ 2: Hugh Lawson White ''(W)'' ★ : Alexander O. Anderson ''(D)'' ★ 1: Felix Grundy ''(D)'' ★ : Alfred O. P. Nicholson ''(D)'' :'Vermont' ★ 3: Samuel Prentiss ''(W)'' ★ 1: Samuel S. Phelps ''(W)'' :'Virginia' ★ 2: William H. Roane ''(D)'' ★ 1: William C. Rives ''(W)''

President ''pro tempore'' William R. King

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.
:''See also:
:''See also:

:'Alabama' ★ : Reuben Chapman ''(D)'' ★ : David Hubbard ''(D)'' ★ : George W. Crabb ''(W)'' ★ : Dixon H. Lewis ''(D)'' ★ : James Dellet ''(W)'' :'Arkansas' ★ : Edward Cross ''(D)'' :'Connecticut' [1] ★ : Joseph Trumbull ''(W)'' ★ : William L. Storrs ''(W)'' ★ : William W. Boardman ''(W)'' ★ : Thomas W. Williams ''(W)'' ★ : Thomas B. Osborne ''(W)'' ★ : Truman Smith ''(W)'' ★ : John H. Brockway ''(W)'' :'Delaware' ★ : Thomas Robinson, Jr. ''(D)'' :'Georgia' [1] ★ : Julius C. Alford ''(W)'' ★ : Edward J. Black ''(W)'' ★ : Walter T. Colquitt ''(W)'' ★ : Hines Holt ''(W)'' ★ : Mark A. Cooper ''(W)'' ★ : William C. Dawson ''(W)'' ★ : Richard W. Habersham ''(W)'' ★ : Thomas Butler King ''(W)'' ★ : Eugenius A. Nisbet ''(W)'' ★ : Lott Warren ''(W)'' :'Illinois' ★ : John Reynolds ''(D)'' ★ : Zadok Casey ''(D)'' ★ : John T. Stuart ''(W)'' :'Indiana' ★ : George H. Proffit ''(W)'' ★ : John W. Davis ''(D)'' ★ : John Carr ''(D)'' ★ : Thomas Smith ''(D)'' ★ : James Rariden ''(W)'' ★ : William W. Wick ''(D)'' ★ : Tilghman A. Howard ''(D)'' ★ : Henry S. Lane ''(W)'' :'Kentucky' ★ : Linn Boyd ''(D)'' ★ : Philip Triplett ''(W)'' ★ : Joseph R. Underwood ''(W)'' ★ : Sherrod Williams ''(W)'' ★ : Simeon H. Anderson ''(W)'' ★ : John B. Thompson ''(W)'' ★ : Willis Green ''(W)'' ★ : John Pope ''(W)'' ★ : William J. Graves ''(W)'' ★ : John White ''(W)'' ★ : Richard Hawes ''(W)'' ★ : Landaff W. Andrews ''(W)'' ★ : Garrett Davis ''(W)'' ★ : William O. Butler ''(D)'' :'Louisiana' ★ : Edward D. White ''(W)'' ★ : Thomas W. Chinn ''(W)'' ★ : Rice Garland ''(W)'' ★ : John Moore ''(W)'' :'Maine' ★ : Nathan Clifford ''(D)'' ★ : Albert Smith ''(D)'' ★ : Benjamin Randall ''(W)'' ★ : George Evans ''(W)'' ★ : Virgil D. Parris ''(D)'' ★ : Hugh J. Anderson ''(D)'' ★ : Joshua A. Lowell ''(D)'' ★ : Thomas Davee ''(D)'' :'Maryland' [3] ★ : John Dennis ''(W)'' ★ : Phillip F. Thomas ''(D)'' ★ : John T. H. Worthington ''(D)'' ★ : James Carroll ''(D)'' ★ : Solomon Hillen, Jr. ''(D)'' ★ : William Cost Johnson ''(W)'' ★ : Francis Thomas ''(D)'' ★ : Daniel Jenifer ''(W)'' :'Massachusetts' ★ : Abbott Lawrence ''(W)'' ★ : Robert C. Winthrop ''(W)'' ★ : Leverett Saltonstall ''(W)'' ★ : Caleb Cushing ''(W)'' ★ : William Parmenter ''(D)'' ★ : Levi Lincoln, Jr. ''(W)'' ★ : James C. Alvord ''(W)'' ★ : Osmyn Baker ''(W)'' ★ : George N. Briggs ''(W)'' ★ : William B. Calhoun ''(W)'' ★ : William S. Hastings ''(W)'' ★ : Henry Williams ''(D)'' ★ : John Reed, Jr. ''(W)'' ★ : John Quincy Adams ''(W)''

:'Michigan' ★ : Isaac E. Crary ''(D)'' :'Mississippi' [4] ★ : Albert G. Brown ''(D)'' ★ : Jacob Thompson ''(D)'' :'Missouri' [4] ★ : Albert G. Harrison ''(D)'' ★ : John Jameson ''(D)'' ★ : John Miller ''(D)'' :'New Hampshire' [1] ★ : Charles G. Atherton ''(D)'' ★ : Edmund Burke ''(D)'' ★ : Ira A. Eastman ''(D)'' ★ : Tristram Shaw ''(D)'' ★ : Jared W. Williams ''(D)'' :'New Jersey' [1] ★ : William R. Cooper ''(D)'' ★ : Philemon Dickerson ''(D)'' ★ : Joseph Kille ''(D)'' ★ : Joseph F. Randolph ''(W)'' ★ : Daniel B. Ryall ''(D)'' ★ : Peter D. Vroom ''(D)'' :'New York' [8] ★ : Thomas B. Jackson ''(D)'' ★ : James De la Montanya ''(D)'' ★ : Edward Curtis ''(W)'' ★ : Moses H. Grinnell ''(W)'' ★ : Josiah Ogden Hoffman ''(W)'' ★ : James Monroe ''(W)'' ★ : Gouverneur Kemble ''(D)'' ★ : Charles Johnston ''(W)'' ★ : Nathaniel Jones ''(D)'' ★ : Rufus Palen ''(W)'' ★ : John Ely ''(D)'' ★ : Aaron Vanderpoel ''(D)'' ★ : Hiram P. Hunt ''(W)'' ★ : Daniel D. Barnard ''(W)'' ★ : Anson Brown ''(W)'' ★ : Nicholas B. Doe ''(W)'' ★ : David A. Russell ''(W)'' ★ : Augustus C. Hand ''(D)'' ★ : John Fine ''(D)'' ★ : Peter J. Wagner ''(W)'' ★ : Andrew W. Doig ''(D)'' ★ : David P. Brewster ''(D)'' ★ : John G. Floyd ''(D)'' ★ : Thomas C. Chittenden ''(W)'' ★ : John H. Prentiss ''(D)'' ★ : Judson Allen ''(D)'' ★ : John C. Clark ''(W)'' ★ : Amasa Dana ''(D)'' ★ : Stephen B. Leonard ''(D)'' ★ : Nehemiah H. Earll ''(D)'' ★ : Edward Rogers ''(D)'' ★ : Christopher Morgan ''(W)'' ★ : Theron R. Strong ''(D)'' ★ : Francis Granger ''(W)'' ★ : Meredith Mallory ''(D)'' ★ : Thomas Kempshall ''(W)'' ★ : Seth M. Gates ''(W)'' ★ : Luther C. Peck ''(W)'' ★ : Richard P. Marvin ''(W)'' ★ : Millard Fillmore ''(W)'' ★ : Charles F. Mitchell ''(W)'' :'North Carolina' ★ : Kenneth Rayner ''(W)'' ★ : Jesse A. Bynum ''(D)'' ★ : Edward Stanly ''(W)'' ★ : Charles B. Shepard ''(D)'' ★ : James I. McKay ''(D)'' ★ : Micajah T. Hawkins ''(D)'' ★ : Edmund Deberry ''(W)'' ★ : William Montgomery ''(D)'' ★ : John Hill ''(D)'' ★ : Charles Fisher ''(D)'' ★ : Henry W. Connor ''(D)'' ★ : James Graham ''(W)'' ★ : Lewis Williams ''(W)'' :'Ohio' ★ : Alexander Duncan ''(D)'' ★ : John B. Weller ''(D)'' ★ : Patrick G. Goode ''(W)'' ★ : Thomas Corwin ''(W)'' ★ : Jeremiah Morrow ''(W)'' ★ : William Doan ''(D)'' ★ : Calvary Morris ''(W)'' ★ : William K. Bond ''(W)'' ★ : Joseph Ridgway ''(W)'' ★ : William Medill ''(D)'' ★ : Samson Mason ''(W)'' ★ : Isaac Parrish ''(D)'' ★ : Jonathan Taylor ''(D)'' ★ : Daniel P. Leadbetter ''(D)'' ★ : George Sweeny ''(D)'' ★ : John W. Allen ''(W)'' ★ : Joshua R. Giddings ''(W)'' ★ : John Hastings ''(D)'' ★ : David A. Starkweather ''(D)'' ★ : Henry Swearingen ''(D)''

:'Pennsylvania' [9] ★ : Lemuel Paynter ''(D)'' ★ : John Sergeant ''(W)'' ★ : George W. Toland ''(W)'' ★ : Charles Naylor ''(W)'' ★ : Edward Davies ''(AM)'' ★ : John Edwards ''(AM)'' ★ : Francis James ''(AM)'' ★ : Joseph Fornance ''(D)'' ★ : John Davis ''(D)'' ★ : David D. Wagener ''(D)'' ★ : Peter Newhard ''(D)'' ★ : George M. Keim ''(D)'' ★ : William Simonton ''(W)'' ★ : James Gerry ''(D)'' ★ : James Cooper ''(W)'' ★ : William S. Ramsey ''(D)'' ★ : Charles McClure ''(D)'' ★ : William W. Potter ''(D)'' ★ : George McCulloch ''(D)'' ★ : David Petrikin ''(D)'' ★ : Robert H. Hammond ''(D)'' ★ : Samuel W. Morris ''(D)'' ★ : Charles Ogle ''(AM)'' ★ : Albert G. Marchand ''(D)'' ★ : Enos Hook ''(D)'' ★ : Isaac Leet ''(D)'' ★ : Richard Biddle ''(AM)'' ★ : Henry M. Brackenridge ''(W)'' ★ : William Beatty ''(D)'' ★ : Thomas Henry ''(AM)'' ★ : John Galbraith ''(D)'' :'Rhode Island' [4] ★ : Robert B. Cranston ''(W)'' ★ : Joseph L. Tillinghast ''(W)'' :'South Carolina' ★ : Isaac E. Holmes ''(D)'' ★ : R. Barnwell Rhett ''(D)'' ★ : John Campbell ''(D)'' ★ : Sampson H. Butler ''(D)'' ★ : Francis W. Pickens ''(D)'' ★ : Waddy Thompson, Jr. ''(W)'' ★ : James Rogers ''(D)'' ★ : Thomas D. Sumter ''(D)'' ★ : John K. Griffin ''(D)'' :'Tennessee' ★ : William B. Carter ''(W)'' ★ : Abraham McClellan ''(D)'' ★ : Joseph L. Williams ''(W)'' ★ : Julius W. Blackwell ''(D)'' ★ : Hopkins L. Turney ''(D)'' ★ : William B. Campbell ''(W)'' ★ : John Bell ''(W)'' ★ : Meredith P. Gentry ''(W)'' ★ : Harvey M. Watterson ''(D)'' ★ : Aaron V. Brown ''(D)'' ★ : Cave Johnson ''(D)'' ★ : John W. Crockett ''(W)'' ★ : Christopher H. Williams ''(W)'' :'Vermont' ★ : Hiland Hall ''(W)'' ★ : William Slade ''(W)'' ★ : Horace Everett ''(W)'' ★ : John Smith ''(D)'' ★ : Isaac Fletcher ''(D)'' :'Virginia' ★ : Joel Holleman ''(D)'' ★ : Francis Mallory ''(W)'' ★ : Francis E. Rives ''(D)'' ★ : John W. Jones ''(D)'' ★ : George C. Dromgoole ''(D)'' ★ : John Hill ''(W)'' ★ : Walter Coles ''(D)'' ★ : William L. Goggin ''(W)'' ★ : Henry A. Wise ''(W)'' ★ : Robert M. T. Hunter ''(W)'' ★ : John Taliaferro ''(W)'' ★ : John M. Botts ''(W)'' ★ : James Garland ''(C)'' ★ : Linn Banks ''(D)'' ★ : Charles F. Mercer ''(W)'' ★ : William M. McCarty ''(W)'' ★ : William Lucas ''(D)'' ★ : Green B. Samuels ''(D)'' ★ : Robert Craig ''(D)'' ★ : George W. Hopkins ''(C)'' ★ : Andrew Beirne ''(D)'' ★ : Joseph Johnson ''(D)'' ★ : Lewis Steenrod ''(D)''

Speaker of the House Robert M.T. Hunter Delegates :'Florida Territory' ★ : Charles Downing :'Iowa Territory' ★ : William W. Chapman ''(D)'' ★ : Augustus C. Dodge ''(D)'' :'Wisconsin Territory' ★ : James D. Doty ''(D)''

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 loss ★ ★ Whigs '' (W) '': 1 seat net gain ★ deaths: 3 ★ resignations: 6 ★ interim appointments: 0 ★ 'Total seats with changes: 12'

:'House of Representatives' ★ replacements: 15 ★ ★ Democrats '' (D) '': 2 seat net loss ★ ★ Whigs '' (W) '': 3 seat net gain ★ ★ Anti Masonics '' (AM) '': 1 seat net loss ★ deaths: 6 ★ resignations: 9 ★ contested election: 5 ★ 'Total seats with changes: 20'

Officers

:'Senate' ★ Secretary of the Senate: ★ ★ Asbury Dickens of North Carolina elected December 12 1836 ★ Sergeant at Arms of the Senate: ★ ★ Stephen Haight of New York, elected September 4 1837 ★ Chaplain of the Senate ★ ★ The Rev. George G. Cookman, ''Methodist'', elected December 31 1839

:'House of Representatives' ★ Clerk of the House: ★ ★ Hugh A. Garland of Virginia, elected December 21 1839 ★ Sergeant at Arms of the House: ★ ★ Roderick Dorsey of Maryland, elected December 21 1839 ★ Doorkeeper of the House: ★ ★ Joseph Follansbee of Massachusetts, elected December 21 1839 ★ Postmaster of the House: ★ ★ William J. McCormick, elected December 21 1839 ★ Chaplain of the House ★ ★ The Rev. Joshua Bates, ''Congregationalist'', elected December 2 1839 ★ ★ The Rev. Thomas W. Braxton, ''Baptist'', elected December 7 1840

Notes

1. All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
2. All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
3. The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives.
4. Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
5. Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
6. All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
7. All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.
8. There were four plural districts, the 8th, 17th, 22nd & 23rd had two representatives each, the 3rd had four representatives.
9. There were two plural districts, the 2nd had two representatives, the 4th had three representatives.
10. Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

References

★ The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress, , Kenneth C., Martis, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1989,

★ The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts, , Kenneth C., Martis, Macmillan Publishing Company, 1982,

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