25th United States Congress

Major events

Main article: 1837 in the United States, 1838 in the United States, 1839 in the United States

• March 4, 1837: Martin Van Buren became President of the United States
• May 10, 1837: Panic of 1837
• January 6, 1838: First public demonstration of Samuel Morse's telegraph
• May 26, 1838: Trail of Tears: The Cherokee removal began

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation, 1789–1901#1821 to 1831

Territories organized

• June 12, 1838: Iowa Territory was formed from the Wisconsin Territory.

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

• President: Richard Mentor Johnson (D)
• President pro tempore: William R. King (D)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: James K. Polk (D)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives by district.

:Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate

Main article: List of United States senators in the 25th Congress

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 ended with this Congress, ending in 1839; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, ending in 1841; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, ending in 1843.

[[List of United States senators from Alabama|Alabama]]

: 2. William R. King (D) : 3. John McKinley (D), until April 22, 1837 :: Clement C. Clay (D), from June 19, 1837

[[List of United States senators from Arkansas|Arkansas]]

: 2. William S. Fulton (D) : 3. Ambrose H. Sevier (D)

[[List of United States senators from Connecticut|Connecticut]]

: 1. John M. Niles (D) : 3. Perry Smith (D)

[[List of United States senators from Delaware|Delaware]]

: 1. Richard H. Bayard (W) : 2. Thomas Clayton (W)

[[List of United States senators from Georgia|Georgia]]

: 2. John P. King (D), until November 1, 1837 :: Wilson Lumpkin (D), from November 22, 1837 : 3. Alfred Cuthbert (D)

[[List of United States senators from Illinois|Illinois]]

: 2. John M. Robinson (D) : 3. Richard M. Young (D)

[[List of United States senators from Indiana|Indiana]]

: 1. John Tipton (D) : 3. Oliver H. Smith (W)

[[List of United States senators from Kentucky|Kentucky]]

: 2. John J. Crittenden (W) : 3. Henry Clay (W)

[[List of United States senators from Louisiana|Louisiana]]

: 2. Robert C. Nicholas (D) : 3. Alexander Mouton (D)

[[List of United States senators from Maine|Maine]]

: 1. Reuel Williams (D) : 2. John Ruggles (D)

[[List of United States senators from Maryland|Maryland]]

: 1. Joseph Kent (W), until November 24, 1837 :: William D. Merrick (W), from January 4, 1838 : 3. John S. Spence (W)

[[List of United States senators from Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]

: 1. Daniel Webster (W) : 2. John Davis (W)

[[List of United States senators from Michigan|Michigan]]

: 1. Lucius Lyon (D) : 2. John Norvell (D)

[[List of United States senators from Mississippi|Mississippi]]

: 1. John Black (W), until January 22, 1838 :: James F. Trotter (D), from January 22, 1838, until July 10, 1838 :: Thomas Hickman Williams (D), from November 12, 1838 : 2. Robert J. Walker (D)

[[List of United States senators from Missouri|Missouri]]

: 1. Thomas H. Benton (D) : 3. Lewis F. Linn (D)

[[List of United States senators from New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]

: 2. Henry Hubbard (D) : 3. Franklin Pierce (D)

[[List of United States senators from New Jersey|New Jersey]]

: 1. Samuel L. Southard (W) : 2. Garret D. Wall (D)

[[List of United States senators from New York|New York]]

: 1. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (D) : 3. Silas Wright Jr. (D)

[[List of United States senators from North Carolina|North Carolina]]

: 2. Bedford Brown (D) : 3. Robert Strange (D)

[[List of United States senators from Ohio|Ohio]]

: 1. Thomas Morris (D) : 3. William Allen (D)

[[List of United States senators from Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]

: 1. Samuel McKean (D) : 3. James Buchanan (D)

[[List of United States senators from Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]

: 1. Asher Robbins (W) : 2. Nehemiah R. Knight (W)

[[List of United States senators from South Carolina|South Carolina]]

: 2. John C. Calhoun (D) : 3. William C. Preston (W)

[[List of United States senators from Tennessee|Tennessee]]

: 1. Felix Grundy (D), until July 4, 1838 :: Ephraim H. Foster (W), from September 17, 1838 – March 3, 1839 : 2. Hugh Lawson White (W)

[[List of United States senators from Vermont|Vermont]]

: 1. Benjamin Swift (W) : 3. Samuel Prentiss (W)

[[List of United States senators from Virginia|Virginia]]

: 1. William C. Rives (D) : 2. Richard E. Parker (D), until March 4, 1837 :: William H. Roane (D), from March 14, 1837

]]

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 25th Congress

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

[[List of United States representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]

: . Reuben Chapman (D) : . Joshua L. Martin (D) : . Joab Lawler (W), until May 8, 1838 :: George W. Crabb (W), from September 4, 1838 : . Dixon H. Lewis (D) : . Francis S. Lyon (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Arkansas|Arkansas]]

: . Archibald Yell (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Connecticut|Connecticut]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Isaac Toucey (D) : . Samuel Ingham (D) : . Elisha Haley (D) : . Thomas T. Whittlesey (D) : . Lancelot Phelps (D) : . Orrin Holt (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Delaware|Delaware]]

: . John J. Milligan (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Georgia|Georgia]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Jesse F. Cleveland (D) : . William C. Dawson (W) : . Thomas Glascock (D) : . Seaton Grantland (D) : . Charles E. Haynes (D) : . Hopkins Holsey (D) : . Jabez Y. Jackson (D) : . George W. Owens (D) : . George W. B. Towns (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Illinois|Illinois]]

: . Adam W. Snyder (D) : . Zadok Casey (D) : . William L. May (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Indiana|Indiana]]

: . Ratliff Boon (D) : . John Ewing (W) : . William Graham (W) : . George H. Dunn (W) : . James Rariden (W) : . William Herod (W) : . Albert S. White (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Kentucky|Kentucky]]

: . John L. Murray (D) : . Edward Rumsey (W) : . Joseph R. Underwood (W) : . Sherrod Williams (W) : . James Harlan (W) : . John Calhoon (W) : . John Pope (W) : . William J. Graves (W) : . John White (W) : . Richard Hawes (W) : . Richard H. Menefee (W) : . John Chambers (W) : . William W. Southgate (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Louisiana|Louisiana]]

: . Henry Johnson (W) : . Eleazar W. Ripley (D), until March 2, 1839 : . Rice Garland (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Maine|Maine]]

: . John Fairfield (D), until December 24, 1838 : . Francis O. J. Smith (D) : . Jonathan Cilley (D), until February 24, 1838 :: Edward Robinson (W), from April 28, 1838 : . George Evans (W) : . Timothy J. Carter (D), until March 14, 1838 :: Virgil D. Parris (D), from May 29, 1838 : . Hugh J. Anderson (D) : . Joseph C. Noyes (W) : . Thomas Davee (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Maryland|Maryland]]

The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives. : . John Dennis (W) : . James A. Pearce (W) : . John T. H. Worthington (D) : . Benjamin C. Howard (D) : . Isaac McKim (D), until April 1, 1838 :: John P. Kennedy (W), from April 25, 1838 : . William Cost Johnson (W) : . Francis Thomas (D) : . Daniel Jenifer (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Massachusetts|Massachusetts]]

: . Richard Fletcher (W) : . Stephen C. Phillips (W), until September 28, 1838 :: Leverett Saltonstall I (W), from December 25, 1838 : . Caleb Cushing (W) : . William Parmenter (D) : . Levi Lincoln Jr. (W) : . George Grennell Jr. (W) : . George N. Briggs (W) : . William B. Calhoun (W) : . William S. Hastings (W) : . Nathaniel B. Borden (D) : . John Reed Jr. (W) : . John Quincy Adams (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Michigan|Michigan]]

: . Isaac E. Crary (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Mississippi|Mississippi]]

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . John F. H. Claiborne (D), from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838 :: Seargent S. Prentiss (W), from May 30, 1838 : . Samuel J. Gholson (D), from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838 :: Thomas J. Word (W), from May 30, 1838

[[List of United States representatives from Missouri|Missouri]]

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Albert G. Harrison (D) : . John Miller (D)

[[List of United States representatives from New Hampshire|New Hampshire]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Charles G. Atherton (D) : . Samuel Cushman (D) : . James Farrington (D) : . Joseph Weeks (D) : . Jared W. Williams (D)

[[List of United States representatives from New Jersey|New Jersey]]

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . John B. Aycrigg (W) : . William Halstead (W) : . John P. B. Maxwell (W) : . Joseph F. Randolph (W) : . Charles C. Stratton (W) : . Thomas Jones Yorke (W)

[[List of United States representatives from New York|New York]]

There were four plural districts, the 8th, 17th, 22nd & 23rd had two representatives each, the 3rd had four representatives. : . Thomas B. Jackson (D) : . Abraham Vanderveer (D) : . Churchill C. Cambreleng (D) : . Edward Curtis (W) : . Ogden Hoffman (W) : . Ely Moore (D) : . Gouverneur Kemble (D) : . Obadiah Titus (D) : . Nathaniel Jones (D) : . John C. Brodhead (D) : . Robert McClellan (D) : . Zadock Pratt (D) : . Henry Vail (D) : . Albert Gallup (D) : . John I. De Graff (D) : . David A. Russell (W) : . John Palmer (D) : . James B. Spencer (D) : . John Edwards (D) : . Arphaxed Loomis (D) : . Henry A. Foster (D) : . Abraham P. Grant (D) : . Isaac H. Bronson (D) : . John H. Prentiss (D) : . Amasa J. Parker (D) : . John C. Clark (D) : . Andrew D. W. Bruyn (D), until July 27, 1838 :: Cyrus Beers (D), from December 3, 1838 : . Hiram Gray (D) : . Bennet Bicknell (D) : . William Taylor (D) : . William H. Noble (D) : . Samuel Birdsall (D) : . Mark H. Sibley (W) : . John T. Andrews (D) : . Timothy Childs (W) : . William Patterson (W), until August 14, 1838 :: Harvey Putnam (W), from November 7, 1838 : . Luther C. Peck (W) : . Richard P. Marvin (W) : . Millard Fillmore (W) : . Charles F. Mitchell (W)

[[List of United States representatives from North Carolina|North Carolina]]

: . Samuel T. Sawyer (W) : . Jesse A. Bynum (D) : . Edward Stanly (W) : . Charles B. Shepard (W) : . James I. McKay (D) : . Micajah T. Hawkins (D) : . Edmund Deberry (W) : . William Montgomery (D) : . Augustine H. Shepperd (W) : . Abraham Rencher (W) : . Henry W. Connor (D) : . James Graham (W) : . Lewis Williams (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Ohio|Ohio]]

: . Alexander Duncan (D) : . Taylor Webster (D) : . Patrick G. Goode (W) : . Thomas Corwin (W) : . Thomas L. Hamer (D) : . Calvary Morris (W) : . William K. Bond (W) : . Joseph Ridgway (W) : . John Chaney (D) : . Samson Mason (W) : . James Alexander Jr. (W) : . Alexander Harper (W) : . Daniel P. Leadbetter (D) : . William H. Hunter (D) : . John W. Allen (W) : . Elisha Whittlesey (W), until July 9, 1838 :: Joshua R. Giddings (W), from December 3, 1838 : . Andrew W. Loomis (W), until October 20, 1837 :: Charles D. Coffin (W), from December 20, 1837 : . Matthias Shepler (D) : . Daniel Kilgore (D), until July 4, 1838 :: Henry Swearingen (D), from December 3, 1838

[[List of United States representatives from Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]]

There were two plural districts, the 2nd had two representatives, the 4th had three representatives. : . Lemuel Paynter (D) : . John Sergeant (W) : . George W. Toland (W) : . Francis J. Harper (D), until March 18, 1837 :: Charles Naylor (W), from June 29, 1837 : . Edward Darlington (AM) : . Edward Davies (AM) : . David Potts Jr. (AM) : . Jacob Fry Jr. (D) : . Mathias Morris (W) : . David D. Wagener (D) : . Edward B. Hubley (D) : . Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (D), until February 9, 1838 :: George M. Keim (D), from March 17, 1838 : . Luther Reily (D) : . Henry Logan (D) : . Daniel Sheffer (D) : . Charles McClure (D) : . William W. Potter (D) : . David Petrikin (D) : . Robert H. Hammond (D) : . Samuel W. Morris (D) : . Charles Ogle (AM) : . John J. Klingensmith Jr. (D) : . Andrew Buchanan (D) : . Thomas M. T. McKennan (AM) : . Richard Biddle (AM) : . William Beatty (D) : . Thomas Henry (AM) : . Arnold Plumer (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Rhode Island|Rhode Island]]

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Robert B. Cranston (W) : . Joseph L. Tillinghast (W)

[[List of United States representatives from South Carolina|South Carolina]]

: . Hugh S. Legaré (D) : . Robert Rhett (D) : . John Campbell (N) : . Franklin H. Elmore (States Rights D) : . Francis W. Pickens (N) : . Waddy Thompson Jr. (W) : . William K. Clowney (N) : . John P. Richardson (D) : . John K. Griffin (N)

[[List of United States representatives from Tennessee|Tennessee]]

: . William B. Carter (W) : . Abraham McClellan (D) : . Joseph L. Williams (W) : . James I. Standifer (W), until August 20, 1837 :: William Stone (W), from September 14, 1837 : . Hopkins L. Turney (D) : . William B. Campbell (W) : . John Bell (W) : . Abram P. Maury (W) : . James K. Polk (D) : . Ebenezer J. Shields (W) : . Richard Cheatham (W) : . John W. Crockett (W) : . Christopher H. Williams (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Vermont|Vermont]]

: . Hiland Hall (W) : . William Slade (W) : . Horace Everett (W) : . Heman Allen (W) : . Isaac Fletcher (D)

[[List of United States representatives from Virginia|Virginia]]

: . Francis Mallory (W) : . Francis E. Rives (D) : . John W. Jones (D) : . George C. Dromgoole (D) : . James W. Bouldin (D) : . Walter Coles (D) : . Archibald Stuart (D) : . Henry A. Wise (W) : . Robert M. T. Hunter (W) : . John Taliaferro (W) : . John Robertson (W) : . James Garland (D) : . John M. Patton (D), until April 7, 1838 :: Linn Banks (D), from April 28, 1838 : . Charles F. Mercer (W) : . James M. Mason (D) : . Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) : . Robert Craig (D) : . George W. Hopkins (D) : . Andrew Beirne (D) : . Joseph Johnson (D) : . William S. Morgan (D)

Non-voting members

: . Charles Downing : . William W. Chapman (D), from September 10, 1838 : . George Wallace Jones (D), until January 14, 1839 :: James D. Doty (D), from January 14, 1839

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 6
  • Democrats: no net change
  • Whigs: no net change
• Deaths: 1
• Resignations: 6
• Total seats with changes: 7 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy --

|- | Virginia (2) | | Richard E. Parker (D) | Resigned March 4, 1837, after accepting a seat on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals | | William H. Roane (D)

| |}

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 16
  • Democrats: 5-seat net loss
  • Whigs: 5-seat net gain
• Deaths: 9
• Resignations: 6
• Contested election:1
• Total seats with changes: 20

Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives

|- | | Vacant | Rep-elect Claiborne presented credentials July 18, 1837 | | John F. H. Claiborne (D)

| | Vacant | Rep-elect Gholson presented credentials July 18, 1837 | | Samuel J. Gholson (D)

| | | Francis J. Harper (D) | Died March 18, 1837 | | Charles Naylor (W)

| | | James I. Standifer (W) | Died August 20, 1837 | | William Stone (W)

| | | Elisha Whittlesey (W) | Resigned October 20, 1837 | | Charles D. Coffin (W)

| | | John F. H. Claiborne (D) | Seat declared vacant February 5, 1838 | | Seargent S. Prentiss (W)

| | | Samuel J. Gholson (D) | Seat declared vacant February 5, 1838 | | Thomas J. Word (W)

| | | Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (D) | Resigned February 9, 1838, after being appointed Minister to Austrian Empire | | George M. Keim (D)

| | | Jonathan Cilley (D) | Killed in a duel February 24, 1838, by Rep. William J. Graves | | Edward Robinson (W)

| | | Timothy J. Carter (D) | Died March 14, 1838 | | Virgil D. Parris (D)

| | | Isaac McKim (D) | Died April 1, 1838 | | John P. Kennedy (W)

| | | John M. Patton (D) | Resigned April 7, 1838 | | Linn Banks (D)

| | | Joab Lawler (W) | Died May 8, 1838 | | George W. Crabb (W)

| | | Daniel Kilgore (D) | Resigned July 4, 1838 | | Henry Swearingen (D)

| | | Elisha Whittlesey (W) | Resigned July 9, 1838 | | Joshua R. Giddings (W)

| | | Andrew D. Bruyn (D) | Died July 27, 1838 | | Cyrus Beers (D)

| | | William Patterson (W) | Died August 14, 1838 | | Harvey Putnam (W)

| | New seat | Iowa Territory seated its first delegate September 10, 1838 | | George Wallace Jones (D) | Seated September 10, 1838

|- | | | Stephen C. Phillips (W) | Seat declared vacant September 28, 1838 | | Leverett Saltonstall (W)

| | | John Fairfield (D) | Resigned December 24, 1838, after being elected Governor of Maine | Vacant

| | | George Wallace Jones (D) | Lost contested election January 14, 1839 | | James D. Doty (D)

| | | Eleazar W. Ripley (D) | Died March 2, 1839 | Vacant | Not filled this congress |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Agriculture (Chairman: Perry Smith)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Samuel McKean)
• Claims (Chairman: Henry Hubbard)
• Commerce (Chairman: William R. King)
• Danger of Steam Vessels (Select)
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: William H. Roane)
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: John Norvell)
• Finance (Chairman: Silas Wright)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Buchanan)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Hugh Lawson White)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Felix Grundy)
• Letter of Mr. Ruggles (Select)
• Manufactures (Chairman: John M. Niles)
• Memorial of A. B. Quinby (Select)
• Memorial of the Citizens of Georgetown (DC) for the Retrocession of that Part of the District (Select)
• Memorial of Duff Green (Select)
• Memorial of Edward D. Tippett (Select)
• Mileage of Members of Congress (Select)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
• Militia (Chairman: Clement C. Clay)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: William C. Rives)
• Occupation of the Columbia River (Select)
• Oregon Territory (Select)
• Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: John Ruggles then Robert Strange)
• Pensions (Chairman: Thomas Morris)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Robinson)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Lewis F. Linn)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: N/A)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Robert J. Walker)
• Purchasing Boyd Reilly's Gas Apparatus (Select)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Bedford Brown)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: Thomas Tipton)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: Joseph Johnson)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Edmund Deberry)
• Amendment to the Constitution (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: John Chambers)
• Commerce (Chairman: Samuel Cushman)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: James W. Bouldin)
• Elections (Chairman: Andrew Buchanan)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: John C. Brodhead)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Timothy Childs)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Mathias Morris)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Heman Allen)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: William K. Clowney)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Samuel T. Sawyer)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Benjamin C. Howard)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
• Invalid Pensions (Chairman: William Taylor)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Francis Thomas)
• Manufactures (Chairman: John Quincy Adams)
• Mileage (Chairman: William C. Dawson)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: James I. McKay)
• Militia (Chairman: David D. Wagener)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Samuel Ingham)
• Patents (Chairman: Isaac Fletcher)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Henry W. Connor)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: William L. May)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Levi Lincoln Jr.)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: Elisha Haley)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Ratliff Boon until 1838, then Zadok Casey)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Matthias Shepler)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Robert Craig)
• Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: William S. Morgan)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: Charles F. Mercer)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories (Chairman: Isaac H. Bronson)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: Churchill C. Cambreleng)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills
• The Library

Employees

• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate

• Chaplain: John R. Goodman (Episcopalian), until September 11, 1837
  • Henry Slicer (Methodist), elected September 11, 1837
• Secretary: Asbury Dickins
• Sergeant at Arms: John Shackford (died)
  • Stephen Haight, elected September 4, 1837

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Septimus Tustin (Presbyterian), elected September 4, 1837
  • Levi R. Reese (Methodist), elected December 4, 1837
• Clerk: Walter S. Franklin, until September 20, 1838 (died)
  • Hugh A. Garland, elected December 3, 1838
• Doorkeeper: Overton Carr
• Postmaster: William J. McCormick
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey

Notes

References

References

1. "Committee History". House Committee on Natural Resources.