26th United States Congress

Major events

• 1839: The first state law permitting women to own property was passed in Jackson, Mississippi
• December 14–16, 1839: An election for the House speakership takes 11 ballots
• January 19, 1840: Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigated Antarctica, claiming what becomes known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
• November 7, 1840: 1840 United States presidential election: William Henry Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren
• February 18, 1841: The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate began and lasted until March 11

Major legislation

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

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

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

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Robert M. T. Hunter (W) elected December 16, 1839, on the 11th ballot

Members

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

:Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate

Main article: List of United States senators in the 26th 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 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.

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

: 2. William R. King (D) : 3. Clement C. Clay (D)

[[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. Thaddeus Betts (W), until April 7, 1840 :: Jabez W. Huntington (W), from May 4, 1840 : 3. Perry Smith (D)

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

: 1. Richard H. Bayard (W), until September 19, 1839 :: Richard H. Bayard (W), from January 12, 1841 : 2. Thomas Clayton (W)

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

: 2. Wilson Lumpkin (D) : 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. Albert S. White (W) : 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. William D. Merrick (W) : 3. John S. Spence (W), until October 24, 1840 :: John L. Kerr (W), from January 5, 1841

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

: 1. Daniel Webster (W), until February 22, 1841 :: Rufus Choate (W), from February 23, 1841 : 2. John Davis (W), until January 5, 1841 :: Isaac C. Bates (W), from January 13, 1841

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

: 1. Augustus S. Porter (W), from January 20, 1840 : 2. John Norvell (D)

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

: 1. John Henderson (W) : 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 (W), from January 14, 1840 : 3. Silas Wright Jr. (D)

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

: 2. Bedford Brown (D), until November 16, 1840 :: Willie P. Mangum (W), from November 25, 1840 : 3. Robert Strange (D), until November 16, 1840 :: William A. Graham (W), from November 25, 1840

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

: 1. Benjamin Tappan (D) : 3. William Allen (D)

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

: 1. Daniel Sturgeon (D), from January 14, 1840 : 3. James Buchanan (D)

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

: 1. Nathan F. Dixon (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), November 19, 1839 – December 19, 1840 :: Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D), from December 25, 1840 : 2. Hugh Lawson White (W), until January 13, 1840 :: Alexander O. Anderson (D), from February 26, 1840

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

: 1. Samuel S. Phelps (W) : 3. Samuel Prentiss (W)

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

: 1. William C. Rives (W), from January 18, 1841 : 2. William H. Roane (D)

]]

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 26th Congress

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

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

: . Reuben Chapman (D) : . David Hubbard (D) : . George W. Crabb (W) : . Dixon H. Lewis (D) : . James Dellet (W)

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

: . Edward Cross (D)

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

: . Joseph Trumbull (W) : . William L. Storrs (W), until June ???, 1840 :: William W. Boardman (W), from December 7, 1840 : . Thomas W. Williams (W) : . Thomas B. Osborne (W) : . Truman Smith (W) : . John H. Brockway (W)

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

: . Thomas Robinson Jr. (D)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Julius C. Alford (W) : . Edward J. Black (W) : . Walter T. Colquitt (W), until July 21, 1840 :: Hines Holt (W), from February 1, 1841 : . Mark A. Cooper (W) : . William C. Dawson (W) : . Richard W. Habersham (W) : . Thomas Butler King (W) : . Eugenius A. Nisbet (W) : . Lott Warren (W)

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

: . John Reynolds (D) : . Zadok Casey (D) : . John T. Stuart (W)

[[List of United States representatives from Indiana|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), until July 1, 1840 :: Henry S. Lane (W), from August 3, 1840

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

: . Linn Boyd (D) : . Philip Triplett (W) : . Joseph R. Underwood (W) : . Sherrod Williams (W) : . Simeon H. Anderson (W), until August 11, 1840 :: John B. Thompson (W), from December 7, 1840 : . 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)

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

: . Edward D. White (W) : . Thomas W. Chinn (W) : . Rice Garland (W), until July 21, 1840 :: John Moore (W), from December 17, 1840

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

: . Nathan Clifford (D) : . Albert Smith (D) : . Benjamin Randall (W) : . George Evans (W), until March 3, 1841 : . Virgil D. Parris (D) : . Hugh J. Anderson (D) : . Joshua A. Lowell (D) : . Thomas Davee (D)

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

The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives. : . John Dennis (W) : . Philip 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)

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

: . Abbott Lawrence (W), until September 18, 1840 :: Robert C. Winthrop (W), from November 9, 1840 : . Leverett Saltonstall I (W) : . Caleb Cushing (W) : . William Parmenter (D) : . Levi Lincoln Jr. (W) : . James C. Alvord (W), until September 27, 1839 :: Osmyn Baker (W), from January 14, 1840 : . George N. Briggs (W) : . William B. Calhoun (W) : . William S. Hastings (W) : . Henry Williams (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. : . Albert G. Brown (D) : . Jacob Thompson (D)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Albert G. Harrison (D), until September 7, 1839 :: John Jameson (D), from December 12, 1839 : . 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) : . Edmund Burke (D) : . Ira A. Eastman (D) : . Tristram Shaw (D) : . Jared W. Williams (D)

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

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . William R. Cooper (D) : . Philemon Dickerson (D) : . Joseph Kille (D) : . Joseph F. Randolph (W) : . Daniel B. Ryall (D) : . Peter D. Vroom (D)

[[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) : . James De la Montanya (D) : . Edward Curtis (W) : . Moses H. Grinnell (W) : . 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), until June 14, 1840 :: Nicholas B. Doe (W), from December 7, 1840 : . 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)

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

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

: . Alexander Duncan (D) : . John B. Weller (D) : . Patrick G. Goode (W) : . Thomas Corwin (W), until May 30, 1840 :: Jeremiah Morrow (W), from October 13, 1840 : . 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)

[[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) : . 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), until October 17, 1840 :: Charles McClure (D), from December 7, 1840 : . William W. Potter (D), until October 28, 1839 :: George McCulloch (D), from November 20, 1839 : . 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), until July 21, 1840 :: Henry M. Brackenridge (W), from October 13, 1840 : . William Beatty (D) : . Thomas Henry (AM) : . John Galbraith (D)

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

: . Robert B. Cranston (W) : . Joseph L. Tillinghast (W)

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

: . Isaac E. Holmes (D) : . Robert 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)

[[List of United States representatives from Tennessee|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)

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

: . Hiland Hall (W) : . William Slade (W) : . Horace Everett (W) : . John Smith (D) : . Isaac Fletcher (D)

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

: . Joel Holleman (D), until December 1840 :: Francis Mallory (W), from December 28, 1840 : . 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), until December 26, 1839 :: William M. McCarty (W), from January 25, 1840 : . William Lucas (D) : . Green B. Samuels (D) : . Robert Craig (D) : . George W. Hopkins (C) : . Andrew Beirne (D) : . Joseph Johnson (D) : . Lewis Steenrod (D)

Non-voting members

: . Charles Downing : . William W. Chapman (D), until October 27, 1840 :: Augustus C. Dodge (D), from October 28, 1840 : . 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: 0-seat net loss
  • Whigs: 0-seat net gain
• Deaths: 3
• Resignations: 7
• Interim appointments: 0
• Total seats with changes: 11 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy --

|- | Tennessee (1) | | Felix Grundy (D) | Elected November 19, 1839

|- | New York (1) | | Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (W) | Elected January 14, 1840

|- | Pennsylvania (1) | | Daniel Sturgeon (D)

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 15
  • Democrats: 2-seat net loss
  • Whigs: 3-seat net gain
  • Anti-Masonic: 1-seat net loss
• Deaths: 6
• Resignations: 10
• Contested election: 0
• Total seats with changes: 17

Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

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

|- | | Vacant | | Tilghman Howard (D)

| | | Albert G. Harrison (D) | | John Jameson (D)

| | | James C. Alvord (W) | | Osmyn Baker (W)

| | | William W. Potter (D) | | George McCulloch (D)

| | | Charles F. Mercer (W) | | William M. McCarty (W)

| | | Thomas Corwin (W) | | Jeremiah Morrow (W)

| | | William L. Storrs (W) | | William W. Boardman (W)

| | | Anson Brown (W) | | Nicholas B. Doe (W)

| | | Tilghman Howard (D) | | HHenry S. Lane (W)

| | | Walter T. Colquitt (W) | | Hines Holt (W)

| | | Rice Garland (W) | | John Moore (W)

| | | Richard Biddle (AM) | | Henry M. Brackenridge (W)

| | | Simeon H. Anderson (W) | | John B. Thompson (W)

| | | Abbott Lawrence (W) | | Robert C. Winthrop (W)

| | | William S. Ramsey (D) | | Charles McClure (D)

| | | William W. Chapman (D) | | Augustus C. Dodge (D)

| | | Joel Holleman (D) | | Francis Mallory (W)

| | | George Evans (W) | Vacant | Not filled this term |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Agriculture (Chairman: Alexander Mouton)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Nehemiah R. Knight)
• Claims (Chairman: Henry Hubbard)
• Commerce (Chairman: William R. King)
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Richard H. Bayard)&
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Oliver Smith then John Henderson)
• Finance (Chairman: Silas Wright)
• Fiscal Corporation of the United States (Select)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Buchanan)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Ambrose H. Sevier)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Garret D. Wall)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Wilson Lumpkin)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
• Militia (Chairman: Clement C. Clay)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Reuel Williams)
• Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Daniel Sturgeon)
• Pensions (Chairman: Franklin Pierce)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Robinson)
• Printing (Chairman: N/A)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Lewis F. Linn)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: William S. Fulton)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Robert J. Walker)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Perry Smith)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: Richard M. Young)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: Joseph Johnson)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Edmund Deberry)
• Apportionment of Representatives (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: David A. Russell)
• Commerce (Chairman: Edward Curtis)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: William C. Johnson)
• Elections (Chairman: Francis E. Rives)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall I)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Richard P. Marvin)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Joseph R. Underwood)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: George Evans)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Peter J. Wagner)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Edward Stanly)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Francis W. Pickens)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
• Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Sherrod Williams)
• Judiciary (Chairman: John Sergeant)
• Manufactures (Chairman: John Quincy Adams)
• Memorial of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi (Select)
• Mileage (Chairman: Thomas W. Williams)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: Cave Johnson until 1840, then Waddy Thompson Jr.)
• Militia (Chairman: George M. Keim)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Francis Thomas)
• Patents (Chairman: Issac Fletcher)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: James I. McKay)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: William B. Calhoun)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Stephen B. Leonard)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: William K. Bond)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Thomas Corwin 1839-1840, then Samson Mason 1840, then Jeremiah Morrow)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Luther C. Peck)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Joseph F. Randolph)
• Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: John Taliaferro)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: Charles Ogle)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories (Chairman: John Pope)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: John W. Jones)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. Benjamin Tappan)
• The Library (Chairman: N/A)

Employees

• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate

• Chaplain: Henry Slicer (Methodist), until December 31, 1839
  • George G. Cookman (Methodist), from December 31, 1839
• Secretary: Asbury Dickins
• Sergeant at Arms: Stephen Haight

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Levi M. Reese (Methodist), until February 4, 1840
  • Joshua Bates (Congregationalist), elected February 4, 1840
  • Thomas W. Braxton (Baptist), elected December 7, 1840
• Clerk: Hugh A. Garland
• Doorkeeper: Joseph Follansbee, elected December 23, 1839
• Postmaster: William J. McCormick, elected December 23, 1839
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey

Notes

References

References

1. "A Mob in Search of a Speaker". US House of Representatives.