31st United States Congress

Major events

• March 4, 1849: Zachary Taylor became President of the United States
• June, 1849: Relations with France broke down as the French ambassador Guillaume-Tell de La Vallée Poussin engaged in "insulting and confrontational" behavior towards President Taylor, shortly after this a row erupted with France over reparations which France owed the United States. The president of France, Napoleon III, made this worse by making remarks that led to several members of Congress openly condemning him.
• December 3–22, 1849: The election for the House speakership takes 63 ballots.
• March 7, 1850: Senator Daniel Webster gave his "Seventh of March" speech in which he endorsed the Compromise of 1850 to prevent a possible civil war
• May 22, 1850: Senate votes 42-11 in favor of ratifying the Clayton–Bulwer Treaty after the motion to do so was put forth by William R. King of Alabama. The results of the vote were celebrated in Britain.
• July 9, 1850: President Taylor died and Vice President Millard Fillmore became President.

Major legislation

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

• September 9, 1850: Compromise of 1850, sess. 1, chs. 48-51, -
• September 18, 1850: Fugitive Slave Act, sess. 1, ch. 60,
• September 20, 1850: "An Act to suppress the Slave Trade in the District of Columbia," sess. 1, ch. 63,
• September 29, 1850: Donation Land Claim Act, sess. 1, ch. 76,

States admitted and territories organized

• September 9, 1850 — As part of the Compromise of 1850:
  • Texas's borders were changed, ch. 49,
  • New Mexico Territory was organized, ch. 49,
  • California was admitted as a state, ch. 50,
  • Utah Territory was organized, ch. 51,

Party summary

Senate

During this Congress, two Senate seats were added for the new state of California.

House of Representatives

During this Congress, two House seats were added for the new state of California.

Leadership

Senate

• President: Millard Fillmore (W), until July 9, 1850; vacant thereafter.
• President pro tempore: David Atchison (D), until May 5, 1850
  • William R. King (D), from May 6, 1850

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Howell Cobb (D), elected December 22, 1849, after 63 ballots
• Democratic Caucus Chairman: James Thompson

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 31st Congress

]] (until December 2, 1849)

(from May 6, 1850) 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, facing re-election in 1850; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1852; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1854.

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

: 2. Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), until November 30, 1849 :: Jeremiah Clemens (D), from November 30, 1849 : 3. William R. King (D)

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

: 2. William K. Sebastian (D) : 3. Solon Borland (D)

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

: 1. John C. Frémont (D), from September 10, 1850 (newly admitted state) : 3. William M. Gwin (D), from September 10, 1850 (newly admitted state)

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

: 1. Roger S. Baldwin (W) : 3. Truman Smith (W)

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

: 1. John Wales (W) : 2. Presley Spruance (W)

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

: 1. David Levy Yulee (D) : 3. Jackson Morton (W)

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

: 2. John Macpherson Berrien (W) : 3. William C. Dawson (W)

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

: 2. Stephen A. Douglas (D) : 3. James Shields (D), until March 6, 1849 :: James Shields (D), from December 3, 1849

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

: 1. Jesse D. Bright (D) : 3. James Whitcomb (D)

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

: 2. George Wallace Jones (D) : 3. Augustus C. Dodge (D)

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

: 2. Joseph R. Underwood (W) : 3. Henry Clay (W)

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

: 2. Solomon W. Downs (D) : 3. Pierre Soulé (D)

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

: 1. Hannibal Hamlin (D) : 2. James W. Bradbury (D)

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

: 1. Reverdy Johnson (W), until March 7, 1849 :: David Stewart (W), from December 6, 1849, until January 12, 1850 :: Thomas Pratt (W), from January 12, 1850 : 3. James Pearce (W)

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

: 1. Daniel Webster (W), until July 22, 1850 :: Robert C. Winthrop (W), from July 30, 1850, until February 1, 1851 :: Robert Rantoul Jr. (D), from February 1, 1851 : 2. John Davis (W)

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

: 1. Lewis Cass (D) : 2. Alpheus Felch (D)

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

: 1. Jefferson Davis (D) : 2. Henry S. Foote (D)

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

: 1. Thomas H. Benton (D) : 3. David R. Atchison (D)

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

: 2. John P. Hale (FS) : 3. Moses Norris Jr. (D)

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

: 1. William L. Dayton (W) : 2. Jacob W. Miller (W)

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

: 1. Daniel S. Dickinson (D) : 3. William H. Seward (W)

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

: 2. Willie P. Mangum (W) : 3. George E. Badger (W)

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

: 1. Thomas Corwin (W), until July 20, 1850 :: Thomas Ewing (W), from July 20, 1850 : 3. Salmon P. Chase (FS)

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

: 1. Daniel Sturgeon (D) : 3. James Cooper (W)

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

: 1. Albert C. Greene (W) : 2. John H. Clarke (W)

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

: 2. John C. Calhoun (D), until March 31, 1850 :: Franklin H. Elmore (D), from April 11, 1850, until May 29, 1850 :: Robert W. Barnwell (D), from June 4, 1850, until December 18, 1850 :: Robert Rhett (D), from December 18, 1850 : 3. Andrew Butler (D)

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

: 1. Hopkins L. Turney (D) : 2. John Bell (W)

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

: 1. Thomas J. Rusk (D) : 2. Samuel Houston (D)

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

: 1. Samuel S. Phelps (W) : 3. William Upham (W)

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

: 1. James M. Mason (D) : 2. Robert M. T. Hunter (D)

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

: 1. Henry Dodge (D) : 3. Isaac P. Walker (D)

House of Representatives

Main article: List of United States representatives in the 31st Congress

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

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

: . William J. Alston (W) : . Henry W. Hilliard (W) : . Sampson W. Harris (D) : . Samuel W. Inge (D) : . David Hubbard (D) : . Williamson R. W. Cobb (D) : . Franklin W. Bowdon (D)

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

: . Robert W. Johnson (D)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Edward Gilbert (D), from September 11, 1850 (newly admitted state) : . George W. Wright (I), from September 11, 1850 (newly admitted state)

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

: . Loren P. Waldo (D) : . Walter Booth (FS) : . Chauncey F. Cleveland (D) : . Thomas B. Butler (W)

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

: . John W. Houston (W)

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

: . Edward C. Cabell (W)

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

: . Thomas Butler King (W), until March 3, 1850 :: Joseph W. Jackson (D), from March 4, 1850 : . Marshall J. Wellborn (D) : . Allen F. Owen (W) : . Hugh A. Haralson (D) : . Thomas C. Hackett (D) : . Howell Cobb (D) : . Alexander H. Stephens (W) : . Robert A. Toombs (W)

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

: . William H. Bissell (D) : . John A. McClernand (D) : . Timothy R. Young (D) : . John Wentworth (D) : . William A. Richardson (D) : . Edward D. Baker (W) : . Thomas L. Harris (D)

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

: . Nathaniel Albertson (D) : . Cyrus L. Dunham (D) : . John L. Robinson (D) : . George W. Julian (FS) : . William J. Brown (D) : . Willis A. Gorman (D) : . Edward W. McGaughey (W) : . Joseph E. McDonald (D) : . Graham N. Fitch (D) : . Andrew J. Harlan (D)

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

: . William Thompson (D), until June 29, 1850 :: Daniel F. Miller (W), from December 20, 1850 : . Shepherd Leffler (D)

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

: . Linn Boyd (D) : . James L. Johnson (W) : . Finis E. McLean (W) : . George A. Caldwell (D) : . John B. Thompson (W) : . Daniel Breck (W) : . Humphrey Marshall (W) : . Charles S. Morehead (W) : . John C. Mason (D) : . Richard H. Stanton (D)

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

: . Emile La Sére (D) : . Charles M. Conrad (W), until August 17, 1850 :: Henry A. Bullard (W), from December 5, 1850 : . John H. Harmanson (D), until October 24, 1850 :: Alexander G. Penn (D), from December 30, 1850 : . Isaac E. Morse (D)

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

: . Elbridge Gerry (D) : . Nathaniel Littlefield (D) : . John Otis (W) : . Rufus K. Goodenow (W) : . Cullen Sawtelle (D) : . Charles Stetson (D) : . Thomas J. D. Fuller (D)

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

: . Richard Bowie (W) : . William T. Hamilton (D) : . Edward Hammond (D) : . Robert M. McLane (D) : . Alexander Evans (W) : . John B. Kerr (W)

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

: . Robert C. Winthrop (W), until July 30, 1850 :: Samuel Atkins Eliot (W), from August 22, 1850 : . Daniel P. King (W), until July 25, 1850 : . James H. Duncan (W) : . vacant : . Charles Allen (FS) : . George Ashmun (W) : . Julius Rockwell (W) : . Horace Mann (W) : . Orin Fowler (W) : . Joseph Grinnell (W)

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

: . Alexander W. Buel (D) : . William Sprague (W) : . Kinsley S. Bingham (D)

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

: . Jacob Thompson (D) : . Winfield S. Featherston (D) : . William McWillie (D) : . Albert G. Brown (D)

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

: . James B. Bowlin (D) : . William V. Bay (D) : . James S. Green (D) : . Willard P. Hall (D) : . John S. Phelps (D)

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

: . Amos Tuck (FS) : . Charles H. Peaslee (D) : . James Wilson (W), until September 9, 1850 :: George W. Morrison (D), from October 8, 1850 : . Harry Hibbard (D)

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

: . Andrew K. Hay (W) : . William A. Newell (W) : . Isaac Wildrick (D) : . John Van Dyke (W) : . James G. King (W)

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

: . John A. King (W) : . David A. Bokee (W) : . J. Phillips Phoenix (W) : . Walter Underhill (W) : . George Briggs (W) : . James Brooks (W) : . William Nelson (W) : . Ransom Halloway (W) : . Thomas McKissock (W) : . Herman D. Gould (W) : . Peter H. Silvester (W) : . Gideon Reynolds (W) : . John L. Schoolcraft (W) : . George R. Andrews (W) : . John R. Thurman (W) : . Hugh White (W) : . Henry P. Alexander (W) : . Preston King (FS) : . Charles E. Clarke (W) : . Orsamus B. Matteson (W) : . Hiram Walden (D) : . Henry Bennett (W) : . William Duer (W) : . Daniel Gott (W) : . Harmon S. Conger (W) : . William T. Jackson (W) : . William A. Sackett (W) : . Abraham M. Schermerhorn (W) : . Robert L. Rose (W) : . David Rumsey Jr. (W) : . Elijah Risley (W) : . Elbridge G. Spaulding (W) : . Harvey Putnam (W) : . Lorenzo Burrows (W)

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

: . Thomas L. Clingman (W) : . Joseph P. Caldwell (W) : . Edmund Deberry (W) : . Augustine H. Shepperd (W) : . Abraham W. Venable (D) : . John R. J. Daniel (D) : . William S. Ashe (D) : . Edward Stanly (W) : . David Outlaw (W)

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

: . David T. Disney (D) : . Lewis D. Campbell (W) : . Robert C. Schenck (W) : . Moses B. Corwin (W) : . Emery D. Potter (D) : . Rodolphus Dickinson (D), until March 20, 1849 :: Amos E. Wood (D), from December 3, 1849, until November 19, 1850 :: John Bell (W), from January 7, 1851 : . Jonathan D. Morris (D) : . John L. Taylor (W) : . Edson B. Olds (D) : . Charles Sweetser (D) : . John K. Miller (D) : . Samuel F. Vinton (W) : . William A. Whittlesey (D) : . Nathan Evans (W) : . William F. Hunter (W) : . Moses Hoagland (D) : . Joseph Cable (D) : . David K. Cartter (D) : . John Crowell (W) : . Joshua R. Giddings (FS) : . Joseph M. Root (FS)

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

: . Lewis C. Levin (A) : . Joseph R. Chandler (W) : . Henry D. Moore (W) : . John Robbins Jr. (D) : . John Freedley (W) : . Thomas Ross (D) : . Jesse C. Dickey (W) : . Thaddeus Stevens (W) : . William Strong (D) : . Milo M. Dimmick (D) : . Chester P. Butler (W), until October 5, 1850 :: John Brisbin (D), from November 13, 1850 : . David Wilmot (D) : . Joseph Casey (W) : . Charles W. Pitman (W) : . Henry Nes (W), until September 10, 1850 :: Joel B. Danner (D), from December 2, 1850 : . James X. McLanahan (D) : . Samuel Calvin (W) : . Andrew J. Ogle (W) : . Job Mann (D) : . Robert R. Reed (W) : . Moses Hampton (W) : . John W. Howe (FS) : . James Thompson (D) : . Alfred Gilmore (D)

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

: . George G. King (W) : . Nathan F. Dixon Jr. (W)

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

: . Daniel Wallace (D) : . James L. Orr (D) : . Joseph A. Woodward (D) : . John McQueen (D) : . Armistead Burt (D) : . Isaac E. Holmes (D) : . William F. Colcock (D)

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

: . Andrew Johnson (D) : . Albert G. Watkins (W) : . Josiah M. Anderson (W) : . John H. Savage (D) : . George W. Jones (D) : . James H. Thomas (D) : . Meredith P. Gentry (W) : . Andrew Ewing (D) : . Isham G. Harris (D) : . Frederick P. Stanton (D) : . Christopher H. Williams (W)

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

: . David S. Kaufman (D), until January 31, 1851 : . Volney E. Howard (D)

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

: . William Henry (W) : . William Hebard (W) : . George P. Marsh (W), until May 29, 1849 :: James Meacham (W), from December 3, 1849 : . Lucius B. Peck (D)

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

: . John S. Millson (D) : . Richard K. Meade (D) : . Thomas H. Averett (D) : . Thomas S. Bocock (D) : . Paulus Powell (D) : . James A. Seddon (D) : . Thomas H. Bayly (D) : . Alexander Holladay (D) : . Jeremiah Morton (W) : . Richard Parker (D) : . James McDowell (D) : . Henry A. Edmundson (D) : . LaFayette McMullen (D) : . James M. H. Beale (D) : . Alexander Newman (D), until September 8, 1849 :: Thomas Haymond (W), from November 8, 1849

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

: . Charles Durkee (FS) : . Orasmus Cole (W) : . James D. Doty (D)

Non-voting members

: . Henry H. Sibley, from July 7, 1849 : . Samuel Thurston (D)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 5
  • Democrats (D): no net change
  • Whigs (W): no net change
• Deaths: 1
• Resignations: 3
• Seats from newly admitted states: 2
• Interim appointments: 4
• Total seats with changes: 8 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy --

|- | Illinois (3) | | James Shields (D) | Senate voided election March 6, 1849, as Sen. Shields was determined not to have been a US citizen for the number of years required by the Constitution. Incumbent was re-elected October 27, 1849, having by then qualified. | | James Shields (D) | Seated December 3, 1849

|- | Maryland (1) | | Reverdy Johnson (W) | Resigned March 7, 1849, having been appointed United States Attorney General | | David Stewart (W) | Appointed December 6, 1849

|- | Alabama (2) | | Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) | Sen. Dixon Lewis successor elected November 30, 1849 | | Jeremiah Clemens (D) | Elected November 30, 1849

|- | Maryland (1) | | David Stewart (W) | Successor elected January 12, 1850 | | Thomas Pratt (W) | Elected January 12, 1850

|- | South Carolina (2) | | John C. Calhoun (D) | Died March 31, 1850 | | Franklin H. Elmore (D) | Appointed April 11, 1850

|- | South Carolina (2) | | Franklin H. Elmore (D) | Died May 29, 1850 | | Robert W. Barnwell (D) | Appointed June 4, 1850

|- | Ohio (1) | | Thomas Corwin (W) | Resigned July 20, 1850, after being appointed United States Secretary of the Treasury | | Thomas Ewing (W) | Appointed July 20, 1850

|- | Massachusetts (1) | | Daniel Webster (W) | Resigned July 22, 1850, after being appointed United States Secretary of State again. | | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | Appointed July 30, 1850

|- | California (1) | New state | California admitted to the Union September 9, 1850. The first Senator was elected September 10, 1850. | | John C. Frémont (D) | Elected September 10, 1850

|- | California (3) | New state | California admitted to the Union September 9, 1850. The first Senator was elected September 10, 1850. | | William M. Gwin (D) | Elected September 10, 1850

|- | South Carolina (2) | | Robert W. Barnwell (D) | Successor elected December 18, 1850 | | Robert Rhett (D) | Elected December 18, 1850

|- | Massachusetts (1) | | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | Successor elected February 1, 1851 | | Robert Rantoul Jr. (D) | Elected February 1, 1851 |}

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 11
  • Democrats (D): 2 seat net gain
  • Whigs (W): 2 seat net loss
• Deaths: 8
• Resignations: 5
• Contested election:1
• Seats from newly admitted states: 2
• Total seats with changes: 16

Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

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

|- | | Vacant | Henry H. Sibley

| | | George Perkins Marsh (W) | | James Meacham (W)

| | | Rodolphus Dickinson (D) | | Amos E. Wood (D)

| | | Alexander Newman (D) | | Thomas Haymond (W)

| | | Thomas B. King (W) | | Joseph W. Jackson (D)

| | | Daniel P. King (W) | Vacant

| | | William Thompson (D) | | Daniel F. Miller (W)

| | | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | | Samuel A. Eliot (W)

| | | Charles M. Conrad (W) | | Henry A. Bullard (W)

| | | James Wilson (W) | | George W. Morrison (D)

| | | Edward Gilbert (D)

| | | George W. Wright (I)

| | | Henry Nes (W) | | Joel B. Danner (D)

| | | Chester P. Butler (W) | | John Brisbin (D)

| | | John H. Harmanson (D) | | Alexander G. Penn (D)

| | | Amos E. Wood (D) | | John Bell (W)

| | | David S. Kaufman (D) | Vacant | Not filled this term |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Agriculture (Chairman: Daniel Sturgeon)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Augustus Dodge)
• California's Admission to the Union (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: Moses Norris Jr.)
• Commerce (Chairman: Clement C. Clay)
• Disorder in the Senate of April 17, 1850 (Select)
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: James M. Mason)
• Eligibility of James Shields (Special)
• Finance (Chairman: Daniel S. Dickinson then James Pearce)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: William R. King then Henry S. Foote)
• French Spoilations (Select) (Chairman: Truman Smith)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: David R. Atchison)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Andrew P. Butler)
• Manufactures (Chairman: William K. Sebastian)
• Mexican Boundary Commission (Select)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: Jefferson Davis)
• Militia (Chairman: Sam Houston)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: David Levy Yulee)
• Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
• Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: David S. Reid)
• Pensions (Chairman: George Wallace Jones)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Thomas J. Rusk)
• Printing (Chairman: Solon Borland)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Solomon W. Downs)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Alpheus Felch)
• Retrenchment (Chairman: James W. Bradbury)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Isaac P. Walker)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: Jesse D. Bright)
• Seventh Census (Select)
• Settlement of the Slavery Question (Select)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Territories (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: Daniel P. King)
• Agriculture (Chairman: Nathaniel S. Littlefield)
• Bounty Land Act of 1850 (Select)
• Claims (Chairman: John Reeves Jones Daniel)
• Commerce (Chairman: Robert M. McLane)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Albert G. Brown)
• Elections (Chairman: William Strong)
• Engraving (Chairman: Edward Hammond)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Alexander Holladay)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: William Thompson)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Kingsley S. Bingham)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: George A. Caldwell)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Milo M. Dimmick)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: James M. H. Beale)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: John A. McClernand)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: Robert W. Johnson)
• Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Shepherd Leffler)
• Judiciary (Chairman: James Thompson)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Lucius B. Peck)
• Mileage (Chairman: Graham N. Fitch)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: Armistead Burt)
• Militia (Chairman: Charles H. Peaslee)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
• Patents (Chairman: Hiram Walden)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Emery D. Potter)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Isaac E. Morse)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Franklin W. Bowdon)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: Andrew Johnson)
• Public Lands (Chairman: James B. Bowlin)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Williamson R. W. Cobb)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Cullen Sawtelle)
• Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: Loren P. Waldo)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: John L. Robinson)
• Rules (Chairman: David S. Kaufman)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories (Chairman: Linn Boyd)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: Thomas H. Bayly)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. Thomas J. Rusk then Sen. George Badger)
• The Library (Chairman: N/A)
• The Printing (Chairman: N/A)

Caucuses

• Democratic (House)
• Democratic (Senate)

Employees

• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate

• Chaplain: Henry Slicer (Methodist), until January 9, 1850
  • Clement M. Butler (Episcopalian), elected January 9, 1850
• Secretary: Asbury Dickins
• Sergeant at Arms: Robert Beale

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Ralph Gurley (Presbyterian)
• Clerk: Thomas J. Campbell, died April 13, 1850
  • Richard M. Young, elected April 17, 1850
• Doorkeeper: Robert E. Horner
• Postmaster: John M. Johnson
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Nathan Sargent, until January 15, 1850
  • Adam J. Glossbrenner, from January 15, 1850

Notes

References

References

1. John Macpherson Berrien of Georgia (1781-1856): A Political Biography, Royce Coggins McCrary University of Georgia, 1974
2. President Zachary Taylor: The Hero President by Elbert B. Smith
3. Who Were the Southern Whigs? by Charles Grier Sellers
4. A Reappraisal of Franco-American Relations, 1830-1871 by Henry Blumenthal
5. The World: Historical & Actual: What Has Been & what is ... by Frank Gilbert, pg. 681
6. (April 2001). "Sophisticated Behavior and Speakership Elections: The Elections of 1849 and 1855–56".
7. "Voteview | Plot Vote: 31st Congress > Senate > 89".
8. Mediation of the Honduran-Guatemalan Boundary Question: Held Under the Good Offices of the Department of State, 1918-1919 ... by United States. Department of State U.S. Government Printing Office, 1919 pg. 211