33rd United States Congress

Major events

• March 4, 1853: Franklin Pierce became 14th President of the United States
• April 18, 1853: Vice President William R. King died
• July 8, 1853: Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Edo Bay with a request for a trade treaty
• December 30, 1853: Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest
• March 20, 1854: Republican Party founded

Major legislation

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

• May 30, 1854: Kansas–Nebraska Act, ch. 59,
• March 3, 1855: The U.S. Congress appropriates $30,000 to create the U.S. Camel Corps

Treaties

• January 26, 1854: Point No Point Treaty signed
• March 31, 1854: Convention of Kanagawa signed with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade

Territories organized

• May 30, 1854 – Kansas Territory was organized.
• May 30, 1854 – Nebraska Territory was organized.

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

For the beginning of this congress, the size of the House was increased from 233 seats to 234 seats, following the 1850 United States census (See ).

Leadership

Senate

• President: William R. King (D), until April 18, 1853; vacant thereafter.
• President pro tempore: David R. Atchison (D), until December 4, 1854
  • Lewis Cass (D), December 4, 1854
  • Jesse D. Bright (D), from December 5, 1854

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Linn Boyd (D)
• Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edson B. Olds

Members

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

Senate

Main article: List of United States senators in the 33rd 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 in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1856; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1858; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1854. The United States consisted of 31 states during this Congress. :Skip to House of Representatives, below

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

: 2. Clement C. Clay Jr. (D), from November 29, 1853 : 3. Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D)

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

: 2. William K. Sebastian (D) : 3. Solon Borland (D), until April 11, 1853 :: Robert W. Johnson (D), from July 6, 1853

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

: 1. John B. Weller (D) : 3. William M. Gwin (D)

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

: 1. Isaac Toucey (D) : 3. Truman Smith (W), until May 24, 1854 :: Francis Gillette (FS), from May 24, 1854

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

: 1. James A. Bayard Jr. (D) : 2. John M. Clayton (W)

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

: 1. Stephen Mallory (D) : 3. Jackson Morton (W)

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

: 2. Robert Toombs (D) : 3. William C. Dawson (W)

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

: 2. Stephen A. Douglas (D) : 3. James Shields (D)

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

: 1. Jesse D. Bright (D) : 3. John Pettit (D)

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

: 2. George Wallace Jones (D) : 3. Augustus C. Dodge (D), until February 22, 1855

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

: 2. John B. Thompson (A) : 3. Archibald Dixon (W)

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

: 2. Judah P. Benjamin (W) : 3. Pierre Soulé (D), until April 11, 1853 :: John Slidell (D), from December 5, 1853

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

: 1. Hannibal Hamlin (D) : 2. William Pitt Fessenden (W), from February 10, 1854

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

: 1. Thomas Pratt (W) : 3. James A. Pearce (W)

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

: 1. Charles Sumner (FS) : 2. Edward Everett (W), until June 1, 1854 :: Julius Rockwell (W), from June 3, 1854, until January 31, 1855 :: Henry Wilson (FS), from January 31, 1855

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

: 1. Lewis Cass (D) : 2. Charles E. Stuart (D)

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

: 1. Stephen Adams (D) : 2. Albert G. Brown (D), from January 7, 1854

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

: 1. Henry S. Geyer (W) : 3. David R. Atchison (D)

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

: 2. Charles G. Atherton (D), until November 15, 1853 :: Jared W. Williams (D), from November 29, 1853, until July 15, 1854 : 3. Moses Norris Jr. (D), until January 11, 1855 :: John S. Wells (D), from January 16, 1855

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

: 1. John R. Thomson (D) : 2. William Wright (D)

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

: 1. Hamilton Fish (W) : 3. William H. Seward (W)

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

: 2. David S. Reid (D), from December 6, 1854 : 3. George E. Badger (W)

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

: 1. Benjamin Wade (W) : 3. Salmon P. Chase (FS)

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

: 1. Richard Brodhead (D) : 3. James Cooper (W)

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

: 1. Charles T. James (D) : 2. Philip Allen (D), from July 20, 1853

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

: 2. Josiah J. Evans (D) : 3. Andrew Butler (D)

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

: 1. James C. Jones (W) : 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. Solomon Foot (W) : 3. Samuel S. Phelps (W), until March 16, 1854 :: Lawrence Brainerd (FS), from October 14, 1854

[[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 33rd Congress

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

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

: . Philip Phillips (D) : . James Abercrombie (W) : . Sampson W. Harris (D) : . William R. Smith (D) : . George S. Houston (D) : . Williamson R. W. Cobb (D) : . James F. Dowdell (D)

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

: . Alfred B. Greenwood (D) : . Edward A. Warren (D)

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

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket. : . Milton Latham (D) : . James A. McDougall (D)

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

: . James T. Pratt (D) : . Colin M. Ingersoll (D) : . Nathan Belcher (D) : . Origen S. Seymour (D)

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

: . George Read Riddle (D)

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

: . Augustus Maxwell (D)

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

: . James L. Seward (D) : . Alfred H. Colquitt (D) : . David J. Bailey (D) : . William B. W. Dent (D) : . Elijah W. Chastain (D) : . Junius Hillyer (D) : . David A. Reese (W) : . Alexander Stephens (W)

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

: . Elihu B. Washburne (W) : . John Wentworth (D) : . Jesse O. Norton (W) : . James Knox (W) : . William A. Richardson (D) : . Richard Yates (W) : . James C. Allen (D) : . William H. Bissell (ID) : . Willis Allen (D)

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

: . Smith Miller (D) : . William H. English (D) : . Cyrus L. Dunham (D) : . James H. Lane (D) : . Samuel W. Parker (W) : . Thomas A. Hendricks (D) : . John G. Davis (D) : . Daniel Mace (D) : . Norman Eddy (D) : . Ebenezer M. Chamberlain (D) : . Andrew J. Harlan (D)

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

: . Bernhart Henn (D) : . John P. Cook (W)

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

: . Linn Boyd (D) : . Benjamin E. Grey (W) : . Presley Ewing (W), until September 27, 1854 :: Francis Bristow (W), from December 4, 1854 : . James Chrisman (D) : . Clement S. Hill (W) : . John M. Elliott (D) : . William Preston (W) : . John C. Breckinridge (D) : . Leander Cox (W) : . Richard H. Stanton (D)

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

: . William Dunbar (D) : . Theodore G. Hunt (W) : . John Perkins Jr. (D) : . Roland Jones (D)

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

: . Moses MacDonald (D) : . Samuel Mayall (D) : . E. Wilder Farley (W) : . Samuel P. Benson (W) : . Israel Washburn Jr. (W) : . Thomas J. D. Fuller (D)

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

: . John R. Franklin (W) : . Jacob Shower (D) : . Joshua Van Sant (D) : . Henry May (D) : . William T. Hamilton (D) : . Augustus R. Sollers (W)

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

: . Zeno Scudder (W), until March 4, 1854 :: Thomas D. Eliot (W), from April 17, 1854 : . Samuel L. Crocker (W) : . J. Wiley Edmands (W) : . Samuel H. Walley (W) : . William Appleton (W) : . Charles W. Upham (W) : . Nathaniel P. Banks (D) : . Tappan Wentworth (W) : . Alexander De Witt (FS) : . Edward Dickinson (W) : . John Z. Goodrich (W)

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

: . David Stuart (D) : . David A. Noble (D) : . Samuel Clark (D) : . Hestor L. Stevens (D)

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

: . Daniel B. Wright (D) : . William T. S. Barry (D) : . Otho R. Singleton (D) : . Wiley P. Harris (D) : . William Barksdale (D)

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

: . Thomas H. Benton (D) : . Alfred W. Lamb (D) : . James J. Lindley (W) : . Mordecai Oliver (W) : . John G. Miller (W) : . John S. Phelps (D) : . Samuel Caruthers (W)

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

: . George W. Kittredge (D) : . George W. Morrison (D) : . Harry Hibbard (D)

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

: . Nathan T. Stratton (D) : . Charles Skelton (D) : . Samuel Lilly (D) : . George Vail (D) : . Alexander C. M. Pennington (W)

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

: . James Maurice (D) : . Thomas W. Cumming (D) : . Hiram Walbridge (D) : . Michael Walsh (D) : . William M. Tweed (D) : . John Wheeler (D) : . William A. Walker (D) : . Francis B. Cutting (D) : . Jared V. Peck (D) : . William Murray (D) : . Theodoric R. Westbrook (D) : . Gilbert Dean (D), until July 3, 1854 :: Isaac Teller (W), from November 7, 1854 : . Russell Sage (W) : . Rufus W. Peckham (D) : . Charles Hughes (D) : . George A. Simmons (W) : . Bishop Perkins (D) : . Peter Rowe (D) : . George W. Chase (W) : . Orsamus B. Matteson (W) : . Henry Bennett (W) : . Gerrit Smith (FS), until August 7, 1854 :: Henry C. Goodwin (W), from November 7, 1854 : . Caleb Lyon (I) : . Daniel T. Jones (D) : . Edwin B. Morgan (W) : . Andrew Oliver (D) : . John J. Taylor (D) : . George Hastings (D) : . Azariah Boody (W) until October 13, 1853 :: Davis Carpenter (W), from November 8, 1853 : . Benjamin Pringle (W) : . Thomas T. Flagler (W) : . Solomon G. Haven (W) : . Reuben Fenton (D)

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

: . Henry M. Shaw (D) : . Thomas H. Ruffin (D) : . William S. Ashe (D) : . Sion H. Rogers (W) : . John Kerr Jr. (W) : . Richard C. Puryear (W) : . F. Burton Craige (D) : . Thomas L. Clingman (D)

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

: . David T. Disney (D) : . John Scott Harrison (W) : . Lewis D. Campbell (W) : . Matthias H. Nichols (D) : . Alfred P. Edgerton (D) : . Andrew Ellison (D) : . Aaron Harlan (W) : . Moses B. Corwin (W) : . Frederick W. Green (D) : . John L. Taylor (W) : . Thomas Ritchey (D) : . Edson B. Olds (D) : . William D. Lindsley (D) : . Harvey H. Johnson (D) : . William R. Sapp (W) : . Edward Ball (W) : . Wilson Shannon (D) : . George Bliss (D) : . Edward Wade (FS) : . Joshua R. Giddings (FS) : . Andrew Stuart (D)

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

: . Thomas B. Florence (D) : . Joseph R. Chandler (W) : . John Robbins Jr. (D) : . William H. Witte (D) : . John McNair (D) : . William Everhart (W) : . Samuel A. Bridges (D) : . Henry A. Muhlenberg (D), until January 9, 1854 :: J. Glancey Jones (D), from February 4, 1854 : . Isaac E. Hiester (W) : . Ner A. Middleswarth (W) : . Christian M. Straub (D) : . Hendrick B. Wright (D) : . Asa Packer (D) : . Galusha A. Grow (D) : . James Gamble (D) : . William H. Kurtz (D) : . Samuel L. Russell (W) : . John McCulloch (W) : . Augustus Drum (D) : . John L. Dawson (D) : . David Ritchie (W) : . Thomas M. Howe (W) : . Michael C. Trout (D) : . Carlton B. Curtis (D) : . John Dick (W)

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

: . Thomas Davis (D) : . Benjamin B. Thurston (D)

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

: . John McQueen (D) : . William Aiken Jr. (D) : . Laurence M. Keitt (D) : . Preston Brooks (D) : . James L. Orr (D) : . William W. Boyce (D)

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

: . Brookins Campbell (D), until December 25, 1853 :: Nathaniel G. Taylor (W), from March 30, 1854 : . William M. Churchwell (D) : . Samuel A. Smith (D) : . William Cullom (W) : . Charles Ready (W) : . George W. Jones (D) : . Robert M. Bugg (W) : . Felix K. Zollicoffer (W) : . Emerson Etheridge (W) : . Frederick P. Stanton (D)

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

: . George W. Smyth (D) : . Peter H. Bell (D)

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

: . James Meacham (W) : . Andrew Tracy (W) : . Alvah Sabin (W)

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

: . Thomas H. Bayly (D) : . John S. Millson (D) : . John Caskie (D) : . William Goode (D) : . Thomas S. Bocock (D) : . Paulus Powell (D) : . William Smith (D) : . Charles J. Faulkner Sr. (D) : . John Letcher (D) : . Zedekiah Kidwell (D) : . John F. Snodgrass (D), until June 5, 1854 :: Charles S. Lewis (D), from December 4, 1854 : . Henry A. Edmundson (D) : . LaFayette McMullen (D)

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

: . Daniel Wells Jr. (D) : . Ben C. Eastman (D) : . John B. Macy (D)

Non-voting members

: . John W. Whitfield (D), from December 20, 1854 : . Henry M. Rice (D) : . Napoleon B. Giddings (D), from January 5, 1855 : . José Manuel Gallegos (D) : . Joseph Lane (D) : . John M. Bernhisel : . Columbia Lancaster (D), from April 12, 1854

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• Replacements: 7
  • Democrats (D): 2 seat net gain
  • Whigs (W): 2 seat net loss
  • Free Soilers (FS): 3 seat net gain
• Deaths: 2
• Resignations: 4
• Interim appointments: 1
• Total seats with changes: 13 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy

--

|- | Rhode Island (2) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected July 20, 1853. | | Philip Allen (D) | July 20, 1853

|- | Alabama (2) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor elected November 29, 1853. | | Clement C. Clay (D) | November 29, 1853

|- | Mississippi (2) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor elected January 7, 1854. | | Albert G. Brown (D) | January 7, 1854

|- | Maine (2) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected February 10, 1854. | | William P. Fessenden (W) | February 10, 1854

|- | North Carolina (2) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected December 6, 1854. | | David Reid (D) | December 6, 1854

|- | Arkansas (3) | | Solon Borland (D) | Resigned April 11, 1853, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Nicaragua and other Central American Republics. Successor appointed July 6, 1853. | | Robert W. Johnson (D) | July 6, 1853

|- | Louisiana (3) | | Pierre Soulé (D) | Resigned April 11, 1853, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Spain. Successor elected December 5, 1853. | | John Slidell (D) | December 5, 1853

|- | New Hampshire (2) | | Charles G. Atherton (D) | Died November 15, 1853. | | Jared W. Williams (D) | November 29, 1853

|- | Vermont (3) | | Samuel S. Phelps (W) | Senate declared not entitled to seat March 16, 1854. Successor elected October 14, 1854. | | Lawrence Brainerd (FS) | October 14, 1854

|- | Connecticut (3) | | Truman Smith (W) | Resigned May 24, 1854. Successor was elected May 24, 1854. | | Francis Gillette (FS) | May 24, 1854

|- | Massachusetts (2) | | Edward Everett (W) | Resigned June 1, 1854 Successor was appointed to serve until a new successor was elected. | | Julius Rockwell (W) | June 3, 1854

|- | New Hampshire (2) | | Jared W. Williams (D) | Resigned August 4, 1854. | Vacant | Not filled this term

|- | New Hampshire (3) | | Moses Norris Jr. (D) | Died January 11, 1855. Successor appointed January 16, 1855, to finish the term. | | John S. Wells (D) | January 16, 1855

|- | Massachusetts (2) | | Julius Rockwell (W) | Successor elected January 31, 1855. | | Henry Wilson (FS) | January 31, 1855

|- | Iowa (3) | | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Resigned February 22, 1855, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Spain. | Vacant | Not filled this term |}

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 7
  • Democrats (D): 2 seat net loss
  • Whigs (W): 3 seat net gain
  • Free Soilers (FS): 1 seat net loss
• Deaths: 4
• Resignations: 4
• Total seats with changes: 8 Sorted Chronologically by date of vacancy --

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

|- | | Vacant | | Columbia Lancaster (D)

| | | Azariah Boody (W) | | Davis Carpenter (W)

| | | Brookins Campbell (D) | | Nathaniel G. Taylor (W)

| | | Henry A. Muhlenberg (D) | | J. Glancy Jones (D)

| | | Zeno Scudder (W) | | Thomas D. Eliot (W)

| | New seat | | John W. Whitfield (D)

| | New seat | | Napoleon B. Giddings (D)

| | | John F. Snodgrass (D) | | Charles S. Lewis (D)

| | | Gilbert Dean (D) | | Isaac Teller (W)

| | | Gerrit Smith (W) | | Henry C. Goodwin (W)

| | | Presley Ewing (W) | | Francis Bristow (W) | Seated December 4, 1854 |}

Committees

List of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Agriculture (Chairman: Philip Allen)
• American Association for the Promotion of Science (Select)
• Atmospheric Telegraph Between Washington and Baltimore (Select)
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Josiah J. Evans)
• Claims (Chairman: Richard Brodhead)
• Commerce (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: Moses Norris Jr.)
• Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Benjamin Fitzpatrick)
• Finance (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
• Foreign Relations (Chairman: James M. Mason)
• French Spoilations (Select)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: William K. Sebastian)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Andrew P. Butler)
• Library (Chairman: James A. Pearce)
• Loss of Original Papers of Mark and Richard Bean (Select)
• Manufactures (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
• Mexican Claims Commission (Select)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: James Shields)
• Militia (Chairman: Sam Houston)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: William M. Gwin)
• Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
• Pacific Railroad (Select) (Chairman: William M. Gwin)
• Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Charles T. James)
• Pensions (Chairman: George Wallace Jones)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Thomas J. Rusk)
• Printing (Chairman: Benjamin Fitzpatrick)
• Private Claims Commission (Select)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: John Pettit)
• Protection of Life and Health in Passenger Ships (Select)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: James A. Bayard Jr.)
• Public Lands (Chairman: Augustus Dodge)
• Retrenchment (Chairman: Stephen Adams)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Isaac P. Walker)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: John Slidell)
• Sickness on Emigrant Ships (Select)
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Territories (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts (Chairman: Carlton B. Curtis)
• Agriculture (Chairman: John L. Dawson)
• Claims (Chairman: Alfred P. Edgerton)
• Commerce (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
• District of Columbia (Chairman: William T. Hamilton)
• Elections (Chairman: Richard H. Stanton)
• Engraving (Chairman: George R. Riddle)
• Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Fayette McMullen)
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Samuel Lilly)
• Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Daniel Wells Jr.)
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: David Stuart)
• Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: George W. Kittredge)
• Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry A. Edmundson)
• Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas H. Bayly)
• Indian Affairs (Chairman: James L. Orr)
• Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Thomas A. Hendricks)
• Judiciary (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
• Manufactures (Chairman: John McNair)
• Mileage (Chairman: Andrew J. Harlan)
• Military Affairs (Chairman: William H. Bissell)
• Militia (Chairman: Elijah W. Chastain)
• Naval Affairs (Chairman: Thomas S. Bocock)
• Patents (Chairman: Benjamin B. Thurston)
• Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Edson B. Olds)
• Private Land Claims (Chairman: Junius Hillyer)
• Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Francis B. Craige)
• Public Expenditures (Chairman: William H. Kurtz)
• Public Lands (Chairman: David T. Disney)
• Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Williamson R. W. Cobb)
• Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Rufus W. Peckham)
• Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: William M. Churchwell)
• Roads and Canals (Chairman: Cyrus L. Dunham)
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories (Chairman: William A. Richardson)
• Ways and Means (Chairman: George S. Houston)
• Whole

Joint committees

• Amending the Constitution on Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections
• Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. George Wallace Jones)
• The Library (Chairman: Joseph R. Chandler)
• Printing (Chairman: William Murray)
• San Francisco Disaster

Caucuses

• Democratic (House)
• Democratic (Senate)

Employees

[[List of federal agencies in the United States#United States Congress|Legislative branch agency]] directors

• Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter
• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate

• Chaplain: Clement M. Butler (Episcopalian), until December 7, 1853
  • Henry Slicer (Methodist), elected December 7, 1853
• Secretary: Asbury Dickins
• Sergeant at Arms: Robert Beale, until March 17, 1853
  • Dunning R. McNair, elected March 17, 1853

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: William H. Milburn (Methodist)
• Clerk: John W. Forney
• Doorkeeper: Zadock W. McKnew
• Postmaster: John M. Johnson
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Adam J. Glossbrenner

Notes

References