40th United States Congress

40th United States Congress

39th ← → 41st United States Capitol (1869) Duration: March 4, 1867 – March 4, 1869 Senate President: Vacant Senate Pres. pro tem: Benjamin Wade (R) House Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R) Theodore M. Pomeroy (R) Members: 68 Senators 226 Representatives 8 Non-voting members Senate Majority: Republican House Majority: Republican Sessions Special: April 1, 1867 – April 20, 1867 1st: March 4, 1867 – December 1, 1867 2nd: December 2, 1867 – November 10, 1868 3rd: December 7, 1868 – March 4, 1869

The Fortieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1867 to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth years of Andrew Johnson's U.S. Presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Eighth Census of the United States in 1860. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Major events

• March 30, 1867: Alaska Purchase
• February 24, 1868: Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
• May 16, 1868: President Johnson acquitted
• May 26, 1868: President Johnson acquitted again
• November 3, 1868: 1868 presidential election: Ulysses S. Grant (R) defeated Horatio Seymour (D)
• December 25, 1868: President Johnson granted unconditional pardons to all Civil War rebels
• January 20, 1869: Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first woman to testify before Congress

Major legislation

• Four Military Reconstruction Acts, continued:
  • March 2, 1867, ch. 153, 14 Stat. 428
  • March 23, 1867, ch. 6, 15 Stat. 2
  • July 19, 1867, ch. 30, 15 Stat. 14
  • March 11, 1868, ch. 25, 15 Stat. 41
• July 27, 1868: Expatriation Act of 1868, ch. 249, 15 Stat. 223

Constitutional amendment

• July 28, 1868: Fourteenth Amendment ratified
• February 26, 1869: Fifteenth Amendment passed by Congress with a Senate vote of 39 Republican votes of "Yea", 8 Democrat & 5 Republican votes of "Nay" and with 13 Republican & 1 Democrat not voting.^[1] The House of Representatives had already passed the amendment on February 25, 1869 with 143 Republican & 1 Conservative Republican votes of "Yea", 39 Democrat, 3 Republican, 1 Independent Republican & 1 Conservative votes of "Nay" and with 26 Republican, 8 Democrat & 1 Independent Republican not voting.^[2] Following congressional approval the proposed amendment was then sent by Secretary of State William Henry Seward to the states for ratification or rejection.^[3]

Treaty

• February 16, 1868: Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) ratified
• April 29, 1868: Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), 15 Stat. 635, signed

Territories organized

• July 25, 1868: Wyoming Territory organized^[4]

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.

During this Congress, Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, and South Carolina were readmitted to representation in both the Senate and the House. Georgia was readmitted with representation in the House only.

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

• President: Vacant
• President pro tempore: Benjamin Wade (R)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R), until March 3, 1869
  • Theodore M. Pomeroy (R), elected March 3, 1869. Served for 1 day.

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1868; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1870; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1872.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

Alabama 2. Willard Warner (R), from July 13, 1868 3. George E. Spencer (R), from July 13, 1868 Arkansas 2. Alexander McDonald (R), from June 22, 1868 3. Benjamin F. Rice (R), from June 23, 1868 California 1. John Conness (R) 3. Cornelius Cole (R) Connecticut 1. James Dixon (R) 3. Orris S. Ferry (R) Delaware 1. George R. Riddle (D), until March 29, 1867 James A. Bayard, Jr. (D), from April 11, 1867 2. Willard Saulsbury, Sr. (D) Florida 3. Thomas W. Osborn (R), from June 25, 1868 1. Adonijah Welch (R), from June 17, 1868 Georgia 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Illinois 3. Lyman Trumbull (R) 2. Richard Yates (R) Indiana 1. Thomas A. Hendricks (D) 3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R) Iowa 2. James W. Grimes (R) 3. James Harlan (R) Kansas 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R) 2. Edmund G. Ross (R) Kentucky 3. Garrett Davis (D) 2. James Guthrie (D), until February 7, 1868 Thomas C. McCreery (D), from February 19, 1868 Louisiana 2. John S. Harris (R), from July 8, 1868 3. William Pitt Kellogg (R), from July 9, 1868 Maine 1. Lot M. Morrill (R) 2. William Pitt Fessenden (R) Maryland 1. Reverdy Johnson (D), until July 10, 1868 William Pinkney Whyte (D), from July 13, 1868 3. George Vickers (D), from March 7, 1868 Massachusetts 1. Charles Sumner (R) 2. Henry Wilson (R) Michigan 1. Zachariah Chandler (R) 2. Jacob M. Howard (R) Minnesota 1. Alexander Ramsey (R) 2. Daniel S. Norton (R)

Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Missouri 1. John B. Henderson (R) 3. Charles D. Drake (R) Nebraska 2. John M. Thayer (R) 1. Thomas Tipton (R) Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (R) 3. James W. Nye (R) New Hampshire 2. Aaron H. Cragin (R) 3. James W. Patterson (R) New Jersey 2. Alexander G. Cattell (R) 1. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R) New York 1. Edwin D. Morgan (R) 3. Roscoe Conkling (R) North Carolina 2. Joseph C. Abbott (R), from July 14, 1868 3. John Pool (R), from July 14, 1868 Ohio 1. Benjamin Wade (R) 3. John Sherman (R) Oregon 2. George H. Williams (R) 3. Henry W. Corbett (R) Pennsylvania 1. Charles R. Buckalew (D) 3. Simon Cameron (R) Rhode Island 2. Henry B. Anthony (R) 1. William Sprague (R) South Carolina 2. Thomas J. Robertson (R), from July 15, 1868 3. Frederick A. Sawyer (R), from July 16, 1868 Tennessee 2. Joseph S. Fowler (R) 1. David T. Patterson (D) Texas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Vermont 1. George F. Edmunds (R) 3. Justin S. Morrill (R) Virginia 1. Vacant 2. Vacant West Virginia 1. Peter G. Van Winkle (R) 2. Waitman T. Willey (R) Wisconsin 1. James R. Doolittle (R) 3. Timothy O. Howe (R)

President pro tempore Benjamin F. Wade

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Alabama (6 Republicans) 1. Francis W. Kellogg (R), from July 22, 1868 2. Charles W. Buckley (R), from July 21, 1868 3. Benjamin W. Norris (R), from July 21, 1868 4. Charles W. Pierce (R), from July 21, 1868 5. John B. Callis (R), from July 21, 1868 6. Thomas Haughey (R), from July 21, 1868 Arkansas (3 Republicans) 1. Logan H. Roots (R), from June 22, 1868 2. James M. Hinds (R), June 22, 1868 – October 22, 1868 James T. Elliott (R), from January 13, 1869 3. Thomas Boles (R), from June 22, 1868 California (2-1 Democratic) 1. Samuel B. Axtell (D) 2. William Higby (R) 3. James A. Johnson (D) Connecticut (3-1 Democratic) 1. Richard D. Hubbard (D) 2. Julius Hotchkiss (D) 3. Henry H. Starkweather (R) 4. William H. Barnum (D) Delaware (1 Democrat) At-large. John A. Nicholson (D) Florida (1 Republican) At-large. Charles M. Hamilton (R), from July 1, 1868 Georgia (4-2 Republican) 1. Joseph W. Clift (R), from July 25, 1868 2. Nelson Tift (D), from July 25, 1868 3. William P. Edwards (R), from July 25, 1868 4. Samuel F. Gove (R), from July 25, 1868 5. Charles H. Prince (R), from July 25, 1868 6. Vacant 7. Pierce M. B. Young (D), from July 25, 1868 Illinois (11-3 Republican) 1. Norman B. Judd (R) 2. John F. Farnsworth (R) 3. Elihu B. Washburne (R) 4. Abner C. Harding (R) 5. Ebon C. Ingersoll (R) 6. Burton C. Cook (R) 7. Henry P. H. Bromwell (R) 8. Shelby M. Cullom (R) 9. Lewis W. Ross (D) 10. Albert G. Burr (D) 11. Samuel S. Marshall (D) 12. Jehu Baker (R) 13. Green B. Raum (R) At-large. John A. Logan (R) Indiana (8-3 Republican) 1. William E. Niblack (D) 2. Michael C. Kerr (D) 3. Morton C. Hunter (R) 4. William S. Holman (D) 5. George W. Julian (R) 6. John Coburn (R) 7. Henry D. Washburn (R) 8. Godlove S. Orth (R) 9. Schuyler Colfax (R) 10. William Williams (R) 11. John P. C. Shanks (R) Iowa (6 Republicans) 1. James F. Wilson (R) 2. Hiram Price (R) 3. William B. Allison (R) 4. William Loughridge (R) 5. Grenville M. Dodge (R) 6. Asahel W. Hubbard (R) Kansas (1 Republican) At-large. Sidney Clarke (R) Kentucky (8-1 Democratic) 1. Lawrence S. Trimble (D) 2. Vacant 3. Elijah Hise (D), until May 8, 1867 Jacob Golladay (D), from December 5, 1867 4. J. Proctor Knott (D) 5. Asa Grover (D) 6. Thomas L. Jones (D) 7. James B. Beck (D) 8. George M. Adams (D) 9. Samuel McKee (R), from June 22, 1868 Louisiana (4-1 Republican) 1. J. Hale Sypher (R), from July 18, 1868 2. James Mann (D), July 18, 1868 – August 26, 1868 3. Joseph P. Newsham (R), from July 18, 1868 4. Michel Vidal (R), from July 18, 1868 5. W. Jasper Blackburn (R), from July 18, 1868 Maine (5 Republicans) 1. John Lynch (R) 2. Sidney Perham (R) 3. James G. Blaine (R) 4. John A. Peters (R) 5. Frederick A. Pike (R) Maryland (3-1 Democratic, 1 Conservative) 1. Hiram McCullough (D) 2. Stevenson Archer (D) 3. Charles E. Phelps (C) 4. Francis Thomas (R) 5. Frederick Stone (D) Massachusetts (10 Republicans) 1. Thomas D. Eliot (R) 2. Oakes Ames (R) 3. Ginery Twichell (R) 4. Samuel Hooper (R) 5. Benjamin F. Butler (R) 6. Nathaniel P. Banks (R) 7. George S. Boutwell (R) 8. John D. Baldwin (R) 9. William B. Washburn (R) 10. Henry L. Dawes (R) Michigan (6 Republicans) 1. Fernando C. Beaman (R) 2. Charles Upson (R) 3. Austin Blair (R) 4. Thomas W. Ferry (R) 5. Rowland E. Trowbridge (R) 6. John F. Driggs (R) Minnesota (2 Republicans) 1. William Windom (R) 2. Ignatius L. Donnelly (R) Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant Missouri (8-1 Republican) 1. William A. Pile (R) 2. Carman A. Newcomb (R) 3. Thomas E. Noell (D), until October 3, 1867 James R. McCormick (D), from December 17, 1867 4. Joseph J. Gravely (R) 5. Joseph W. McClurg (R), until ????, 1868 John H. Stover (R), from December 7, 1868 6. Robert T. Van Horn (R) 7. Benjamin F. Loan (R) 8. John F. Benjamin (R) 9. George W. Anderson (R) Nebraska (1 Republican) At-large. John Taffe (R) Nevada (1 Republican) At-large. Delos R. Ashley (R) New Hampshire (3 Republicans) 1. Jacob H. Ela (R) 2. Aaron F. Stevens (R) 3. Jacob Benton (R) New Jersey (3-2 Republican) 1. William Moore (R) 2. Charles Haight (D) 3. Charles Sitgreaves (D) 4. John Hill (R) 5. George A. Halsey (R)

New York (21-10 Republican) 1. Stephen Taber (D) 2. Demas Barnes (D) 3. William E. Robinson (D) 4. John Fox (D) 5. John Morrissey (D) 6. Thomas E. Stewart (CR) 7. John W. Chanler (D) 8. James Brooks (D) 9. Fernando Wood (D) 10. William H. Robertson (R) 11. Charles H. Van Wyck (R) 12. John H. Ketcham (R) 13. Thomas Cornell (R) 14. John V. L. Pruyn (D) 15. John A. Griswold (R) 16. Orange Ferriss (R) 17. Calvin T. Hulburd (R) 18. James M. Marvin (R) 19. William C. Fields (R) 20. Addison H. Laflin (R) 21. Roscoe Conkling (R), until March 4, 1867 Alexander H. Bailey (R), from November 30, 1867 22. John C. Churchill (R) 23. Dennis McCarthy (R) 24. Theodore M. Pomeroy (R) 25. William H. Kelsey (R) 26. William S. Lincoln (R) 27. Hamilton Ward, Sr. (R) 28. Lewis Selye (IR) 29. Burt Van Horn (R) 30. James M. Humphrey (D) 31. Henry H. Van Aernam (R) North Carolina (5-1 Republican) 1. John R. French (R), from July 15, 1868 2. David Heaton (R), from July 25, 1868 3. Oliver H. Dockery (R), from July 13, 1868 4. John T. Deweese (R), from July 6, 1868 5. Israel G. Lash (R), from July 20, 1868 6. Nathaniel Boyden (C), from July 13, 1868 7. Alexander H. Jones (R), from July 6, 1868 Ohio (16-3 Republican) 1. Benjamin Eggleston (R) 2. Rutherford B. Hayes (R), until July 20, 1867 Samuel F. Cary (IR), from November 21, 1867 3. Robert C. Schenck (R) 4. William Lawrence (R) 5. William Mungen (D) 6. Reader W. Clarke (R) 7. Samuel Shellabarger (R) 8. Cornelius S. Hamilton (R), until December 22, 1867 John Beatty (R), from February 5, 1868 9. Ralph P. Buckland (R) 10. James M. Ashley (R) 11. John T. Wilson (R) 12. Philadelph Van Trump (D) 13. George W. Morgan (D), until June 3, 1868 Columbus Delano (R), from June 3, 1868 14. Martin Welker (R) 15. Tobias A. Plants (R) 16. John Bingham (R) 17. Ephraim R. Eckley (R) 18. Rufus P. Spalding (R) 19. James A. Garfield (R) Oregon (1 Republican) At-large. Rufus Mallory (R) Pennsylvania (18-6 Republican) 1. Samuel J. Randall (D) 2. Charles O'Neill (R) 3. Leonard Myers (R) 4. William D. Kelley (R) 5. Caleb N. Taylor (R) 6. Benjamin M. Boyer (D) 7. John M. Broomall (R) 8. J. Lawrence Getz (D) 9. Thaddeus Stevens (R), until August 11, 1868 Oliver J. Dickey (R), from December 7, 1868 10. Henry L. Cake (R) 11. Daniel M. Van Auken (D) 12. Charles Denison (D), until June 27, 1867 George W. Woodward (D), from November 21, 1867 13. Ulysses Mercur (R) 14. George F. Miller (R) 15. Adam J. Glossbrenner (D) 16. William H. Koontz (R) 17. Daniel J. Morrell (R) 18. Stephen F. Wilson (R) 19. Glenni W. Scofield (R) 20. Darwin A. Finney (R), until August 25, 1868 S. Newton Pettis (R), from December 7, 1868 21. John Covode (R) 22. James K. Moorhead (R) 23. Thomas Williams (R) 24. George V. Lawrence (R) Rhode Island (2 Republicans) 1. Thomas Jenckes (R) 2. Nathan F. Dixon, Jr. (R) South Carolina (4 Republicans) 1. B. Frank Whittemore (R), from July 18, 1868 2. Christopher C. Bowen (R), from July 18, 1868 3. M. Simeon Corley (R), from July 25, 1868 4. James H. Goss (R), from July 18, 1868 Tennessee (8 Republicans) 1. Roderick R. Butler (R) 2. Horace Maynard (R) 3. William B. Stokes (R) 4. James Mullins (R) 5. John Trimble (R) 6. Samuel M. Arnell (R) 7. Isaac R. Hawkins (R) 8. David A. Nunn (R) Texas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant Vermont (3 Republicans) 1. Frederick E. Woodbridge (R) 2. Luke P. Poland (R) 3. Worthington C. Smith (R) Virginia 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant 8. Vacant West Virginia (3 Republicans) 1. Chester D. Hubbard (R) 2. Bethuel Kitchen (R) 3. Daniel Polsley (R) Wisconsin (5-1 Republican) 1. Halbert E. Paine (R) 2. Benjamin F. Hopkins (R) 3. Amasa Cobb (R) 4. Charles A. Eldredge (D) 5. Philetus Sawyer (R) 6. Cadwallader C. Washburn (R) Non-voting members (4-3 Democratic, 1 Independent) Arizona Territory. Coles Bashford (I) Colorado Territory. George M. Chilcott (R) Dakota Territory. Walter A. Burleigh (R) Idaho Territory. Edward D. Holbrook (D) Montana Territory. James M. Cavanaugh (D) New Mexico Territory. Charles P. Clever (D), from September 2, 1867 - February 20, 1869 J. Francisco Chaves (R), from February 20, 1869 Utah Territory. William H. Hooper (D) Washington Territory. Alvan Flanders (R)

House seats by party holding plurality in state   80.1-100% Democratic   80.1-100% Republican   60.1-80% Democratic   60.1-80% Republican   Up to 60% Democratic   Up to 60% Republican Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax Speaker of the House Theodore M. Pomeroy

Changes in membership

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

Senate

• replacements: 3
  • Democratic: 0 seat net loss
  • Republican: 0 seat net gain
• deaths: 1
• resignations: 2
• interim appointments: 1
• seats from newly re-admitted states: 12
• Total seats with changes: 16

House of Representatives

• replacements: 10
  • Democratic: 2 seat net loss
  • Republican: 0 seat net gain
  • Independent Republican: 1 seat net gain
  • Conservative: 0 seat net gain
• deaths: 8
• resignations: 3
• contested election: 3
• seats from re-admitted states: 32
• Total seats with changes: 44

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

• Agriculture
• Appropriations
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
• Claims
• Commerce
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
• District of Columbia
• Education
• Finance
• Foreign Relations
• Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson (Select)
• Impeachment Trial Investigation (Select)
• Indian Affairs
• Judiciary
• Manufactures
• Military Affairs
• Mines and Mining
• Naval Affairs
• Ninth Census (Select)
• Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
• Pacific Railroad
• Patents and the Patent Office
• Pensions
• Post Office and Post Roads
• Private Land Claims
• Public Lands
• Representative Reform (Select)
• Retrenchment
• Revolutionary Claims
• Rules
• Tariff Regulation (Select)
• Territories
• Treasury Printing Bureau (Select)
• Whole

House of Representatives

• Accounts
• Agriculture
• Appropriations
• Banking and Currency
• Claims
• Coinage, Weights and Measures
• Commerce
• District of Columbia
• Education and Labor
• Elections
• Expenditures in the Interior Department
• Expenditures in the Navy Department
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department
• Expenditures in the State Department
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department
• Expenditures in the War Department
• Expenditures on Public Buildings
• Freedmen's Affairs
• Foreign Affairs
• Indian Affairs
• Invalid Pensions
• Manufactures
• Mileage
• Military Affairs
• Militia
• Mines and Mining
• Naval Affairs
• Pacific Railroads
• Patents
• Post Office and Post Roads
• Public Buildings and Grounds
• Public Expenditures
• Public Lands
• Revisal and Unfinished Business
• Revolutionary Claims
• Roads and Canals
• Rules (Select)
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories
• Ways and Means
• Whole

Joint committees

• Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
• Enrolled Bills
• Ordnance (Select)
• Reorganize the Civil Service in the Departments
• Retrenchment
• Revise and Equalize the Pay of the Employees of Each House
• To Examine the Accounts for Repairs and Furnishing of the Executive Mansion

Employees

• Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark, appointed August 30, 1865
• Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford

Senate

• Chaplain of the Senate: Edgar H. Gray (Baptist)
• Secretary of the Senate: John W. Forney
  • George C. Gorham, elected June 4, 1868
• Sergeant at Arms of the Senate: George T. Brown

House of Representatives

• Chaplain of the House: Charles B. Boynton (Congregationalist)
• Clerk of the House: Edward McPherson
• Doorkeeper of the House: Charles E. Lippincott
• Messenger to the Speaker: William D. Todd
• Postmaster of the House: William S. King
• Sergeant at Arms of the House: Nehemiah G. Ordway

See also

• United States elections, 1866 (elections leading to this Congress)
  • United States Senate elections, 1866 and 1867
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1866
• United States elections, 1868 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • United States presidential election, 1868
  • United States Senate elections, 1868 and 1869
  • United States House of Representatives elections, 1868

References

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. 
• Byrd, Robert C.; Wolff, Wendy (October 1, 1993). "The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992" (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. 

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
• Congressional Directory for the 40th Congress, 2nd Session. 
• Congressional Directory for the 40th Congress, 3rd Session.