38th United States Congress

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38th United States Congress
37th  ←
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LincolnInauguration1861a.jpg
United States Capitol (1861)
March 4, 1863 – March 4, 1865
Members52 senators
184 representatives
10 non-voting delegates
Senate majority Republican
Senate President Hannibal Hamlin (R)
House majority Republican
(through coalition)
House Speaker Schuyler Colfax (R)
Sessions
Special [a] : March 4, 1863 – March 14, 1863
1st: December 7, 1863 – July 4, 1864
2nd: December 5, 1864 – March 3, 1865

The 38th 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, 1863, to March 4, 1865, during the last two years of President Abraham Lincoln's first term in office. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1860 United States census. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House of Representatives had a Republican plurality; Republicans controlled the House by sharing a coalition with Unconditional Unionists.

Contents

Major events

Major legislation

Major bills not enacted

Constitutional amendments

Treaties ratified

States admitted and territories organized

States

Territories

States in rebellion

The Confederacy fielded armies and sustained the rebellion into a second Congress, but the Union did not accept secession and secessionists were not eligible for Congress. Elections held in Missouri and Kentucky seated all members to the House and Senate for the 38th Congress. Elections held among Unionists in Virginia, Tennessee and Louisiana were marred by disruption resulting in turnouts that were so low compared with 1860, that Congress did not reseat the candidates with a majority of the votes cast. [1]

Party summary

Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 38th Congress in March 1863. Green stripes represent Unionists and gray stripes represent Unconditional Unionists. The senators from Nevada and West Virginia were not seated until later in the Congress. .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} 2 Democrats 1 Democrat and 1 Republican 2 Republicans 2 Unionists 2 Unconditional Unionists Territories 38th United States Congress Senators.svg
Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 38th Congress in March 1863. Green stripes represent Unionists and gray stripes represent Unconditional Unionists. The senators from Nevada and West Virginia were not seated until later in the Congress.
  2 Democrats
  1 Democrat and 1 Republican
  2 Republicans
  2 Unionists
  2 Unconditional Unionists
  Territories

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.

Senate

During this Congress, two seats were added for each of the new states of Nevada and West Virginia, thereby adding four new seats.

Party
(shading shows control)		TotalVacant
Democratic
(D)		 Republican
(R)		 Unionist
(U)		 Unconditional
Unionist
(UU)
End of previous congress 11 30 7 04820
Begin 10 31 4 3 48 20
End 33 3 4 5022
Final voting share20.0% 66.0% 6.0% 8.0%
Beginning of next congress 11 37 0 14923

House of Representatives

House seats by party holding plurality in state Over 80% Democratic Over 80% Republican 60+% to 80% Democratic 60+% to 80% Republican Up to 60% Democratic Up to 60% Republican 38 us house membership.png
House seats by party holding plurality in state
  Over 80% Democratic
  Over 80% Republican
  60+% to 80% Democratic
  60+% to 80% Republican
  Up to 60% Democratic
  Up to 60% Republican

Before this Congress, the 1860 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 241 members. During this Congress, one seat was added for the new state of Nevada, and three seats were reapportioned from Virginia to the new state of West Virginia.

Party
(shading shows control)		TotalVacant
Democratic
(D)		 Republican
(R)		 Independent
Republican
(IR)		 Unionist
(U)		 Unconditional
Unionist
(UU)		Other
End of previous congress 45 106 0 30 0 218357
Begin 72 85 2 9 12 0 180 61
End 84 16 18359
Final voting share39.3% 45.9% 1.1% 4.9% 8.7% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 40 132 1 4 14 019151

Leadership

President of the Senate Hannibal Hamlin Hannibal Hamlin, photo portrait seated, c1860-65-retouched-crop.jpg
President of the Senate
Hannibal Hamlin

Senate

Majority (Republican) leadership

House of Representatives

Majority (Republican) leadership

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

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 this Congress, requiring reelection in 1868; Class 2 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1866.

House of Representatives

Changes in membership

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

Senate

Senate changes
State
(class)		Vacated byReason for changeSuccessorDate of successor's
formal installation [b]
West Virginia (1)New seatWest Virginia admitted to the Union June 19, 1863.
Its first Senators were elected August 4, 1863.		 Peter G. Van Winkle (UU)August 4, 1863
West Virginia (2)New seatWest Virginia admitted to the Union June 19, 1863.
Its first Senators were elected August 4, 1863.		 Waitman T. Willey (UU)August 4, 1863
Missouri (3) Robert Wilson (UU)Successor elected for Sen. Waldo P. Johnson November 13, 1863. B. Gratz Brown (UU)November 13, 1863
Virginia (1) Lemuel J. Bowden (U)Died January 2, 1864.VacantNot filled this Congress
Delaware (1) James A. Bayard Jr. (D)Resigned January 29, 1864, for unknown reasons.
Successor elected January 29, 1864.		 George R. Riddle (D)February 2, 1864
Maine (2) William P. Fessenden (R)Resigned July 1, 1864, to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Successor appointed October 27, 1864, to finish the term.		 Nathan A. Farwell (R)October 27, 1864
Nevada (1)New seatNevada admitted to the Union October 31, 1864.
Its first Senators were elected February 1, 1865.		 William M. Stewart (R)February 1, 1865
Nevada (3)New seatNevada admitted to the Union October 31, 1864.
Its first Senators were elected February 1, 1865.		 James W. Nye (R)February 1, 1865
Maryland (3) Thomas H. Hicks (UU)Died February 14, 1865.VacantNot filled this Congress.

House of Representatives

House changes
DistrictVacated byReason for changeSuccessorDate of successor's
formal installation [b]
Arizona Territory At-large VacantTerritory organized in previous congress.
Seat remained vacant until December 5, 1864.		 Charles D. Poston (R)December 5, 1864
Missouri 3rd John W. Noell (UU)Died March 14, 1863. John G. Scott (D)December 7, 1863
Delaware At-large William Temple (D)Died May 28, 1863. Nathaniel B. Smithers (UU)December 7, 1863
New York 14th Erastus Corning (D)Resigned October 5, 1863. John V. L. Pruyn (D)December 7, 1863
West Virginia 1st New stateWest Virginia admitted to the Union June 19, 1863.
Seat remained vacant until December 7, 1863.		 Jacob B. Blair (UU)December 7, 1863
West Virginia 2nd New stateWest Virginia admitted to the Union June 19, 1863.
Seat remained vacant until December 7, 1863.		 William G. Brown Sr. (UU)December 7, 1863
West Virginia 3rd New stateWest Virginia admitted to the Union June 19, 1863.
Seat remained vacant until December 7, 1863.		 Kellian Whaley (UU)December 7, 1863
Idaho Territory At-large New territoryTerritory organized February 1, 1864. William H. Wallace (R)February 1, 1864
Illinois 5th Owen Lovejoy (R)Died March 25, 1864. Ebon C. Ingersoll (R)May 20, 1864
Montana Territory At-large New territoryTerritory organized May 26, 1864.
Seat remained vacant until January 6, 1865.		 Samuel McLean (D)January 6, 1865
Missouri 1st Francis P. Blair Jr. (R)Lost contested election June 10, 1864 Samuel Knox (UU)June 10, 1864
Dakota Territory At-large William Jayne Lost contested election June 17, 1864 John B. S. Todd (D)June 17, 1864
New York 1st Henry G. Stebbins (D)Resigned October 24, 1864. Dwight Townsend (D)December 5, 1864
Nevada Territory At-large Gordon N. Mott (R)Nevada achieved statehood October 31, 1864District eliminated
Nevada At-large New stateNevada admitted to the Union October 31, 1864. Henry G. Worthington (R)October 31, 1864
New York 31st Reuben Fenton (R)Resigned December 20, 1864, after being elected Governor of New York.VacantNot filled this Congress

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint appointments

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Special session of the Senate.
  2. 1 2 When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

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References

  1. ↑ Martis, Kenneth C., "Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress: 1789–1989, 1989 ISBN   0-02-920170-5 p. 116.
  2. ↑ Emancipation Proclamation text found at Emancipation Proclamation, "Featured Texts" online at the National Archives and Records Administration. Viewed April 14, 2014.
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