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1851-1853 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 32nd 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, 1851, to March 4, 1853, during the last two years of Millard Fillmore's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
| 32nd United States Congress | |
|---|---|
31st ← → 33rd | |
United States Capitol (1846) | |
March 4, 1851 – March 4, 1853 | |
| Members | 62 senators 233 representatives 4 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Vacant |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Linn Boyd (D) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1851 – March 13, 1851 1st: December 1, 1851 – August 31, 1852 2nd: December 6, 1852 – March 4, 1853 | |
It was one of the least active Congresses, forwarding only 74 bills that were signed by the president.[1]
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Free Soil (FS) | Whig (W) | |||
| End of previous congress | 36 | 2 | 24 | 62 | 0 |
| Begin | 34 | 2 | 21 | 57 | 5 |
| End | 35 | 3 | 23 | 61 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 57.4% | 4.9% | 37.7% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 36 | 3 | 22 | 61 | 2 |
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | Vacant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Independent Democratic (ID) |
Free Soil (FS) |
Southern Rights (SR) |
Union (U) |
Whig (W) |
Independent Whig (IW) |
Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End of previous Congress | 113 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 0 | 2 | 231 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Begin | 127 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 85 | 1 | 0 | 233 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End | 125 | 86 | 232 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Final voting share | 54.7% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 4.3% | 36.8% | 0.4% | 0.0% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning of next Congress | 158 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 234 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and representatives by district.
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, facing re-election in 1856; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1852; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1854.
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
|
Mississippi
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
Wisconsin
|
 2 Democrats
1 Democrat and 1 Whig
2 Whigs |
|
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio (1) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. The winner was elected late on March 15, 1851, on the 37th ballot over the incumbent appointee.[2] Successor was elected March 15, 1851. |
Benjamin Wade (W) | Elected March 15, 1851 |
| New York (1) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected March 19, 1851. |
Hamilton Fish (W) | Elected March 19, 1851 |
| Massachusetts (1) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected April 24, 1851. |
Charles Sumner (FS) | Elected April 24, 1851 |
| California (1) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected January 30, 1852. |
John B. Weller (D) | Elected January 30, 1852 |
| Connecticut (1) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected May 12, 1852. |
Isaac Toucey (D) | Seated May 12, 1852 |
| Mississippi (1) |
Jefferson Davis (D) | Resigned September 23, 1851, to run for Governor of Mississippi. Successor appointed December 1, 1851. |
John J. McRae (D) | Appointed December 1, 1851 |
| Mississippi (2) |
Henry S. Foote (D) | Resigned January 8, 1852, to become Governor of Mississippi. Successor elected February 18, 1852. |
Walker Brooke (W) | Elected February 18, 1852 |
| Mississippi (1) |
John J. McRae (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor. Successor elected March 17, 1852. |
Stephen Adams (D) | Elected March 17, 1852 |
| South Carolina (2) |
Robert Rhett (D) | Resigned May 7, 1852. Successor appointed May 10, 1852, and elected sometime thereafter to finish the term. |
William F. De Saussure (D) | Appointed May 10, 1852 |
| Georgia (2) |
John M. Berrien (W) | Resigned May 28, 1852. Successor appointed May 31, 1852, to finish the term. |
Robert M. Charlton (D) | Appointed May 31, 1852 |
| Kentucky (3) |
Henry Clay (W) | Died June 29, 1852. Successor appointed July 6, 1852. |
David Meriwether (D) | Appointed July 6, 1852 |
| Indiana (3) |
James Whitcomb (D) | Died October 4, 1852. Successor appointed December 6, 1852. |
Charles W. Cathcart (D) | Appointed December 6, 1852 |
| Kentucky (3) |
David Meriwether (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor. Successor elected September 1, 1852. |
Archibald Dixon (W) | Elected September 1, 1852 |
| Alabama (3) |
William R. King (D) | Resigned December 20, 1852, due to ill health, having recently being elected Vice President of the United States Successor appointed January 14, 1853, and elected December 12, 1853[3] thereafter to finish the term. |
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) | Appointed January 14, 1853 |
| New Jersey (1) |
Robert F. Stockton (D) | Resigned January 1, 1853, to become president of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company. Successor was not elected until the next Congress. |
Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Vermont (3) |
William Upham (W) | Died January 14, 1853. Successor appointed January 17, 1853, to continue the term. |
Samuel S. Phelps (W) | Appointed January 17, 1853 |
| Indiana (3) |
Charles W. Cathcart (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor. Successor elected January 18, 1853. |
John Pettit (D) | Elected January 18, 1853 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine 4th | Charles Andrews (D) | Died April 30, 1852 | Isaac Reed (W) | Seated June 25, 1852 |
| Virginia 15th | George W. Thompson (D) | Resigned July 30, 1852, after being appointed judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia | Sherrard Clemens (D) | Seated December 6, 1852 |
| Kentucky 7th | Humphrey Marshall (W) | Resigned August 4, 1852, after being appointed Minister to China | William Preston (W) | Seated December 6, 1852 |
| Massachusetts 2nd | Robert Rantoul Jr. (D) | Died August 7, 1852 | Francis B. Fay (W) | Seated December 13, 1852 |
| Massachusetts 9th | Orin Fowler (W) | Died September 3, 1852 | Edward P. Little (D) | Seated December 13, 1852 |
| Massachusetts 4th | Benjamin Thompson (W) | Died September 24, 1852 | Lorenzo Sabine (W) | Seated December 13, 1852 |
| New York 17th | Alexander H. Buell (D) | Died January 29, 1853 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
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