26th United States Congress

The 26th 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, 1839, to March 4, 1841, during the third and fourth years of Martin Van Buren's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

"26th Congress" redirects here. For the Soviet congress, see 26th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
26th United States Congress
25th ←
→ 27th
United States Capitol (1846)
March 4, 1839 – March 4, 1841
Members52 senators
242 representatives
3 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentRichard M. Johnson (D)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerRobert M.T. Hunter (W)
Sessions
1st: December 2, 1839 – July 21, 1840
2nd: December 7, 1840 – March 3, 1841

Major events
See also: 1839 in the United States, 1840 in the United States, and 1841 in the United States

Major legislation
Main article: Major legislation: 26th United States Congress
  • [data missing]

Party summary

Senate
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Whig
(W)
End of previous congress 35 16 51 1
Begin 28 19 47 5
End 29 23 520
Final voting share 55.8% 44.2%
Beginning of next congress 22 29 51 1

House of Representatives
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Anti-
Masonic
(AM)		 Conservative
(C)		Democratic
(D)		Whig
(W)		Other
End of previous congress 7 0 123 106 4[lower-alpha 1] 240 2
Begin 6 2 125 109 0 242 0
End 5 123 111 2411
Final voting share 2.1% 0.8% 51.0% 46.1% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 0 0 99 142 1 242 0

Leadership
President of the Senate
Richard M. Johnson

Senate

House of Representatives

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 with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1844; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1840; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1842.

House of Representatives

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

Changes in membership

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

Senate
  • Replacements: 8
    • Democrats: 0-seat net loss
    • Whigs: 0-seat net gain
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 7
  • Interim appointments: 0
  • Total seats with changes: 11
See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
Senate changes
State
(class)		 Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 2]
Tennessee
(1)		 Vacant after previous Congress Felix Grundy (D) Elected November 19, 1839
New York
(1)		 Vacant after previous Congress Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (W) Elected January 14, 1840
Pennsylvania
(1)		 Vacant after previous Congress Daniel Sturgeon (D) Elected January 14, 1840
Michigan
(1)		 Vacant after legislature failed to reelect incumbent. Augustus S. Porter (W) Elected January 20, 1840
Virginia
(1)		 Vacant after legislature failed to reelect incumbent. William C. Rives (W) Elected January 18, 1841
Delaware
(1)		 Richard H. Bayard (W) Resigned September 19, 1839, to become Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court Richard H. Bayard (W) Elected January 12, 1841, to his former position
Tennessee
(2)		 Hugh Lawson White (W) Resigned January 13, 1840, because he could not conscientiously obey the intentions of his constituents Alexander O. Anderson (D) Elected February 26, 1840
Connecticut
(1)		 Thaddeus Betts (W) Died April 7, 1840 Jabez W. Huntington (W) Elected May 4, 1840
Maryland
(3)		 John S. Spence (W) Died October 24, 1840 John L. Kerr (W) Elected January 5, 1841
North Carolina
(2)		 Bedford Brown (D) Resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of the North Carolina General Assembly Willie P. Mangum (W) Elected November 25, 1840
North Carolina
(3)		 Robert Strange (D) Resigned November 16, 1840 William A. Graham (W) Elected November 25, 1840
Tennessee
(1)		 Felix Grundy (D) Died December 19, 1840 Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) Elected December 25, 1840
Massachusetts
(2)		 John Davis (W) Resigned January 5, 1841, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts Isaac C. Bates (W) Elected January 13, 1841
Massachusetts
(1)		 Daniel Webster (W) Resigned February 22, 1841 Rufus Choate (W) Elected February 23, 1841

House of Representatives
  • Replacements: 15
    • Democrats: 2-seat net loss
    • Whigs: 3-seat net gain
    • Anti-Masonic: 1-seat net loss
  • Deaths: 6
  • Resignations: 10
  • Contested election: 0
  • Total seats with changes: 17
Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 2]
Indiana 7th Vacant Rep-elect Howard presented credentials August 5, 1839 Tilghman Howard (D) Seated August 5, 1839
Missouri at-large Albert G. Harrison (D) Died September 7, 1839 John Jameson (D) Seated December 12, 1839
Massachusetts 6th James C. Alvord (W) Died September 27, 1839 Osmyn Baker (W) Seated January 14, 1840
Pennsylvania 14th William W. Potter (D) Died October 28, 1839 George McCulloch (D) Seated November 20, 1839
Virginia 14th Charles F. Mercer (W) Resigned December 26, 1839 William M. McCarty (W) Seated January 25, 1840
Ohio 4th Thomas Corwin (W) Resigned May 30, 1840, having become a candidate for Governor of Ohio Jeremiah Morrow (W) Seated October 13, 1840
Connecticut 2nd William L. Storrs (W) Resigned some time in June, 1840 William W. Boardman (W) Seated December 7, 1840
New York 11th Anson Brown (W) Died June 14, 1840 Nicholas B. Doe (W) Seated December 7, 1840
Indiana 7th Tilghman Howard (D) Resigned July 1, 1840 Henry S. Lane (W) Seated August 3, 1840
Georgia at-large Walter T. Colquitt (W) Resigned July 21, 1840 Hines Holt (W) Seated February 1, 1841
Louisiana 3rd Rice Garland (W) Resigned July 21, 1840, to accept appointment as judge of Louisiana Supreme Court John Moore (W) Seated December 17, 1840
Pennsylvania 22nd Richard Biddle (AM) Resigned July 21, 1840 Henry M. Brackenridge (W) Seated October 13, 1840
Kentucky 5th Simeon H. Anderson (W) Died August 11, 1840 John B. Thompson (W) Seated December 7, 1840
Massachusetts 1st Abbott Lawrence (W) Resigned September 18, 1840 Robert C. Winthrop (W) Seated November 9, 1840
Pennsylvania 13th William S. Ramsey (D) Died October 17, 1840 Charles McClure (D) Seated December 7, 1840
Iowa Territory at-large William W. Chapman (D) Term expired by law October 27, 1840 Augustus C. Dodge (D) Seated October 28, 1840
Virginia 1st Joel Holleman (D) Resigned in December 1840 Francis Mallory (W) Seated December 28, 1840
Maine 4th George Evans (W) Resigned March 3, 1841, after being elected to the US Senate Vacant Not filled this term

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes
  1. Nullifer
  2. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References
  1. "A Mob in Search of a Speaker". House.gov. US House of Representatives. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  • 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.
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