27th United States Congress

The 27th 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., between March 4, 1841, and March 4, 1843, during the one-month presidency of William Henry Harrison and the first two years of the presidency of his successor, John Tyler. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 United States census. Both chambers had a Whig majority.

"27th Congress" redirects here. For the Soviet congress, see 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
27th United States Congress
26th ←
→ 28th
United States Capitol (1846)
March 4, 1841 – March 4, 1843
Members52 senators
242 representatives
3 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityWhig
Senate PresidentJohn Tyler (W)[lower-alpha 1]
(until April 4, 1841)
Vacant
(from April 4, 1841)
House majorityWhig
House SpeakerJohn White (W)
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1841 – March 15, 1841
1st: May 31, 1841 – September 13, 1841
2nd: December 6, 1841 – August 31, 1842
3rd: December 5, 1842 – March 3, 1843 (lame duck)

Major events
Main articles: 1841 in the United States, 1842 in the United States, and 1843 in the United States

Major legislation
Main article: Major legislation: 27th United States Congress

Treaties
  • August 9, 1842: Webster-Ashburton Treaty signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.

Party summary

Senate
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Whig
(W)
End of previous congress 29 23 52 0
Begin 22 29 51 1
End 20 493
Final voting share 40.8% 59.2%
Beginning of next congress 22 26 48 4

House of Representatives
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Independent
Democratic
(ID)		Whig
(W)		Other
End of previous congress 124 0 111 2[lower-alpha 2] 237 0
Begin 98 1 142 0 241 1
End 101 139
Final voting share 41.9% 0.4% 57.7% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 147 1 72 3[lower-alpha 3] 223 0

Leadership
President of the Senate
John Tyler

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, 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 the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1844; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1842.

House of Representatives

Changes in membership

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

Senate
  • Replacements: 9
  • Deaths: 2
  • Resignations: 8
  • Interim appointments: 0
  • Vacancy: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 10
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 5]
Alabama
(3)		 Clement C. Clay (D) Resigned November 15, 1841 Arthur P. Bagby (D) Elected November 24, 1841
Rhode Island
(1)		 Nathan F. Dixon (W) Died January 29, 1842 William Sprague (W) Elected February 18, 1842
Tennessee
(1)		 Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) Resigned February 7, 1842 Vacant Not filled this term
New Hampshire
(3)		 Franklin Pierce (D) Resigned February 28, 1842 Leonard Wilcox (D) Appointed March 1, 1842, and subsequently elected
Louisiana
(3)		 Alexandre Mouton (D) Resigned March 1, 1842, after being elected Governor of Louisiana Charles M. Conrad (W) Appointed April 14, 1842
Kentucky
(3)		 Henry Clay (W) Resigned March 31, 1842 John J. Crittenden (W) Appointed March 31, 1842, and subsequently elected
Vermont
(3)		 Samuel Prentiss (W) Resigned April 11, 1842, to become judge of the U.S. District Court of Vermont Samuel C. Crafts (W) Appointed April 23, 1842, and subsequently elected
New Jersey
(1)		 Samuel L. Southard (W) Died June 26, 1842 William L. Dayton (W) Appointed July 2, 1842
South Carolina
(3)		 William C. Preston (W) Resigned November 29, 1842 George McDuffie (D) Elected December 23, 1842
Maine
(1)		 Reuel Williams (D) Resigned February 15, 1843 Vacant Not filled this term

House of Representatives
  • Replacements: 17
  • Deaths: 8
  • Resignations: 12
  • Contested election: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 20
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 5]
Maine 4th Vacant Rep. George Evans resigned in previous congress David Bronson (W) Seated May 31, 1841
New York 26th Francis Granger (W) Resigned March 5, 1841, after being appointed United States Postmaster General John Greig (W) Seated May 21, 1841
Massachusetts 5th Levi Lincoln Jr. (W) Resigned March 16, 1841, after being appointed Collector of the port of Boston Charles Hudson (W) Seated May 3, 1841
Pennsylvania 20th Enos Hook (D) Resigned April 18, 1841 Henry W. Beeson (D) Seated May 31, 1841
Pennsylvania 18th Charles Ogle (W) Died May 10, 1841 Henry Black (W) Seated June 28, 1841
Pennsylvania 2nd John Sergeant (W) Resigned September 15, 1841 Joseph R. Ingersoll (W) Seated October 12, 1841
New York 26th John Greig (W) Resigned September 25, 1841 Francis Granger (W) Seated November 27, 1841
Georgia at-large Julius C. Alford (W) Resigned October 1, 1841 Edward J. Black (D) Seated January 3, 1842
Georgia at-large Eugenius A. Nisbet (W) Resigned October 12, 1841 Mark A. Cooper (D) Seated January 3, 1842
Georgia at-large William C. Dawson (W) Resigned November 13, 1841 Walter T. Colquitt (D) Seated January 3, 1842
Pennsylvania 18th Henry Black (W) Died November 28, 1841 James M. Russell (W) Seated December 21, 1841
Virginia 13th Linn Banks (D) Lost contested election December 6, 1841 William Smith (D) Seated December 6, 1841
Pennsylvania 17th Davis Dimock Jr. (D) Died January 13, 1842 Almon H. Read (D) Seated March 18, 1842
North Carolina 13th Lewis Williams (W) Died February 23, 1842 Anderson Mitchell (W) Seated April 27, 1842
Ohio 16th Joshua R. Giddings (W) Resigned March 22, 1842, after vote of his censure and re-elected to same seat Joshua R. Giddings (W) Seated December 5, 1842
Pennsylvania 21st Joseph Lawrence (W) Died April 17, 1842 Thomas M. T. McKennan (W) Seated May 30, 1842
Massachusetts 1st Robert C. Winthrop (W) Resigned May 25, 1842 Nathan Appleton (W) Seated June 9, 1842
Massachusetts 9th William S. Hastings (W) Died June 17, 1842 Vacant Not filled this Congress
South Carolina 4th Sampson H. Butler (D) Resigned September 27, 1842 Samuel W. Trotti (D) Seated December 17, 1842
Massachusetts 1st Nathan Appleton (W) Resigned September 28, 1842 Robert C. Winthrop (W) Seated November 29, 1842
Georgia at-large Richard W. Habersham (W) Died December 2, 1842 George W. Crawford (W) Seated January 7, 1843
Maryland 3rd James W. Williams (D) Died December 2, 1842 Charles S. Sewall (D) Seated January 2, 1843

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes
  1. U.S. Vice President Tyler's term as President of the Senate ended on April 4, 1841 when he ascended to the presidency. President pro tempore Samuel L. Southard acted his duties as the president of the Senate until he retired on May 31, 1842, due to health reasons, and Willie P. Mangum took over to act his duties until at the end of Congress.
  2. Conservative
  3. Law and Order
    & Independent Whig
  4. Robert M. T. Hunter is sometimes called a "States' Rights Whig".
  5. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

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.
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