30th United States Congress
The 30th 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, 1847, to March 4, 1849, during the last two years of the administration of President James K. Polk. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 United States census. The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House had a Whig majority. It was the only Congress in which Abraham Lincoln served.
| 30th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
29th ← → 31st | |
 United States Capitol (1846) | |
March 4, 1847 – March 4, 1849 | |
| Members | 60 senators 230 representatives 2 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | George M. Dallas (D) |
| House majority | Whig |
| House Speaker | Robert C. Winthrop (W) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: December 6, 1847 – August 14, 1848 2nd: December 4, 1848 – March 3, 1849 | |
Major events
Sutter's Mill, origin of the California Gold Rush
- July 1, 1847: United States issued its first postage stamps
- January 24, 1848: Gold found at Sutter's Mill, beginning the California Gold Rush
- January 31, 1848: Washington Monument established
- May 29, 1848: Wisconsin is granted statehood, becoming the 30th state
- February 23, 1848: Former President John Quincy Adams, now a Congressman representing Massachusetts, dies in the Speaker's office after suffering a stroke in the House Chambers.
- July 19, 1848: Seneca Falls Convention
- November 7, 1848: U.S. presidential election, 1848: Whig Zachary Taylor defeated Lewis Cass in the first US presidential election held in every state on the same day.
- 1846–1848: Mexican–American War
Major legislation
- March 3, 1849: United States Department of the Interior established, sess. 2, ch. 108, 9 Stat. 395
- March 3, 1849: Gold Coinage Act, sess. 2, ch. 109, 9 Stat. 397
Treaty
Mapa de los Estados Unidos de Méjico by John Distrunell: the 1847 map used during negotiations of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
- February 2, 1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed, ending the Mexican–American War and ceding to the United States virtually all of what is today the southwest United States.
States admitted and territories established
- May 29, 1848: Wisconsin admitted as the 30th U.S. state, sess. 1, ch. 50, 9 Stat. 235
- August 14, 1848: Oregon Territory was formed from territory ceded by Great Britain, sess. 1, ch. 177, 9 Stat. 323
- March 3, 1849: Minnesota Territory formed from the Wisconsin Territory, sess. 2, ch. 121, 9 Stat. 403
Party summary
Senate
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for the new state of Wisconsin.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Independent Democratic (ID) | Liberty (L) | Whig (W) | |||
| End of previous congress | 31 | 0 | 1 | 24 | 56 | 2 |
| Begin | 34 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 55 | 3 |
| End | 38 | 21 | 60 | 0 | ||
| Final voting share | 63.3% | 1.7% | 0.0% | 35.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 33 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 58 | 2 |
House of Representatives
During this congress, two House seats were added for the new state of Wisconsin.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American (A) |
Democratic (D) | Independent Democratic (ID) | Independent (I) | Whig (W) | |||
| End of previous congress | 12 | 137 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 226 | 2 |
| Begin | 1 | 107 | 2 | 1 | 116 | 227 | 1 |
| End | 110 | 230 | 0 | ||||
| Final voting share | 0.4% | 47.8% | 0.9% | 0.4% | 50.4% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 1 | 113 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 221 | 1 |
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and representatives are listed by district.
Senate
Alabama
Arkansas
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
|
 Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 30th Congress in March 1847. The green stripes in New Hampshire represent independent Democrat John P. Hale. The senators from Iowa and Wisconsin were not seated until later in the Congress.
2 Democrats
1 Democrat and 1 Whig
2 Whigs |
 Senate President pro tempore David R. Atchison
|
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: 11
- Democrats (D): 4 seat net gain
- Whigs (W): no net change
- Deaths: 5
- Resignations: 6
- Interim appointments: 7
- Seats of newly admitted states: 4
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee (2) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor elected November 22, 1847. |
John Bell (W) | Elected November 22, 1847. |
| Iowa (2) |
Vacant | Iowa had been admitted to the Union December 28, 1846, but the legislature failed to elect due to a three-way split that prevented any candidate from earning the required number of 30 legislators' votes.[1] First Senator elected December 7, 1848. |
George Wallace Jones (D) | Elected December 7, 1848. |
| Iowa (3) |
Vacant | Iowa had been admitted to the Union December 28, 1846, but the legislature failed to elect due to a three-way split that prevented any candidate from earning the required number of 30 legislators' votes.[1] First Senator elected December 7, 1848. |
Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Elected December 7, 1848. |
| Mississippi (1) |
Jesse Speight (D) | Incumbent died May 1, 1847. Successor appointed August 10, 1847, and then elected January 1848. |
Jefferson Davis (D) | Appointed December 5, 1847. |
| Connecticut (1) |
Jabez W. Huntington (W) | Incumbent died November 1, 1847. Successor appointed November 11, 1847, and then elected May 1848. |
Roger S. Baldwin (W) | Appointed December 5, 1847. |
| Maine (1) |
John Fairfield (D) | Incumbent died December 24, 1847. Successor appointed January 5, 1848. |
Wyman B. S. Moor (D) | Appointed January 5, 1848. |
| Georgia (3) |
Walter T. Colquitt (D) | Incumbent resigned February 4, 1848. Successor appointed February 4, 1848, to finish the term. |
Herschel V. Johnson (D) | Appointed February 4, 1848. |
| Arkansas (3) |
Ambrose H. Sevier (D) | Incumbent resigned March 15, 1848. Successor appointed March 30, 1848, to finish the term. |
Solon Borland (D) | Appointed March 30, 1848. |
| Arkansas (2) |
Chester Ashley (D) | Incumbent died April 29, 1848. Successor appointed May 12, 1848, and elected sometime thereafter. |
William K. Sebastian (D) | Elected May 12, 1848. |
| Wisconsin (1) |
Wisconsin admitted to the Union May 29, 1848. First Senator elected June 8, 1848. |
Henry Dodge (D) | Elected June 8, 1848. | |
| Wisconsin (3) |
Wisconsin admitted to the Union May 29, 1848. First Senator elected June 8, 1848. |
Isaac P. Walker (D) | Elected June 8, 1848. | |
| Michigan (1) |
Lewis Cass (D) | Incumbent resigned May 29, 1848, to run for U.S. President. Successor appointed June 8, 1848. |
Thomas Fitzgerald (D) | Elected June 8, 1848. |
| Maine (1) |
Wyman B. S. Moor (D) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected June 7, 1848. | Hannibal Hamlin (D) | Elected June 7, 1848. |
| Kentucky (3) |
John J. Crittenden (W) | Incumbent resigned June 12, 1848, to run for Governor of Kentucky. Successor appointed June 23, 1848, and elected sometime thereafter. |
Thomas Metcalfe (W) | Elected June 23, 1848. |
| Alabama (3) |
Arthur P. Bagby (D) | Incumbent resigned June 16, 1848, to become U.S. Minister to Russia. Successor elected July 1, 1848. |
William R. King (D) | Elected July 1, 1848. |
| Alabama (2) |
Dixon H. Lewis (D) | Incumbent died October 25, 1848. Successor elected November 25, 1848. |
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) | Elected November 25, 1848. |
| Delaware (1) |
John M. Clayton (W) | Incumbent resigned February 23, 1849, to become U.S. Secretary of State. Successor elected February 23, 1849. |
John Wales (W) | Elected February 23, 1849. |
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 10
- Democrats (D): no net change
- Whigs (W): no net change
- Deaths: 7
- Resignations: 0
- Contested election: 1
- Seats of newly admitted states: 2
- Total seats with changes: 12
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[lower-alpha 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois 5th | Vacant | Representative Stephen A. Douglas resigned at end of previous congress. | William A. Richardson (D) | Seated December 6, 1847 |
| Virginia 2nd | George Dromgoole (D) | Incumbent died April 27, 1847. | Richard K. Meade (D) | Seated August 5, 1847 |
| Michigan 2nd | Edward Bradley (D) | Incumbent died August 5, 1847. | Charles E. Stuart (D) | Seated December 6, 1847 |
| Pennsylvania 6th | John W. Hornbeck (W) | Incumbent died January 16, 1848. | Samuel A. Bridges (D) | Seated March 6, 1848 |
| Massachusetts 8th | John Quincy Adams (W) | Incumbent died February 23, 1848. | Horace Mann (W) | Seated April 3, 1848 |
| New York 27th | John M. Holley (W) | Incumbent died March 8, 1848. | Esbon Blackmar (W) | Seated December 4, 1848 |
| South Carolina 1st | James A. Black (D) | Incumbent died April 3, 1848. | Daniel Wallace (D) | Seated June 12, 1848 |
| New York 6th | David S. Jackson (D) | James Monroe contested seat after which the House declared the seat vacant April 19, 1848. | Horace Greeley (W) | Seated December 4, 1848 |
| Wisconsin 1st | Wisconsin admitted into the Union May 29, 1848, and seat remained vacant until June 8, 1848. | William P. Lynde (D) | Seated June 8, 1848 | |
| Wisconsin 2nd | Wisconsin admitted into the Union May 29, 1848, and seat remained vacant until June 8, 1848. | Mason C. Darling (D) | Seated June 8, 1848 | |
| Wisconsin Territory At-large | John H. Tweedy (W) | Incumbent was disqualified May 29, 1848, after the portion of territory he resided in achieved statehood. | Henry H. Sibley | Seated October 30, 1848 |
| South Carolina 4th | Alexander D. Sims (D) | Incumbent died November 22, 1848. | John McQueen (D) | Seated February 12, 1849 |
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Agriculture (Chairman: Daniel Sturgeon)
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Alpheus Felch then Isaac P. Walker)
- Claims (Chairman: Moses Norris Jr.)
- Commerce (Chairman: John Adams Dix)
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: Herschel V. Johnson)
- Expedition of John C. Fremont (Select)
- Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Thomas J. Rusk)
- Finance (Chairman: Charles G. Atherton)
- Foreign Relations (Chairman: Ambrose H. Sevier then Edward A. Hannegan then Thomas Hart Benton)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: David R. Atchison)
- Judiciary (Chairman: Andrew P. Butler)
- Library (Chairman: James A. Pearce)
- Manufactures (Chairman: Daniel S. Dickinson)
- Memorial of Certain Cherokee Claimants (Select)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: Lewis Cass then Thomas Hart Benton)
- Militia (Chairman: Thomas J. Rusk)
- Monuments to Deceased Senators (Select)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: David Levy Yulee)
- Oregon Railroad (Select)
- Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
- Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: James D. Westcott)
- Pensions (Chairman: Henry Johnson)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Niles)
- Printing (Chairman: Simon Cameron)
- Private Land Claims (Chairman: Solomon W. Downs)
- Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Sidney Breese then Alpheus Felch)
- Retired List for the Army and the Navy (Select)
- Retrenchment (Chairman: Hopkins L. Turney)
- Seventh Census (Select)
- Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Jesse D. Bright)
- Rivers and Harbors Convention in Chicago (Select)
- Roads and Canals (Chairman: Edward A. Hannegan)
- Tariff Bill of 1828 (Special)
- Tariff Regulation (Select)
- Territories (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accounts (Chairman: Daniel P. King)
- Agriculture (Chairman: Hugh White)
- Claims (Chairman: Joseph R. Ingersoll)
- Commerce (Chairman: Washington Hunt)
- District of Columbia (Chairman: John G. Chapman)
- Elections (Chairman: Richard W. Thompson)
- Engraving (Chairman: Lewis Charles Levin)
- Enrolled Bills (Chairman: James G. Hampton)
- Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Patrick W. Tompkins)
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: James Wilson)
- Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Daniel M. Barringer)
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Joseph M. Root)
- Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: John H. Crozier)
- Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Edward Carrington Cabell)
- Foreign Affairs (Chairman: John A. McClernand)
- Indian Affairs (Chairman: Daniel M. Barringer)
- Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Andrew S. Fulton)
- Judiciary (Chairman: Joseph R. Ingersoll)
- Manufactures (Chairman: Andrew Stewart)
- Mileage (Chairman: Hiram Belcher)
- Military Affairs (Chairman: John M. Botts)
- Militia (Chairman: John B. Thompson)
- Naval Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Butler King)
- Patents (Chairman: John W. Farrelly)
- Printing (Chairman: Harmon S. Conger)
- Private Land Claims (Chairman: John Gayle)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: William L. Goggin)
- Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: John W. Houston)
- Public Expenditures (Chairman: Thomas L. Clingman)
- Public Lands (Chairman: Jacob Collamer)
- Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Henry Nes)
- Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Daniel P. King)
- Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: William M. Cocke)
- Roads and Canals (Chairman: Robert C. Schenck)
- Rules (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories (Chairman: Caleb B. Smith)
- Ways and Means (Chairman: Samuel F. Vinton)
- Whole
Joint committees
Employees
Senate
- Chaplain: Henry Slicer (Methodist)
- Secretary: Asbury Dickins
- Sergeant at Arms: Robert Beale
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: William T.S. Sprole (Presbyterian), until December 6, 1847
- Ralph Gurley (Presbyterian), elected December 6, 1847
- Clerk: Benjamin B. French, until December 8, 1847
- Thomas J. Campbell, elected December 8, 1847
- Doorkeeper: Robert E. Horner, elected December 8, 1847
- Postmaster: John M. Johnson
- Reading Clerks: [data missing]
- Sergeant at Arms: Newton Lane, until December 8, 1847
- Nathan Sergeant, elected December 8, 1847
See also
- 1846 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1848 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
- When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
References
- Clark, Dan Elbert (1913). History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa. Iowa: State Historical Society of Iowa. pp. 17–46, 72–79.
- 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.
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 30th Congress, 1st Session.
- Congress, United States (1849). Congressional Directory for the 30th Congress, 2nd Session.
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