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.
| 38th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
37th ← → 39th | |
 United States Capitol (1861) | |
March 4, 1863 – March 4, 1865 | |
| Members | 52 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 | |
Major events
edit- American Civil War, which had started in 1861, continued through this Congress and ended later in 1865
- January 8, 1863: Ground broken in Sacramento, California, on the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the United States
- November 19, 1863: Gettysburg Address
- November 8, 1864: President Abraham Lincoln is reelected, defeating George McClellan.
Major legislation
edit- April 22, 1864: Coinage Act of 1864, Sess. 1, ch. 66, 13 Stat. 54
- June 25, 1864: Washington County Public Schools Act ("An Act to provide for the Public Instruction of Youth in the County of Washington, District of Columbia, and for other Purposes"), Sess. 1, ch. 156, 13 Stat. 187
- June 30, 1864: Yosemite Valley Grant Act, Sess. 1, 16 Stat. 48
- March 3, 1865: Freedmen's Bureau, Sess. 2, ch. 90, 13 Stat. 507
Major bills not enacted
edit- Wade–Davis Bill passed both houses July 2, 1864, but pocket vetoed
Constitutional amendments
edit- January 31, 1865: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution abolishing slavery in the United States and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification 13 Stat. 567
- Amendment was later ratified on December 6, 1865, becoming the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Treaties ratified
edit- February 9, 1865: Chippewa Indians, 13 Stat. 393
States admitted and territories organized
editStates
edit- June 19, 1863: West Virginia admitted (formed from a portion of Virginia), 13 Stat. 731 (see also 12 Stat. 633)
- October 31, 1864: Nevada admitted, 13 Stat. 749 (see also 13 Stat. 30)
Territories
edit- May 26, 1864: Montana Territory organized, Sess. 1, ch. 95, 13 Stat. 85
States in rebellion
editThe 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]
- In rebellion 1862–64 according to the Emancipation Proclamation were Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana (parts), Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia (parts). Tennessee was not held to be in rebellion as of the end of 1862.[2]
Party summary
edit
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
editDuring 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) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) | Unionist (U) | Unconditional Unionist (UU) |
|||
| End of previous congress | 11 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 48 | 20 |
| Begin | 10 | 31 | 4 | 3 | 48 | 20 |
| End | 33 | 3 | 4 | 50 | 22 | |
| Final voting share | 20.0% | 66.0% | 6.0% | 8.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 11 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 49 | 23 |
House of Representatives
edit
| 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) |
Total | Vacant | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) | Independent Republican (IR) | Unionist (U) | Unconditional Unionist (UU) | Other |
|||
| End of previous congress | 45 | 106 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 2 | 183 | 57 |
| Begin | 72 | 85 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 180 | 61 |
| End | 84 | 16 | 183 | 59 | ||||
| Final voting share | 39.3% | 45.9% | 1.1% | 4.9% | 8.7% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 40 | 132 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 191 | 51 |
Leadership
edit
Hannibal Hamlin
Senate
edit- President: Hannibal Hamlin (R)
- President pro tempore: Solomon Foot (R), until April 13, 1864
- Daniel Clark (R), elected April 26, 1864
Majority (Republican) leadership
editHouse of Representatives
edit- Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership
editMembers
editThis list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.
Senate
editSenators 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.
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House of Representatives
edit
Changes in membership
editThe count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
edit- Replacements: 2
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
- Unionist: no net change
- Unconditional Union: no net change
- Deaths: 1
- Resignations: 2
- Interim appointments: 1
- Seats of newly admitted states: 4
- Total seats with changes: 4
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Virginia (1) | New seat | West 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 seat | West 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. | Vacant | Not 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 seat | Nevada 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 seat | Nevada 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. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress. |
House of Representatives
edit- Replacements: 6
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
- Unionist: no net change
- Unconditional Union: no net change
- Deaths: 3
- Resignations: 3
- Contested election: 1
- Seats of newly admitted seats: 4
- Total seats with changes: 7
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Territory At-large | Vacant | Territory 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 state | West 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 state | West 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 state | West 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 territory | Territory 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 territory | Territory 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, 1864 | District eliminated | |
| Nevada At-large | New state | Nevada 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. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
Committees
editLists 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
edit- Agriculture (John Sherman, Chair)
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (James Dixon, Chair)
- Claims (Daniel Clark, Chair)
- Commerce (Zachariah Chandler, Chair)
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
- District of Columbia (James W. Grimes, Chair)
- Engrossed Bills (Henry S. Lane, Chair)
- Finance (William P. Fessenden, Chair)
- Foreign Relations (Charles Sumner, Chair)
- Indian Affairs (James Rood Doolittle, Chair)
- Judiciary (Lyman Trumbull, Chair)
- Manufactures (Zachariah Chandler, Chair)
- Military Affairs (Henry Wilson, Chair)
- Naval Affairs (John P. Hale, Chair)
- Naval Supplies (Select)
- Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
- Overland Mail Service (Select)
- Pacific Railroad (Select) (Jacob M. Howard, Chair)
- Patents and the Patent Office (Edgar Cowan, Chair)
- Pensions (La Fayette S. Foster, Chair)
- Post Office and Post Roads (Jacob Collamer, Chair)
- Private Land Claims (Ira Harris, Chair)
- Public Buildings and Grounds (Solomon Foot, Chair)
- Public Lands (James Harlan, Chair)
- Retrenchment (N/A, Chair)
- Revolutionary Claims (Morton S. Wilkinson, Chair)
- Slavery and the Treatment of Freedmen (Select)
- Tariff Regulation (Select)
- Territories (Benjamin F. Wade, Chair)
- Whole
House of Representatives
edit- Accounts (Edward H. Rollins, Chair)
- Agriculture (Brutus J. Clay, Chair)
- Banking and Currency (N/A, Chair)
- Bankrupt Law (Select)
- Claims (James T. Hale, Chair)
- Commerce (Elihu B. Washburne, Chair)
- District of Columbia (Owen Lovejoy, Chair)
- Elections (Henry L. Dawes, Chair)
- Expenditures in the Interior Department (Thomas B. Shannon, Chair)
- Expenditures in the Navy Department (Portus Baxter, Chair)
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Theodore M. Pomeroy, Chair)
- Expenditures in the State Department (Frederick A. Pike, Chair)
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Amos Myers, Chair)
- Expenditures in the War Department (Henry C. Deming, Chair)
- Expenditures on Public Buildings (John W. Longyear, Chair)
- Foreign Affairs (Henry Winter Davis, Chair)
- Indian Affairs (William Windom, Chair)
- Invalid Pensions (Kellian V. Whaley, Chair)
- Judiciary (James F. Wilson, Chair)
- Manufactures (James K. Moorhead, Chair)
- Mileage (James C. Robinson, Chair)
- Military Affairs (Robert C. Schenck, Chair)
- Militia (Robert B. Van Valkenburgh, Chair)
- Naval Affairs (Alexander H. Rice, Chair)
- Patents (Thomas A. Jenckes, Chair)
- Post Office and Post Roads (John B. Alley, Chair)
- Private Land Claims (M. Russell Thayer, Chair)
- Public Buildings and Grounds (John H. Rice, Chair)
- Public Expenditures (Calvin T. Hulburd, Chair)
- Public Lands (George W. Julian, Chair)
- Revisal and Unfinished Business (Sempronius H. Boyd, Chair)
- Revolutionary Claims (Hiram Price, Chair)
- Revolutionary Pensions (Dewitt C. Littlejohn, Chair)
- Roads and Canals (Isaac N. Arnold, Chair)
- Rules (Select)
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories (James M. Ashley, Chair)
- Ways and Means (Thaddeus Stevens, Chair)
- Whole
Joint appointments
edit- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Conduct of the War
- Enrolled Bills (Sen. Timothy Howe, Chair)
- The Library (Sen. Jacob Collamer, Chair)
- Printing (Sen. Henry B. Anthony, Chair)
- Senate Chamber and the Hall of the House of the Representatives
Caucuses
edit- Democratic (House)
- Democratic (Senate)
Employees
editLegislative branch agency directors
edit- Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter
- Librarian of Congress: John Gould Stephenson, until 1864
- Ainsworth Rand Spofford, from 1864
Senate
edit- Chaplain: Byron Sunderland (Presbyterian), until May 11, 1864
- Thomas Bowman (Methodist), elected May 11, 1864
- Secretary: John W. Forney
- Sergeant at Arms: George T. Brown
House of Representatives
edit- Chaplain: William H. Channing (Unitarian)
- Clerk: Emerson Etheridge, until December 7, 1863
- Edward McPherson, from December 7, 1863
- Doorkeeper: Ira Goodnow
- Messenger: Thaddeus Morrice
- William D. Todd
- Postmaster: William S. King
- Reading Clerks: [data missing]
- Sergeant at Arms: Edward Ball, until December 7, 1863
- Nehemiah G. Ordway, from December 7, 1863
See also
edit- 1862 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1864 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ Martis, Kenneth C., "Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress: 1789–1989, 1989 ISBN 0-02-920170-5 p. 116.
- ^ Emancipation Proclamation text found at Emancipation Proclamation, "Featured Texts" online at the National Archives and Records Administration. Viewed April 14, 2014.
- 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
edit- 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 38th Congress, 1st Session.
- Congressional Directory for the 38th Congress, 2nd Session. 17 April 2021.