35th United States Congress

35th United States Congress
Number	35th
Start	March 4, 1857
End	March 4, 1859
Vp	John C. Breckinridge (D)
Pro tem	James M. Mason (D) Thomas J. Rusk (D) Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D)
Speaker	James L. Orr (D)
Senators	66
Reps	237
Delegates	7
S-majority	Democratic
H-majority	Democratic
Sessionnumber 1	Special^[a]
Sessionstart 1	March 4, 1857
Sessionend 1	March 14, 1857
Sessionnumber 2	1st
Sessionstart 2	December 7, 1857
Sessionend 2	June 14, 1858
Sessionnumber 3	Special^[b]
Sessionstart 3	June 15, 1858
Sessionend 3	June 16, 1858
Sessionnumber 4	2nd
Sessionstart 4	December 6, 1858
Sessionend 4	March 3, 1859
Previous	34th
Next	36th

The 35th 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, 1857, to March 4, 1859, during the first two years of James Buchanan's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1850 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Major events

Panic of 1857
March 4, 1857. James Buchanan became President of the United States
March 6, 1857: Dred Scott v. Sandford
July 18, 1857: Utah Expedition left Fort Leavenworth, effectively beginning the Utah War
February 6, 1858: Brawl on the floor of the House involving 50 or more representatives during the debates over the admission of Kansas as free or slave^[1]
August 21, 1858: First of the Lincoln-Douglas debates was held
March 3, 1859: Financial appropriations for the improvement and construction of lighthouses.

Major legislation

Treaties

March 12, 1858: Treaty with the Ponca signed^[2]
April 19, 1858: Treaty with the Yankton Sioux signed
July 29, 1858: Harris Treaty signed with Japan

States admitted

May 11, 1858: Minnesota admitted as the 32nd state
February 14, 1859: Oregon admitted as the 33rd state

Party summary

Senate

During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Minnesota and Oregon.

House of Representatives

During this congress, two House seats were added for the new state of Minnesota and one House seat was added for the new state of Oregon.

Leadership

Senate

President: John C. Breckinridge (D)
President pro tempore: James M. Mason (D), March 4, 1857, only
- Thomas J. Rusk (D), elected March 14, 1857
- Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), elected December 7, 1857

House of Representatives

Speaker: James L. Orr (D)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.

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, facing re-election in 1862; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1858; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1860.

Minnesota

1. Henry M. Rice (D), from May 11, 1858 (newly admitted state)

2. James Shields (D), from May 11, 1858 (newly admitted state)

Mississippi

1. Jefferson Davis (D)

2. Albert G. Brown (D)

Missouri

1. Trusten Polk (D)

3. James S. Green (D)

New Hampshire

2. John P. Hale (R)

3. James Bell (R), until May 26, 1857

Daniel Clark (R), from June 27, 1857

New Jersey

1. John R. Thomson (D)

2. William Wright (D)

New York

1. Preston King (R)

3. William H. Seward (R)

North Carolina

2. David S. Reid (D)

3. Asa Biggs (D), until May 5, 1858

Thomas L. Clingman (D), from May 7, 1858

Ohio

1. Benjamin Wade (R)

3. George E. Pugh (D)

Oregon

2. Delazon Smith (D), from February 14, 1859 (newly admitted state)

3. Joseph Lane (D), from February 14, 1859 (newly admitted state)

Pennsylvania

1. Simon Cameron (R)

3. William Bigler (D)

Rhode Island

1. James F. Simmons (R)

2. Philip Allen (D)

South Carolina

2. Josiah J. Evans (D), until May 6, 1858

Arthur P. Hayne (D), from May 11, 1858, until December 2, 1858

James Chesnut Jr. (D), from December 3, 1858

3. Andrew Butler (D), until May 25, 1857

James H. Hammond (D), from December 7, 1857

Tennessee

1. Andrew Johnson (D), from October 8, 1857

2. John Bell (A)

Texas

1. Thomas J. Rusk (D), until July 29, 1857

J. Pinckney Henderson (D), November 9, 1857 - June 4, 1858

Matthias Ward (D), from September 27, 1858

2. Samuel Houston (D)

Vermont

1. Solomon Foot (R)

3. Jacob Collamer (R)

Virginia

1. James M. Mason (D)

2. Robert M. T. Hunter (D)

Wisconsin

1. James R. Doolittle (R)

3. Charles Durkee (R)

House of Representatives

The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Alabama

. James A. Stallworth (D)

. Eli S. Shorter (D)

. James F. Dowdell (D)

. Sydenham Moore (D)

. George S. Houston (D)

. Williamson R. W. Cobb (D)

. Jabez L. M. Curry (D)

Arkansas

. Alfred B. Greenwood (D)

. Edward A. Warren (D)

California

.^{[note 1]} Joseph C. McKibbin (D)

.^{[note 1]} Charles L. Scott (D)

Connecticut

. Ezra Clark Jr. (R)

. Samuel Arnold (D)

. Sidney Dean (R)

. William D. Bishop (D)

Delaware

. William G. Whiteley (D)

Florida

. George S. Hawkins (D)

Georgia

. James L. Seward (D)

. Martin J. Crawford (D)

. Robert P. Trippe (A)

. Lucius J. Gartrell (D)

. Augustus R. Wright (D)

. James Jackson (D)

. Joshua Hill (A)

. Alexander H. Stephens (D)

Illinois

. Elihu B. Washburne (R)

. John F. Farnsworth (R)

. Owen Lovejoy (R)

. William Kellogg (R)

. Isaac N. Morris (D)

. Thomas L. Harris (D), until November 24, 1858

Charles D. Hodges (D), from January 4, 1859

. Aaron Shaw (D)

. Robert Smith (D)

. Samuel S. Marshall (D)

Indiana

. James Lockhart (D), until September 7, 1857

William E. Niblack (D), from December 7, 1857

. William H. English (D)

. James Hughes (D)

. James B. Foley (D)

. David Kilgore (R)

. James M. Gregg (D)

. John G. Davis (D)

. James Wilson (R)

. Schuyler Colfax (R)

. Samuel Brenton (R), until March 29, 1857

Charles Case (R), from December 7, 1857

. John U. Pettit (R)

Iowa

. Samuel Curtis (R)

. Timothy Davis (R)

Kentucky

. Henry C. Burnett (D)

. Samuel O. Peyton (D)

. Warner L. Underwood (A)

. Albert G. Talbott (D)

. Joshua Jewett (D)

. John M. Elliott (D)

. Humphrey Marshall (A)

. James B. Clay (D)

. John C. Mason (D)

. John W. Stevenson (D)

Louisiana

. George Eustis Jr. (A)

. Miles Taylor (D)

. Thomas G. Davidson (D)

. John M. Sandidge (D)

Maine

. John M. Wood (R)

. Charles J. Gilman (R)

. Nehemiah Abbott (R)

. Freeman H. Morse (R)

. Israel Washburn Jr. (R)

. Stephen C. Foster (R)

Maryland

. James A. Stewart (D)

. James B. Ricaud (A)

. J. Morrison Harris (A)

. Henry Winter Davis (A)

. Jacob M. Kunkel (D)

. Thomas F. Bowie (D)

Massachusetts

. Robert B. Hall (R)

. James Buffington (R)

. William S. Damrell (R)

. Linus B. Comins (R)

. Anson Burlingame (R)

. Timothy Davis (R)

. Nathaniel P. Banks (R), until December 24, 1857

Daniel W. Gooch (R), from January 31, 1858

. Chauncey L. Knapp (R)

. Eli Thayer (R)

. Calvin C. Chaffee (R)

. Henry L. Dawes (R)

Michigan

. William A. Howard (R)

. Henry Waldron (R)

. David S. Walbridge (R)

. De Witt C. Leach (R)

Minnesota

.^{[note 1]} James M. Cavanaugh (D), from May 11, 1858 (newly admitted state)

.^{[note 1]} William W. Phelps (D), from May 11, 1858 (newly admitted state)

Mississippi

. Lucius Q. C. Lamar (D)

. Reuben Davis (D)

. William Barksdale (D)

. Otho R. Singleton (D)

. John A. Quitman (D), until July 17, 1858

John J. McRae (D), from December 7, 1858

Missouri

. Francis P. Blair Jr. (R)

. Thomas L. Anderson (A)

. John B. Clark (D), from December 7, 1857

. James Craig (D)

. Samuel H. Woodson (A)

. John S. Phelps (D)

. Samuel Caruthers (D)

New Hampshire

. James Pike (R)

. Mason Tappan (R)

. Aaron H. Cragin (R)

New Jersey

. Isaiah D. Clawson (R)

. George R. Robbins (R)

. Garnett Adrain (D)

. John Huyler (D)

. Jacob R. Wortendyke (D)

New York

. John A. Searing (D)

. George Taylor (D)

. Daniel Sickles (D)

. John Kelly (D), until December 25, 1858

Thomas J. Barr (ID), from January 7, 1859

. William B. Maclay (D)

. John Cochrane (D)

. Elijah Ward (D)

. Horace F. Clark (D)

. John B. Haskin (D)

. Ambrose S. Murray (R)

. William F. Russell (D)

. John Thompson (R)

. Abram B. Olin (R)

. Erastus Corning (D)

. Edward Dodd (R)

. George W. Palmer (R)

. Francis E. Spinner (R)

. Clark B. Cochrane (R)

. Oliver A. Morse (R)

. Orsamus B. Matteson (R)

. Henry Bennett (R)

. Henry C. Goodwin (R)

. Charles B. Hoard (R)

. Amos P. Granger (R)

. Edwin B. Morgan (R)

. Emory B. Pottle (R)

. John M. Parker (R)

. William H. Kelsey (R)

. Samuel G. Andrews (R)

. Judson W. Sherman (R)

. Silas M. Burroughs (R)

. Israel T. Hatch (D)

. Reuben Fenton (R)

North Carolina

. Henry M. Shaw (D)

. Thomas H. Ruffin (D)

. Warren Winslow (D)

. Lawrence O'Bryan Branch (D)

. John A. Gilmer (A)

. Alfred M. Scales (D)

. F. Burton Craige (D)

. Thomas L. Clingman (D), until May 7, 1858

Zebulon B. Vance (D), from December 7, 1858

Ohio

. George H. Pendleton (D)

. William S. Groesbeck (D)

. Lewis D. Campbell (R), until May 25, 1858

Clement Vallandigham (D), from May 25, 1858

. Matthias H. Nichols (R)

. Richard Mott (R)

. Joseph R. Cockerill (D)

. Aaron Harlan (R)

. Benjamin Stanton (R)

. Lawrence W. Hall (D)

. Joseph Miller (D)

. Valentine B. Horton (R)

. Samuel S. Cox (D)

. John Sherman (R)

. Philemon Bliss (R)

. Joseph Burns (D)

. Cydnor B. Tompkins (R)

. William Lawrence (D)

. Benjamin F. Leiter (R)

. Edward Wade (R)

. Joshua R. Giddings (R)

. John Bingham (R)

Oregon

. La Fayette Grover (D), from February 14, 1859 (newly admitted state)

Pennsylvania

. Thomas B. Florence (D)

. Edward Joy Morris (R)

. James Landy (D)

. Henry M. Phillips (D)

. Owen Jones (D)

. John Hickman (D)

. Henry Chapman (D)

. J. Glancey Jones (D), until October 30, 1858

William H. Keim (R), from December 7, 1858

. Anthony E. Roberts (R)

. John C. Kunkel (R)

. William L. Dewart (D)

. John G. Montgomery (D), until April 24, 1857

Paul Leidy (D), from December 7, 1857

. William H. Dimmick (D)

. Galusha A. Grow (R)

. Allison White (D)

. John A. Ahl (D)

. Wilson Reilly (D)

. John R. Edie (R)

. John Covode (R)

. William Montgomery (D)

. David Ritchie (R)

. Samuel A. Purviance (R)

. William Stewart (R)

. James L. Gillis (D)

. John Dick (R)

Rhode Island

. Nathaniel B. Durfee (R)

. William D. Brayton (R)

South Carolina

. John McQueen (D)

. William P. Miles (D)

. Laurence M. Keitt (D)

. Milledge L. Bonham (D)

. James L. Orr (D)

. William W. Boyce (D)

Tennessee

. Albert G. Watkins (D)

. Horace Maynard (A)

. Samuel A. Smith (D)

. John H. Savage (D)

. Charles Ready (A)

. George W. Jones (D)

. John V. Wright (D)

. Felix K. Zollicoffer (A)

. John D. C. Atkins (D)

. William T. Avery (D)

Texas

. John H. Reagan (D)

. Guy M. Bryan (D)

Vermont

. Eliakim P. Walton (R)

. Justin S. Morrill (R)

. Homer E. Royce (R)

Virginia

. Muscoe R. H. Garnett (D)

. John S. Millson (D)

. John Caskie (D)

. William Goode (D)

. Thomas S. Bocock (D)

. Paulus Powell (D)

. William Smith (D)

. Charles J. Faulkner Sr. (D)

. John Letcher (D)

. Sherrard Clemens (D)

. Albert G. Jenkins (D)

. Henry A. Edmundson (D)

. George W. Hopkins (D)

Wisconsin

. John F. Potter (R)

. Cadwallader C. Washburn (R)

. Charles Billinghurst (R)

Non-voting members

. Marcus J. Parrott (R)

. William W. Kingsbury (D), until May 11, 1858

. Fenner Ferguson (D)

. Miguel A. Otero (D)

. Joseph Lane (D), until February 14, 1859

. John M. Bernhisel

. Isaac Stevens (D)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

Replacements: 5
- Democrats (D): no net change
- Whigs (W): no net change
- Republicans (R): no net change
- Americans (A): no net change
Deaths: 4
Resignations: 1
Interim appointments: 2
Seats of newly admitted states: 4
Total seats with changes: 9

|- | Oregon
(3) | New seat | Oregon admitted to the Union February 14, 1859, and its first Senators were elected that day. | | Joseph Lane (D) | February 14, 1859 |}

House of Representatives

Replacements: 10
- Democrats (D): 3 seat net loss
- Whigs (W): 3 seat net gain
- Republicans (R): 1 seat net gain
- Independent Democrats (ID): 1 seat net gain
Deaths: 5
Resignations: 6
Contested election:1
Seats of newly admitted states: 3
Total seats with changes: 14

|- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep. James S. Green was elected to this term but resigned after being elected in turn to the US Senate | | John B. Clark (D) | Seated December 7, 1857 |- | | | Samuel Brenton (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died March 29, 1857 | | Charles Case (R) | Seated December 7, 1857 |- | | | John G. Montgomery (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 24, 1857 | | Paul Leidy (D) | Seated December 7, 1857 |- | | | James Lockhart (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died September 7, 1857 | | William E. Niblack (D) | Seated December 7, 1857 |- | | | Nathaniel P. Banks (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 24, 1857, after being elected Governor of Massachusetts | | Daniel W. Gooch (R) | Seated January 31, 1858 |- | | | Thomas L. Clingman (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 7, 1858, after being appointed to the US Senate | | Zebulon B. Vance (D) | Seated December 7, 1858 |- | | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | Minnesota was admitted to the Union May 11, 1858 | | James M. Cavanaugh (D) | Seated May 11, 1858 |- | | | William W. Kingsbury (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Minnesota was admitted to the Union May 11, 1858 | colspan=2 | Seat eliminated |- | | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | Minnesota was admitted to the Union May 11, 1858 | | William W. Phelps (D) | Seated May 11, 1858 |- | | | Lewis D. Campbell (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election May 25, 1858 | | Clement Vallandigham (D) | Seated May 25, 1858 |- | | | John A. Quitman (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died July 17, 1858 | | John J. McRae (D) | Seated December 7, 1858 |- | | | J. Glancy Jones (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned October 30, 1858 | | William H. Keim (R) | Seated December 7, 1858 |- | | | Thomas L. Harris (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 24, 1858 | | Charles D. Hodges (D) | Seated January 4, 1859 |- | | | John Kelly (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 25, 1858 | | Thomas J. Barr (D) | Seated January 7, 1859 |- | | | Joseph Lane (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Oregon was admitted to the Union February 14, 1859 | colspan=2 | Seat eliminated |- | | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | Oregon was admitted to the Union February 14, 1859 | | La Fayette Grover (D) | Seated February 14, 1859 |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Josiah J. Evans then William Wright)
Banks of the District of Columbia (Select)
Claims (Chairman: Alfred Iverson Sr.)
Commerce (Chairman: Clement Claiborne Clay)
Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
District of Columbia (Chairman: Albert G. Brown)
Engrossed Bills (Chairman: William Wright)
Finance (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
Foreign Relations (Chairman: James M. Mason)
French Spoilations (Select)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: William K. Sebastian)
Judiciary (Chairman: James A. Bayard Jr.)
Military Affairs (Chairman: Jefferson Davis)
Military Asylum near Washington, D.C. (Select)
Militia (Chairman: N/A)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: Stephen Mallory)
Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
Pacific Railroad (Select)
Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: David S. Reid)
Pensions (Chairman: George Wallace Jones)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: David Levy Yulee)
Printing (Chairman: Robert W. Johnson)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: Judah P. Benjamin)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Jesse D. Bright)
Public Lands (Chairman: Charles E. Stuart)
Retrenchment (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Josiah J. Evans)
Tariff Regulation (Select)
Territories (Chairman: N/A)
Whole

House of Representatives

Accounts (Chairman: John C. Mason)
Agriculture (Chairman: William G. Whiteley)
Claims (Chairman: Samuel S. Marshall)
Commerce (Chairman: John Cochrane)
District of Columbia (Chairman: William O. Goode)
Elections (Chairman: Thomas L. Harris)
Engraving (Chairman: Garnett B. Adrain)
Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: John B. Haskin)
Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Albert G. Talbott)
Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Owen Jones)
Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: William Lawrence)
Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Wilson Reilly)
Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Allison White)
Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas L. Clingman)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: Alfred B. Greenwood)
Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Joshua H. Jewett)
Judiciary (Chairman: George S. Houston)
Manufactures (Chairman: William D. Bishop)
Mileage (Chairman: Robert Smith)
Military Affairs (Chairman: John A. Quitman)
Militia (Chairman: Israel T. Hatch)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: Thomas S. Bocock)
Patents (Chairman: James A. Stewart)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: William H. English)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: John M. Sandidge)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Lawrence M. Keitt)
Public Expenditures (Chairman: John M. Elliott)
Public Lands (Chairman: Williamson R. W. Cobb)
Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: William L. Dewart)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Samuel S. Cox)
Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: John Hickman)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: George W. Jones)
Rules (Select)
Standards of Official Conduct
Territories (Chairman: Alexander H. Stephens)
Ways and Means (Chairman: J. Glancy Jones then John S. Phelps)
Whole

Joint committees

Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Rep. Thomas G. Davidson)
The Library (Chairman: Rep. William H. Dimmick)
Printing (Chairman: Rep. Samuel A. Smith)

Caucuses

Democratic (House)
Democratic (Senate)

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

Chaplain: None
Clerk: James C. Allen
Doorkeeper: Robert B. Hackney, until May 17, 1858
- Joseph L. Wright, elected May 18, 1858
Messenger: Thaddeus Morrice
Sergeant at Arms: Adam J. Glossbrenner
Postmaster: Michael W. Cluskey

Notes

^ United States representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

^ Special session of the Senate.
^ Special session of the Senate.

References

Specific citations

^ "The Most Infamous Floor Brawl in the History of the U.S. House of Representatives | US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives". history.house.gov. Retrieved 2025-03-24.
^ Charles J. Kappler (ed.) (1904). "Treaty with the Ponca, 1858". Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office. Archived from the original on 2015-02-13. Retrieved 2013-11-09. The Ponca tribe of Indians hereby cede and relinquish to the United States all the lands now owned or claimed by them, wherever situate, except the tract bounded as follows, viz: Beginning at a point on the Neobrara River and running due north, so as to intersect the Ponca River 25 miles from its mouth; thence from said point of intersection, up and along the Ponca River, twenty — miles; thence due south to the Neobrara River; and thence down and along said river to the place of beginning...

General 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.

Major events

Major legislation

Treaties

States admitted

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

Non-voting members

Changes in membership

Senate

House of Representatives

Committees

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

References

External links

Connections

Linked from (228 total)

Links to (414 total)