The 36th 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, 1859, to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth years of James Buchanan's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1850 United States census. The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House had a Republican plurality.
Major events
June 8, 1859: Comstock Lode discovered in the western Utah Territory (present-day Nevada) August 27, 1859: First oil well was drilled in the United States, near Titusville, Pennsylvania October 16–18, 1859: John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry December 2, 1859 John Brown executed. December 5, 1859 – February 1, 1860: The election for the House speakership takes 44 ballots April 3, 1860: Pony Express began its first run April 23 – May 3, 1860: Democratic National Convention held in Charleston, South Carolina. Unable to agree on a nominee, the delegates voted to reconvene in June. May 9, 1860: Constitutional Union Party National Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland, nominating John Bell for president. May 18, 1860: Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois, nominating Abraham Lincoln for president. June 18–23, 1860: Democratic Party reconvened in Baltimore, Maryland, nominating Stephen A. Douglas for president. June 26–28, 1860: Southern Democrats held a convention in Richmond, Virginia, nominating John C. Breckinridge for president. November 6, 1860: U.S. presidential election: Abraham Lincoln beat John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell. December 20, 1860: South Carolina Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession Alt URL January 3, 1861: Delaware Secession Convention voted not to secede from the Union January 9, 1861: Mississippi Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession January 10, 1861: Florida Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession January 11, 1861: Alabama Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession January 18, 1861: Georgia Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession January 26, 1861: Louisiana Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession January 29, 1861. Kansas admitted to the Union as a free state. February 1, 1861: Texas Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession February 13, 1861: Joint Session of Congress certified the election of President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. February 23, 1861: The people of Texas ratified its Ordinance of Secession President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, D.C. after an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
Major legislation
June 16, 1860: Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860, ch. 147, March 2, 1861: Morrill Tariff, ch. 68, December 18, 1860 (introduced): Crittenden Compromise, rejected by the House of Representatives and the Senate
Constitutional amendments March 2, 1861: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states (which in 1861 included slavery) from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification This amendment, commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, has not been ratified and is still pending before the states.
Treaties March 8, 1859: Quinault Treaty ratified, March 8, 1859: Point No Point Treaty ratified,
States admitted and territories organized January 29, 1861: Kansas admitted as a state, ch. 20, February 28, 1861: Colorado Territory organized, ch. 59, March 2, 1861: Nevada Territory organized, ch. 83, March 2, 1861: Dakota Territory organized, ch. 86,
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate President: John C. Breckinridge (D) President pro tempore: Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), until February 26, 1860 Jesse D. Bright (D), June 12–26, 1860 Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), June 26, 1860 – December 2, 1860 Solomon Foot (R), elected February 16, 1861
House of Representatives Speaker: William Pennington (R), elected February 1, 1860, after 44 rounds of balloting Democratic Caucus Chairman: George S. Houston
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 in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1862; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1860.
Alabama 2. Clement C. Clay Jr. (D), until January 21, 1861 3. Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), until January 21, 1861
Arkansas 2. William K. Sebastian (D) 3. Robert W. Johnson (D)
California 1. David C. Broderick (D), until September 16, 1859 Henry P. Haun (D), November 3, 1859 – March 4, 1860 Milton Latham (D), from March 5, 1860 3. William M. Gwin (D)
Connecticut 1. James Dixon (R) 3. Lafayette S. Foster (R)
Delaware 1. James A. Bayard Jr. (D) 2. Willard Saulsbury Sr. (D)
Florida 1. Stephen Mallory (D), until January 21, 1861 3. David Levy Yulee (D), until January 21, 1861
Georgia 2. Robert Toombs (D), until February 4, 1861 3. Alfred Iverson Sr. (D), until January 28, 1861
Illinois 2. Stephen A. Douglas (D) 3. Lyman Trumbull (R)
Indiana 1. Jesse D. Bright (D) 3. Graham N. Fitch (D)
Iowa 2. James W. Grimes (R) 3. James Harlan (R)
Kansas 2. Vacant from January 29, 1861 (newly admitted state) 3. Vacant from January 29, 1861 (newly admitted state)
Kentucky 2. Lazarus W. Powell (D) 3. John J. Crittenden (A)
Louisiana 2. Judah P. Benjamin (D), until February 4, 1861 3. John Slidell (D), until February 4, 1861
Maine 1. Hannibal Hamlin (R), until January 17, 1861 Lot M. Morrill (R), from January 17, 1861 2. William Pitt Fessenden (R)
Maryland 1. Anthony Kennedy (A) 3. James A. Pearce (D)
Massachusetts 1. Charles Sumner (R) 2. Henry Wilson (R)
Michigan 1. Zachariah Chandler (R) 2. Kinsley S. Bingham (R)
Minnesota 1. Henry M. Rice (D) 2. Morton S. Wilkinson (R)
Mississippi 1. Jefferson Davis (D), until January 21, 1861 2. Albert G. Brown (D), until January 12, 1861
Missouri 1. Trusten Polk (D) 3. James S. Green (D)
New Hampshire 2. John P. Hale (R) 3. Daniel Clark (R)
New Jersey 1. John R. Thomson (D) 2. John C. Ten Eyck (R)
New York 1. Preston King (R) 3. William H. Seward (R)
North Carolina 2. Thomas Bragg (D) 3. Thomas L. Clingman (D)
Ohio 1. Benjamin Wade (R) 3. George E. Pugh (D)
Oregon 2. Edward D. Baker (R), from October 2, 1860 3. Joseph Lane (D)
Pennsylvania 1. Simon Cameron (R) 3. William Bigler (D)
Rhode Island 1. James F. Simmons (R) 2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
South Carolina 2. James Chesnut Jr. (D), until November 10, 1860 3. James H. Hammond (D), until November 11, 1860
Tennessee 1. Andrew Johnson (D) 2. Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D), until March 3, 1861
Texas 1. Matthias Ward (D), until December 5, 1859 Louis Wigfall (D), from December 5, 1859 2. John Hemphill (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), until January 21, 1861 . James L. Pugh (D), until January 21, 1861 . David Clopton (D), until January 21, 1861 . Sydenham Moore (D), until January 21, 1861 . George S. Houston (D), until January 21, 1861 . Williamson R. W. Cobb (D), until January 30, 1861 . Jabez L. M. Curry (D), until January 21, 1861
Arkansas . Thomas C. Hindman (D) . Albert Rust (D)
California . John C. Burch (D) . Charles L. Scott (D)
Connecticut . Dwight Loomis (R) . John Woodruff (R) . Alfred A. Burnham (R) . Orris S. Ferry (R)
Delaware . William G. Whiteley (D)
Florida . George S. Hawkins (D), until January 21, 1861
Georgia . Peter E. Love (D), until January 23, 1861 . Martin J. Crawford (D), until January 23, 1861 . Thomas Hardeman Jr. (O), until January 23, 1861 . Lucius J. Gartrell (D), until January 23, 1861 . John W. H. Underwood (D), until January 23, 1861 . James Jackson (D), until January 23, 1861 . Joshua Hill (O), until January 23, 1861 . John J. Jones (D), until January 23, 1861
Illinois . Elihu B. Washburne (R) . John F. Farnsworth (R) . Owen Lovejoy (R) . William Kellogg (R) . Isaac N. Morris (D) . John A. McClernand (D), from November 8, 1859 . James C. Robinson (D) . Philip B. Fouke (D) . John A. Logan (D)
Indiana . William E. Niblack (D) . William H. English (D) . William McKee Dunn (R) . William S. Holman (D) . David Kilgore (R) . Albert G. Porter (R) . John G. Davis (ALD) . James Wilson (R) . Schuyler Colfax (R) . Charles Case (R) . John U. Pettit (R)
Iowa . Samuel Curtis (R) . William Vandever (R)
Kansas . Martin F. Conway (R), from January 29, 1861 (newly admitted state)
Kentucky . Henry C. Burnett (D) . Samuel O. Peyton (D) . Francis Bristow (O) . William C. Anderson (O) . John Y. Brown (D), from December 3, 1860 . Green Adams (O) . Robert Mallory (O) . William E. Simms (D) . Laban T. Moore (O) . John W. Stevenson (D)
Louisiana . John E. Bouligny (A) . Miles Taylor (D), until February 5, 1861 . Thomas G. Davidson (D) . John M. Landrum (D)
Maine . Daniel E. Somes (R) . John J. Perry (R) . Ezra B. French (R) . Freeman H. Morse (R) . Israel Washburn Jr. (R), until January 1, 1861 Stephen Coburn (R), from January 2, 1861 . Stephen C. Foster (R)
Maryland . James A. Stewart (D) . Edwin H. Webster (A) . J. Morrison Harris (A) . Henry Winter Davis (A) . Jacob M. Kunkel (D) . George W. Hughes (D)
Massachusetts . Thomas D. Eliot (R) . James Buffington (R) . Charles F. Adams Sr. (R) . Alexander H. Rice (R) . Anson Burlingame (R) . John B. Alley (R) . Daniel W. Gooch (R) . Charles R. Train (R) . Eli Thayer (R) . Charles Delano (R) . Henry L. Dawes (R)
Michigan . George B. Cooper (D), until May 15, 1860 William A. Howard (R), from May 15, 1860 . Henry Waldron (R) . Francis W. Kellogg (R) . Dewitt C. Leach (R)
Minnesota Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.(2 Republicans) . Cyrus Aldrich (R) . William Windom (R)
Mississippi . Lucius Q. C. Lamar (D), until December 20, 1860 . Reuben Davis (D), until January 12, 1861 . William Barksdale (D), until January 12, 1861 . Otho R. Singleton (D), until January 12, 1861 . John J. McRae (D), until January 12, 1861
Missouri . John R. Barret (D), until June 8, 1860 Francis P. Blair Jr. (R), June 8, 1860 – June 25, 1860 John R. Barret (D), from December 3, 1860 . Thomas L. Anderson (ID) . John B. Clark (D) . James Craig (D) . Samuel H. Woodson (A) . John S. Phelps (D) . John W. Noell (D)
New Hampshire . Gilman Marston (R) . Mason Tappan (R) . Thomas M. Edwards (R)
New Jersey . John T. Nixon (R) . John L. N. Stratton (R) . Garnett Adrain (ALD) . Jetur R. Riggs (ALD) . William Pennington (R)
New York . Luther C. Carter (R) . James Humphrey (R) . Daniel Sickles (D) . Thomas J. Barr (ID) . William B. Maclay (D) . John Cochrane (D) . George Briggs (R) . Horace F. Clark (ALD) . John B. Haskin (ALD) . Charles H. Van Wyck (R) . William S. Kenyon (R) . Charles L. Beale (R)