The 40th 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, 1867, to March 4, 1869, during the third and fourth years of Andrew Johnson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1860 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority. In the Senate, the Republicans had the largest majority a party has ever held.
This Congress was held during the Reconstruction era after the Civil War and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's assassination. Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, and South Carolina were readmitted to representation in both the Senate and the House. Georgia was readmitted with representation in the House only. The Republican majority passed an amendment that became the 15th Amendment for voting rights.
Major events
March 30, 1867: Alaska Purchase February 24, 1868: Impeachment of Andrew Johnson May 16, 1868: President Johnson acquitted May 26, 1868: President Johnson acquitted again November 3, 1868: 1868 presidential election: Ulysses S. Grant (R) defeated Horatio Seymour (D) December 25, 1868: President Johnson granted unconditional pardons to all Civil War rebels January 20, 1869: Elizabeth Cady Stanton was the first woman to testify before Congress
Major legislation
Three Military Reconstruction Acts, continued: March 23, 1867, ch. 6, July 19, 1867, ch. 30, March 11, 1868, ch. 25, July 27, 1868: Expatriation Act of 1868, ch. 249,
Constitutional amendments July 10, 1868: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution declared ratified February 26, 1869: Approved an amendment to the Constitution prohibiting the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude", and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification Amendment was later ratified on February 3, 1870, becoming the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Treaty
April 29, 1868: Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868), , signed February 16, 1869: Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868) ratified
Territories organized
July 25, 1868: Wyoming Territory organized,State of Wyoming web site, "CHRONOLOGY-Some Events in Wyoming History" Sess. 2, ch. 135,
Party summary 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.
During this Congress, Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Louisiana, and South Carolina were readmitted to representation in both the Senate and the House. Georgia was readmitted with representation in the House only.
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership Senate President: Vacant President pro tempore: Benjamin Wade (R) Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: James Rood Doolittle
House of Representatives Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R), until March 3, 1869 Theodore M. Pomeroy (R), elected March 3, 1869. Served for 1 day.
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 ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1868 or 1869; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1870 or 1871; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1872 or 1873.
Alabama 2. Willard Warner (R), from July 13, 1868 3. George E. Spencer (R), from July 13, 1868
Arkansas 2. Alexander McDonald (R), from June 22, 1868 3. Benjamin F. Rice (R), from June 23, 1868
California 1. John Conness (R) 3. Cornelius Cole (R)
Connecticut 1. James Dixon (R) 3. Orris S. Ferry (R)
Delaware 1. George Read Riddle (D), until March 29, 1867 James A. Bayard Jr. (D), from April 11, 1867 2. Willard Saulsbury Sr. (D)
Florida 1. Adonijah Welch (R), from June 17, 1868 3. Thomas W. Osborn (R), from June 25, 1868
Georgia 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
Illinois 2. Richard Yates (R) 3. Lyman Trumbull (R)
Indiana 1. Thomas A. Hendricks (D) 3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R)
Iowa 2. James W. Grimes (R) 3. James Harlan (R)
Kansas 2. Edmund G. Ross (R) 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)
Kentucky 2. James Guthrie (D), until February 7, 1868 Thomas C. McCreery (D), from February 19, 1868 3. Garrett Davis (D)
Louisiana 2. John S. Harris (R), from July 8, 1868 3. William Pitt Kellogg (R), from July 9, 1868
Maine 1. Lot M. Morrill (R) 2. William P. Fessenden (R)
Maryland 1. Reverdy Johnson (D), until July 10, 1868 William Pinkney Whyte (D), from July 13, 1868 3. George Vickers (D), from March 7, 1868
Massachusetts 1. Charles Sumner (R) 2. Henry Wilson (R)
Michigan 1. Zachariah Chandler (R) 2. Jacob M. Howard (R)
Minnesota 1. Alexander Ramsey (R) 2. Daniel S. Norton (R)
Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant
Missouri 1. John B. Henderson (R) 3. Charles D. Drake (R)
Nebraska 1. Thomas Tipton (R) 2. John M. Thayer (R)
Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (R) 3. James W. Nye (R)
New Hampshire 2. Aaron H. Cragin (R) 3. James W. Patterson (R)
New Jersey 1. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R) 2. Alexander G. Cattell (R)
New York 1. Edwin D. Morgan (R) 3. Roscoe Conkling (R)
North Carolina 2. Joseph C. Abbott (R), from July 14, 1868 3. John Pool (R), from July 14, 1868
Ohio 1. Benjamin Wade (R) 3. John Sherman (R)
Oregon 2. George H. Williams (R) 3. Henry W. Corbett (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Charles R. Buckalew (D) 3. Simon Cameron (R)
Rhode Island 1. William Sprague IV (R) 2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
South Carolina 2. Thomas J. Robertson (R), from July 15, 1868 3. Frederick A. Sawyer (R), from July 16, 1868
Tennessee 1. David T. Patterson (D) 2. Joseph S. Fowler (R)
Texas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant
Vermont 1. George F. Edmunds (R) 3. Justin S. Morrill (R)
Virginia 1. Vacant 2. Vacant
West Virginia 1. Peter G. Van Winkle (R) 2. Waitman T. Willey (R)
Wisconsin 1. James R. Doolittle (R) 3. Timothy O. Howe (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Francis W. Kellogg (R), from July 22, 1868 . Charles W. Buckley (R), from July 21, 1868 . Benjamin W. Norris (R), from July 21, 1868 . Charles W. Pierce (R), from July 21, 1868 . John B. Callis (R), from July 21, 1868 . Thomas Haughey (R), from July 21, 1868
Arkansas . Logan H. Roots (R), from June 22, 1868 . James M. Hinds (R), June 22, 1868 – October 22, 1868 James T. Elliott (R), from January 13, 1869 . Thomas Boles (R), from June 22, 1868
California . Samuel B. Axtell (D) . William Higby (R) . James A. Johnson (D)
Connecticut . Richard D. Hubbard (D) . Julius Hotchkiss (D) . Henry H. Starkweather (R) . William H. Barnum (D)
Delaware . John A. Nicholson (D)
Florida . Charles M. Hamilton (R), from July 1, 1868
Georgia . Joseph W. Clift (R), from July 25, 1868 . Nelson Tift (D), from July 25, 1868 . William P. Edwards (R), from July 25, 1868 . Samuel F. Gove (R), from July 25, 1868 . Charles H. Prince (R), from July 25, 1868 . Vacant . Pierce M. B. Young (D), from July 25, 1868
Illinois . Norman B. Judd (R) . John F. Farnsworth (R) . Elihu B. Washburne (R) . Abner C. Harding (R) . Ebon C. Ingersoll (R) . Burton C. Cook (R) . Henry P. H. Bromwell (R) . Shelby M. Cullom (R) . Lewis Winans Ross (D) . Albert G. Burr (D) . Samuel S. Marshall (D) . Jehu Baker (R) . Green B. Raum (R) . John A. Logan (R)
Indiana . William E. Niblack (D) . Michael C. Kerr (D) . Morton C. Hunter (R) . William S. Holman (D) . George W. Julian (R) . John Coburn (R) . Henry D. Washburn (R) . Godlove S. Orth (R) . Schuyler Colfax (R) . William Williams (R) . John P. C. Shanks (R)
Iowa . James F. Wilson (R) . Hiram Price (R) . William B. Allison (R) . William Loughridge (R) . Grenville M. Dodge (R) . Asahel W. Hubbard (R)
Kansas . Sidney Clarke (R)
Kentucky . Lawrence S. Trimble (D) . Vacant . Elijah Hise (D), until May 8, 1867 Jacob Golladay (D), from December 5, 1867 . J. Proctor Knott (D) . Asa Grover (D) . Thomas L. Jones (D) . James B. Beck (D) . George M. Adams (D) . Samuel McKee (R), from June 22, 1868
Louisiana . J. Hale Sypher (R), from July 18, 1868 . James Mann (D), July 18, 1868 – August 26, 1868 . Joseph P. Newsham (R), from July 18, 1868 . Michel Vidal (R), from July 18, 1868 . W. Jasper Blackburn (R), from July 18, 1868
Maine . John Lynch (R) . Sidney Perham (R) . James G. Blaine (R) . John A. Peters (R) . Frederick A. Pike (R)
Maryland . Hiram McCullough (D) . Stevenson Archer (D) . Charles E. Phelps (C) . Francis Thomas (R) . Frederick Stone (D)
Massachusetts . Thomas D. Eliot (R) . Oakes Ames (R) . Ginery Twichell (R) . Samuel Hooper (R) . Benjamin F. Butler (R) . Nathaniel P. Banks (R) . George S. Boutwell (R) . John D. Baldwin (R) . William B. Washburn (R) . Henry L. Dawes (R)
Michigan . Fernando C. Beaman (R) . Charles Upson (R) . Austin Blair (R) . Thomas W. Ferry (R) . Rowland E. Trowbridge (R) . John F. Driggs (R)
Minnesota . William Windom (R) . Ignatius L. Donnelly (R)
Mississippi . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant
Missouri . William A. Pile (R) . Carman A. Newcomb (R) . Thomas E. Noell (D), until October 3, 1867 James R. McCormick (D), from December 17, 1867 . Joseph J. Gravely (R) . Joseph W. McClurg (R), until July 1868 John H. Stover (R), from December 7, 1868 . Robert T. Van Horn (R) . Benjamin F. Loan (R) . John F. Benjamin (R) . George W. Anderson (R)
Nebraska . John Taffe (R)
Nevada . Delos R. Ashley (R)
New Hampshire . Jacob H. Ela (R) . Aaron F. Stevens (R) . Jacob Benton (R)
New Jersey . William Moore (R) . Charles Haight (D) . Charles Sitgreaves (D) . John Hill (R) . George A. Halsey (R)
New York . Stephen Taber (D) . Demas Barnes (D) . William E. Robinson (D) . John Fox (D) . John Morrissey (D) . Thomas E. Stewart (CR) . John W. Chanler (D) . James Brooks (D) . Fernando Wood (D) . William H. Robertson (R) . Charles H. Van Wyck (R) . John H. Ketcham (R) . Thomas Cornell (R) . John V. L. Pruyn (D) . John Augustus Griswold (R) . Orange Ferriss (R) . Calvin T. Hulburd (R) . James M. Marvin (R) . William C. Fields (R) . Addison H. Laflin (R) . Roscoe Conkling (R), until March 4, 1867 Alexander H. Bailey (R), from November 30, 1867 . John C. Churchill (R) . Dennis McCarthy (R) . Theodore M. Pomeroy (R) . William H. Kelsey (R) . William S. Lincoln (R) . Hamilton Ward Sr. (R) . Lewis Selye (IR) . Burt Van Horn (R) . James M. Humphrey (D) . Henry H. Van Aernam (R)
North Carolina . John R. French (R), from July 15, 1868 . David Heaton (R), from July 25, 1868 . Oliver H. Dockery (R), from July 13, 1868 . John T. Deweese (R), from July 6, 1868 . Israel G. Lash (R), from July 20, 1868 . Nathaniel Boyden (C), from July 13, 1868 . Alexander H. Jones (R), from July 6, 1868
Ohio . Benjamin Eggleston (R) . Rutherford B. Hayes (R), until July 20, 1867 Samuel F. Cary (IR), from November 21, 1867 . Robert C. Schenck (R) . William Lawrence (R) . William Mungen (D) . Reader W. Clarke (R)