The 41st 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, 1869, to March 4, 1871, during the first two years of Ulysses S. Grant'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.
Major events
March 4, 1869: Ulysses Grant became President of the United States March 4, 1869: Carl Schurz R-Missouri became the first German American to serve in the United States Senate May 10, 1869: Golden spike marked the completion of the First transcontinental railroad in Promontory, Utah December 10, 1869: Wyoming Territory gave women the right to vote, one of the first such laws in the world February 12, 1870: Utah Territory gave women the right to vote February 25, 1870: Senator Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American in the U.S. Congress
Major legislation
March 18, 1869: Public Credit Act of 1869, Sess. 1, ch. 1, April 10, 1869: Judiciary Act of 1869, Sess. 1, ch. 22, May 31, 1870: Enforcement Act of 1870, Sess. 2, ch. 114, June 22, 1870: An Act to establish the Department of Justice, Sess. 2, ch. 150, June 29, 1870: An Act to reorganize the Marine Hospital Service, Sess. 2, ch. 169, July 12, 1870: Currency Act of 1870, Sess. 2, ch. 252, July 14, 1870: Funding Act of 1870, Sess. 2, ch. 256, February 21, 1871: District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, Sess. 3, ch. 62, ,
Constitutional amendments February 3, 1870: Fifteenth Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 28) to become part of the Constitution
States readmitted January 26, 1870: Virginia rejoined the Union February 23, 1870: Mississippi rejoined the Union March 30, 1870: Texas rejoined the Union July 15, 1870: Georgia rejoined the Union, the last former Confederate state to be readmitted
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, Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and Georgia were readmitted to representation.
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate President: Schuyler Colfax (R) President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony (R)
House of Representatives Speaker: James G. Blaine (R) Republican Conference Chairman: Robert C. Schenck and Nathaniel P. Banks Democratic Caucus Chairman: William E. Niblack and Samuel J. Randall
Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed then by class and representatives are listed then 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 this Congress, facing re-election in 1874; "Class 2" meant their term ended in this Congress, facing re-election in 1870; and "Class 3" meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1872.
Alabama 2. Willard Warner (R) 3. George E. Spencer (R)
Arkansas 2. Alexander McDonald (R) 3. Benjamin F. Rice (R)
California 1. Eugene Casserly (D) 3. Cornelius Cole (R)
Connecticut 1. William A. Buckingham (R) 3. Orris S. Ferry (R)
Delaware 1. Thomas F. Bayard (D) 2. Willard Saulsbury Sr. (D)
Florida 1. Abijah Gilbert (R) 3. Thomas W. Osborn (R)
Georgia 2. Homer V. M. Miller (D), from February 24, 1871 3. Joshua Hill (R), from February 1, 1871
Illinois 2. Richard Yates (R) 3. Lyman Trumbull (R)
Indiana 1. Daniel D. Pratt (R) 3. Oliver P. Morton (R)
Iowa 2. James W. Grimes (R), until December 6, 1869 James B. Howell (R), from January 18, 1870 3. James Harlan (R)
Kansas 2. Edmund G. Ross (R) 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)
Kentucky 2. Thomas C. McCreery (D) 3. Garrett Davis (D)
Louisiana 2. John S. Harris (R) 3. William P. Kellogg (R)
Maine 1. Hannibal Hamlin (R) 2. William P. Fessenden (R), until September 8, 1869 Lot M. Morrill (R), from October 30, 1869
Maryland 1. William T. Hamilton (D) 3. George Vickers (D)
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), until July 14, 1870 William Windom (R), July 15, 1870 – January 22, 1871 Ozora P. Stearns (R), from January 22, 1871
Mississippi 1. Adelbert Ames (R), from February 23, 1870 2. Hiram R. Revels (R), from February 23, 1870
Missouri 1. Carl Schurz (R) 3. Charles D. Drake (R), until December 19, 1870 Daniel T. Jewett (R), December 19, 1870 – January 20, 1871 Francis P. Blair Jr. (D), from January 20, 1871
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. John P. Stockton (D) 2. Alexander G. Cattell (R)
New York 1. Reuben E. Fenton (R) 3. Roscoe Conkling (R)
North Carolina 2. Joseph C. Abbott (R) 3. John Pool (R)
Ohio 1. Allen G. Thurman (D) 3. John Sherman (R)
Oregon 2. George H. Williams (R) 3. Henry W. Corbett (R)
Pennsylvania 1. John Scott (R) 3. Simon Cameron (R)
Rhode Island 1. William Sprague IV (R) 2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
South Carolina 2. Thomas J. Robertson (R) 3. Frederick A. Sawyer (R)
Tennessee 1. William G. Brownlow (R) 2. Joseph S. Fowler (R)
Texas 1. James W. Flanagan (R), from March 30, 1870 2. Morgan C. Hamilton (R), from March 31, 1870
Vermont 1. George F. Edmunds (R) 3. Justin S. Morrill (R)
Virginia 1. John F. Lewis (R), from January 26, 1870 2. John W. Johnston (D), from January 26, 1870
West Virginia 1. Arthur I. Boreman (R) 2. Waitman T. Willey (R)
Wisconsin 1. Matthew H. Carpenter (R) 3. Timothy O. Howe (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Alfred E. Buck (R) . Charles W. Buckley (R) . Robert S. Heflin (R) . Charles Hays (R) . Peter M. Dox (D) . William C. Sherrod (D)
Arkansas . Logan H. Roots (R) . Anthony A. C. Rogers (D) . Thomas Boles (R)
California . Samuel B. Axtell (D) . Aaron A. Sargent (R) . James A. Johnson (D)
Connecticut . Julius L. Strong (R) . Stephen W. Kellogg (R) . Henry H. Starkweather (R) . William H. Barnum (D)
Delaware . Benjamin T. Biggs (D)
Florida . Charles M. Hamilton (R)
Georgia . William W. Paine (D), from December 22, 1870 . Richard H. Whiteley (R), from December 22, 1870 . Marion Bethune (R), from December 22, 1870 . Jefferson F. Long (R), from January 16, 1871 . Stephen A. Corker (D), from January 24, 1871 . William P. Price (D), from December 22, 1870 . Pierce M. B. Young (D), from December 22, 1870
Illinois . Norman B. Judd (R) . John F. Farnsworth (R) . Elihu B. Washburne (R), until March 6, 1869 Horatio C. Burchard (R), from December 6, 1869 . John B. Hawley (R) . Ebon C. Ingersoll (R) . Burton C. Cook (R) . Jesse H. Moore (R) . Shelby M. Cullom (R) . Thompson W. McNeely (D) . Albert G. Burr (D) . Samuel S. Marshall (D) . John B. Hay (R) . John M. Crebs (D) . John A. Logan (R), until March 3, 1871
Indiana . William E. Niblack (D) . Michael C. Kerr (D) . William S. Holman (D) . George W. Julian (R) . John Coburn (R) . Daniel W. Voorhees (D) . Godlove S. Orth (R) . James N. Tyner (R) . John P. C. Shanks (R) . William Williams (R) . Jasper Packard (R)
Iowa . George W. McCrary (R) . William Smyth (R), until September 30, 1870 William P. Wolf (R), from December 6, 1870 . William B. Allison (R) . William Loughridge (R) . Francis W. Palmer (R) . Charles Pomeroy (R)
Kansas . Sidney Clarke (R)
Kentucky . Lawrence S. Trimble (D) . William N. Sweeney (D) . Jacob Golladay (D), until February 28, 1870 Joseph H. Lewis (D), from May 10, 1870 . J. Proctor Knott (D) . Boyd Winchester (D) . Thomas L. Jones (D) . James B. Beck (D) . George M. Adams (D) . John M. Rice (D)
Louisiana . J. Hale Sypher (R), from November 7, 1870 . Lionel A. Sheldon (R) . Chester B. Darrall (R) . Joseph P. Newsham (R), from May 23, 1870 . Frank Morey (R)
Maine . John Lynch (R) . Samuel P. Morrill (R) . James G. Blaine (R) . John A. Peters (R) . Eugene Hale (R)
Maryland . Samuel Hambleton (D) . Stevenson Archer (D) . Thomas Swann (D) . Patrick Hamill (D) . Frederick Stone (D)
Massachusetts . James Buffington (R) . Oakes Ames (R) . Ginery Twichell (R) . Samuel Hooper (R) . Benjamin F. Butler (R) . Nathaniel P. Banks (R) . George S. Boutwell (R), until March 12, 1869 George M. Brooks (R), from November 2, 1869 . George F. Hoar (R) . William B. Washburn (R) . Henry L. Dawes (R)
Michigan . Fernando C. Beaman (R) . William L. Stoughton (R) . Austin Blair (R) . Thomas W. Ferry (R), until March 3, 1871 . Omar D. Conger (R) . Randolph Strickland (R)
Minnesota . Morton S. Wilkinson (R) . Eugene M. Wilson (D)
Mississippi . George E. Harris (R), from February 23, 1870 . Joseph L. Morphis (R), from February 23, 1870 . Henry W. Barry (R), from April 8, 1870 . George C. McKee (R), from February 23, 1870 . Legrand W. Perce (R), from February 23, 1870
Missouri . Erastus Wells (D) . Gustavus A. Finkelnburg (R) . James R. McCormick (D) . Sempronius H. Boyd (R) . Samuel S. Burdett (R) . Robert T. Van Horn (R) . Joel F. Asper (R) . John F. Benjamin (R) . David P. Dyer (R)
Nebraska . John Taffe (R)
Nevada . Thomas Fitch (R)
New Hampshire . Jacob H. Ela (R) . Aaron F. Stevens (R) . Jacob Benton (R)
New Jersey . William Moore (R) . Charles Haight (D) . John T. Bird (D) . John Hill (R) . Orestes Cleveland (D)
New York . Henry A. Reeves (D) . John G. Schumaker (D) . Henry W. Slocum (D) . John Fox (D) . John Morrissey (D) . Samuel S. Cox (D) . Hervey C. Calkin (D) . James Brooks (D) . Fernando Wood (D) . Clarkson N. Potter (D) . George W. Greene (D), until February 17, 1870 Charles H. Van Wyck (R), from February 17, 1870 . John H. Ketcham (R) . John A. Griswold (D) . Stephen L. Mayham (D) . Adolphus H. Tanner (R) . Orange Ferriss (R) . William A. Wheeler (R) . Stephen Sanford (R) . Charles Knapp (R) . Addison H. Laflin (R) . Alexander H. Bailey (R) . John C. Churchill (R) . Dennis McCarthy (R) . George W. Cowles (R) . William H. Kelsey (R) . Giles W. Hotchkiss (R) . Hamilton Ward Sr. (R) . Noah Davis (R), until July 15, 1870 Charles H. Holmes (R), from December 6, 1870 . John Fisher (R) . David S. Bennett (R) . Porter Sheldon (R)
North Carolina . Clinton L. Cobb (R) . David Heaton (R), until June 25, 1870 Joseph Dixon (R), from December 5, 1870 . Oliver H. Dockery (R) . John T. Deweese (R), until February 28, 1870 John Manning Jr. (D), from December 7, 1870 . Israel G. Lash (R) . Francis E. Shober (D) . Alexander H. Jones (R)
Ohio . Peter W. Strader (D) . Job E. Stevenson (R) . Robert C. Schenck (R), until January 5, 1871 . William Lawrence (R) . William Mungen (D) . John A. Smith (R) . James J. Winans (R) . John Beatty (R) . Edward F. Dickinson (D) . Truman H. Hoag (D), until February 5, 1870 Erasmus D. Peck (R), from April 23, 1870 . John T. Wilson (R) . Philadelph Van Trump (D) . George W. Morgan (D) . Martin Welker (R) . Eliakim H. Moore (R) . John Bingham (R) . Jacob A. Ambler (R) . William H. Upson (R) . James A. Garfield (R)
Oregon . Joseph S. Smith (D)