The 42nd 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, 1871, to March 4, 1873, during the third and fourth 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
June 10, 1871: U.S. Marines make naval attack on the Han River forts in Korea March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park November 5, 1872: 1872 United States presidential election
Major legislation
April 20, 1871: Enforcement Act of 1871 March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park founded May 10, 1872: General Mining Act of 1872 May 23, 1872: Amnesty Act of 1872 June 1, 1872: Practice Conformity Act (precursor to the Rules Enabling Act), ch. 255, February 12, 1873: Coinage Act of 1873 March 3, 1873: Timber Culture Act March 3, 1873: Comstock Act March 3, 1873: Salary Grab Act (so called)
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.
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: Austin Blair
Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, 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 re-election in 1874; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1872.
Alabama 2. George Goldthwaite (D) 3. George E. Spencer (R)
Arkansas 2. Powell Clayton (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 Sr. (D) 2. Eli Saulsbury (D)
Florida 1. Abijah Gilbert (R) 3. Thomas W. Osborn (R)
Georgia 2. Thomas M. Norwood (D), from November 14, 1871 3. Joshua Hill (R)
Illinois 2. John A. Logan (R) 3. Lyman Trumbull (LR)
Indiana 1. Daniel D. Pratt (R) 3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R)
Iowa 2. George G. Wright (R) 3. James Harlan (R)
Kansas 2. Alexander Caldwell (R) 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)
Kentucky 2. John W. Stevenson (D) 3. Garrett Davis (D), until September 22, 1872 Willis B. Machen (D), from September 27, 1872
Louisiana 2. J. Rodman West (R) 3. William P. Kellogg (R), until November 1, 1872
Maine 1. Hannibal Hamlin (R) 2. Lot M. Morrill (R)
Maryland 1. William T. Hamilton (D) 3. George Vickers (D)
Massachusetts 1. Charles Sumner (R) 2. Henry Wilson (R), until March 3, 1873
Michigan 1. Zachariah Chandler (R) 2. Thomas W. Ferry (R)
Minnesota 1. Alexander Ramsey (R) 2. William Windom (R)
Mississippi 1. Adelbert Ames (R) 2. James L. Alcorn (R), from December 1, 1871
Missouri 1. Carl Schurz (R) 3. Francis P. Blair Jr. (D)
Nebraska 1. Thomas Tipton (R) 2. Phineas Hitchcock (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. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R)
New York 1. Reuben E. Fenton (R) 3. Roscoe Conkling (R)
North Carolina 2. Matt W. Ransom (D), from January 30, 1872 3. John Pool (R)
Ohio 1. Allen G. Thurman (D) 3. John Sherman (R)
Oregon 2. James K. Kelly (D) 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. Henry Cooper (D)
Texas 1. James W. Flanagan (R) 2. Morgan C. Hamilton (R)
Vermont 1. George F. Edmunds (R) 3. Justin S. Morrill (R)
Virginia 1. John F. Lewis (R) 2. John W. Johnston (D), from March 15, 1871
West Virginia 1. Arthur I. Boreman (R) 2. Henry G. Davis (D)
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 . Benjamin S. Turner (R) . Charles W. Buckley (R) . William A. Handley (D) . Charles Hays (R) . Peter M. Dox (D) . Joseph H. Sloss (D)
Arkansas . James M. Hanks (D) . Oliver P. Snyder (R) . John Edwards (LR), until February 9, 1872 Thomas Boles (R), from February 9, 1872
California . Sherman O. Houghton (R) . Aaron A. Sargent (R) . John M. Coghlan (R)
Connecticut . Julius L. Strong (R), until September 7, 1872 Joseph R. Hawley (R), from December 2, 1872 . Stephen W. Kellogg (R) . Henry H. Starkweather (R) . William H. Barnum (D)
Delaware . Benjamin T. Biggs (D)
Florida . Josiah T. Walls (R), until January 29, 1873 Silas L. Niblack (D), from January 29, 1873
Georgia . Archibald T. MacIntyre (D) . Richard H. Whiteley (R) . John S. Bigby (R) . Thomas J. Speer (R), until August 18, 1872 Erasmus W. Beck (D), from December 2, 1872 . Dudley M. Du Bose (D) . William P. Price (D) . Pierce M. B. Young (D)
Illinois . Charles B. Farwell (R) . John F. Farnsworth (R) . Horatio C. Burchard (R) . John B. Hawley (R) . Bradford N. Stevens (D) . Burton C. Cook (R), until August 26, 1871 Henry Snapp (R), from December 4, 1871 . Jesse H. Moore (R) . James C. Robinson (D) . Thompson W. McNeely (D) . Edward Y. Rice (D) . Samuel S. Marshall (D) . John B. Hay (R) . John M. Crebs (D) . John L. Beveridge (R), November 7, 1871 – January 4, 1873
Indiana . William E. Niblack (D) . Michael C. Kerr (D) . William S. Holman (D) . Jeremiah M. Wilson (R) . John Coburn (R) . Daniel W. Voorhees (D) . Mahlon D. Manson (D) . James N. Tyner (R) . John P. C. Shanks (R) . William Williams (R) . Jasper Packard (R)
Iowa . George W. McCrary (R) . Aylett R. Cotton (R) . William G. Donnan (R) . Madison M. Walden (R) . Francis W. Palmer (R) . Jackson Orr (R)
Kansas . David P. Lowe (R)
Kentucky . Edward Crossland (D) . Henry D. McHenry (D) . Joseph H. Lewis (D) . William B. Read (D) . Boyd Winchester (D) . William E. Arthur (D) . James B. Beck (D) . George M. Adams (D) . John M. Rice (D)
Louisiana . J. Hale Sypher (R) . Lionel A. Sheldon (R) . Chester B. Darrall (R) . James McCleery (R), until November 5, 1871 Alexander Boarman (LR), from December 3, 1872 . Frank Morey (R)
Maine . John Lynch (R) . William P. Frye (R) . James G. Blaine (R) . John A. Peters (R) . Eugene Hale (R)
Maryland . Samuel Hambleton (D) . Stevenson Archer (D) . Thomas Swann (D) . John Ritchie (D) . William M. Merrick (D)
Massachusetts . James Buffington (R) . Oakes Ames (R) . Ginery Twichell (R) . Samuel Hooper (R) . Benjamin F. Butler (R) . Nathaniel P. Banks (R) then (LR) . George M. Brooks (R), until May 13, 1872 Constantine C. Esty (R), from December 2, 1872 . George F. Hoar (R) . William B. Washburn (R), until December 5, 1871 Alvah Crocker (R), from January 2, 1872 . Henry L. Dawes (R)
Michigan . Henry Waldron (R) . William L. Stoughton (R) . Austin Blair (R) . Wilder D. Foster (R), from December 4, 1871 . Omar D. Conger (R) . Jabez G. Sutherland (D)
Minnesota . Mark H. Dunnell (R) . John T. Averill (R)
Mississippi . George E. Harris (R) . Joseph L. Morphis (R) . Henry W. Barry (R) . George C. McKee (R) . Legrand W. Perce (R)
Missouri . Erastus Wells (D) . Gustavus A. Finkelnburg (LR) . James R. McCormick (D) . Harrison E. Havens (R) . Samuel S. Burdett (R) . Abram Comingo (D) . Isaac C. Parker (R) . James G. Blair (LR) . Andrew King (D)
Nebraska . John Taffe (R)
Nevada . Charles W. Kendall (D)
New Hampshire . Ellery A. Hibbard (D) . Samuel N. Bell (D) . Hosea W. Parker (D)
New Jersey . John W. Hazelton (R) . Samuel C. Forker (D) . John T. Bird (D) . John Hill (R) . George A. Halsey (R)
New York . Dwight Townsend (D) . Thomas Kinsella (D) . Henry W. Slocum (D) . Robert Roosevelt (D) . William R. Roberts (D) . Samuel S. Cox (D) . Smith Ely Jr. (D) . James Brooks (D) . Fernando Wood (D) . Clarkson N. Potter (D) . Charles St. John (R) . John H. Ketcham (R) . Joseph H. Tuthill (D) . Eli Perry (D) . Joseph M. Warren (D) . John Rogers (D) . William A. Wheeler (R) . John M. Carroll (D) . Elizur H. Prindle (R) . Clinton L. Merriam (R) . Ellis H. Roberts (R) . William E. Lansing (R) . R. Holland Duell (R) . John E. Seeley (R) . William H. Lamport (R) . Milo Goodrich (R) . H. Boardman Smith (R) . Freeman Clarke (R) . Seth Wakeman (R) . William Williams (D) . Walter L. Sessions (R)
North Carolina . Clinton L. Cobb (R) . Charles R. Thomas (R) . Alfred M. Waddell (D) . Sion H. Rogers (D) . James M. Leach (D) . Francis E. Shober (D) . James C. Harper (D)
Ohio . Aaron F. Perry (R), until July 14, 1872 Ozro J. Dodds (D), from October 9, 1872 . Job E. Stevenson (R) . Lewis D. Campbell (D) . John F. McKinney (D) . Charles N. Lamison (D) . John A. Smith (R) . Samuel Shellabarger (R) . John Beatty (R) . Charles Foster (R) . Erasmus D. Peck (R) . John T. Wilson (R) . Philadelph Van Trump (D) . George W. Morgan (D) . James Monroe (R) . William P. Sprague (R) . John Bingham (R) . Jacob A. Ambler (R) . William H. Upson (R) . James A. Garfield (R)
Oregon . James H. Slater (D)
Pennsylvania . Samuel J. Randall (D) . John V. Creely (IR) . Leonard Myers (R) . William D. Kelley (R) . Alfred C. Harmer (R) . Ephraim L. Acker (D) . Washington Townsend (R) . J. Lawrence Getz (D) . Oliver J. Dickey (R) . John W. Killinger (R) . John B. Storm (D) . Lazarus D. Shoemaker (R) . Ulysses Mercur (R), until December 2, 1872 Frank C. Bunnell (R), from December 24, 1872 . John B. Packer (R) . Richard J. Haldeman (D) . Benjamin F. Meyers (D) . R. Milton Speer (D) . Henry Sherwood (D) . Glenni W. Scofield (R) . Samuel Griffith (D) . Henry D. Foster (D) . James S. Negley (R) . Ebenezer McJunkin (R) . William McClelland (D)
Rhode Island . Benjamin T. Eames (R) . James M. Pendleton (R)
South Carolina . Joseph Rainey (R) . Robert C. De Large (R), until January 24, 1873; vacant thereafter . Robert B. Elliott (R) . Alexander S. Wallace (R)
Tennessee . Roderick R. Butler (R) . Horace Maynard (R) . Abraham E. Garrett (D) . John M. Bright (D) . Edward I. Golladay (D) . Washington C. Whitthorne (D) . Robert P. Caldwell (D) . William W. Vaughan (D)
Texas . William S. Herndon (D) . John C. Conner (D) . William T. Clark (R), until May 13, 1872 Dewitt C. Giddings (D), from May 13, 1872 . John Hancock (D)
Vermont . Charles W. Willard (R) . Luke P. Poland (R) . Worthington C. Smith (R)
Virginia . John Critcher (D) . James H. Platt Jr. (R) . Charles H. Porter (R) . William H. H. Stowell (R) . Richard T. W. Duke (D) . John T. Harris (D) . Elliott M. Braxton (D) . William Terry (D)
West Virginia . John J. Davis (D) . James C. McGrew (R) . Frank Hereford (D)
Wisconsin . Alexander Mitchell (D) . Gerry W. Hazelton (R) . J. Allen Barber (R)