25th United States Congress explained

Number:25th
Imagename:United States Capitol
Imagedate:1827
Start:March 4, 1837
End:March 4, 1839
Vp:Richard M. Johnson (D)
Pro Tem:William R. King (D)
Speaker:James K. Polk (D)
Senators:52
Reps:242
Delegates:3
S-Majority:Democratic
H-Majority:Democratic
Sessionnumber1:Special
Sessionstart1:March 4, 1837
Sessionend1:March 10, 1837
Sessionnumber2:1st
Sessionstart2:September 4, 1837
Sessionend2:October 16, 1837
Sessionnumber3:2nd
Sessionstart3:December 4, 1837
Sessionend3:July 9, 1838
Sessionnumber4:3rd
Sessionstart4:December 3, 1838
Sessionend4:March 3, 1839
Previous:24th
Next:26th

The 25th 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, 1837, to March 4, 1839, during the first two years of Martin Van Buren's presidency.

The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 United States census. Both houses of congress had a Democratic majority.

Major events

See main article: 1837 in the United States, 1838 in the United States and 1839 in the United States.

Territories organized

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

Beginning of the CongressFile:25th United States Senate Ending.svgEnd of the Congress

House of Representatives

Beginning of the CongressFile:25th United States House Ending.svgEnding of the Congress

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives 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, ending in 1839; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, ending in 1841; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, ending in 1843.

2. William R. King (D)

3. John McKinley (D), until April 22, 1837

Clement C. Clay (D), from June 19, 1837

2. William S. Fulton (D)

3. Ambrose H. Sevier (D)

1. John M. Niles (D)

3. Perry Smith (D)

1. Richard H. Bayard (W)

2. Thomas Clayton (W)

2. John P. King (D), until November 1, 1837

Wilson Lumpkin (D), from November 22, 1837

3. Alfred Cuthbert (D)

2. John M. Robinson (D)

3. Richard M. Young (D)

1. John Tipton (D)

3. Oliver H. Smith (W)

2. John J. Crittenden (W)

3. Henry Clay (W)

2. Robert C. Nicholas (D)

3. Alexander Mouton (D)

1. Reuel Williams (D)

2. John Ruggles (D)

1. Joseph Kent (W), until November 24, 1837

William D. Merrick (W), from January 4, 1838

3. John S. Spence (W)

1. Daniel Webster (W)

2. John Davis (W)

1. Lucius Lyon (D)

2. John Norvell (D)

1. John Black (W), until January 22, 1838

James F. Trotter (D), from January 22, 1838, until July 10, 1838

Thomas Hickman Williams (D), from November 12, 1838

2. Robert J. Walker (D)

1. Thomas H. Benton (D)

3. Lewis F. Linn (D)

2. Henry Hubbard (D)

3. Franklin Pierce (D)

1. Samuel L. Southard (W)

2. Garret D. Wall (D)

1. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (D)

3. Silas Wright Jr. (D)

2. Bedford Brown (D)

3. Robert Strange (D)

1. Thomas Morris (D)

3. William Allen (D)

1. Samuel McKean (D)

3. James Buchanan (D)

1. Asher Robbins (W)

2. Nehemiah R. Knight (W)

2. John C. Calhoun (D)

3. William C. Preston (W)

1. Felix Grundy (D), until July 4, 1838

Ephraim H. Foster (W), from September 17, 1838 – March 3, 1839

2. Hugh Lawson White (W)

1. Benjamin Swift (W)

3. Samuel Prentiss (W)

1. William C. Rives (D)

2. Richard E. Parker (D), until March 4, 1837

William H. Roane (D), from March 14, 1837

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

. Reuben Chapman (D)

. Joshua L. Martin (D)

. Joab Lawler (W), until May 8, 1838

George W. Crabb (W), from September 4, 1838

. Dixon H. Lewis (D)

. Francis S. Lyon (W)

. Archibald Yell (D)

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Isaac Toucey (D)

. Samuel Ingham (D)

. Elisha Haley (D)

. Thomas T. Whittlesey (D)

. Lancelot Phelps (D)

. Orrin Holt (D)

. John J. Milligan (W)

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Jesse F. Cleveland (D)

. William C. Dawson (W)

. Thomas Glascock (D)

. Seaton Grantland (D)

. Charles E. Haynes (D)

. Hopkins Holsey (D)

. Jabez Y. Jackson (D)

. George W. Owens (D)

. George W. B. Towns (D)

. Adam W. Snyder (D)

. Zadok Casey (D)

. William L. May (D)

. Ratliff Boon (D)

. John Ewing (W)

. William Graham (W)

. George H. Dunn (W)

. James Rariden (W)

. William Herod (W)

. Albert S. White (W)

. John L. Murray (D)

. Edward Rumsey (W)

. Joseph R. Underwood (W)

. Sherrod Williams (W)

. James Harlan (W)

. John Calhoon (W)

. John Pope (W)

. William J. Graves (W)

. John White (W)

. Richard Hawes (W)

. Richard H. Menefee (W)

. John Chambers (W)

. William W. Southgate (W)

. Henry Johnson (W)

. Eleazar W. Ripley (D), until March 2, 1839

. Rice Garland (W)

. John Fairfield (D), until December 24, 1838

. Francis O. J. Smith (D)

. Jonathan Cilley (D), until February 24, 1838

Edward Robinson (W), from April 28, 1838

. George Evans (W)

. Timothy J. Carter (D), until March 14, 1838

Virgil D. Parris (D), from May 29, 1838

. Hugh J. Anderson (D)

. Joseph C. Noyes (W)

. Thomas Davee (D)

The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives.

. John Dennis (W)

. James A. Pearce (W)

. John T. H. Worthington (D)

. Benjamin C. Howard (D)

. Isaac McKim (D), until April 1, 1838

John P. Kennedy (W), from April 25, 1838

. William Cost Johnson (W)

. Francis Thomas (D)

. Daniel Jenifer (W)

. Richard Fletcher (W)

. Stephen C. Phillips (W), until September 28, 1838

Leverett Saltonstall I (W), from December 25, 1838

. Caleb Cushing (W)

. William Parmenter (D)

. Levi Lincoln Jr. (W)

. George Grennell Jr. (W)

. George N. Briggs (W)

. William B. Calhoun (W)

. William S. Hastings (W)

. Nathaniel B. Borden (D)

. John Reed Jr. (W)

. John Quincy Adams (W)

. Isaac E. Crary (D)

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. John F. H. Claiborne (D), from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838

Seargent S. Prentiss (W), from May 30, 1838

. Samuel J. Gholson (D), from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838

Thomas J. Word (W), from May 30, 1838

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Albert G. Harrison (D)

. John Miller (D)

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Charles G. Atherton (D)

. Samuel Cushman (D)

. James Farrington (D)

. Joseph Weeks (D)

. Jared W. Williams (D)

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. John B. Aycrigg (W)

. William Halstead (W)

. John P. B. Maxwell (W)

. Joseph F. Randolph (W)

. Charles C. Stratton (W)

. Thomas Jones Yorke (W)

There were four plural districts, the 8th, 17th, 22nd & 23rd had two representatives each, the 3rd had four representatives.

. Thomas B. Jackson (D)

. Abraham Vanderveer (D)

. Churchill C. Cambreleng (D)

. Edward Curtis (W)

. Ogden Hoffman (W)

. Ely Moore (D)

. Gouverneur Kemble (D)

. Obadiah Titus (D)

. Nathaniel Jones (D)

. John C. Brodhead (D)

. Robert McClellan (D)

. Zadock Pratt (D)

. Henry Vail (D)

. Albert Gallup (D)

. John I. De Graff (D)

. David A. Russell (W)

. John Palmer (D)

. James B. Spencer (D)

. John Edwards (D)

. Arphaxed Loomis (D)

. Henry A. Foster (D)

. Abraham P. Grant (D)

. Isaac H. Bronson (D)

. John H. Prentiss (D)

. Amasa J. Parker (D)

. John C. Clark (D)

. Andrew D. W. Bruyn (D), until July 27, 1838

Cyrus Beers (D), from December 3, 1838

. Hiram Gray (D)

. Bennet Bicknell (D)

. William Taylor (D)

. William H. Noble (D)

. Samuel Birdsall (D)

. Mark H. Sibley (W)

. John T. Andrews (D)

. Timothy Childs (W)

. William Patterson (W), until August 14, 1838

Harvey Putnam (W), from November 7, 1838

. Luther C. Peck (W)

. Richard P. Marvin (W)

. Millard Fillmore (W)

. Charles F. Mitchell (W)

. Samuel T. Sawyer (W)

. Jesse A. Bynum (D)

. Edward Stanly (W)

. Charles B. Shepard (W)

. James I. McKay (D)

. Micajah T. Hawkins (D)

. Edmund Deberry (W)

. William Montgomery (D)

. Augustine H. Shepperd (W)

. Abraham Rencher (W)

. Henry W. Connor (D)

. James Graham (W)

. Lewis Williams (W)

. Alexander Duncan (D)

. Taylor Webster (D)

. Patrick G. Goode (W)

. Thomas Corwin (W)

. Thomas L. Hamer (D)

. Calvary Morris (W)

. William K. Bond (W)

. Joseph Ridgway (W)

. John Chaney (D)

. Samson Mason (W)

. James Alexander Jr. (W)

. Alexander Harper (W)

. Daniel P. Leadbetter (D)

. William H. Hunter (D)

. John W. Allen (W)

. Elisha Whittlesey (W), until July 9, 1838

Joshua R. Giddings (W), from December 3, 1838

. Andrew W. Loomis (W), until October 20, 1837

Charles D. Coffin (W), from December 20, 1837

. Matthias Shepler (D)

. Daniel Kilgore (D), until July 4, 1838

Henry Swearingen (D), from December 3, 1838

There were two plural districts, the 2nd had two representatives, the 4th had three representatives.

. Lemuel Paynter (D)

. John Sergeant (W)

. George W. Toland (W)

. Francis J. Harper (D), until March 18, 1837

Charles Naylor (W), from June 29, 1837

. Edward Darlington (AM)

. Edward Davies (AM)

. David Potts Jr. (AM)

. Jacob Fry Jr. (D)

. Mathias Morris (W)

. David D. Wagener (D)

. Edward B. Hubley (D)

. Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (D), until February 9, 1838

George M. Keim (D), from March 17, 1838

. Luther Reily (D)

. Henry Logan (D)

. Daniel Sheffer (D)

. Charles McClure (D)

. William W. Potter (D)

. David Petrikin (D)

. Robert H. Hammond (D)

. Samuel W. Morris (D)

. Charles Ogle (AM)

. John J. Klingensmith Jr. (D)

. Andrew Buchanan (D)

. Thomas M. T. McKennan (AM)

. Richard Biddle (AM)

. William Beatty (D)

. Thomas Henry (AM)

. Arnold Plumer (D)

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Robert B. Cranston (W)

. Joseph L. Tillinghast (W)

. Hugh S. Legaré (D)

. Robert Rhett (D)

. John Campbell (N)

. Franklin H. Elmore (States Rights D)

. Francis W. Pickens (N)

. Waddy Thompson Jr. (W)

. William K. Clowney (N)

. John P. Richardson (D)

. John K. Griffin (N)

. William B. Carter (W)

. Abraham McClellan (D)

. Joseph L. Williams (W)

. James I. Standifer (W), until August 20, 1837

William Stone (W), from September 14, 1837

. Hopkins L. Turney (D)

. William B. Campbell (W)

. John Bell (W)

. Abram P. Maury (W)

. James K. Polk (D)

. Ebenezer J. Shields (W)

. Richard Cheatham (W)

. John W. Crockett (W)

. Christopher H. Williams (W)

. Hiland Hall (W)

. William Slade (W)

. Horace Everett (W)

. Heman Allen (W)

. Isaac Fletcher (D)

. Francis Mallory (W)

. Francis E. Rives (D)

. John W. Jones (D)

. George C. Dromgoole (D)

. James W. Bouldin (D)

. Walter Coles (D)

. Archibald Stuart (D)

. Henry A. Wise (W)

. Robert M. T. Hunter (W)

. John Taliaferro (W)

. John Robertson (W)

. James Garland (D)

. John M. Patton (D), until April 7, 1838

Linn Banks (D), from April 28, 1838

. Charles F. Mercer (W)

. James M. Mason (D)

. Isaac S. Pennybacker (D)

. Robert Craig (D)

. George W. Hopkins (D)

. Andrew Beirne (D)

. Joseph Johnson (D)

. William S. Morgan (D)

Non-voting members

. Charles Downing

. William W. Chapman (D), from September 10, 1838

. George Wallace Jones (D), until January 14, 1839

James D. Doty (D), from January 14, 1839

Changes in membership

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

Senate

See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate.

|-| Virginia
(2)| | Richard E. Parker (D)| Resigned March 4, 1837, after accepting a seat on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals| | William H. Roane (D)| Elected March 14, 1837|-| Alabama
(3)| | John McKinley (D)| Resigned April 22, 1837, after being appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court| | Clement C. Clay (D)| Elected June 19, 1837|-| Georgia
(2)| | John P. King (D)| Resigned November 1, 1837| | Wilson Lumpkin (D)| Elected November 22, 1837|-| Maryland
(1)| | Joseph Kent (W)| Died November 24, 1837| | William D. Merrick (W)| Elected January 4, 1838|-| Mississippi
(1)| | John Black (W)| Resigned January 22, 1838| | James F. Trotter (D)| Appointed January 22, 1838|-| Tennessee
(1)| | Felix Grundy (D)| Resigned July 4, 1838, after being appointed United States Attorney General| | Ephraim H. Foster (W)| Elected September 17, 1838|-| Mississippi
(1)| | James F. Trotter (D)| Resigned July 10, 1838| | Thomas H. Williams (D)| Appointed November 12, 1838, and subsequently elected|-| Tennessee
(1)| | Ephraim H. Foster (W)| Resigned March 3, 1839 before start of new Congress under orders of state legislature.| Vacant| |}

House of Representatives

See main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives.

|-| | Vacant| Rep-elect Claiborne presented credentials July 18, 1837| | John F. H. Claiborne (D)| Seated July 18, 1837|-| | Vacant| Rep-elect Gholson presented credentials July 18, 1837| | Samuel J. Gholson (D)| Seated July 18, 1837|-| | | Francis J. Harper (D)| Died March 18, 1837| | Charles Naylor (W)| Seated June 29, 1837|-| | | James I. Standifer (W)| Died August 20, 1837| | William Stone (W)| Seated September 14, 1837|-| | | Elisha Whittlesey (W)| Resigned October 20, 1837| | Charles D. Coffin (W)| Seated December 20, 1837|-| | | John F. H. Claiborne (D)| Seat declared vacant February 5, 1838| | Seargent S. Prentiss (W)| Seated May 30, 1838|-| | | Samuel J. Gholson (D)| Seat declared vacant February 5, 1838| | Thomas J. Word (W)| Seated May 30, 1838|-| | | Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (D)| Resigned February 9, 1838, after being appointed Minister to Austrian Empire| | George M. Keim (D)| Seated March 17, 1838|-| | | Jonathan Cilley (D)| Killed in a duel February 24, 1838, by Rep. William J. Graves| | Edward Robinson (W)| Seated April 28, 1838|-| | | Timothy J. Carter (D)| Died March 14, 1838| | Virgil D. Parris (D)| Seated May 29, 1838|-| | | Isaac McKim (D)| Died April 1, 1838| | John P. Kennedy (W)| Seated April 25, 1838|-| | | John M. Patton (D)| Resigned April 7, 1838| | Linn Banks (D)| Seated April 28, 1838|-| | | Joab Lawler (W)| Died May 8, 1838| | George W. Crabb (W)| Seated October 5, 1835|-| | | Daniel Kilgore (D)| Resigned July 4, 1838| | Henry Swearingen (D)| Seated December 3, 1838|-| | | Elisha Whittlesey (W)| Resigned July 9, 1838| | Joshua R. Giddings (W)| Seated December 3, 1838|-| | | Andrew D. Bruyn (D)| Died July 27, 1838| | Cyrus Beers (D)| Seated December 3, 1838|-| | | William Patterson (W)| Died August 14, 1838| | Harvey Putnam (W)| Seated November 7, 1838|-| | New seat| Iowa Territory seated its first delegate September 10, 1838| | George Wallace Jones (D)| Seated September 10, 1838

|-| | | Stephen C. Phillips (W)| Seat declared vacant September 28, 1838| | Leverett Saltonstall (W)| Seated December 15, 1838|-| | | John Fairfield (D)| Resigned December 24, 1838, after being elected Governor of Maine| Vacant| Not filled this congress|-| | | George Wallace Jones (D)| Lost contested election January 14, 1839| | James D. Doty (D)| Seated January 14, 1839|-| | | Eleazar W. Ripley (D)| Died March 2, 1839| Vacant| Not filled this congress|}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Committee History . House Committee on Natural Resources . 31 January 2023.