27th Congress of the United States

The 27th Congress of the United States , consisting of the House and Senate , was the legislature of the United States . Its legislative period lasted from March 4, 1841 to March 4, 1843. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class II ) were elected in the 1840 congressional elections. There was a majority for the Whig Party in both chambers . The Democratic Party had to accept its role as the opposition party. The congress met in the American capital Washington, DC At that time the United States consisted of 26 states. Presidents were William Henry Harrison and after his death John Tyler . The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 census .

Important events

See also 1841 1842 and 1843

• March 4, 1841: Beginning of the legislative period of the 27th Congress. At the same time, the new President William H. Harrison is introduced into office. He replaces Martin Van Buren .
• The Indian wars continue throughout the legislative period .
• April 4, 1841: President Harrison dies after only one month in office. Successor is Vice President John Tyler. This is the first time in American history that a president dies in office. As a result, a dispute arises over the position of a president promoted from the vice-president. It is about rights and powers as well as the address. Tyler is setting a precedent. He calls himself the normal President and not Acting (incumbent) President. He also takes on the regular presidential duties. This is what all American presidents follow who move up from the office of vice president to the highest office of the state.
• May 19, 1842: The so-called Dorr Rebellion breaks out in Rhode Island .
• August 9, 1842: The Webster-Ashburton Treaty establishes the border east of the Rocky Mountains between the United States and British Canada.
• 1842: In the US congressional elections, the Whig Party wins a majority in the Senate and the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives.

The main laws

During the session of the 27th Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

• April 19, 1841: Bankruptcy Act of 1841
• September 4, 1841: Preemption Act of 1841
• August 4, 1842: Armed Occupation Act
• August 30, 1842: Tariff of 1842

Composition according to parties

senate

• Democratic Party: 20
• Whig Party: 29
• Others (0
• Vacant: 3

Total: 52 at the end of the legislative period

House of Representatives

• Democratic Party: 100
• Whig Party: 139
• Others: 2
• Vacant: 1

Total: 242 at the end of the legislative period

There were also three congressional delegates who were not entitled to vote

Public officials

senate

• President of the Senate : John Tyler (W) until April 4, 1841, after which the office was vacant.
• President per tempore : William R. King (D) until March 11, 1841, then Samuel L. Southard (W) until May 31, 1842 and then Willie Person Mangum (W).

House of Representatives

• House Speaker : John White (W)

Senate members

The following senators represented their respective states in the 27th Congress:

Alabama 2. William R. King (D) 3. Clement Comer Clay (D) until November 15, 1841 Arthur Bagby (D) from November 24, 1841 Arkansas 2. William Savin Fulton (D) 3. Ambrose Hundley Sevier (D) Connecticut 1. Jabez W. Huntington (W) 3. Perry Smith (D) Delaware 1. Richard H. Bayard (W) 2. Thomas Clayton (W) Georgia 2. John MacPherson Berrien (W) 3. Alfred Cuthbert (D) Illinois 2. Samuel McRoberts (D) 3. Richard M. Young (D) Indiana 1. Albert Smith White (W) 3. Oliver H. Smith (W) Kentucky James Morehead (W) 3. Henry Clay (W) until March 31, 1842 John J. Crittenden (W) from March 31, 1842 Louisiana 2. Alexander Barrow (W) 3. Alexander Mouton (D) until March 1, 1842 Charles Magill Conrad (W) from April 14, 1842 Maine 1. Reuel Williams (D) until February 15, 1843 2. George Evans (W) Maryland 1. William Duhurst Merrick (W) 3. John Leeds Kerr (W) Massachusetts 1. Rufus Choate (W) 2. Isaac C. Bates (W) Michigan 1st Augustus Seymour Porter (W) 2. William Woodbridge (W)

Mississippi 1. John Henderson (W) 2. Robert J. Walker (D) Missouri 1. Thomas Hart Benton (D) 3. Lewis F. Linn (D) New Hampshire 2. Levi Woodbury (D) 3. Franklin Pierce (D) until February 28, 1842 Leonard Wilcox (D) from March 1, 1842 New Jersey 1. Samuel L. Southard (W) through June 26, 1842 William L. Dayton (W) from July 2, 1842 2. Jacob W. Miller (W) new York 1. Nathaniel Pitcher Tallmadge (W) 3. Silas Wright (D) North Carolina 2. Willie Person Mangum (W) 3. William Alexander Graham (W) Ohio 1. Benjamin Tappan (D) 3. William Allen (D) Pennsylvania 1. Daniel Sturgeon (D) 3. James Buchanan (D) Rhode Island 1. Nathan Dixon (W) until January 29, 1842 William Sprague (W) from February 18, 1842 2. James F. Simmons (W) South carolina 2. John C. Calhoun (D) 3. William C. Preston (W) until November 29, 1842 George McDuffie (D) from December 23, 1842 Tennessee 1. Alfred Nicholson (D) until February 7, 1842, then vacancy 2. Vacant Vermont 1. Samuel S. Phelps (W) 3. Samuel Prentiss (W) until April 11, 1842 Samuel C. Crafts (W) from April 23, 1842 Virginia 1. William Cabell Rives (W) 2. William S. Archer (W)

Members of the House of Representatives

The following congressmen represented the interests of their respective states in the 27th Congress:

Alabama State Election Reuben Chapman (D) George S. Houston (D) Dixon Hall Lewis (D) William Winter Payne (D) Benjamin Glover Shields (D) Arkansas state-wide election Edward Cross (D) Connecticut 6 constituencies 1. Joseph Trumbull (W) 2. William Whiting Boardman (W) 3. Thomas Wheeler Williams (W) 4. Thomas Osborne (W) 5. Truman Smith (W) 6. John H. Brockway (W) Delaware state-wide choice George B. Rodney (W) Georgia State Election Julius Caesar Alford (W) until October 1, 1841 Edward Junius Black (W) from January 3, 1842 William Crosby Dawson (D) until November 13, 1841 Walter T. Colquitt (D) from January 3, 1842 Thomas Flournoy Foster (D) Roger Lawson Gamble (W) Richard W. Habersham (W) until December 2, 1842 George Walker Crawford (W) from January 7, 1843 James Archibald Meriwether (W) Eugenius Aristides Nisbet (W) until October 12, 1841 Mark Anthony Cooper (D) from January 3, 1842 Lott Warren (W) Illinois 3 constituencies 1. John Reynolds (W) 2. Zadok Casey (independent democrat) 3. John T. Stuart (W) Indiana 7 constituencies 1. George H. Proffit (W) 2. Richard W. Thompson (W) 3. Joseph L. White (W) 4. James H. Cravens (W) 5. Andrew Kennedy (D) 6. David Wallace (W) 7. Henry Smith Lane (W) Kentucky 13 constituencies 1. Linn Boyd (D) 2. Philip Triplet (W) 3. Joseph R. Underwood (W) 4. Bryan Owsley (W) 5. John Burton Thompson (W) 6. Willis Green (W) 7. John Pope (W) 8. James Sprigg (W) 9. John White (W) 10. Thomas F. Marshall (W) 11. Landaff Andrews (W) 12. Garrett Davis (W) 13. William Orlando Butler (D) Louisiana 3 constituencies 1. Edward White (W) 2. John Bennett Dawson (D) 3. John Moore (W) Maine 8 constituencies 1. Nathan Clifford (D) 2. William P. Fessenden (W) 3. Benjamin Randall (D) 4. David Bronson (W) from May 31, 1841 5. Nathaniel Littlefield (D) 6. Alfred Marshall (D) 7. Joshua A. Lowell (D) 8. Elisha Hunt Allen (W) Maryland 7 constituencies. The 4th constituency had two MPs 1. Isaac Dashiell Jones (W) 2. James Pearce (W) 3. James Wray Williams (D) until December 2, 1842 Charles S. Sewall (D) from January 2, 1843 4A. John P. Kennedy (W) 4B. Alexander Randall (W) 5. William Cost Johnson (W) 6. John Mason (D) 8th Augustus Rhodes Sollers (W) Massachusetts 12 constituencies 1. Robert Charles Winthrop (W) until May 25, 1842 Nathan Appleton (W) from June 9 to September 28, 1842 Robert Charles Winthrop (W) from November 29, 1842 2. Leverett Saltonstall (W) 3. Caleb Cushing (W) 4. William Parmenter (D) 5. Levi Lincoln Jr. (W) through March 16, 1841 Charles Hudson (W) from May 3, 1841 6. Osmyn Baker (W) 7. George N. Briggs (W) 8. William B. Calhoun (W) 9. William Soden Hastings (W) until June 17, 1842 10. Nathaniel B. Borden (W) 11. Barker Burnell (W) 12. John Quincy Adams (W) Michigan state wide election Jacob M. Howard (W) Mississippi State Election William M. Gwin (D) Jacob Thompson (D) Missouri State Election John Cummins Edwards (D) John Miller (D) New Hampshire All MPs were state-elected. Charles G. Atherton (D) Edmund Burke (D) Ira Allen Eastman (D) John Randall Reding (D) Tristram Shaw (D) New Jersey All MPs were elected state-wide John Bancker Aycrigg (W) William Halstead (W) Joseph Maxwell (D) Joseph Fitz Randolph (W) Charles C. Stratton (W) Thomas J. Yorke (D) New York 33 constituencies. The 3rd constituency had four MPs and the 8th, 17th, 22nd and 23rd two each. 1. Charles A. Floyd (D) 2. Joseph Egbert (D) 3A. Charles G. Ferris (D) 3B. John McKeon (D) 3C. James I. Roosevelt (D) 3D. Fernando Wood (D) 4. Aaron Ward (D) 5. Richard D. Davis (D) 6. James G. Clinton (D) 7. John Van Buren (D) 8A. Jacob Houck (D) 8B. Robert McClellan (D) 9. Hiram P. Hunt (W) 10. Daniel D. Barnard (W) 11. Archibald L. Linn (W) 12. Bernard Blair (W) 13. Thomas A. Tomlinson (W) 14. Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (W) 15. John Sanford (D) 16. Andrew W. Doig (D) 17A. David P. Brewster (D) 17B. John G. Floyd (D) 18. Thomas C. Chittenden (W) 19. Samuel S. Bowne (D) 20. Samuel Gordon (D) 21. John C. Clark (W) 22A. Samuel Partridge (D) 22B. Lewis Riggs (D) 23A. Victory Birdseye (W) 23B. A. Lawrence Foster (W) 24. Christopher Morgan (W) 25. John Maynard (W) 26. Francis Granger (W) until March 5, 1841 John Greig (W) May 21st and Sep 25th 1841 Francis Granger (W) from November 27, 1841 27. William M. Oliver (D) 28. Timothy Childs (W) 29. Seth M. Gates (W) 30. John Young (W) 31. Staley N. Clarke (W) 32nd Millard Fillmore (W) 33. Alfred Babcock (W)

North Carolina 13 constituencies 1. Kenneth Rayner (W) 2. John Daniel (D) 3. Edward Stanly (W) 4. William Henry Washington (W) 5. James Iver McKay (D) 6. Archibald Hunter Arrington (D) 7. Edmund Deberry (W) 8. Romulus Mitchell Saunders (D) 9. Augustine Henry Shepperd (W) 10. Abraham Rencher (W) 11. Greene Washington Caldwell (D) 12. James Graham (W) 13. Lewis Williams (W) until February 23, 1842 Anderson Mitchell (W) from April 27, 1842 Ohio 19 constituencies 1. Nathanael G. Pendleton (W) 2. John B. Weller (D) 3. Patrick Gaines Goode (W) 4. Jeremiah Morrow (W) 5. William Doan (D) 6. Calvary Morris (W) 7. William Russell (W) 8. Joseph Ridgway (W) 9. William Medill (D) 10. Samson Mason (W) 11. Benjamin S. Cowen (W) 12. Joshua Mathiot (W) 13. James Mathews (D) 14. George Sweeny (D) 15. Sherlock James Andrews (W) 16. Joshua Reed Giddings (W) With one interruption from March 23 to Dec. 5, 1842 17. John Hastings (D) 18. Ezra Dean (D) 19. Samuel Stokely (W) Pennsylvania 25 constituencies. The 2nd constituency had MPs and the 4th three. 1. Charles Brown (D) 2A. George Washington Toland (W) 2 B. John Sergeant (W) until September 15, 1841 Joseph Reed Ingersoll (W) from October 12, 1841 3. Charles Jared Ingersoll (D) 4A. Jeremiah Brown (W) 4B. John Edwards (W) 4C. Francis James (W) 5. Joseph Fornance (D) 6. Robert Ramsey (W) 7. John Westbrook (D) 8. Peter Newhard (D) 9. George May Keim (D) 10. William Simonton (W) 11. James Gerry (D) 12. James Cooper (W) 13. Amos Gustine (D) 14. James Irvin (W) 15. Benjamin Alden Bidlack (D) 16. John Snyder (D) 17. Davis Dimock (D) until January 13, 1842 Almon Heath Read (D) from March 18, 1842 18. Charles Ogle (W) until May 10, 1841 Henry Black (W) from June 28 to Nov 28, 1841 James McPherson Russell (W) from December 21, 1841 19. Albert Gallatin Marchand (D) 20. Enos Hook (D) until April 18, 1841 Henry White Beeson (D) from May 31, 1841 21. Joseph Lawrence (W) until April 17, 1842 Thomas McKennan (W) from May 30, 1842 22. William Wallace Irwin (W) 23. William Jack (D) 24. Thomas Henry (W) 25. Arnold Plumer (D) Rhode Island All MPs were state-elected. Robert B. Cranston (W) Joseph L. Tillinghast (W) South Carolina 9 constituencies 1. Isaac E. Holmes (D) 2. Robert Rhett (D) 3. John Campbell (D) 4. Sampson H. Butler (D) until September 27, 1842 Samuel W. Trotti (D) from December 17, 1842 5. Francis Wilkinson Pickens (D) 6. William Butler (W) 7. James Rogers (D) 8. Thomas De Lage Sumter (D) 9. Patrick C. Caldwell (D) Tennessee 13 constituencies 1. Thomas Dickens Arnold (W) 2. Abraham McClellan (D) 3. Joseph Lanier Williams (W) 4. Thomas Jefferson Campbell (W) 5. Hopkins L. Turney (D) 6. William B. Campbell (W) 7. Robert L. Caruthers (W) 8. Meredith Poindexter Gentry (W) 9. Harvey Magee Watterson (D) 10. Aaron V. Brown (D) 11. Cave Johnson (D) 12. Milton Brown (W) 13. Christopher Harris Williams (W) Vermont 5 constituencies 1. Hiland Hall (W) 2. William Slade (W) 3. Horace Everett (W) 4. Augustus Young (W) 5. John Mattocks (W) Virginia 21 constituencies 1. Francis Mallory (W) 2. George B. Cary (D) 3. John Winston Jones (D) 4. William Goode (D) 5. Edmund W. Hubard (D) 6. Walter Coles (D) 7. William L. Goggin (W) 8. Henry A. Wise (W) 9. Robert Hunter (SRW) = States Right Whig 10. John Taliaferro (W) 11. John Botts (W) 12. Thomas Walker Gilmer (W) 13. Linn Banks (D) until December 6, 1841 William Smith (D) from December 6, 1841 14. Cuthbert Powell (W) 15. Richard W. Barton (W) 16. William Harris (D) 17. Alexander Stuart (W) 18. George Washington Hopkins (D) 19. George W. Summers (W) 20. Samuel Lewis Hays (D) 21. Lewis Steenrod (D)

Members of the House of Representatives who are not entitled to vote:

• Florida Territory : David Levy Yulee (D)
• Iowa Territory : Augustus C. Dodge (D)
• Wisconsin Territory : Henry Dodge (D)

Web links

Commons : 27th United States Congress  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 27 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 27th Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)