31st United States Congress

The 31st United States Congress , made up of the House and Senate , was the United States legislature . Its legislative period lasted from March 4, 1849 to March 4, 1851. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class III ) were elected in the 1848 congressional elections. This resulted in a majority for the Democratic Party in both chambers . The Whig Party was only left with the role of the opposition party. The congress met in the American capital Washington, DC President was Zachary Taylor or Millard Fillmore of the Whig Party. The United States then consisted of 30 states. In 1850, California became the 31st state. The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 census .

Important events

See also 1849 , 1850, and 1851

• March 4, 1849: Beginning of the legislative period of the 31st Congress. A day later, the new President Zachary Taylor, also elected in November 1848, was introduced into office. He replaces James K. Polk . Taylor had refused to take office on the usual day, March 4, 1849, because that day fell on a Sunday.
• The Indian wars continue throughout the legislative period . In addition, tensions between the northern and southern states of the United States are gradually increasing. There is also a gold rush in California.
• May 3, 1849: After a levee breached, the Mississippi River flooded large parts of the city of New Orleans .
• January 29, 1850: Senator Henry Clay introduces the 1850 Compromise in Congress.
• March 19, 1850: American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo .
• April 4, 1850: Los Angeles becomes a city. San Francisco follows on April 15th .
• April 19, 1850: Conclusion of the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty . The USA and Great Britain agree that neither of the two should have sole influence on a future canal that will connect the Atlantic to the Pacific. Neutrality should be guaranteed by both nations.
• July 9, 1850: President Taylor dies and Vice President Fillmore is promoted to the highest office in the United States. This makes the office of the official Senate President vacant.
• July 9, 1850: California becomes the 31st US state.
• July 1850: New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory founded .
• November 1850: In the congressional elections, the Democrats win a majority in both chambers.

The main laws

During the session of the 31st Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

• September 9, 1850: Compromise of 1850 adopted, see Compromise of 1850
• September 18, 1850: Fugitive Slave Act
• September 29, 1850: Donation Land Claim Act

Composition according to parties

senate

• Democratic Party: 36
• Whig Party: 24
• Free Soil Party : 2
• Vacant: 0

Total: 62 at the end of the legislative period

House of Representatives

• Democratic Party: 113
• Whig Party: 107
• Free Soil Party: 9
• Others: 2
• Vacant: 2

Total: 233 at the end of the legislative period

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

Public officials

senate

• President of the Senate : Millard Fillmore (W) until July 9, 1850, after which the office was vacant.
• President pro tempore : David Rice Atchison (D) until May 5, 1850, then William R. King (D).

House of Representatives

• House Speaker : Howell Cobb (D)

Senate members

The following senators represented their respective states in the 31st Congress:

Alabama 2. Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) until November 30, 1849 Jeremiah Clemens (D) from November 30, 1849 3. William R. King (D) Arkansas 2. William King Sebastian (D) 3. Solon Borland (D) California 1. John C. Frémont (D) from September 10, 1850 3. William M. Gwin (D) from September 10, 1850 Connecticut 1. Roger Sherman Baldwin (W) 3. Truman Smith (W) Delaware 1. John Wales (W) 2. Presley Spruance (W) Florida 1. David Levy Yulee (D) 3. Jackson Morton (W) Georgia 2. John MacPherson Berrien (W) 3. William Crosby Dawson (W) Illinois 2. Stephen A. Douglas (D) 3. James Shields (D) with one interruption between March 6 and December 3, 1849 Indiana 1. Jesse D. Bright (D) 3. James Whitcomb (D) Iowa 3. Augustus C. Dodge (D) 2. George W. Jones (D) Kentucky 2. Joseph R. Underwood (W) 3. Henry Clay (W) Louisiana 2. Solomon W. Downs (D) 3. Pierre Soulé (D) Maine 1. Hannibal Hamlin (D) 2. James W. Bradbury (D) Maryland 1. Reverdy Johnson (W) until March 7, 1849 David Stewart (W) from Dec 6, 1849 to Dec 12, 1850 Thomas Pratt (W) from December 12, 1850 3. James Pearce (W) Massachusetts 1. Daniel Webster (W) until July 22, 1850 Robert Charles Winthrop (W) from July 30, 1850 to February 1, 1851 Robert Rantoul (D) from February 1, 1851 2. John Davis (W) Michigan 1. Lewis Cass (D) 2. Alpheus Felch (D)

Mississippi 1. Jefferson Davis (D) 2. Henry S. Foote (D) Missouri 1. Thomas Hart Benton (D) 3. David Rice Atchison (D) New Hampshire 2. John P. Hale (FS = Free Soil Party) 3. Moses Norris (D) New Jersey 1. William L. Dayton (W) 2. Jacob W. Miller (W) new York 1. Daniel S. Dickinson (D) 3. William H. Seward (W) North Carolina 2. Willie Person Mangum (W) 3. George Edmund Badger (W) Ohio 1. Thomas Corwin (W) until July 20, 1850 Thomas Ewing (W) from July 20, 1850 3. Salmon P. Chase (FS) Pennsylvania 1. Daniel Sturgeon (D) 3. James Cooper (W) Rhode Island 1. Albert C. Greene (W) 2. John Hopkins Clarke (W) South carolina 2. John C. Calhoun (D) until March 31, 1850 Franklin H. Elmore (D) April 11th to May 29th, 1850 Robert Woodward Barnwell (D) June 4 to December 18, 1850 Robert Rhett (D) from December 18, 1850 3. Andrew Butler (D) Tennessee 1. Hopkins L. Turney (D) 2. John Bell (W) Texas 1. Thomas Jefferson Rusk (D) 2. Sam Houston (D) Vermont 1. Samuel S. Phelps (W) 3. William Upham (W) Virginia 1. James Murray Mason (D) 2. Robert Hunter (D) Wisconsin 1. Henry Dodge (D) 3. Isaac P. Walker (D)

Members of the House of Representatives

The following congressmen represented the interests of their respective states in the 31st Congress:

Alabama 7 constituencies 1. William J. Alston (W) 2. Henry Washington Hilliard (W) 3. Sampson Willis Harris (D) 4. Samuel Williams Inge (D) 5. David Hubbard (D) 6. Williamson Cobb (D) 7. Franklin Welsh Bowdon (D) Arkansas state-wide election Robert Ward Johnson (D) California state-wide election Edward Gilbert (D) from September 11, 1850 George Washington Wright (Independent) from September 11, 1850 Connecticut 4 constituencies 1. Loren P. Waldo (D) 2. Walter Booth (Free Soil Party) 3. Chauncey F. Cleveland (D) 4. Thomas B. Butler (W) Delaware state-wide choice John W. Houston (W) Florida State-wide Edward Carrington Cabell (W) Georgia 8 constituencies 1. Thomas Butler King (W) until March 3, 1850 Joseph Webber Jackson (D) from March 4, 1850 2. Marshall Johnson Wellborn (D) 3. Allen Ferdinand Owen (W) 4. Hugh A. Haralson (D) 5. Thomas C. Hackett (D) 6. Howell Cobb (D) 7. Alexander Hamilton Stephens (W) 8. Robert Augustus Toombs (W) Illinois 7 constituencies 1. William Henry Bissell (D) 2. John Alexander McClernand (D) 3. Timothy R. Young (D) 4. John Wentworth (D) 5. William Alexander Richardson (D) 6. Edward Dickinson Baker (W) 7. Thomas L. Harris (D) Indiana 10 constituencies 1. Nathaniel Albertson (D) 2. Cyrus L. Dunham (D) 3. John L. Robinson (D) 4. George Washington Julian (Free Soil Party) 5. William J. Brown (D) 6. Willis A. Gorman (D) 7. Edward W. McGaughey (W) 8. Joseph E. McDonald (D) 9. Graham N. Fitch (D) 10. Andrew J. Harlan (D) Iowa 2 constituencies 1. William Thompson (D) until June 29, 1850 Daniel F. Miller (W) from December 20, 1850 2. Shepherd Leffler (D) Kentucky 10 constituencies 1. Linn Boyd (D) 2. James Leeper Johnson (W) 3. Finis McLean (W) 4. George Caldwell (D) 5. John Burton Thompson (W) 6. Daniel Breck (W) 7. Humphrey Marshall (W) 8. Charles S. Morehead (W) 9. John Calvin Mason (D) 10. Richard H. Stanton (D) Louisiana 4 constituencies 1. Emile La Sére (D) 2. Charles Magill Conrad (W) until August 17, 1850 Henry Adams Bullard (W) from December 5, 1850 3. John H. Harmanson (D) until October 24, 1850 Alexander G. Penn (D) from December 30, 1850 4. Isaac Edward Morse (D) Maine 7 constituencies 1. Elbridge Gerry (D) 2. Nathaniel Littlefield (D) 3. John Otis (W) 4. Rufus K. Goodenow (W) 5. Cullen Sawtelle (D) 6. Charles Stetson (D) 7. Thomas JD Fuller (D) Maryland 6 constituencies. 1. Richard Bowie (W) 2. William Thomas Hamilton (D) 3. Edward Hammond (D) 4. Robert Milligan McLane (D) 5. Alexander Evans (W) 6. John Bozman Kerr (W) Massachusetts 10 constituencies 1. Robert Charles Winthrop (W) until July 30, 1850 Samuel Atkins Eliot (W) from August 22, 1850 2. Daniel P. King (W) 3. James H. Duncan (W) 4. Vacant 5. Charles Allen (Free Soil Party) 6. George Ashmun (W) 7. Julius Rockwell (W) 8. Horace Mann (W) 9. Orin Fowler (W) 10. Joseph Grinnell (W) Michigan 3 constituencies 1. Alexander W. Buel (D) 2. William Sprague (W) 3. Kinsley S. Bingham (D) Mississippi 4 electoral divisions 1. Jacob Thompson (D) 2. Winfield Scott Featherston (D) 3. William McWillie (D) 4. Albert G. Brown (D) Missouri 5 constituencies 1. James B. Bowlin (D) 2. William Van Ness Bay (D) 3. James S. Green (D) 4. Willard Preble Hall (D) 5. John S. Phelps (D) New Hampshire 4 electoral divisions 1. Amos Tuck (Free Soil Party) 2. Charles H. Peaslee (D) 3. James Wilson (W) until September 9, 1850 George W. Morrison (D) from October 8, 1850 4. Harry Hibbard (D) New Jersey 5 constituencies 1. Andrew K. Hay (W) 2. William A. Newell (W) 3. Isaac Wildrick (D) 4. John Van Dyke (W) 5. James G. King (W) New York 34 constituencies. 1. John Alsop King (W) 2. David A. Bokee (W) 3. Jonas P. Phoenix (W) 4. Walter Underhill (W) 5. George Briggs (W) 6. James Brooks (W) 7. William Nelson (W) 8. Ransomware Halloway (W) 9. Thomas McKissock (W) 10. Herman D. Gould (W) 11. Peter H. Silvester (W) 12. Gideon Reynolds (W) 13. John L. Schoolcraft (W) 14. George R. Andrews (W) 15. John R. Thurman (W) 16. Hugh White (W) 17. Henry P. Alexander (W) 18. Preston King (Free Soil) 19. Charles E. Clarke (W) 20. Orsamus B. Matteson (W) 21. Hiram Walden (D) 22. Henry Bennett (W) 23. William Duer (W) 24. Daniel God (W) 25. Harmon S. Conger (W) 26. William Terry Jackson (W) 27. William A. Sackett (W) 28. Abraham M. Schermerhorn (W) 29. Robert L. Rose (W) 30. David Rumsey (W) 31. Elijah Risley (W) 32. Elbridge G. Spaulding (W) 33. Harvey Putnam (W) 34. Lorenzo Burrows (W)

North Carolina 9 constituencies 1. Thomas Lanier Clingman (W) 2. Joseph Pearson Caldwell (W) 3. Edmund Deberry (W) 4. Augustine Henry Shepperd (W) 5. Abraham Watkins Venable (D) 6. John Daniel (D) 7. William Shepperd Ashe (D) 8. Edward Stanly (W) 9. David Outlaw (W) Ohio 21 constituencies 1. David T. Disney (D) 2. Lewis D. Campbell (W) 3. Robert Cumming Schenck (W) 4. Moses Bledso Corwin (W) 5. Emery D. Potter (D) 6. Rodolphus Dickinson (D) until March 20, 1849 Amos E. Wood (D) From December 3, 1849 to November 19, 1850 John Bell (W) from January 7, 1851 7. Jonathan D. Morris (D) 8. John L. Taylor (W) 9. Edson B. Olds (D) 10. Charles Sweetser (D) 11. John K. Miller (D) 12. Samuel Finley Vinton (W) 13. William A. Whittlesey (D) 14. Nathan Evans (W) 15. William F. Hunter (W) 16. Moses Hoagland (D) 17. Joseph Cable (D) 18. David Kellogg Cartter (D) 19. John Crowell (W) 20. Joshua Reed Giddings (Free Soil Party) 21. Joseph M. Root (Free Soil Party) Pennsylvania 24 constituencies 1. Lewis Charles Levin (A = American Party) 2. Joseph Ripley Chandler (W) 3. Henry Dunning Moore (D) 4. John Robbins (D) 5. John Freedley (W) 6. Thomas Ross (D) 7. Jesse Column Dickey (W) 8. Thaddeus Stevens (W) 9. William Strong (D) 10. Milo Melankthon Dimmick (D) 11. Chester Pierce Butler (W) until October 5, 1850 John Brisbin (D) from November 13, 1850 12. David Wilmot (D) 13. Joseph Casey (W) 14. Charles Wesley Pitman (W) 15. Henry Nes (W) until September 10, 1850 Joel Buchanan Danner (D) from December 2, 1850 16. James Xavier McLanahan (D) 17. Samuel Calvin (W) 18. Andrew Jackson Ogle (W) 19. Job man (D) 20. Robert Rentoul Reed (W) 21. Moses Hampton (W) 22. John W. Howe (Free Soil Party) 23. James Thompson (D) 24. Alfred Gilmore (D) Rhode Island 2 electoral districts 1. George Gordon King (W) 2. Nathan Fellows Dixon (W) South Carolina 7 constituencies 1. Daniel Wallace (D) 2. James Lawrence Orr (D) 3. Joseph A. Woodward (D) 4. John McQueen (D) 5. Armistead Burt (D) 6. Isaac E. Holmes (D) 7. William F. Colcock (D) Tennessee 11 constituencies 1. Andrew Johnson (D) 2. Albert Galiton Watkins (W) 3. Josiah M. Anderson (W) 4. John Houston Savage (D) 5. George Washington Jones (D) 6. James Houston Thomas (D) 7. Meredith Poindexter Gentry (W) 8. Andrew Ewing (D) 9. Isham G. Harris (D) 10. Frederick Perry Stanton (D) 11. Christopher Harris Williams (W) Texas 2 electoral districts 1. David Spangler Kaufman (D) until January 31, 1851 2. Volney Howard (D) Vermont 4 constituencies 1. William Henry (W) 2. William Hebard (W) 3. George Perkins Marsh (W) until 1849, exact date unknown James Meacham (W) from December 3, 1849 4. Lucius Benedict Peck (D) Virginia 15 constituencies 1. John Millson (D) 2. Richard Kidder Meade (D) 3. Thomas H. Averett (D) 4. Thomas Stanley Bocock (D) 5. Paulus Powell (D) 6. James Alexander Seddon (D) 7. Thomas H. Bayly (D) 8. Alexander Holladay (D) 9. Jeremiah Morton (W) 10. Richard Parker (D) 11. James McDowell (D) 12. Henry A. Edmundson (D) 13. Fayette McMullen (D) 14. James MH Beale (D) 15. Alexander Newman (D) until September 8, 1849 Thomas Haymond (W) from November 8, 1849 Wisconsin 3 constituencies 1. Charles Durkee (Free Soil Party) 2. Orsamus Cole (W) James Duane Doty (D)

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

• Minnesota Territory : Henry Hastings Sibley from July 7, 1849.
• Oregon Territory : Samuel Thurston (D)

Web links

Commons : 31st United States Congress  - Collection of Pictures, Videos, and Audio Files

• bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 31 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 31st Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)