38th United States Congress

The 38th United States Congress , made up of the House and Senate , was the United States' legislature . Its legislative term lasted from March 4, 1863 to March 4, 1865. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class I ) were elected in the 1862 congressional elections. This resulted in a majority for the Republican Party in both chambers . The only remaining role for the Democratic Party was in the opposition. The Congress met in the American capital Washington, DC President was Abraham Lincoln . The United States at that time actually consisted of 34 states, at least from the point of view of the northern states. During the legislative period, however, the American Civil War was still in full swing and the eleven states of the Confederation were not represented in Congress. However, the states of West Virginia and Nevada joined the Union during the legislative period , so that according to their counting method, at the end of the term of office of the 38th Congress, 36 states formed the United States. The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1860 census .

Important events

See also 1863 , 1864 and 1865

• March 4, 1863: beginning of the legislative period of the 38th Congress
• The entire legislative period is overshadowed by the events of the civil war. In addition, the Indian Wars continue in the West .
• June 20, 1863: West Virginia becomes the 35th state in the USA.
• July 4, 1863: After the Battle of Gettysburg and the Battle of Vicksburg , which was successful for the Union, a military turnaround in favor of the North emerged in the civil war.
• November 19, 1863: President Lincoln delivers his brief address, famous as the Gettysburg Address .
• May 28, 1864: Establishment of the Montana Territory .
• June 15, 1864: Arlington National Cemetery begins to be constructed .
• October 31, 1864: Nevada becomes the 36th US state.
• November 8, 1864: US presidential and congressional elections. President Lincoln is re-elected. In Congress, the Republicans defend a majority in both chambers.
• February 22, 1865: The formerly confederate state of Tennessee , now occupied by the Union, adopts a new constitution and abolishes slavery .

The main laws

During the session of the 38th Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

• April 22, 1864: Coinage Act of 1864
• June 30, 1864: Yosemite Valley Grant Act
• January 31, 1865: The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed by Congress and ratified by the states by December.
• March 3, 1865: Freedmen's Bureau

Composition according to parties

senate

• Democratic Party: 10
• Republican Party: 33
• Others: 7
• Vacant: 22 (Senators from the southern states)

Total: 72 at the end of the legislative period

House of Representatives

• Democratic Party: 72
• Republican Party: 84
• Other: 27
• Vacant: 59 (mostly from the southern states)

Total: 242

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

Public officials

senate

• President of the Senate : Hannibal Hamlin (R)
• President pro tempore : Solomon Foot (R) until April 13, 1864, then Daniel Clark (R)

House of Representatives

• House Speaker : Schuyler Colfax (R)

Senate members

The following senators represented their respective states in the 38th Congress:

Alabama 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Arkansas 2. Vacant 3. Vacant California 1. John Conness (R) 3. James A. McDougall (D) Connecticut 1. James Dixon (R) 3. Lafayette S. Foster (R) Delaware 1. James A. Bayard (D) until January 29, 1864 George R. Riddle (D) from February 2, 1864 2. Willard Saulsbury (D) Florida 1. Vacant 3. Vacant Georgia 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Illinois 2. William Alexander Richardson (D) 3. Lyman Trumbull (R) Indiana 1. Thomas A. Hendricks (D) 3. Henry Smith Lane (R) Iowa 2. James W. Grimes (R) 3. James Harlan (R) Kansas 2. James Henry Lane (R) 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R) Kentucky 2. Lazarus W. Powell (D) 3. Garrett Davis (U) Louisiana 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Maine 1. Lot M. Morrill (R) 2. William P. Fessenden (R) until July 1, 1864 Nathan A. Farwell (R) from October 27, 1864 Maryland 1. Reverdy Johnson (U) 3. Thomas Holliday Hicks (U) 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. Morton S. Wilkinson (R)

Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Missouri 1. John B. Henderson (U) 3. Robert Wilson (U) until November 13, 1863 B. Gratz Brown (U) from November 13, 1863 Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (R) from February 1, 1865 3. James W. Nye (R) from February 1, 1864 New Hampshire 2. John P. Hale (R) 3. Daniel Clark (R) New Jersey 1. William Wright (D) 2. John C. Ten Eyck (R) new York 1. Edwin D. Morgan (R) 3. Ira Harris (R) North Carolina 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Ohio 1. Benjamin Wade (R) 3. John Sherman (R) Oregon 2. Benjamin F. Harding (D) 3. James W. Nesmith (D) Pennsylvania 1. Charles R. Buckalew (D) 3. Edgar Cowan (R) Rhode Island 1. William Sprague (R) 2. Henry B. Anthony (R) South carolina 2. Vacant 3. Vacant Tennessee 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Texas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant Vermont 1. Solomon Foot (R) 3. Jacob Collamer (R) Virginia 1. Lemuel J. Bowden (U) until his death on Jan. 2, 1864, after which the seat remained vacant 2. John S. Carlile (U) West Virginia 1. Peter G. Van Winkle (U) from August 4, 1863 2. Waitman T. Willey (U) from August 4, 1863 Wisconsin 1. James Rood Doolittle (R) 3. Timothy Otis Howe (R)

Members of the House of Representatives

The following congressmen represented the interests of their respective states in the 38th Congress:

Alabama 6 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant Arkansas 3 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant California 3 constituencies (all elected state-wide) 1. Cornelius Cole (R) 2. William Higby (R) 3. Thomas Bowles Shannon (R) Connecticut 4 constituencies 1. Henry C. Deming (R) 2. James E. English (D) 3rd Augustus Brandegee (R) 4. John Henry Hubbard (R) Delaware state-wide choice William Temple (D) until May 28, 1863 Nathaniel B. Smithers (U) from December 7, 1863 Florida State Vacant Georgia 7 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant Illinois 13 constituencies plus one state-elected MP 1. Isaac N. Arnold (R) 2. John F. Farnsworth (R) 3. Elihu Benjamin Washburne (R) 4. Charles M. Harris (D) 5. Owen Lovejoy (R) by March 25, 1864 Ebon C. Ingersoll (R) from May 20, 1864 6. Jesse O. Norton (R) 7. John R. Eden (D) 8. John T. Stuart (D) 9. Lewis W. Ross (D) 10. Anthony L. Knapp (D) 11. James Carroll Robinson (D) 12. William Ralls Morrison (D) 13. William J. Allen (D) 14. James C. Allen (D) Elected to the state Indiana 11 constituencies 1. John Law (D) 2. James A. Cravens (D) 3. Henry W. Harrington (D) 4. William S. Holman (D) 5. George Washington Julian (R) 6. Ebenezer Dumont (R) 7. Daniel W. Voorhees (D) 8. Godlove Stein Orth (R) 9. Schuyler Colfax (R) 10. Joseph K. Edgerton (D) 11. James F. McDowell (D) Iowa 6 constituencies 1. James F. Wilson (R) 2. Hiram Price (R) 3. William B. Allison (R) 4. Josiah Bushnell Grinnell (R) 5. John A. Kasson (R) 6. Asahel W. Hubbard (R) Kansas state election Abel Carter Wilder (R) Kentucky 9 constituencies 1. Lucien Anderson (U) 2. George Helm Yeaman (U) 3. Henry Grider (U) 4. Aaron Harding (U) 5. Robert Mallory (U) 6. Green Clay Smith (U) 7. Brutus J. Clay (U) 8. William H. Randall (U) 9. William H. Wadsworth (U) Louisiana 5 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant Maine 5 constituencies 1. Lorenzo Sweat (D) 2. Sidney Perham (R) 3. James G. Blaine (R) 4. John H. Rice (R) 5. Frederick A. Pike (R) Maryland 5 constituencies. 1. John Creswell (U) 2. Edwin Hanson Webster (U) 3. Henry Winter Davis (U) 4. Francis Thomas (U) 5. Benjamin Gwinn Harris (D) Massachusetts 10 constituencies 1. Thomas D. Eliot (R) 2. Oakes Ames (R) 3. Alexander H. Rice (R) 4. Samuel Hooper (R) 5. John B. Alley (R) 6. Daniel W. Gooch (R) 7. George S. Boutwell (R) 8. John Denison Baldwin (R) 9. William B. Washburn (R) 10. Henry L. Dawes (R) Michigan 6 constituencies 1. Fernando C. Beaman (R) 2. Charles Upson (R) 3. John W. Longyear (R) 4. Francis William Kellogg (R) 5th Augustus C. Baldwin (R) 6. John F. Driggs (R) Minnesota 2nd constituency 1. William Windom (R) 2. Ignatius Donnelly (R) Mississippi 5 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant Missouri 9 constituencies 1. Francis Blair until June 10, 1864 Samuel Knox (U) from June 10, 1864 2. Henry Taylor Blow (U) 3. John William Noell (U) until March 14, 1863 John Guier Scott (D) from December 7, 1863 4. Sempronius H. Boyd (U) 5. Joseph W. McClurg (D) 6. Austin Augustus King (U) 7. Benjamin F. Loan (U) 8. William Augustus Hall (U) 9. James S. Rollins (U) Nevada state-wide election Henry G. Worthington (R) from October 31, 1864 New Hampshire 3 electoral divisions 1. Daniel Marcy (D) 2. Edward H. Rollins (R) 3. James W. Patterson (R)

New Jersey 5 constituencies 1. John F. Starr (R) 2. George Middleton (D) 3. William G. Steele (D) 4. Andrew J. Rogers (D) 5. Nehemiah Perry (D) New York 31 constituencies. 1. Henry G. Stebbins (D) until October 24, 1864 Dwight Townsend (D) from December 5, 1864 2. Martin veal (D) 3. Moses F. Odell (D) 4. Benjamin Wood (D) 5. Fernando Wood (D) 6. Elijah Ward (D) 7. John Winthrop Chanler (D) 8. James Brooks (D) 9. Anson Herrick (D) 10. William Radford (D) 11. Charles H. Winfield (D) 12. Homer Augustus Nelson (D) 13. John B. Steele (D) 14. Erastus Corning (D) until October 5, 1863 John VL Pruyn (D) from December 7, 1863 15. John Augustus Griswold (D) 16. Orlando Kellogg (R) 17. Calvin T. Hulburd (R) 18. James M. Marvin (R) 19. Samuel Franklin Miller (R) 20. Ambrose W. Clark (R) 21. Francis Kernan (D) 22. De Witt Clinton Littlejohn (R) 23. Thomas Treadwell Davis (R) 24. Theodore Medad Pomeroy (R) 25. Daniel Morris (R) 26. Giles W. Hotchkiss (R) 27. Robert B. Van Valkenburgh (R) 28. Freeman Clarke (R) August 29th Frank (R) 30. John Ganson (D) 31. Reuben Fenton (R) until December 20, 1864 North Carolina 7 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant Ohio 19 constituencies 1. George H. Pendleton (D) 2. Alexander Long (D) 3. Robert Cumming Schenck (R) 4. John F. McKinney (D) 5. Francis Celeste Le Blond (D) 6. Chilton A. White (D) 7. Samuel S. Cox (D) 8. William Johnston (D) 9. Warren P. Noble (D) 10. James Mitchell Ashley (R) 11. Wells A. Hutchins (D) 12. William E. Finck (D) 13. John O'Neill (D) 14. George Bliss (D) 15. James R. Morris (D) 16. Joseph W. White (D) 17. Ephraim R. Eckley (R) 18. Rufus P. Spalding (R) 19. James A. Garfield (R) Oregon state-wide election John R. McBride (R) Pennsylvania 24 constituencies 1. Samuel J. Randall (D) 2. Charles O'Neill (R) 3. Leonard Myers (R) 4. William D. Kelley (R) 5. Martin Russell Thayer (R) 6. John Dodson Stiles (D) 7. John Martin Broomall (R) 8. Sydenham Elnathan Ancona (D) 9. Thaddeus Stevens (R) 10. Myer Strouse (R) 11. Philip Johnson (D) 12. Charles Denison (D) 13. Henry Wells Tracy (Independent Republican) 14. William Henry Miller (D) 15. Joseph Bailey (D) 16. Alexander Hamilton Coffroth (D) 17. Archibald McAllister (D) 18. James Tracy Hale (Independent Republican) 19. Glenni William Scofield (R) 20. Amos Myers (R) 21. John Littleton Dawson (D) 22. James K. Moorhead (R) 23. Thomas Williams (R) 24. Jesse Lazear (D) Rhode Island 2 electoral districts 1. Thomas Jenckes (R) 2. Nathan Dixon (R) South Carolina 4 electoral divisions 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant Tennessee 8 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant 8. Vacant Texas 4 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant Vermont 3 constituencies 1. Frederick E. Woodbridge (R) 2. Justin Smith Morrill (R) 3. Portus Baxter (R) Virginia 11 constituencies 1. Vacant 2. Vacant 3. Vacant 4. Vacant 5. Vacant 6. Vacant 7. Vacant Vacant 8. Vacant 9. Vacant Seat was assigned to the new state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863 10. Vacant Seat was assigned to the new state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863 11. Vacant Seat was assigned to the new state of West Virginia on June 20, 1863 West Virginia 3 constituencies 1. Jacob B. Blair (U) from December 7, 1863 2. William Brown (U) from December 7, 1863 3. Kellian Whaley (U) from December 7, 1863 Wisconsin 6 constituencies 1. James S. Brown (D) 2. Ithamar Sloan (R) 3. Amasa Cobb (R) 4. Charles A. Eldredge (D) 5. Ezra Wheeler (D) 6. Walter D. McIndoe (R)

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

• Arizona Territory : Charles Debrille Poston (R) from December 5, 1864
• Colorado Territory : Hiram Pitt Bennet (R)
• Dakota Territory : William Jayne until June 17, 1864, then John Todd
• Idaho Territory : William Henson Wallace (R) from February 1, 1864
• Montana Territory : Samuel McLean (D) from January 6, 1865
• Nebraska Territory : Samuel Gordon Daily (R)
• Nevada Territory : Gordon Newell Mott (R) through October 31, 1864
• New Mexico Territory : Francisco Perea (R)
• Utah Territory : John F. Kinney (D)
• Washington Territory : George Edward Cole (D)

Web links

Commons : 38th United States Congress  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 38 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 38th Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)