42nd United States Congress

The 42nd Congress of the United States , made up of the House and Senate , was the legislature of the United States . Its legislative period lasted from March 4, 1871 to March 4, 1873. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class II ) were elected in the 1870 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 the Republican Ulysses S. Grant . The United States then consisted of 37 states. The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1860 census .

Important events

See also 1871 1872 and 1873

• March 4, 1871: beginning of the legislative period of the 42nd Congress
• The Indian wars continue throughout the legislative period . In addition, the reconstruction time continues.
• June 10, 1871: The United States Navy attacks the Han River Forts in Korea.
• October 8-10, 1871: The great Chicago fire destroys large parts of the city. The number of dead is estimated between 200 and 300.
• February 20, 1872: The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City opens
• March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park opens. It is the world's first national park.
• May 22, 1872: President Grant signs the Amnesty Act of 1872, pardoning all former Confederate soldiers except for about 500 military leaders . They get back all their civil rights, including the right to vote, which they have since been revoked.
• November 5, 1872: US presidential and congressional elections. Grant is re-elected as president. The Republicans defend their majorities in both chambers of Congress.

The main laws

During the session of the 42nd Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

• April 20, 1871: Civil Rights Act of 1871
• May 20, 1872: General Mining Act of 1872
• May 23, 1872: Amnesty Act of 1872
• June 1, 1872: Practice Conformity Act
• February 12, 1873: Coinage Act of 1873
• March 3, 1873: Timber Culture Act
• March 3, 1873: Comstock Act see Comstock Laws .

Composition according to parties

senate

• Democratic Party: 17
• Republican Party: 54
• Others: 1
• Vacant: 2

Total: 74 at the end of the legislative period

House of Representatives

• Democratic Party: 97
• Republican Party: 141
• Others: 4
• Vacant: 1

Total: 243 at the end of the legislative period

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

Public officials

senate

• President of the Senate : Schuyler Colfax (R)
• President pro tempore : Henry B. Anthony (R)

House of Representatives

• House Speaker : James G. Blaine (R)

Senate members

The following senators represented their respective states in the 42nd Congress:

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 Alfred Buckingham (R) 3. Orris S. Ferry (R) Delaware 1. James A. Bayard (D) 2. Eli M. Saulsbury (D) Florida 1. Abijah Gilbert (R) 3. Thomas W. Osborn (R) Georgia 2. Thomas M. Norwood (D) 3. Joshua Hill (R) Illinois 2. John A. Logan (R) 3. Lyman Trumbull (R) Indiana 1. Daniel D. Pratt (R) 3. Oliver 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 Benson Make (D) from September 27, 1872 Louisiana 2. Joseph R. West (R) 3. William P. Kellogg (R) until November 1, 1872 Maine 1. Hannibal Hamlin (R) 2. Lot M. Morrill (R) Maryland 1. William Thomas 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 (LR = Liberal Republican) 3. Francis Blair (D) Nebraska 1. Thomas Tipton (R) 2. Phineas Warren 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 Fenton (R) 3. Roscoe Conkling (R) North Carolina 2. Matt Whitaker Ransomware (D) 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 (R) 2. Henry B. Anthony (R) South carolina 2. Thomas J. Robertson (R) 3. Frederick A. Sawyer (R) Tennessee 1. William Gannaway 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 Smith Morrill (R) Virginia 1. John F. Lewis (R) 2. John W. Johnston (D) West Virginia 1. Arthur I. Boreman (R) 2. Henry G. Davis (D) Wisconsin 1. Matthew H. Carpenter (R) 3. Timothy Otis Howe (R)

Members of the House of Representatives

The following congressmen represented the interests of their respective states in the 42nd Congress:

Alabama 6 constituencies 1. Benjamin S. Turner (R) 2. Charles Waldron Buckley (R) 3. William Anderson Handley (D) 4. Charles Hays (R) 5. Peter Myndert Dox (D) 6. Joseph Humphrey Sloss (D) Arkansas 3 constituencies 1. James M. Hanks (D) 2. Oliver P. Snyder (R) 3. John Edwards (LR = Liberal Republican) until February 9, 1872 Thomas Boles (R) from February 9, 1872 California 3 constituencies 1. Sherman Otis Houghton (R) 2. Aaron Augustus Sargent (R) 3. John M. Coghlan (R) Connecticut 4 constituencies 1. Julius L. Strong (R) through September 7, 1872 Joseph Roswell Hawley (R) from December 2, 1872 2. Stephen Wright Kellogg (R) 3. Henry H. Starkweather (R) 4. William Henry Barnum (D) Delaware state-wide choice Benjamin T. Biggs (D) Florida State-wide Josiah T. Walls (R) until January 29, 1873 Silas L. Niblack (D) from January 29, 1873 Georgia 7 constituencies 1. Archibald T. MacIntyre (D) 2. Richard H. Whiteley (R) 3. John S. Bigby (R) 4. Thomas J. Speer (R) until August 18, 1872 Erasmus W. Beck (D) from December 2, 1872 5. Dudley McIver DuBose (D) 6. William P. Price (D) 7. Pierce Young (D) Illinois 13 constituencies plus one state-elected MP 1. Charles B. Farwell (R) 2. John F. Farnsworth (R) 3. Horatio C. Burchard (R) 4. John B. Hawley (R) 5. Bradford N. Stevens (D) 6. Burton C. Cook (R) through August 26, 1876 Henry Snapp (R) from December 4, 1871 7. Jesse Hale Moore (R) 8. James Carroll Robinson (D) 9. Thompson W. McNeely (D) 10. Edward Y. Rice (D) 11. Samuel S. Marshall (D) 12. John B. Hay (R) 13. John M. Crebs (D) 14. John Lourie Beveridge (R) elected state-wide Indiana 11 constituencies 1. William E. Niblack (D) 2. Michael C. Kerr (D) 3. William S. Holman (D) 4. Jeremiah M. Wilson (R) 5. John Coburn (R) 6. Daniel W. Voorhees (D) 7. Mahlon Dickerson Manson (D) 8. James Noble Tyner (R) 9. John PC Shanks (R) 10. William Williams (R) 11. Jasper Packard (R) Iowa 6 constituencies 1. George Washington McCrary (R) 2. Aylett R. Cotton (R) 3. William G. Donnan (R) 4. Madison Miner Walden (R) 5. Francis W. Palmer (R) 6. Jackson Orr (R) Kansas state election David Perley Lowe (R) Kentucky 9 constituencies 1. Edward Crossland (D) 2. Henry D. McHenry (D) 3. Joseph Horace Lewis (D) 4. William B. Read (D) 5. Boyd Winchester (D) 6. William Evans Arthur (D) 7. James B. Beck (D) 8. George Madison Adams (D) 9. John McConnell Rice (D) Louisiana 5 constituencies 1. J. Hale Sypher (R) 2. Lionel Allen Sheldon (R) 3. Chester Bidwell Darrall (R) 4. James McCleery (R) until November 5, 1871 Alexander Boarman (LR) from December 3, 1872 5. Frank Morey (R) Maine 5 constituencies 1. John Lynch (R) 2. William P. Frye (R) 3. James G. Blaine (R) 4. John A. Peters (R) 5. Eugene Hale (R) Maryland 5 constituencies. 1. Samuel Hambleton (D) 2. Stevenson Archer (D) 3. Thomas Swann (D) 4. John Ritchie (D) 5. William Matthew Merrick (D) Massachusetts 10 constituencies 1. James Buffinton (R) 2. Oakes Ames (R) 3. Twichell Ginery (R) 4. Samuel Hooper (R) 5. Benjamin Franklin Butler (R) 6. Nathaniel Prentiss Banks (R) 7. George M. Brooks (R) until May 13, 1872 Constantine C. Esty (R) from December 2, 1872 8. George Frisbie Hoar (R) 9. William B. Washburn (R) until December 5, 1871 Alvah Crocker (R) from January 2, 1872 10. Henry L. Dawes (R) Michigan 6 constituencies 1. Henry Waldron (R) 2. William L. Stoughton (R) 3. Austin Blair (R) 4. Wilder D. Foster (R) from December 4, 1871 5. Omar D. Conger (R) 6. Jabez G. Sutherland (D) Minnesota 2nd constituency 1. Mark H. Dunnell (R) 2. John T. Averill (R) Mississippi 5 constituencies 1. George E. Harris (R) 2. Joseph L. Morphis (R) 3. Henry W. Barry (R) 4. George C. McKee (R) 5. Legrand W. Perce (R) Missouri 9 constituencies 1. Erastus Wells (D) 2. Gustavus A. Finkelnburg (LR) 3. James Robinson McCormick (D) 4. Harrison E. Havens (R) 5. Samuel Swinfin Burdett (R) 6. Abram Comingo (D) 7. Isaac Charles Parker (R) 8. James G. Blair (LR) 9. Andrew King (D) Nebraska State Choice John Taffe (R) Nevada state-wide election Charles West Kendall (D)

New Hampshire 3 electoral divisions 1. Ellery Albee Hibbard (D) 2. Samuel Newell Bell (D) 3. Hosea Washington Parker (D) New Jersey 5 constituencies 1. John W. Hazelton (R) 2. Samuel C. Forker (D) 3. John T. Bird (D) 4. John Hill (R) 5. George A. Halsey (R) New York 31 constituencies. 1. Dwight Townsend (D) 2. Thomas Kinsella (D) 3. Henry Warner Slocum (D) 4. Robert Roosevelt (D) 5. William R. Roberts (D) 6. Samuel S. Cox (D) 7. Smith Ely (D) 8. James Brooks (D) 9. Fernando Wood (D) 10. Clarkson Nott Potter (D) 11. Charles St. John (R) 12. John H. Ketcham (R) 13. Joseph H. Tuthill (D) 14. Eli Perry (D) 15. Joseph M. Warren (D) 16. John Rogers (D) 17. William A. Wheeler (R) 18. John M. Carroll (D) 19. Elizur H. Prindle (R) 20. Clinton L. Merriam (R) 21. Ellis H. Roberts (R) 22. William E. Lansing (R) 23. R. Holland Duel (R) 24. John E. Seeley (R) 25. William H. Lamport (R) 26. Milo Goodrich (R) 27. Horace B. Smith (R) 28. Freeman Clarke (R) 29. Seth Wakeman (R) 30. William Williams (D) 31. Walter L. Sessions (R) North Carolina 7 constituencies 1. Clinton L. Cobb (R) 2. Charles R. Thomas (R) 3. Alfred Moore Waddell (D) 4. Sion Hart Rogers (D) 5. James Madison Leach (D) 6. Francis Edwin Shober (D) 7. James C. Harper (D) Ohio 19 constituencies 1. Aaron F. Perry (R) until July 14, 1872 Ozro J. Dodds (D) from October 9, 1872 2. Job Evans Stevenson (R) 3. Lewis D. Campbell (D) 4. John F. McKinney (D) 5. Charles N. Lamison (D) 6. John Armstrong Smith (R) 7. Samuel Shellabarger (R) 8. John Beatty (R) 9. Charles Foster (R) 10. Erasmus D. Peck (R) 11. John Thomas Wilson (R) 12. Philadelph Van Trump (D) 13. George W. Morgan (D) 14. James Monroe (R) 15. William P. Sprague (R) 16. John Bingham (R) 17. Jacob A. Ambler (R) 18. William H. Upson (R) 19. James A. Garfield (R) Oregon state-wide election James H. Slater (D) Pennsylvania 24 constituencies 1. Samuel J. Randall (D) 2. John Vaudain Creely (IR = Independent Republican) 3. Leonard Myers (R) 4. William D. Kelley (R) 5. Alfred C. Harmer (R) 6. Ephraim Leister Acker (D) 7. Washington Townsend (R) 8. James Lawrence Getz (D) 9. Oliver James Dickey (R) 10. John Weinland Killinger (R) 11. John Brutzman Storm (D) 12. Lazarus Denison Shoemaker (R) 13. Ulysses Mercur (R) until December 2, 1872 Frank Charles Bunnell (R) from December 24, 1872 14. John Black Packer (R) 15. Richard Jacobs Haldeman (D) 16. Benjamin Franklin Meyers (D) 17. Robert Milton Speer (D) 18. Henry Sherwood (D) 19. Glenni William Scofield (R) 20. Samuel Griffith (D) 21. Henry Donnel Foster (D) 22. James Scott Negley (R) 23. Ebenezer McJunkin (R) 24. William McClelland (D) Rhode Island 2 electoral districts 1. Benjamin T. Eames (R) 2. James M. Pendleton (R) South Carolina 4 electoral divisions 1. Joseph Hayne Rainey (R) 2. Robert C. De Large (R) until January 24, 1873 thereafter the seat remained vacant 3. Robert B. Elliott (R) 4. Alexander S. Wallace (R) Tennessee 8 constituencies 1. Roderick R. Butler (R) 2. Horace Maynard (R) 3. Abraham Ellison Garrett (D) 4. John Morgan Bright (D) 5. Edward Isaac Golladay (D) 6. Washington C. Whitthorne (D) 7. Robert Porter Caldwell (D) 8. William Wirt Vaughan (D) Texas 4 constituencies 1. William S. Herndon (D) 2. John C. Conner (D) 3. William Thomas Clark (R) until May 13, 1872 De Witt Clinton Giddings (D) from May 13, 1872 4. John Hancock (D) Vermont 3 constituencies 1. Charles W. Willard (R) 2. Luke P. Poland (R) 3. Worthington Curtis Smith (R) Virginia 8 constituencies 1. John Critcher (D) 2. James H. Platt (R) 3. Charles H. Porter (R) 4. William Stowell (R) 5. Richard Duke (D) 6. John T. Harris (D) 7. Elliott M. Braxton (D) 8. William Terry (D) West Virginia 3 constituencies 1. John James Davis (D) 2. James Clark McGrew (R) 3. Frank Hereford (D) Wisconsin 6 constituencies 1. Alexander Mitchell (D) 2. Gerry Whiting Hazelton (R) 3. J. Allen Barber (R) 4. Charles A. Eldredge (D) 5. Philetus Sawyer (R) 6. Jeremiah McLain Rusk (R)

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

• Arizona Territory : Richard Cunningham McCormick (D)
• Colorado Territory : Jerome Bunty Chaffee (R)
• Dakota Territory : Moses K. Armstrong (D)
• Idaho Territory : Jacob K. Shafer (D)
• District of Columbia : Norton P. Chipman (R) as of April 21, 1871
• Montana Territory : William H. Clagett (R)
• New Mexico Territory : José Manuel Gallegos (D)
• Utah Territory : William Henry Hooper (D)
• Washington Territory : Selucius Garfielde (R)
• Wyoming Territory : William Theopilus Jones (R)

Web links

Commons : 42nd United States Congress  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 42 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 42nd Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)