33rd United States Congress

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33rd United States Congress
32nd ←
→ 34th
Capitol1846.jpg
United States Capitol (1846)
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1855
Members62 senators
234 representatives
7 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentWilliam R. King (Democrat)
(until April 18, 1853)
Vacant
(from April 18, 1853)
House MajorityDemocratic
House SpeakerLinn Boyd (Democrat)
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1853 – April 11, 1853
1st: December 5, 1853 – August 7, 1854
2nd: December 4, 1854 – March 4, 1855

The 33rd 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, 1853, to March 4, 1855, during the first two years of the administration of U.S. President Franklin Pierce. During this session, the Kansas–Nebraska Act was passed, an act that soon led to the creation of the Republican Party. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Seventh Census of the United States in 1850. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Major events[]

Gadsden Purchase (in yellow)
See also: 1853 in the United States, 1854 in the United States, and 1855 in the United States
  • March 4, 1853: Franklin Pierce became 14th President of the United States
  • April 18, 1853: Vice President William R. King died
  • July 8, 1853: Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Edo Bay with a request for a trade treaty
  • December 30, 1853: Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest
  • March 20, 1854: Republican Party founded

Major legislation[]

Main article: Major legislation: 33rd United States Congress
  • May 30, 1854: Kansas–Nebraska Act, ch. 59, 10 Stat. 277
  • March 3, 1855: The U.S. Congress appropriates $30,000 to create the U.S. Camel Corps

Treaties[]

  • January 26, 1854: Point No Point Treaty signed
  • March 31, 1854: Convention of Kanagawa signed with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade

Territories organized[]

  • May 30, 1854 – Kansas Territory was organized.
  • May 30, 1854 – Nebraska Territory was organized.

Party summary[]

Senate[]

Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Know
Nothing
(A) 		Democratic
(D)		Free
Soil
(F)		Whig
(W)		Other
(O)
End of previous congress 0 34 4 23 0 61 1
Begin 1 35 2 19 0 57 5
End 37 5 17 602
Final voting share 1.7% 61.7% 8.3% 28.3% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 2 35 2 9 7 55 7

House of Representatives[]

For the beginning of this congress, the size of the House was increased from 233 seats to 234 seats, following the 1850 United States Census (See 9 Stat. 433).

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total
Democratic
(D) 		Independent
Democratic
(ID) 		Free Soil
(FS) 		Whig
(W) 		Independent
(I) 		Other Vacant
End of previous Congress 125 3 4 86 0 14 232 1
Begin 157 1 4 71 1 0 234 0
End 155 3 74
Final voting share 66.7% 0.4% 0.9% 31.6% 0.4% 0.1%
Beginning of next Congress 79 (Opposition coalition)
154 		233 1

Leadership[]

President of the Senate
William R. King

Senate[]

  • President: William R. King (D), until April 18, 1853; vacant thereafter.
  • President pro tempore: David R. Atchison (D), until December 4, 1854
    • Lewis Cass (D), December 4, 1854
    • Jesse D. Bright (D), from December 5, 1854

House of Representatives[]

  • Speaker: Linn Boyd (D)
  • Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edson B. Olds

Members[]

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.

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 began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1856; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1858; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1854. The United States consisted of 31 states during this Congress.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

House of Representatives[]

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

Changes in membership[]

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

Senate[]

  • Replacements: 7
    • Democrats (D): 2 seat net gain
    • Whigs (W): 2 seat net loss
    • Free Soilers (FS): 2 seat net gain
    • Know Nothing (A): 1 seat net gain
  • Deaths: 2
  • Resignations: 4
  • Interim appointments: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 13
See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
State
(class) 		Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Rhode Island
(2) 		Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected July 20, 1853. 		Philip Allen (D) July 20, 1853
Alabama
(2) 		Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor elected November 29, 1853. 		Clement C. Clay (D) November 29, 1853
Mississippi
(2) 		Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor elected January 7, 1854. 		Albert G. Brown (D) January 7, 1854
Maine
(2) 		Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected February 10, 1854. 		William P. Fessenden (W) February 10, 1854
North Carolina
(2) 		Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected December 6, 1854. 		David Reid (D) December 6, 1854
Arkansas
(3) 		Solon Borland (D) Resigned April 11, 1853, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Nicaragua and other Central American Republics.
Successor appointed July 6, 1853. 		Robert W. Johnson (D) July 6, 1853
Louisiana
(3) 		Pierre Soulé (D) Resigned April 11, 1853, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Spain.
Successor elected December 5, 1853. 		John Slidell (D) December 5, 1853
New Hampshire
(2) 		Charles G. Atherton (D) Died November 15, 1853. Jared W. Williams (D) November 29, 1853
Vermont
(3) 		Samuel S. Phelps (W) Senate declared not entitled to seat March 16, 1854.
Successor elected October 14, 1854. 		Lawrence Brainerd (W) October 14, 1854
Connecticut
(3) 		Truman Smith (W) Resigned May 24, 1854.
Successor was elected May 24, 1854. 		Francis Gillette (W) May 24, 1854
Massachusetts
(2) 		Edward Everett (W) Resigned June 1, 1854
Successor was appointed to serve until a new successor was elected. 		Julius Rockwell (W) June 3, 1854
New Hampshire
(2) 		Jared W. Williams (D) Resigned August 4, 1854. Vacant Not filled this term
New Hampshire
(3) 		Moses Norris Jr. (D) Died January 11, 1855.
Successor appointed January 16, 1855, to finish the term. 		John S. Wells (D) January 16, 1855
Massachusetts
(2) 		Julius Rockwell (W) Successor elected January 31, 1855. Henry Wilson (A) January 31, 1855
Iowa
(3) 		Augustus C. Dodge (D) Resigned February 22, 1855, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Spain. Vacant Not filled this term

House of Representatives[]

  • Replacements: 7
    • Democrats (D): 2 seat net loss
    • Whigs (W): 3 seat net gain
    • Free Soilers (FS): 1 seat net loss
  • Deaths: 4
  • Resignations: 4
  • Total seats with changes: 8
Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Washington Territory at-large Vacant New seat established after Washington became a territory near the end of previous Congress. Seat was vacant until April 12, 1854. Columbia Lancaster (D) Seated April 12, 1854
New York 29th Azariah Boody (W) Resigned on October 13, 1853 Davis Carpenter (W) Seated November 8, 1853
Tennessee 1st Brookins Campbell (D) Died December 25, 1853 Nathaniel G. Taylor (W) Seated March 30, 1854
Pennsylvania 8th Henry A. Muhlenberg (D) Died January 9, 1854 J. Glancy Jones (D) Seated February 4, 1854
Massachusetts 1st Zeno Scudder (W) Resigned March 4, 1854 Thomas D. Eliot (W) Seated April 17, 1854
Kansas Territory at-large New seat New seat established after Kansas became a territory May 30, 1854. Seat was vacant until December 20, 1854. John W. Whitfield (D) Seated December 20, 1854
Nebraska Territory at-large New seat New seat established after Nebraska became a territory May 30, 1854. Seat was vacant until January 5, 1855. Napoleon B. Giddings (D) Seated December 5, 1855
Virginia 11th John F. Snodgrass (D) Died June 5, 1854 Charles S. Lewis (D) Seated December 4, 1854
New York 12th Gilbert Dean (D) Resigned July 3, 1854, after being appointed justice of the Supreme Court of New York Isaac Teller (W) Seated November 7, 1854
New York 22nd Gerrit Smith (W) Resigned August 7, 1854 Henry C. Goodwin (W) Seated November 7, 1854
Kentucky 3rd Presley Ewing (W) Died September 27, 1854 Francis Bristow (W) Seated December 4, 1854

Committees[]

List of committees and their party leaders.

Senate[]

  • Agriculture (Chairman: Philip Allen)
  • (Select)
  • (Select)
  • Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Josiah J. Evans)
  • Claims (Chairman: Richard Brodhead)
  • Commerce (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
  • (Select)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: Moses Norris Jr.)
  • Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Benjamin Fitzpatrick)
  • Finance (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
  • Foreign Relations (Chairman: James M. Mason)
  • (Select)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: William K. Sebastian)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: Andrew P. Butler)
  • Library (Chairman: James A. Pearce)
  • (Select)
  • Manufactures (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
  • (Select)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: James Shields)
  • Militia (Chairman: Sam Houston)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: William M. Gwin)
  • (Select)
  • (Select) (Chairman: William M. Gwin)
  • Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Charles T. James)
  • Pensions (Chairman: George Wallace Jones)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Thomas J. Rusk)
  • Printing (Chairman: Benjamin Fitzpatrick)
  • (Select)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: John Pettit)
  • (Select)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: James A. Bayard Jr.)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: Augustus Dodge)
  • (Chairman: Stephen Adams)
  • Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Isaac P. Walker)
  • (Chairman: John Slidell)
  • (Select)
  • Tariff Regulation (Select)
  • Territories (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
  • Whole

House of Representatives[]

  • Accounts (Chairman: Carlton B. Curtis)
  • Agriculture (Chairman: John L. Dawson)
  • Claims (Chairman: Alfred P. Edgerton)
  • Commerce (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: William T. Hamilton)
  • Elections (Chairman: Richard H. Stanton)
  • Engraving (Chairman: George R. Riddle)
  • Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Fayette McMullen)
  • Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Samuel Lilly)
  • Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Daniel Wells Jr.)
  • Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: David Stuart)
  • Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: George W. Kittredge)
  • Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry A. Edmundson)
  • Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas H. Bayly)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: James L. Orr)
  • Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Thomas A. Hendricks)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
  • Manufactures (Chairman: John McNair)
  • Mileage (Chairman: Andrew J. Harlan)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: William H. Bissell)
  • Militia (Chairman: Elijah W. Chastain)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Thomas S. Bocock)
  • Patents (Chairman: Benjamin B. Thurston)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Edson B. Olds)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: Junius Hillyer)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Francis B. Craige)
  • Public Expenditures (Chairman: William H. Kurtz)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: David T. Disney)
  • Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Williamson R. W. Cobb)
  • Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Rufus W. Peckham)
  • Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: William M. Churchwell)
  • Roads and Canals (Chairman: Cyrus L. Dunham)
  • Rules (Select)
  • Standards of Official Conduct
  • Territories (Chairman: William A. Richardson)
  • Ways and Means (Chairman: George S. Houston)
  • Whole

Joint committees[]

  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. George Wallace Jones)
  • The Library (Chairman: Joseph R. Chandler)
  • Printing (Chairman: William Murray)

Caucuses[]

  • Democratic (House)
  • Democratic (Senate)

Employees[]

Legislative branch agency directors[]

  • Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter
  • Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate[]

  • Chaplain: Clement M. Butler (Episcopalian), until December 7, 1853
    • Henry Slicer (Methodist), elected December 7, 1853
  • Secretary: Asbury Dickins
  • Sergeant at Arms: , until March 17, 1853

House of Representatives[]

  • Chaplain: William H. Milburn (Methodist)
  • Clerk: John W. Forney
  • Doorkeeper:
  • Postmaster:
  • Reading Clerks:[data unknown/missing]
  • Sergeant at Arms: Adam J. Glossbrenner

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References[]

  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

External links[]

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