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27th United States Congress

The 27th 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., between March 4, 1841, and March 4, 1843, during the one-month presidency of William Henry Harrison and the first two years of the presidency of his successor, John Tyler. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 United States census. Both chambers had a Whig majority, making the 27th Congress the only Whig-controlled Congress of the Second Party System.

Major events

Major legislation

Treaties

  • August 9, 1842: Webster-Ashburton Treaty signed, establishing the United States–Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

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 1844; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1842.

Alabama

2. William R. King (D)
3. Clement C. Clay (D), until November 15, 1841
: Arthur P. Bagby (D), from November 24, 1841

Arkansas

2. William Fulton (D)
3. Ambrose 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 S. White (W)
3. Oliver H. Smith (W)

Kentucky

2. James T. 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 M. Conrad (W), from April 14, 1842

Maine

1. Reuel Williams (D), until February 15, 1843
2. George Evans (W)

Maryland

1. William D. Merrick (W)
3. John L. Kerr (W)

Massachusetts

1. Rufus Choate (W)
2. Isaac C. Bates (W)

Michigan

1. Augustus S. Porter (W)
2. William Woodbridge (W)

Mississippi

1. John Henderson (W)
2. Robert J. Walker (D)

Missouri

1. Thomas H. 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), until June 26, 1842
: William L. Dayton (W), from July 2, 1842
2. Jacob W. Miller (W)

New York

1. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (W)
3. Silas Wright Jr. (D)

North Carolina

2. Willie P. Mangum (W)
3. William A. 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 III (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 O. P. Nicholson (D), until February 7, 1842
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 C. Rives (W)
2. William S. Archer (W)

House of Representatives

Alabama

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Reuben Chapman (D)
. George S. Houston (D)
. Dixon H. Lewis (D)
. William W. Payne (D)
. Benjamin Shields (D)

Arkansas

. Edward Cross (D)

Connecticut

. Joseph Trumbull (W)
. William W. Boardman (W)
. Thomas W. Williams (W)
. Thomas B. Osborne (W)
. Truman Smith (W)
. John H. Brockway (W)

Delaware

. George B. Rodney (W)

Georgia

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Julius C. Alford (W), until October 1, 1841
: Edward J. Black (D), from January 3, 1842
. William C. Dawson (W), until November 13, 1841
: Walter T. Colquitt (D), from January 3, 1842
. Thomas F. Foster (W)
. Roger L. Gamble (W)
. Richard W. Habersham (W), until December 2, 1842
: George W. Crawford (W), from January 7, 1843
. Thomas Butler King (W)
. James Meriwether (W)
. Eugenius Nisbet (W), until October 12, 1841
: Mark A. Cooper (D), from January 3, 1842
. Lott Warren (W)

Illinois

. John Reynolds (D)
. Zadok Casey (Ind. D)
. John T. Stuart (W)

Indiana

. George H. Proffit (W)
. Richard W. Thompson (W)
. Joseph L. White (W)
. James H. Cravens (W)
. Andrew Kennedy (D)
. David Wallace (W)
. Henry S. Lane (W)

Kentucky

. Linn Boyd (D)
. Philip Triplett (W)
. Joseph R. Underwood (W)
. Bryan Owsley (W)
. John B. Thompson (W)
. Willis Green (W)
. John Pope (W)
. James Sprigg (W)
. John White (W)
. Thomas F. Marshall (W)
. Landaff W. Andrews (W)
. Garrett Davis (W)
. William O. Butler (D)

Louisiana

. Edward D. White (W)
. John B. Dawson (D)
. John Moore (W)

Maine

. Nathan Clifford (D)
. William P. Fessenden (W)
. Benjamin Randall (W)
. David Bronson (W), from May 31, 1841
. Nathaniel Littlefield (D)
. Alfred Marshall (D)
. Joshua A. Lowell (D)
. Elisha Allen (W)

Maryland

The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives.

. Isaac Jones (W)
. James A. Pearce (W)
. James W. Williams (D), until December 2, 1842
: Charles S. Sewall (D), from January 2, 1843
. John P. Kennedy (W)
. Alexander Randall (W)
. William Cost Johnson (W)
. John Mason (D)
. Augustus R. Sollers (W)

Massachusetts

. Robert C. Winthrop (W), until May 25, 1842
: Nathan Appleton (W), from June 9, 1842, until September 28, 1842
: Robert C. Winthrop (W), from November 29, 1842
. Leverett Saltonstall I (W)
. Caleb Cushing (W)
. William Parmenter (D)
. Levi Lincoln Jr. (W), until March 16, 1841
: Charles Hudson (W), from May 3, 1841
. Osmyn Baker (W)
. George N. Briggs (W)
. William B. Calhoun (W)
. William S. Hastings (W), until June 17, 1842
. Nathaniel B. Borden (W)
. Barker Burnell (W)
. John Quincy Adams (W)

Michigan

. Jacob M. Howard (W)

Mississippi

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. William M. Gwin (D)
. Jacob Thompson (D)

Missouri

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. John C. Edwards (D)
. John Miller (D)

New Hampshire

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Charles G. Atherton (D)
. Edmund Burke (D)
. Ira A. Eastman (D)
. John R. Reding (D)
. Tristram Shaw (D)

New Jersey

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. John B. Aycrigg (W)
. William Halstead (W)
. John P. B. Maxwell (W)
. Joseph F. Randolph (W)
. Charles C. Stratton (W)
. Thomas J. Yorke (W)

New York

There were four plural districts, the 8th, 17th, 22nd & 23rd had two representatives each, the 3rd had four representatives.

. Charles A. Floyd (D)
. Joseph Egbert (D)
. Charles G. Ferris (D)
. John McKeon (D)
. James I. Roosevelt (D)
. Fernando Wood (D)
. Aaron Ward (D)
. Richard D. Davis (D)
. James G. Clinton (D)
. John Van Buren (D)
. Jacob Houck Jr. (D)
. Robert McClellan (D)
. Hiram P. Hunt (W)
. Daniel D. Barnard (W)
. Archibald L. Linn (W)
. Bernard Blair (W)
. Thomas A. Tomlinson (W)
. Henry Bell Van Rensselaer (W)
. John Sanford (D)
. Andrew W. Doig (D)
. David P. Brewster (D)
. John G. Floyd (D)
. Thomas C. Chittenden (W)
. Samuel S. Bowne (D)
. Samuel Gordon (D)
. John C. Clark (W)
. Samuel Partridge (D)
. Lewis Riggs (D)
. Victory Birdseye (W)
. A. Lawrence Foster (W)
. Christopher Morgan (W)
. John Maynard (W)
. Francis Granger (W), until March 5, 1841
: John Greig (W), from May 21, 1841, until September 25, 1841
: Francis Granger (W), from November 27, 1841
. William M. Oliver (D)
. Timothy Childs (W)
. Seth M. Gates (W)
. John Young (W)
. Staley N. Clarke (W)
. Millard Fillmore (W)
. Alfred Babcock (W)

North Carolina

. Kenneth Rayner (W)
. John R. J. Daniel (D)
. Edward Stanly (W)
. William Washington (W)
. James I. McKay (D)
. Archibald H. Arrington (D)
. Edmund Deberry (W)
. Romulus M. Saunders (D)
. Augustine H. Shepperd (W)
. Abraham Rencher (W)
. Greene Caldwell (D)
. James Graham (W)
. Lewis Williams (W), until February 23, 1842
: Anderson Mitchell (W), from April 27, 1842

Ohio

. Nathanael G. Pendleton (W)
. John B. Weller (D)
. Patrick Goode (W)
. Jeremiah Morrow (W)
. William Doan (D)
. Calvary Morris (W)
. William Russell (W)
. Joseph Ridgway (W)
. William Medill (D)
. Samson Mason (W)
. Benjamin S. Cowen (W)
. Joshua Mathiot (W)
. James Mathews (D)
. George Sweeny (D)
. Sherlock Andrews (W)
. Joshua R. Giddings (W), until March 22, 1842, and from December 5, 1842
. John Hastings (D)
. Ezra Dean (D)
. Samuel Stokely (W)

Pennsylvania

There were two plural districts, the 2nd had two representatives, the 4th had three representatives.

. Charles Brown (D)
. George W. Toland (W)
. John Sergeant (W), until September 15, 1841
: Joseph R. Ingersoll (W), from October 12, 1841
. Charles J. Ingersoll (D)
. Jeremiah Brown (W)
. John Edwards (W)
. Francis James (W)
. Joseph Fornance (D)
. Robert Ramsey (W)
. John Westbrook (D)
. Peter Newhard (D)
. George M. Keim (D)
. William Simonton (W)
. James Gerry (D)
. James Cooper (W)
. Amos Gustine (D)
. James Irvin (W)
. Benjamin A. Bidlack (D)
. John Snyder (D)
. Davis Dimock Jr. (D), until January 13, 1842
: Almon H. Read (D), from March 18, 1842
. Charles Ogle (W), until May 10, 1841
: Henry Black (W), from June 28, 1841, until November 28, 1841
: James M. Russell (W), from December 21, 1841
. Albert G. Marchand (D)
. Enos Hook (D), until April 18, 1841
: Henry W. Beeson (D), from May 31, 1841
. Joseph Lawrence (W), until April 17, 1842
: Thomas M. T. McKennan (W), from May 30, 1842
. William W. Irwin (W)
. William Jack (D)
. Thomas Henry (W)
. Arnold Plumer (D)

Rhode Island

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

. Robert B. Cranston (W)
. Joseph L. Tillinghast (W)

South Carolina

. Isaac E. Holmes (D)
. Robert Rhett (D)
. John Campbell (D)
. Sampson H. Butler (D), until September 27, 1842
: Samuel W. Trotti (D), from December 17, 1842
. Francis W. Pickens (D)
. William Butler (W)
. James Rogers (D)
. Thomas D. Sumter (D)
. Patrick C. Caldwell (D)

Tennessee

. Thomas D. Arnold (W)
. Abraham McClellan (D)
. Joseph L. Williams (W)
. Thomas Campbell (W)
. Hopkins L. Turney (D)
. William B. Campbell (W)
. Robert L. Caruthers (W)
. Meredith P. Gentry (W)
. Harvey M. Watterson (D)
. Aaron V. Brown (D)
. Cave Johnson (D)
. Milton Brown (W)
. Christopher Williams (W)

Vermont

. Hiland Hall (W)
. William Slade (W)
. Horace Everett (W)
. Augustus Young (W)
. John Mattocks (W)

Virginia

. Francis Mallory (W)
. George B. Cary (D)
. John W. Jones (D)
. William Goode (D)
. Edmund W. Hubard (D)
. Walter Coles (D)
. William L. Goggin (W)
. Henry A. Wise (W)
. Robert M. T. Hunter (W)
. John Taliaferro (W)
. John M. Botts (W)
. Thomas W. Gilmer (W)
. Linn Banks (D), until December 6, 1841
: William Smith (D), from December 6, 1841
. Cuthbert Powell (W)
. Richard W. Barton (W)
. William Harris (D)
. Alexander Stuart (W)
. George W. Hopkins (D)
. George W. Summers (W)
. Samuel Hays (D)
. Lewis Steenrod (D)

Non-voting members

. David Levy Yulee (D)
. Augustus C. Dodge (D)
. Henry Dodge (D)

Changes in membership

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

Senate

  • Replacements: 9
  • Democrats: no net change
  • Whigs: no net change
  • Deaths: 2
  • Resignations: 8
  • Interim appointments: 0
  • Vacancy: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 10

|- | Alabama<br>(3) | | Clement C. Clay (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 15, 1841 | | Arthur P. Bagby (D) | Elected November 24, 1841 |- | Rhode Island<br>(1) | | Nathan F. Dixon (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died January 29, 1842 | | William Sprague (W) | Elected February 18, 1842 |- | Tennessee<br>(1) | | Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned February 7, 1842 | Vacant | Not filled this term |- | New Hampshire<br>(3) | | Franklin Pierce (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned February 28, 1842 | | Leonard Wilcox (D) | Appointed March 1, 1842, and subsequently elected |- | Louisiana<br>(3) | | Alexandre Mouton (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 1, 1842, after being elected Governor of Louisiana | | Charles M. Conrad (W) | Appointed April 14, 1842 |- | Kentucky<br>(3) | | Henry Clay (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 31, 1842 | | John J. Crittenden (W) | Appointed March 31, 1842, and subsequently elected |- | Vermont<br>(3) | | Samuel Prentiss (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned April 11, 1842, to become judge of the U.S. District Court of Vermont | | Samuel C. Crafts (W) | Appointed April 23, 1842, and subsequently elected |- | New Jersey<br>(1) | | Samuel L. Southard (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died June 26, 1842 | | William L. Dayton (W) | Appointed July 2, 1842 |- | South Carolina<br>(3) | | William C. Preston (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 29, 1842 | | George McDuffie (D) | Elected December 23, 1842 |- | Maine<br>(1) | | Reuel Williams (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned February 15, 1843 | Vacant | Not filled this term

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 17
  • Democrats: 3 seat net gain
  • Whigs: 3 seat net loss
  • Deaths: 8
  • Resignations: 12
  • Contested election: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 20

|- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep. George Evans resigned in previous congress | | David Bronson (W) | Seated May 31, 1841 |- | | | Francis Granger (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 5, 1841, after being appointed United States Postmaster General | | John Greig (W) | Seated May 21, 1841 |- | | | Levi Lincoln Jr. (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 16, 1841, after being appointed Collector of the port of Boston | | Charles Hudson (W) | Seated May 3, 1841 |- | | | Enos Hook (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned April 18, 1841 | | Henry W. Beeson (D) | Seated May 31, 1841 |- | | | Charles Ogle (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died May 10, 1841 | | Henry Black (W) | Seated June 28, 1841 |- | | | John Sergeant (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 15, 1841 | | Joseph R. Ingersoll (W) | Seated October 12, 1841 |- | | | John Greig (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 25, 1841 | | Francis Granger (W) | Seated November 27, 1841 |- | | | Julius C. Alford (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned October 1, 1841 | | Edward J. Black (D) | Seated January 3, 1842 |- | | | Eugenius A. Nisbet (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned October 12, 1841 | | Mark A. Cooper (D) | Seated January 3, 1842 |- | | | William C. Dawson (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 13, 1841 | | Walter T. Colquitt (D) | Seated January 3, 1842 |- | | | Henry Black (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 28, 1841 | | James M. Russell (W) | Seated December 21, 1841 |- | | | Linn Banks (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election December 6, 1841 | | William Smith (D) | Seated December 6, 1841 |- | | | Davis Dimock Jr. (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died January 13, 1842 | | Almon H. Read (D) | Seated March 18, 1842 |- | | | Lewis Williams (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died February 23, 1842 | | Anderson Mitchell (W) | Seated April 27, 1842 |- | | | Joshua R. Giddings (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 22, 1842, after vote of his censure and re-elected to same seat | | Joshua R. Giddings (W) | Seated December 5, 1842 |- | | | Joseph Lawrence (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 17, 1842 | | Thomas M. T. McKennan (W) | Seated May 30, 1842 |- | | | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned May 25, 1842 | | Nathan Appleton (W) | Seated June 9, 1842 |- | | | William S. Hastings (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died June 17, 1842 | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |- | | | Sampson H. Butler (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 27, 1842 | | Samuel W. Trotti (D) | Seated December 17, 1842 |- | | | Nathan Appleton (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 28, 1842 | | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | Seated November 29, 1842 |- | | | Richard W. Habersham (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 2, 1842 | | George W. Crawford (W) | Seated January 7, 1843 |- | | | James W. Williams (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 2, 1842 | | Charles S. Sewall (D) | Seated January 2, 1843

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

References

External links