The 29th 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, 1845, to March 4, 1847, during the first two years of James Polk's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
Major events
Major legislation
Treaties
States admitted
- December 29, 1845: Texas admitted as the 28th state
- December 28, 1846: Iowa admitted as the 29th state
Party summary
Senate
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
House of Representatives
During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
Leadership
Senate
House of Representatives
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class 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 with this Congress, facing re-election in 1850; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1848.
2. Dixon H. Lewis (D)
3. Arthur P. Bagby (D)
2. Chester Ashley (D)
3. Ambrose H. Sevier (D)
1. Jabez W. Huntington (W)
3. John M. Niles (D)
1. John M. Clayton (W)
2. Thomas Clayton (W)
1. David Levy Yulee (D), from July 1, 1845
3. James Westcott (D), from July 1, 1845
2. John M. Berrien (W), until May, 1845; from November 13, 1845
3. Walter T. Colquitt (D)
2. James Semple (D)
3. Sidney Breese (D)
1. Jesse D. Bright (D)
3. Edward A. Hannegan (D)
2. Vacant after being admitted to the Union December 28, 1846
3. Vacant after being admitted to the Union December 28, 1846
2. James T. Morehead (W)
3. John J. Crittenden (W)
2. Alexander Barrow (W), until December 29, 1846
: Pierre Soulé (D), from January 21, 1847
3. Henry Johnson (W)
1. John Fairfield (D)
2. George Evans (W)
1. Reverdy Johnson (W)
3. James Pearce (W)
1. Daniel Webster (W)
2. Isaac C. Bates (W), until March 16, 1845
: John Davis (W), from March 24, 1845
1. Lewis Cass (D)
2. William Woodbridge (W)
1. Jesse Speight (D)
2. Robert J. Walker (D), until March 5, 1845
: Joseph W. Chalmers (D), from November 3, 1845
1. Thomas H. Benton (D)
3. David R. Atchison (D)
2. Levi Woodbury (D), until September 20, 1845
: Benning W. Jenness (D), from December 1, 1845, until June 13, 1846
: Joseph Cilley (L), from June 13, 1846
3. Charles G. Atherton (D)
1. William L. Dayton (W)
2. Jacob W. Miller (W)
1. Daniel S. Dickinson (D)
3. John A. Dix (D)
2. Willie P. Mangum (W)
3. William H. Haywood Jr. (D), until July 25, 1846
: George E. Badger (W), from November 26, 1846
1. Thomas Corwin (W)
3. William Allen (D)
1. Daniel Sturgeon (D)
3. James Buchanan (D), until March 5, 1845
: Simon Cameron (D), from March 13, 1845
1. Albert C. Greene (W)
2. James F. Simmons (W)
2. John C. Calhoun (D), from November 26, 1845
3. George McDuffie (D), until August 17, 1846
: Andrew Butler (D), from December 4, 1846
1. Hopkins L. Turney (D)
2. Spencer Jarnagin (W)
1. Thomas J. Rusk (D), from February 21, 1846 (newly admitted state)
2. Samuel Houston (D), from February 21, 1846 (newly admitted state)
1. Samuel S. Phelps (W)
3. William Upham (W)
1. Isaac S. Pennybacker (D), December 3, 1845 â January 12, 1847
: James M. Mason (D), from January 21, 1847
2. William S. Archer (W)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
. Edmund S. Dargan (D)
. Henry W. Hilliard (W)
. William L. Yancey (D), until September 1, 1846
: James L. Cottrell (D), from December 7, 1846
. William W. Payne (D)
. George S. Houston (D)
. Reuben Chapman (D)
. Felix G. McConnell (D), until September 10, 1846
: Franklin W. Bowdon (D), from December 7, 1846
. Archibald Yell (D), until July 1, 1846
: Thomas W. Newton (W), from February 6, 1847
. James Dixon (W)
. Samuel D. Hubbard (W)
. John A. Rockwell (W)
. Truman Smith (W)
. John W. Houston (W)
. Edward C. Cabell (W), from October 6, 1845, until January 24, 1846
: William H. Brockenbrough (D), from January 24, 1846
. Thomas Butler King (W)
. Seaborn Jones (D)
. George W. B. Towns (D), from January 5, 1846
. Hugh A. Haralson (D)
. John H. Lumpkin (D)
. Howell Cobb (D)
. Alexander H. Stephens (W)
. Robert A. Toombs (W)
. Robert Smith (D)
. John A. McClernand (D)
. Orlando B. Ficklin (D)
. John Wentworth (D)
. Stephen A. Douglas (D), until March 3, 1847
. Joseph P. Hoge (D)
. Edward D. Baker (W), until January 15, 1847
: John Henry (W), from February 5, 1847
. Robert D. Owen (D)
. Thomas J. Henley (D)
. Thomas Smith (D)
. Caleb B. Smith (W)
. William W. Wick (D)
. John W. Davis (D)
. Edward W. McGaughey (W)
. John Pettit (D)
. Charles W. Cathcart (D)
. Andrew Kennedy (D)
. S. Clifton Hastings (D), from December 28, 1846 (newly admitted state)
. Shepherd Leffler (D), from December 28, 1846 (newly admitted state)
. Linn Boyd (D)
. John H. McHenry (W)
. Henry Grider (W)
. Joshua F. Bell (W)
. Bryan R. Young (W)
. John P. Martin (D)
. William P. Thomasson (W)
. Garrett Davis (W)
. Andrew A. Trumbo (W)
. John W. Tibbatts (D)
. John Slidell (D), until November 10, 1845
: Emile La Sére (D), from January 29, 1846
. Bannon G. Thibodeaux (W)
. John H. Harmanson (D)
. Isaac E. Morse (D)
. John F. Scamman (D)
. Robert P. Dunlap (D)
. Luther Severance (W)
. John D. McCrate (D)
. Cullen Sawtelle (D)
. Hannibal Hamlin (D)
. Hezekiah Williams (D)
. John G. Chapman (W)
. Thomas J. Perry (D)
. Thomas W. Ligon (D)
. William F. Giles (D)
. Albert Constable (D)
. Edward H. C. Long (W)
. Robert C. Winthrop (W)
. Daniel P. King (W)
. Amos Abbott (W)
. Benjamin Thompson (W)
. Charles Hudson (W)
. George Ashmun (W)
. Julius Rockwell (W)
. John Quincy Adams (W)
. Artemas Hale (W)
. Joseph Grinnell (W)
. Robert McClelland (D)
. John S. Chipman (D)
. James B. Hunt (D)
. Stephen Adams (D)
. Jefferson Davis (D), until October 28, 1846
: Henry T. Ellett (D), from January 26, 1847
. Robert W. Roberts (D)
. Jacob Thompson (D)
. James B. Bowlin (D)
. John S. Phelps (D)
. Sterling Price (D), until August 12, 1846
: William McDaniel (D), from December 7, 1846
. James H. Relfe (D)
. Leonard H. Sims (D)
. James H. Johnson (D)
. Mace Moulton (D)
. Moses Norris Jr. (D)
. Vacant
. James G. Hampton (W)
. Samuel G. Wright (W), until July 30, 1845
: George Sykes (D), from November 4, 1845
. John Runk (W)
. Joseph E. Edsall (D)
. William Wright (W)
. John W. Lawrence (D)
. Henry J. Seaman (A)
. William S. Miller (A)
. William B. Maclay (D)
. Thomas M. Woodruff (A)
. William W. Campbell (A)
. Joseph H. Anderson (D)
. William W. Woodworth (D)
. Archibald C. Niven (D)
. Samuel Gordon (D)
. John F. Collin (D)
. Richard P. Herrick (W), until June 20, 1846
: Thomas C. Ripley (W), from December 17, 1846
. Bradford R. Wood (D)
. Erastus D. Culver (W)
. Joseph Russell (D)
. Hugh White (W)
. Charles S. Benton (D)
. Preston King (D)
. Orville Hungerford (D)
. Timothy Jenkins (D)
. Charles Goodyear (D)
. Stephen Strong (D)
. William J. Hough (D)
. Horace Wheaton (D)
. George O. Rathbun (D)
. Samuel S. Ellsworth (D)
. John De Mott (D)
. Elias B. Holmes (W)
. Charles H. Carroll (W)
. Martin Grover (D)
. Abner Lewis (W)
. William A. Moseley (W)
. Albert Smith (W)
. Washington Hunt (W)
. James Graham (W)
. Daniel M. Barringer (W)
. David S. Reid (D)
. Alfred Dockery (W)
. James C. Dobbin (D)
. James I. McKay (D)
. John R. J. Daniel (D)
. Henry S. Clark (D)
. Asa Biggs (D)
. James J. Faran (D)
. Francis A. Cunningham (D)
. Robert C. Schenck (W)
. Joseph Vance (W)
. William Sawyer (D)
. Henry St. John (D)
. Joseph J. McDowell (D)
. Allen G. Thurman (D)
. Augustus L. Perrill (D)
. Columbus Delano (W)
. Jacob Brinkerhoff (D)
. Samuel F. Vinton (W)
. Isaac Parrish (D)
. Alexander Harper (W)
. Joseph Morris (D)
. John D. Cummins (D)
. George Fries (D)
. David A. Starkweather (D)
. Daniel R. Tilden (W)
. Joshua R. Giddings (W)
. Joseph M. Root (W)
. Lewis C. Levin (A)
. Joseph R. Ingersoll (W)
. John H. Campbell (A)
. Charles J. Ingersoll (D)
. Jacob S. Yost (D)
. Jacob Erdman (D)
. Abraham R. McIlvaine (W)
. John Strohm (W)
. John Ritter (D)
. Richard Brodhead (D)
. Owen D. Leib (D)
. David Wilmot (D)
. James Pollock (W)
. Alexander Ramsey (W)
. Moses McClean (D)
. James Black (D)
. John Blanchard (W)
. Andrew Stewart (W)
. Henry D. Foster (D)
. John H. Ewing (W)
. Cornelius Darragh (W)
. William S. Garvin (D)
. James Thompson (D)
. Joseph Buffington (W)
. Henry Y. Cranston (W)
. Lemuel H. Arnold (W)
. James A. Black (D)
. Richard F. Simpson (D)
. Joseph A. Woodward (D)
. Alexander D. Sims (D)
. Armistead Burt (D)
. Isaac E. Holmes (D)
. Robert Rhett (D)
. Andrew Johnson (D)
. William M. Cocke (W)
. John H. Crozier (W)
. Alvan Cullom (D)
. George W. Jones (D)
. Barclay Martin (D)
. Meredith P. Gentry (W)
. Joseph H. Peyton (W), until November 11, 1845
: Edwin H. Ewing (W), from January 2, 1846
. Lucien B. Chase (D)
. Frederick P. Stanton (D)
. Milton Brown (W)
. David S. Kaufman (D), from March 30, 1846 (newly admitted state)
. Timothy Pilsbury (D), from March 30, 1846 (newly admitted state)
. Solomon Foot (W)
. Jacob Collamer (W)
. George P. Marsh (W)
. Paul Dillingham Jr. (D)
. Archibald Atkinson (D)
. George C. Dromgoole (D)
. William M. Tredway (D)
. Edmund W. Hubard (D)
. Shelton F. Leake (D)
. James A. Seddon (D)
. Thomas H. Bayly (D)
. Robert M. T. Hunter (D)
. John S. Pendleton (W)
. Henry Bedinger (D)
. William Taylor (D), until January 17, 1846
: James McDowell (D), from March 6, 1846
. Augustus A. Chapman (D)
. George W. Hopkins (D)
. Joseph Johnson (D)
. William G. Brown Sr. (D)
Non-voting members
. Augustus C. Dodge (D), until December 28, 1846
. Morgan L. Martin (D)
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- Replacements: 8
- Democrats (D): no net change
- Whigs (W): no net change
- Deaths: 3
- Resignations: 6
- Interim appointments: 1
- Seats of newly admitted states: 4
- Total seats with changes: 14
|- | Florida<br>(1) | Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | | David L. Yulee (D) | Elected July 1, 1845
|- | Florida<br>(3) | Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | | James Westcott (D) | Elected July 1, 1845
|- | South Carolina<br>(2) | Vacant | Senator Daniel E. Huger resigned in previous congress.<br/>Successor elected November 26, 1845. | | John C. Calhoun (D) | Elected November 26, 1845
|- | Virginia<br>(1) | Vacant | Failure to elect | | Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) | Elected December 3, 1845
|- | Mississippi<br>(2) | | Robert J. Walker (D) | Resigned March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.<br/>Successor appointed November 3, 1845.<br/>Appointee was later elected on an unknown date. | | Joseph W. Chalmers (D) | Appointed November 3, 1845
|- | Pennsylvania<br>(3) | | James Buchanan (D) | Resigned March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of State | | Simon Cameron (D) | Elected March 13, 1845
|- | Massachusetts<br>(2) | | Isaac C. Bates (W) | Died March 16, 1845 | | John Davis (W) | Elected March 24, 1845
|- | Georgia<br>(2) | | John M. Berrien (W) | Resigned May, 1845 when appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court | | John M. Berrien (W) | Elected November 13, 1845
|- | New Hampshire<br>(2) | | Levi Woodbury (D) | Resigned November 20, 1845, to become Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court | | Benning W. Jenness (D) | Appointed December 1, 1845
|- | Texas<br>(1) | colspan=2 | Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845, and remained vacant until February 21, 1846 | | Thomas J. Rusk (D) | Elected February 21, 1846
|- | Texas<br>(2) | colspan=2 | Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845, and remained vacant until February 21, 1846 | | Sam Houston (D) | Elected February 21, 1846
|- | New Hampshire<br>(2) | | Benning W. Jenness (D) | Lost election to finish the term.<br/>Winner elected June 13, 1846. | | Joseph Cilley (L) | Elected June 13, 1846
|- | North Carolina<br>(3) | | William H. Haywood Jr. (D) | Resigned July 25, 1846, after having refused to be instructed by the North Carolina state legislature on a tariff question | | George E. Badger (W) | Elected November 25, 1846
|- | South Carolina<br>(3) | | George McDuffie (D) | Resigned August 17, 1846.<br/>Successor appointed December 4, 1846, and subsequently elected to finish the term. | | Andrew Butler (D) | Seated December 4, 1846
|- | Iowa<br>(2) | colspan=2 | Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | Vacant | Not filled this term
|- | Iowa<br>(3) | colspan=2 | Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | Vacant | Not filled this term
|- | Louisiana<br>(2) | | Alexander Barrow (W) | Died December 29, 1846 | | Pierre Soulé (D) | Elected January 21, 1847
|- | Virginia<br>(1) | | Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) | Died January 12, 1847 | | James M. Mason (D) | Elected January 21, 1847
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 12
- Democrats (D): 1 seat net gain
- Whigs (W): 1 seat net loss
- Deaths: 5
- Resignations: 6
- Contested election: 1
- Seats of newly admitted states: 4
- Total seats with changes: 17
|- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | | Edward C. Cabell (W) | Seated October 6, 1845 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep-elect Washington Poe declined the seat | | George W. Towns (D) | Seated January 5, 1846 |- | | colspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845, and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846 | | David S. Kaufman (D) | Seated March 30, 1846 |- | | colspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845, and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846 | | Timothy Pilsbury (D) | Seated March 30, 1846 |- | | | Samuel G. Wright (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died July 30, 1845 | | George Sykes (D) | Seated November 4, 1845 |- | | | John Slidell (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 10, 1845, after being appointed Minister to Mexico, but government refused to accept him | | Emile La Sére (D) | Seated January 29, 1846 |- | | | Joseph H. Peyton (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 11, 1845 | | Edwin H. Ewing (W) | Seated January 2, 1846 |- | | | William Taylor (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died January 17, 1846 | | James McDowell (D) | Seated March 6, 1846 |- | | | Edward C. Cabell (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election January 24, 1846 | | William H. Brockenbrough (D) | Seated January 24, 1846 |- | | | Jefferson Davis (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned some time in June, 1846 in order to take part in the Mexican War | | Henry T. Ellett (D) | Seated January 26, 1847 |- | | | Richard P. Herrick (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died June 20, 1846 | | Thomas C. Ripley (W) | Seated December 17, 1846 |- | | | Archibald Yell (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 1, 1846, in order to take part in the Mexican War | | Thomas W. Newton (W) | Seated February 6, 1847 |- | | | Sterling Price (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned August 12, 1846, in order to take part in the Mexican War | | William McDaniel (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |- | | | William L. Yancey (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 1, 1846 | | James L. Cottrell (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |- | | | Felix G. McConnell (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died September 10, 1846 | | Franklin W. Bowdon (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |- | | | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | colspan=3 style="font-size:80%" | Territory was dissolved after Iowa was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 |- | | colspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 | | S. Clinton Hastings (D) | Seated December 28, 1846 |- | | colspan=2 style="font-size:80%" | Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 | | Shepherd Leffler (D) | Seated December 28, 1846 |- | | | Edward D. Baker (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 15, 1847, in order to take part in the Mexican War | | John Henry (W) | Seated February 5, 1847 |- | | | Stephen A. Douglas (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 3, 1847, at close of congress after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term
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