The 26th 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, 1839, to March 4, 1841, during the third and fourth years of Martin Van Buren's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
Major events
1839: The first state law permitting women to own property was passed in Jackson, Mississippi
December 14–16, 1839: An election for the House speakership takes 11 ballots
January 19, 1840: Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigated Antarctica, claiming what becomes known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
November 7, 1840: 1840 United States presidential election: William Henry Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren
February 18, 1841: The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate began and lasted until March 11
Major legislation
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Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate
President: Richard M. Johnson (D)
President pro tempore: William R. King (D)
House of Representatives
Speaker: Robert M. T. Hunter (W) elected December 16, 1839, on the 11th ballot
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, requiring reelection in 1844; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1840; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1842.
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: 8
Democrats: 0-seat net loss
Whigs: 0-seat net gain
Deaths: 3
Resignations: 7
Interim appointments: 0
Total seats with changes: 11
House of Representatives
Replacements: 15
Democrats: 2-seat net loss
Whigs: 3-seat net gain
Anti-Masonic: 1-seat net loss
Deaths: 6
Resignations: 10
Contested election: 0
Total seats with changes: 17
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
Agriculture (Chairman: Alexander Mouton)
Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Nehemiah R. Knight)
Claims (Chairman: Henry Hubbard)
Commerce (Chairman: William R. King)
Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
District of Columbia (Chairman: Richard H. Bayard)&
Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Oliver Smith then John Henderson)
Finance (Chairman: Silas Wright)
Fiscal Corporation of the United States (Select)
Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Buchanan)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: Ambrose H. Sevier)
Judiciary (Chairman: Garret D. Wall)
Manufactures (Chairman: Wilson Lumpkin)
Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
Militia (Chairman: Clement C. Clay)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: Reuel Williams)
Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Daniel Sturgeon)
Pensions (Chairman: Franklin Pierce)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Robinson)
Printing (Chairman: N/A)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: Lewis F. Linn)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: William S. Fulton)
Public Lands (Chairman: Robert J. Walker)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Perry Smith)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: Richard M. Young)
Tariff Regulation (Select)
Whole
House of Representatives
Accounts (Chairman: Joseph Johnson)
Agriculture (Chairman: Edmund Deberry)
Apportionment of Representatives (Select)
Claims (Chairman: David A. Russell)
Commerce (Chairman: Edward Curtis)
District of Columbia (Chairman: William C. Johnson)
Elections (Chairman: Francis E. Rives)
Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall I)
Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Richard P. Marvin)
Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Joseph R. Underwood)
Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: George Evans)
Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Peter J. Wagner)
Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Edward Stanly)
Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Francis W. Pickens)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Sherrod Williams)
Judiciary (Chairman: John Sergeant)
Manufactures (Chairman: John Quincy Adams)
Memorial of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi (Select)
Mileage (Chairman: Thomas W. Williams)
Military Affairs (Chairman: Cave Johnson until 1840, then Waddy Thompson Jr.)
Militia (Chairman: George M. Keim)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: Francis Thomas)
Patents (Chairman: Issac Fletcher)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: James I. McKay)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: William B. Calhoun)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Stephen B. Leonard)
Public Expenditures (Chairman: William K. Bond)
Public Lands (Chairman: Thomas Corwin 1839-1840, then Samson Mason 1840, then Jeremiah Morrow)
Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Luther C. Peck)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Joseph F. Randolph)
Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: John Taliaferro)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: Charles Ogle)
Rules (Select)
Standards of Official Conduct
Territories (Chairman: John Pope)
Ways and Means (Chairman: John W. Jones)
Whole
Joint committees
Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. Benjamin Tappan)
The Library (Chairman: N/A)
Employees
Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan
Senate
Chaplain: Henry Slicer (Methodist), until December 31, 1839
George G. Cookman (Methodist), from December 31, 1839
Secretary: Asbury Dickins
Sergeant at Arms: Stephen Haight
House of Representatives
Chaplain: Levi M. Reese (Methodist), until February 4, 1840
Joshua Bates (Congregationalist), elected February 4, 1840
Thomas W. Braxton (Baptist), elected December 7, 1840
Clerk: Hugh A. Garland
Doorkeeper: Joseph Follansbee, elected December 23, 1839
Postmaster: William J. McCormick, elected December 23, 1839
Reading Clerks: [data missing]
Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey
See also
1838 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
1838–39 United States Senate elections
1838–39 United States House of Representatives elections
1840 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
1840 United States presidential election
1840–41 United States Senate elections
1840–41 United States House of Representatives elections
Notes
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
Statutes at Large, 1789-1875
Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
U.S. House of Representatives: House History
U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
Watterston, George (1840). Congressional Directory for the 26th Congress, 1st Session.
Congressional Directory for the 26th Congress, 2nd Session.