38th United States Congress

The Thirty-eighth 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 1863 to March 3 1865, during the last two years of the first administration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Eighth Census of the United States in 1860. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Dates of sessions

March 4 1863 - March 3 1865
*Special session of the Senate: March 4 1863 – March 14 1863
*First session: December 7 1863 - July 4 1864
*Second session: December 5 1864 - March 3 1865 — a lame duck sessionPrevious: 37th Congress • Next: 39th Congress

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

enate

*Democratic "(D)": 10
*Republican "(R)": 33 "(majority)"
* Unionist "(U)": 4
*Unconditional Unionist "(UU)": 5TOTAL members: 52

House of Representatives

*Democratic "(D)": 72
*Republican "(R)": 85 "(majority)"
*Unionist "(U)": 9
*Unconditional Unionist "(UU)": 16
*Independent Republican "(IR)": 2TOTAL members: 184

Leadership

enate

* President: Hannibal Hamlin (R)
* President "pro tempore":
** Solomon Foot (R), March 4 1863 – April 13 1864
** Daniel Clark (R), April 26 1864 – End

Majority (Republican) leadership

* Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony

House of Representatives

*Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R), December 7 1863 – End

Majority (Republican) leadership

* Republican Conference Chairman: Justin S. Morrill

Major events

:"Main article: Events of 1863; Events of 1864; Events of 1865"
*American Civil War, which started in 1861, continued through this Congress and ended later in 1865

Major legislation

* April 22, 1864 — Coinage Act of 1864, Sess. 1, ch. 66, USStat|13|54
* March 3 1865 — Freedman's Bureau, Sess. 2, ch. 90, USStat|13|507

Treaties ratified

* 1865-02-09 — Chippewa Indians, USStat|13|393

tates admitted and seceded and Territories organized

States admitted

*June 19 1863 — West Virginia admitted (formed from a portion of Virginia), USStat|13|731
*October 31 1864 — Nevada admitted, USStat|13|30

tates seceded

Congress did not accept secession. Seceding states lost their representation in Congress.
* Already seceded: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee

Territory organized

*May 26 1864 — Montana Territory organized, Sess. 1, ch. 95, USStat|13|85

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.:"See also: 38th United States Congress - political parties":"See also: 38th United States Congress - State Delegations":"See also: United States House elections, 1862"

enate

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 this Congress, requiring reelection in 1868; Class 2 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1866.:"See also: :"See also:

Officers

*Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter

enate

*Secretary: John W. Forney
*Sergeant at Arms: George T. Brown
*Chaplain:
** Byron Sunderland, "Presbyterian"
** Thomas Bowman, "Methodist", elected May 11 1864

House of Representatives

*Clerk: Edward McPherson
*Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway
*Doorkeeper: Ira Goodnow
*Postmaster: William S. King
*Messenger to the Speaker:
** Thaddeus Morrice
** William D. Todd
*Chaplain: William H. Channing, "Unitarian"

Notes

References

*cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|authorlink =|coauthors =|year = 1989|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York|id =
*cite book|title = The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts|last = Martis|first = Kenneth C.|authorlink =|coauthors =|year = 1982|publisher = Macmillan Publishing Company|location = New York|id =

External links

* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsllink.html Statutes at Large, 1789-1875]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsjlink.html Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwhjlink.html#anchor2 House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress]
* [http://www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/cdocuments/hd108-222/index.html Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress]
* [http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html U.S. House of Representatives: House History]
* [http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/reference/two_column_table/stats_and_lists.htm U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists]