25th United States Congress

Major events

• March 4, 1837: Martin Van Buren became President of the United States
• May 10, 1837: Panic of 1837
• January 6, 1838: First public demonstration of Samuel Morse's telegraph
• May 26, 1838: Trail of Tears: The Cherokee removal began

  Major legislation

• Territories organized

• June 12, 1838: Iowa Territory was formed from the Wisconsin Territory.

  Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

• President: Richard Mentor Johnson
• President pro tempore: William R. King

  House of Representatives

• Speaker: James K. Polk

  Members

Senate

[List of [United States Senators from Alabama|Alabama]]

• 2. William R. D. King
• 3. John McKinley, until April 22, 1837
• * Clement C. Clay, from June 19, 1837

  Arkansas">List of United States Senators from Arkansas">Arkansas

• 2. William S. Fulton
• 3. Ambrose H. Sevier

  Connecticut">List of United States Senators from Connecticut">Connecticut

• 1. John M. Niles
• 3. Perry Smith

  Delaware">List of United States Senators from Delaware">Delaware

• 1. Richard H. Bayard
• 2. Thomas Clayton

  Georgia">List of United States Senators from Georgia">Georgia

• 2. John P. King, until November 1, 1837
• * Wilson Lumpkin, from November 22, 1837
• 3. Alfred Cuthbert

  Illinois">List of United States Senators from Illinois">Illinois

• 2. John M. Robinson
• 3. Richard M. Young

  Indiana">List of United States Senators from Indiana">Indiana

• 1. John Tipton
• 3. Oliver H. Smith

  Kentucky">List of United States Senators from Kentucky">Kentucky

• 2. John J. Crittenden
• 3. Henry Clay

  Louisiana">List of United States Senators from Louisiana">Louisiana

• 2. Robert C. Nicholas
• 3. Alexander Mouton

  Maine">List of United States Senators from Maine">Maine

• 1. Reuel Williams
• 2. John Ruggles

  Maryland">List of United States Senators from Maryland">Maryland

• 1. Joseph Kent, until November 24, 1837
• * William D. Merrick, from January 4, 1838
• 3. John S. Spence

  Massachusetts">List of United States Senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts

• 1. Daniel Webster
• 2. John Davis

  Michigan">List of United States Senators from Michigan">Michigan

• 1. Lucius Lyon
• 2. John Norvell

  Mississippi">List of United States Senators from Mississippi">Mississippi

• 1. John Black, until January 22, 1838
• * James F. Trotter, from January 22, 1838, until July 10, 1838
• * Thomas H. Williams, from November 12, 1838
• 2. Robert J. Walker

  Missouri">List of United States Senators from Missouri">Missouri

• 1. Thomas H. Benton
• 3. Lewis F. Linn

  New Hampshire">List of United States Senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire

• 2. Henry Hubbard
• 3. Franklin Pierce

  New Jersey">List of United States Senators from New Jersey">New Jersey

• 1. Samuel L. Southard
• 2. Garret D. Wall

  New York">List of United States Senators from New York">New York

• 1. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge
• 3. Silas Wright, Jr.

  North Carolina">List of United States Senators from North Carolina">North Carolina

• 2. Bedford Brown
• 3. Robert Strange

  Ohio">List of United States Senators from Ohio">Ohio

• 1. Thomas Morris
• 3. William Allen

  Pennsylvania">List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania

• 1. Samuel McKean
• 3. James Buchanan

  Rhode Island">List of United States Senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island

• 1. Asher Robbins
• 2. Nehemiah R. Knight

  South Carolina">List of United States Senators from South Carolina">South Carolina

• 2. John C. Calhoun
• 3. William C. Preston

  Tennessee">List of United States Senators from Tennessee">Tennessee

• 1. Felix Grundy, until July 4, 1838
• * Ephraim H. Foster, from September 17, 1838 – March 3, 1839
• 2. Hugh Lawson White

  Vermont">List of United States Senators from Vermont">Vermont

• 1. Benjamin Swift
• 3. Samuel Prentiss

  Virginia">List of United States Senators from Virginia">Virginia

• 1. William C. Rives
• 2. Richard E. Parker, until March 4, 1837
• * William H. Roane, from March 14, 1837

House of Representatives

[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]

• . Reuben Chapman
• . Joshua L. Martin
• . Joab Lawler, until May 8, 1838
• * George W. Crabb, from September 4, 1838
• . Dixon H. Lewis
• . Francis S. Lyon

  Arkansas">List of United States Representatives from Arkansas">Arkansas

• . Archibald Yell

  Connecticut">List of United States Representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut

• . Isaac Toucey
• . Samuel Ingham
• . Elisha Haley
• . Thomas T. Whittlesey
• . Lancelot Phelps
• . Orrin Holt

  Delaware">List of United States Representatives from Delaware">Delaware

• . John J. Milligan

  Georgia">List of United States Representatives from Georgia">Georgia

• . Jesse F. Cleveland
• . William C. Dawson
• . Thomas Glascock
• . Seaton Grantland
• . Charles E. Haynes
• . Hopkins Holsey
• . Jabez Y. Jackson
• . George W. Owens
• . George W. B. Towns

  Illinois">List of United States Representatives from Illinois">Illinois

• . Adam W. Snyder
• . Zadok Casey
• . William L. May

  Indiana">List of United States Representatives from Indiana">Indiana

• . Ratliff Boon
• . John Ewing
• . William Graham
• . George H. Dunn
• . James Rariden
• . William Herod
• . Albert S. White

  Kentucky">List of United States Representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky

• . John L. Murray
• . Edward Rumsey
• . Joseph R. Underwood
• . Sherrod Williams
• . James Harlan
• . John Calhoon
• . John Pope
• . William J. Graves
• . John White
• . Richard Hawes
• . Richard H. Menefee
• . John Chambers
• . William W. Southgate

  Louisiana">List of United States Representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana

• . Henry Johnson
• . Eleazar W. Ripley, until March 2, 1839
• . Rice Garland

  Maine">List of United States Representatives from Maine">Maine

• . John Fairfield, until December 24, 1838
• . Francis O. J. Smith
• . Jonathan Cilley, until February 24, 1838
• * Edward Robinson, from April 28, 1838
• . George Evans
• . Timothy J. Carter, until March 14, 1838
• * Virgil D. Parris, from May 29, 1838
• . Hugh J. Anderson
• . Joseph C. Noyes
• . Thomas Davee

  Maryland">List of United States Representatives from Maryland">Maryland

• . John Dennis
• . James A. Pearce
• . John T. H. Worthington
• . Benjamin C. Howard
• . Isaac McKim, until April 1, 1838
• * John P. Kennedy, from April 25, 1838
• . William Cost Johnson
• . Francis Thomas
• . Daniel Jenifer

  Massachusetts">List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts

• . Richard Fletcher
• . Stephen C. Phillips, until September 28, 1838
• * Leverett Saltonstall, from December 25, 1838
• . Caleb Cushing
• . William Parmenter
• . Levi Lincoln, Jr.
• . George Grennell, Jr.
• . George N. Briggs
• . William B. Calhoun
• . William S. Hastings
• . Nathaniel B. Borden
• . John Reed, Jr.
• . John Quincy Adams

  Michigan">List of United States Representatives from Michigan">Michigan

• . Isaac E. Crary

  Mississippi">List of United States Representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi

• . John F. H. Claiborne, from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838
• * Seargent S. Prentiss, from May 30, 1838
• . Samuel J. Gholson, from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838
• * Thomas J. Word, from May 30, 1838

  Missouri">List of United States Representatives from Missouri">Missouri

• . Albert G. Harrison
• . John Miller

  New Hampshire">List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire

• . Charles G. Atherton
• . Samuel Cushman
• . James Farrington
• . Joseph Weeks
• . Jared W. Williams

  New Jersey">List of United States Representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey

• . John B. Aycrigg
• . William Halstead
• . John P. B. Maxwell
• . Joseph F. Randolph
• . Charles C. Stratton
• . Thomas Jones Yorke

  New York">List of United States Representatives from New York">New York

• . Thomas B. Jackson
• . Abraham Vanderveer
• . Churchill C. Cambreleng
• . Edward Curtis
• . Ogden Hoffman
• . Ely Moore
• . Gouverneur Kemble
• . Obadiah Titus
• . Nathaniel Jones
• . John C. Brodhead
• . Robert McClellan
• . Zadock Pratt
• . Henry Vail
• . Albert Gallup
• . John I. De Graff
• . David A. Russell
• . John Palmer
• . James B. Spencer
• . John Edwards
• . Arphaxed Loomis
• . Henry A. Foster
• . Abraham P. Grant
• . Isaac H. Bronson
• . John H. Prentiss
• . Amasa J. Parker
• . John C. Clark
• . Andrew D. W. Bruyn, until July 27, 1838
• * Cyrus Beers, from December 3, 1838
• . Hiram Gray
• . Bennet Bicknell
• . William Taylor
• . William H. Noble
• . Samuel Birdsall
• . Mark H. Sibley
• . John T. Andrews
• . Timothy Childs
• . William Patterson, until August 14, 1838
• * Harvey Putnam, from November 7, 1838
• . Luther C. Peck
• . Richard P. Marvin
• . Millard Fillmore
• . Charles F. Mitchell

  North Carolina">List of United States Representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina

• . Samuel T. Sawyer
• . Jesse A. Bynum
• . Edward Stanly
• . Charles B. Shepard
• . James I. McKay
• . Micajah T. Hawkins
• . Edmund Deberry
• . William Montgomery
• . Augustine H. Shepperd
• . Abraham Rencher
• . Henry W. Connor
• . James Graham
• . Lewis Williams

  Ohio">List of United States Representatives from Ohio">Ohio

• . Alexander Duncan
• . Taylor Webster
• . Patrick G. Goode
• . Thomas Corwin
• . Thomas L. Hamer
• . Calvary Morris
• . William K. Bond
• . Joseph Ridgway
• . John Chaney
• . Samson Mason
• . James Alexander, Jr.
• . Alexander Harper
• . Daniel P. Leadbetter
• . William H. Hunter
• . John W. Allen
• . Elisha Whittlesey, until July 9, 1838
• * Joshua R. Giddings, from December 3, 1838
• . Andrew W. Loomis, until October 20, 1837
• * Charles D. Coffin, from December 20, 1837
• . Matthias Shepler
• . Daniel Kilgore, until July 4, 1838
• * Henry Swearingen, from December 3, 1838

  Pennsylvania">List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania

• . Lemuel Paynter
• . John Sergeant
• . George W. Toland
• . Francis J. Harper, until March 18, 1837
• * Charles Naylor, from June 29, 1837
• . Edward Darlington
• . Edward Davies
• . David Potts, Jr.
• . Jacob Fry, Jr.
• . Mathias Morris
• . David D. Wagener
• . Edward B. Hubley
• . Henry A. P. Muhlenberg, until February 9, 1838
• * George M. Keim, from March 17, 1838
• . Luther Reily
• . Henry Logan
• . Daniel Sheffer
• . Charles McClure
• . William W. Potter
• . David Petrikin
• . Robert H. Hammond
• . Samuel W. Morris
• . Charles Ogle
• . John J. Klingensmith, Jr.
• . Andrew Buchanan
• . Thomas M. T. McKennan
• . Richard Biddle
• . William Beatty
• . Thomas Henry
• . Arnold Plumer

  Rhode Island">List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island

• . Robert B. Cranston
• . Joseph L. Tillinghast

  South Carolina">List of United States Representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina

• . Hugh S. Legaré
• . Robert Rhett
• . John Campbell
• . Franklin H. Elmore
• . Francis W. Pickens
• . Waddy Thompson, Jr.
• . William K. Clowney
• . John P. Richardson
• . John K. Griffin

  Tennessee">List of United States Representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee

• . William B. Carter
• . Abraham McClellan
• . Joseph L. Williams
• . James I. Standifer, until August 20, 1837
• * William Stone, from September 14, 1837
• . Hopkins L. Turney
• . William B. Campbell
• . John Bell
• . Abram P. Maury
• . James K. Polk
• . Ebenezer J. Shields
• . Richard Cheatham
• . John W. Crockett
• . Christopher H. Williams

  Vermont">List of United States Representatives from Vermont">Vermont

• . Hiland Hall
• . William Slade
• . Horace Everett
• . Heman Allen
• . Isaac Fletcher

  Virginia">List of United States Representatives from Virginia">Virginia

• . Francis Mallory
• . Francis E. Rives
• . John W. Jones
• . George C. Dromgoole
• . James W. Bouldin
• . Walter Coles
• . Archibald Stuart
• . Henry A. Wise
• . Robert M. T. Hunter
• . John Taliaferro
• . John Robertson
• . James Garland
• . John M. Patton, until April 7, 1838
• * Linn Banks, from April 28, 1838
• . Charles F. Mercer
• . James M. Mason
• . Isaac S. Pennybacker
• . Robert Craig
• . George W. Hopkins
• . Andrew Beirne
• . Joseph Johnson
• . William S. Morgan

  Non-voting members

• . Charles Downing
• . William W. Chapman, from September 10, 1838
• . George Wallace Jones, until January 14, 1839
• * James D. Doty, from January 14, 1839

Changes in membership

Senate

• Replacements: 6
• * Democrats: no net change
• * Whigs: no net change
• Deaths: 1
• Resignations: 6
• Total seats with changes: 7

  House of Representatives

• Replacements: 16
• * Democrats: 5-seat net loss
• * Whigs: 5-seat net gain
• Deaths: 9
• Resignations: 6
• Contested election:1
• Total seats with changes: 20

  Committees

Senate

• Agriculture
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
• Claims
• Commerce
• Danger of Steam Vessels
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States
• District of Columbia
• Engrossed Bills
• Finance
• Foreign Relations
• Indian Affairs
• Judiciary
• Letter of Mr. Ruggles
• Manufactures
• Memorial of A. B. Quinby
• Memorial of the Citizens of Georgetown for the Retrocession of that Part of the District
• Memorial of Duff Green
• Memorial of Edward D. Tippett
• Mileage of Members of Congress
• Military Affairs
• Militia
• Naval Affairs
• Occupation of the Columbia River
• Oregon Territory
• Patents and the Patent Office
• Pensions
• Post Office and Post Roads
• Private Land Claims
• Public Buildings and Grounds
• Public Lands
• Purchasing Boyd Reilly's Gas Apparatus
• Revolutionary Claims
• Roads and Canals
• Tariff Regulation
• Whole

  House of Representatives

• Accounts
• Agriculture
• Amendment to the Constitution
• Claims
• Commerce
• District of Columbia
• Elections
• Expenditures in the Navy Department
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department
• Expenditures in the State Department
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department
• Expenditures in the War Department
• Expenditures on Public Buildings
• Foreign Affairs
• Indian Affairs
• Invalid Pensions
• Judiciary
• Manufactures
• Mileage
• Military Affairs
• Militia
• Naval Affairs
• Patents
• Post Office and Post Roads
• Private Land Claims
• Public Buildings and Grounds
• Public Expenditures
• Public Lands
• Revisal and Unfinished Business
• Revolutionary Claims
• Revolutionary Pensions
• Roads and Canals
• Rules
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories
• Ways and Means
• Whole

  Joint committees

• Enrolled Bills
• The Library

  Employees

• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

  Senate

• Chaplain: John R. Goodman, until September 11, 1837
• *Henry Slicer, elected September 11, 1837
• Secretary: Asbury Dickins
• Sergeant at Arms: John Shackford
• * Stephen Haight, elected September 4, 1837

  House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Septimus Tustin, elected September 4, 1837
• * Levi R. Reese, elected December 4, 1837
• Clerk: Walter S. Franklin, until September 20, 1838
• * Hugh A. Garland, elected December 3, 1838
• Doorkeeper: Overton Carr
• Postmaster: William J. McCormick
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey