42nd United States Congress
The 42nd 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, 1871, to March 4, 1873, during the third and fourth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Eighth Census of the United States in 1860. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Major events
- June 10, 1871: U.S. Marines make naval attack on the Han River forts in Korea
- March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first national park
- November 5, 1872: 1872 United States presidential election
Major legislation
- April 20, 1871: Civil Rights Act of 1871
- March 1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park founded
- May 10, 1872: General Mining Act of 1872
- May 23, 1872: Amnesty Act of 1872
- June 1, 1872: Practice Conformity Act, ch. 255,
- February 12, 1873: Coinage Act of 1873
- March 3, 1873: Timber Culture Act
- March 3, 1873: Comstock Act
- March 3, 1873: Salary Grab Act
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate
- President: Schuyler Colfax
- President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony
House of Representatives
- Speaker: James G. Blaine
- Republican Conference Chairman: Austin Blair
Members
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 1874; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1872.[List of [United States Senators from Alabama|Alabama]]
- 2. George Goldthwaite
- 3. George E. Spencer
Arkansas">List of United States Senators from Arkansas">Arkansas
- 2. Powell Clayton
- 3. Benjamin F. Rice
California">List of United States Senators from California">California
- 1. Eugene Casserly
- 3. Cornelius Cole
Connecticut">List of United States Senators from Connecticut">Connecticut
- 1. William A. Buckingham
- 3. Orris S. Ferry
Delaware">List of United States Senators from Delaware">Delaware
- 1. Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.
- 2. Eli M. Saulsbury
Florida">List of United States Senators from Florida">Florida
- 1. Abijah Gilbert
- 3. Thomas W. Osborn
Georgia">List of United States Senators from Georgia">Georgia
- 2. Thomas M. Norwood, from November 14, 1871
- 3. Joshua Hill
Illinois">List of United States Senators from Illinois">Illinois
- 2. John A. Logan
- 3. Lyman Trumbull
Indiana">List of United States Senators from Indiana">Indiana
- 1. Daniel D. Pratt
- 3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton
Iowa">List of United States Senators from Iowa">Iowa
- 2. George G. Wright
- 3. James Harlan
Kansas">List of United States Senators from Kansas">Kansas
- 2. Alexander Caldwell
- 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy
Kentucky">List of United States Senators from Kentucky">Kentucky
- 2. John W. Stevenson
- 3. Garrett Davis, until September 22, 1872
- * Willis B. Machen, from September 27, 1872
Louisiana">List of United States Senators from Louisiana">Louisiana
- 2. J. Rodman West
- 3. William P. Kellogg, until November 1, 1872
Maine">List of United States Senators from Maine">Maine
- 1. Hannibal Hamlin
- 2. Lot M. Morrill
Maryland">List of United States Senators from Maryland">Maryland
- 1. William T. Hamilton
- 3. George Vickers
Massachusetts">List of United States Senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- 1. Charles Sumner
- 2. Henry Wilson, until March 3, 1873
Michigan">List of United States Senators from Michigan">Michigan
- 1. Zachariah Chandler
- 2. Thomas W. Ferry
Minnesota">List of United States Senators from Minnesota">Minnesota
- 1. Alexander Ramsey
- 2. William Windom
Mississippi">List of United States Senators from Mississippi">Mississippi
- 1. Adelbert Ames
- 2. James L. Alcorn, from December 1, 1871
Missouri">List of United States Senators from Missouri">Missouri
- 1. Carl Schurz
- 3. Francis P. Blair, Jr.
Nebraska">List of United States Senators from Nebraska">Nebraska
- 1. Thomas Tipton
- 2. Phineas Hitchcock
Nevada">List of United States Senators from Nevada">Nevada
- 1. William M. Stewart
- 3. James W. Nye
New Hampshire">List of United States Senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- 2. Aaron H. Cragin
- 3. James W. Patterson
New Jersey">List of United States Senators from New Jersey">New Jersey
- 1. John P. Stockton
- 2. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
New York">List of United States Senators from New York">New York
- 1. Reuben Fenton
- 3. Roscoe Conkling
North Carolina">List of United States Senators from North Carolina">North Carolina
- 2. Matt W. Ransom, from January 30, 1872
- 3. John Pool
Ohio">List of United States Senators from Ohio">Ohio
- 1. Allen G. Thurman
- 3. John Sherman
Oregon">List of United States Senators from Oregon">Oregon
- 2. James K. Kelly
- 3. Henry W. Corbett
Pennsylvania">List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- 1. John Scott
- 3. Simon Cameron
Rhode Island">List of United States Senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- 1. William Sprague
- 2. Henry B. Anthony
South Carolina">List of United States Senators from South Carolina">South Carolina
- 2. Thomas J. Robertson
- 3. Frederick A. Sawyer
Tennessee">List of United States Senators from Tennessee">Tennessee
- 1. William G. Brownlow
- 2. Henry Cooper
Texas">List of United States Senators from Texas">Texas
- 1. James W. Flanagan
- 2. Morgan C. Hamilton
Vermont">List of United States Senators from Vermont">Vermont
- 1. George F. Edmunds
- 3. Justin S. Morrill
Virginia">List of United States Senators from Virginia">Virginia
- 1. John F. Lewis
- 2. John W. Johnston, from March 15, 1871
West Virginia">List of United States Senators from West Virginia">West Virginia
- 1. Arthur I. Boreman
- 2. Henry G. Davis
Wisconsin">List of United States Senators from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
- 1. Matthew H. Carpenter
- 3. Timothy O. Howe
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]
- . Benjamin S. Turner
- . Charles W. Buckley
- . William A. Handley
- . Charles Hays
- . Peter M. Dox
- . Joseph H. Sloss
Arkansas">List of United States Representatives from Arkansas">Arkansas
- . James M. Hanks
- . Oliver P. Snyder
- . John Edwards, until February 9, 1872
- * Thomas Boles, from February 9, 1872
California">List of United States Representatives from California">California
- . Sherman O. Houghton
- . Aaron A. Sargent
- . John M. Coghlan
Connecticut">List of United States Representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut
- . Julius L. Strong, until September 7, 1872
- * Joseph R. Hawley, from December 2, 1872
- . Stephen W. Kellogg
- . Henry H. Starkweather
- . William H. Barnum
Delaware">List of United States Representatives from Delaware">Delaware
- . Benjamin T. Biggs
Florida">List of United States Representatives from Florida">Florida
- . Josiah T. Walls, until January 29, 1873
- * Silas L. Niblack, from January 29, 1873
Georgia">List of United States Representatives from Georgia">Georgia
- . Archibald T. MacIntyre
- . Richard H. Whiteley
- . John S. Bigby
- . Thomas J. Speer, until August 18, 1872
- * Erasmus W. Beck, from December 2, 1872
- . Dudley M. Du Bose
- . William P. Price
- . Pierce M. B. Young
Illinois">List of United States Representatives from Illinois">Illinois
- . Charles B. Farwell
- . John F. Farnsworth
- . Horatio C. Burchard
- . John B. Hawley
- . Bradford N. Stevens
- . Burton C. Cook, until August 26, 1871
- * Henry Snapp, from December 4, 1871
- . Jesse H. Moore
- . James C. Robinson
- . Thompson W. McNeely
- . Edward Y. Rice
- . Samuel S. Marshall
- . John B. Hay
- . John M. Crebs
- . John L. Beveridge, November 7, 1871 – January 4, 1873
Indiana">List of United States Representatives from Indiana">Indiana
- . William E. Niblack
- . Michael C. Kerr
- . William S. Holman
- . Jeremiah M. Wilson
- . John Coburn
- . Daniel W. Voorhees
- . Mahlon D. Manson
- . James N. Tyner
- . John P. C. Shanks
- . William Williams
- . Jasper Packard
Iowa">List of United States Representatives from Iowa">Iowa
- . George W. McCrary
- . Aylett R. Cotton
- . William G. Donnan
- . Madison M. Walden
- . Francis W. Palmer
- . Jackson Orr
Kansas">List of United States Representatives from Kansas">Kansas
- . David P. Lowe
Kentucky">List of United States Representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky
- . Edward Crossland
- . Henry D. McHenry
- . Joseph H. Lewis
- . William B. Read
- . Boyd Winchester
- . William E. Arthur
- . James B. Beck
- . George M. Adams
- . John M. Rice
Louisiana">List of United States Representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana
- . J. Hale Sypher
- . Lionel A. Sheldon
- . Chester B. Darrall
- . James McCleery, until November 5, 1871
- * Alexander Boarman, from December 3, 1872
- . Frank Morey
Maine">List of United States Representatives from Maine">Maine
- . John Lynch
- . William P. Frye
- . James G. Blaine
- . John A. Peters
- . Eugene Hale
Maryland">List of United States Representatives from Maryland">Maryland
- . Samuel Hambleton
- . Stevenson Archer
- . Thomas Swann
- . John Ritchie
- . William M. Merrick
Massachusetts">List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- . James Buffington
- . Oakes Ames
- . Ginery Twichell
- . Samuel Hooper
- . Benjamin F. Butler
- . Nathaniel P. Banks
- . George M. Brooks, until May 13, 1872
- * Constantine C. Esty, from December 2, 1872
- . George F. Hoar
- . William B. Washburn, until December 5, 1871
- * Alvah Crocker, from January 2, 1872
- . Henry L. Dawes
Michigan">List of United States Representatives from Michigan">Michigan
- . Henry Waldron
- . William L. Stoughton
- . Austin Blair
- . Wilder D. Foster, from December 4, 1871
- . Omar D. Conger
- . Jabez G. Sutherland
Minnesota">List of United States Representatives from Minnesota">Minnesota
- . Mark H. Dunnell
- . John T. Averill
Mississippi">List of United States Representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi
- . George E. Harris
- . Joseph L. Morphis
- . Henry W. Barry
- . George C. McKee
- . Legrand W. Perce
Missouri">List of United States Representatives from Missouri">Missouri
- . Erastus Wells
- . Gustavus A. Finkelnburg
- . James R. McCormick
- . Harrison E. Havens
- . Samuel S. Burdett
- . Abram Comingo
- . Isaac C. Parker
- . James G. Blair
- . Andrew King
Nebraska">List of United States Representatives from Nebraska">Nebraska
- . John Taffe
Nevada">List of United States Representatives from Nevada">Nevada
- . Charles W. Kendall
New Hampshire">List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- . Ellery A. Hibbard
- . Samuel N. Bell
- . Hosea W. Parker
New Jersey">List of United States Representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey
- . John W. Hazelton
- . Samuel C. Forker
- . John T. Bird
- . John Hill
- . George A. Halsey
New York">List of United States Representatives from New York">New York
- . Dwight Townsend
- . Thomas Kinsella
- . Henry W. Slocum
- . Robert Roosevelt
- . William R. Roberts
- . Samuel S. Cox
- . Smith Ely, Jr.
- . James Brooks
- . Fernando Wood
- . Clarkson N. Potter
- . Charles St. John
- . John H. Ketcham
- . Joseph H. Tuthill
- . Eli Perry
- . Joseph M. Warren
- . John Rogers
- . William A. Wheeler
- . John M. Carroll
- . Elizur H. Prindle
- . Clinton L. Merriam
- . Ellis H. Roberts
- . William E. Lansing
- . R. Holland Duell
- . John E. Seeley
- . William H. Lamport
- . Milo Goodrich
- . H. Boardman Smith
- . Freeman Clarke
- . Seth Wakeman
- . William Williams
- . Walter L. Sessions
North Carolina">List of United States Representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina
- . Clinton L. Cobb
- . Charles R. Thomas
- . Alfred M. Waddell
- . Sion H. Rogers
- . James M. Leach
- . Francis E. Shober
- . James C. Harper
Ohio">List of United States Representatives from Ohio">Ohio
- . Aaron F. Perry, until July 14, 1872
- * Ozro J. Dodds, from October 9, 1872
- . Job E. Stevenson
- . Lewis D. Campbell
- . John F. McKinney
- . Charles N. Lamison
- . John A. Smith
- . Samuel Shellabarger
- . John Beatty
- . Charles Foster
- . Erasmus D. Peck
- . John T. Wilson
- . Philadelph Van Trump
- . George W. Morgan
- . James Monroe
- . William P. Sprague
- . John Bingham
- . Jacob A. Ambler
- . William H. Upson
- . James A. Garfield
Oregon">List of United States Representatives from Oregon">Oregon
- . James H. Slater
Pennsylvania">List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- . Samuel J. Randall
- . John V. Creely
- . Leonard Myers
- . William D. Kelley
- . Alfred C. Harmer
- . Ephraim L. Acker
- . Washington Townsend
- . J. Lawrence Getz
- . Oliver J. Dickey
- . John W. Killinger
- . John B. Storm
- . Lazarus D. Shoemaker
- . Ulysses Mercur, until December 2, 1872
- * Frank C. Bunnell, from December 24, 1872
- . John B. Packer
- . Richard J. Haldeman
- . Benjamin F. Meyers
- . R. Milton Speer
- . Henry Sherwood
- . Glenni W. Scofield
- . Samuel Griffith
- . Henry D. Foster
- . James S. Negley
- . Ebenezer McJunkin
- . William McClelland
Rhode Island">List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- . Benjamin T. Eames
- . James M. Pendleton
South Carolina">List of United States Representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina
- . Joseph Rainey
- . Robert C. De Large, until January 24, 1873; vacant thereafter
- . Robert B. Elliott
- . Alexander S. Wallace
Tennessee">List of United States Representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee
- . Roderick R. Butler
- . Horace Maynard
- . Abraham E. Garrett
- . John M. Bright
- . Edward I. Golladay
- . Washington C. Whitthorne
- . Robert P. Caldwell
- . William W. Vaughan
Texas">List of United States Representatives from Texas">Texas
- . William S. Herndon
- . John C. Conner
- . William T. Clark, until May 13, 1872
- * De Witt C. Giddings, from May 13, 1872
- . John Hancock
Vermont">List of United States Representatives from Vermont">Vermont
- . Charles W. Willard
- . Luke P. Poland
- . Worthington C. Smith
Virginia">List of United States Representatives from Virginia">Virginia
- . John Critcher
- . James H. Platt, Jr.
- . Charles H. Porter
- . William H. H. Stowell
- . Richard T. W. Duke
- . John T. Harris
- . Elliott M. Braxton
- . William Terry
West Virginia">List of United States Representatives from West Virginia">West Virginia
- . John J. Davis
- . James C. McGrew
- . Frank Hereford
Wisconsin">List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
- . Alexander Mitchell
- . Gerry W. Hazelton
- . J. Allen Barber
- . Charles A. Eldredge
- . Philetus Sawyer
- . Jeremiah M. Rusk
Non-voting members
- . Richard C. McCormick
- . Jerome B. Chaffee
- . Moses K. Armstrong
- . Norton P. Chipman, from April 21, 1871
- . Samuel A. Merritt
- . William H. Clagett
- . José Manuel Gallegos
- . William H. Hooper
- . Selucius Garfielde
- . William T. Jones
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.Senate
- replacements: 0
- * Democratic: no net change
- * Republican: no net change
- deaths: 0
- resignations: 2
- contested elections: 0
- Total seats with changes: 4
House of Representatives
- replacements: 11
- * Democratic: 4 seat net gain
- * Republican: 4 seat net loss
- * Liberal Republican: 0 net change
- deaths: 3
- resignations: 6
- contested election: 4
- Total seats with changes: 16
Committees
Senate
- Agriculture
- Appropriations
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
- Civil Service and Retrenchment
- Claims
- Commerce
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Engrossed Bills
- Finance
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Investigation and Retrenchment
- Judiciary
- Manufactures
- Military Affairs
- Mines and Mining
- Mississippi River Levee System
- Naval Affairs
- Ordnance and War Ships
- Outrages in Southern States
- Pacific Railroad
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Private Land Claims
- Privileges and Elections
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railroads
- Removal of Political Disabilities
- Retrenchment
- Revision of the Laws
- Revolutionary Claims
- Rules
- Tariff Regulation
- Territories
- Transportation Routes to the Seaboard
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Appropriations
- Alabama Affairs
- Arkansas Affairs
- Banking and Currency
- Claims
- Coinage, Weights and Measures
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Elections
- Expenditures in the Interior Department
- Expenditures in the Justice Department
- 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
- Freedmen's Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Invalid Pensions
- Judiciary
- Manufactures
- Mileage
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Mines and Mining
- Naval Affairs
- Pacific Railroads
- Patents
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Private Land Claims
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Expenditures
- Public Lands
- Railways and Canals
- Revision of Laws
- Revolution Claims
- Revolutionary Pensions and War of 1812
- Rules
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories
- War Claims
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Conditions of Indian Tribes
- Enrolled Bills
- Inquire into the Affairs of the District of Columbia
- The Library
- Printing
Caucuses
- Democratic
- Democratic
Employees
Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#Legislative branch">Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
- Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
Senate
- Chaplain: John P. Newman
- Librarian: George S. Wagner, from 1871
- Secretary: George C. Gorham
- Sergeant at Arms: John R. French
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: John G. Butler
- Clerk: Edward McPherson
- Clerk at the Speaker's Table: John M. Barclay
- Doorkeeper: Otis S. Buxton
- Postmaster: William S. King
- Reading Clerks: Charles N. Clisbee and William K. Mehaffey
- Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway