The 39th 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, 1865, to March 4, 1867, during Abraham Lincoln's final month as president, and the first two years of the administration of his successor, Andrew Johnson.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1860 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Major events
March 4, 1865: Second inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln. April 9, 1865: Surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the American Civil War April 15, 1865: Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Andrew Johnson became President of the United States December 11, 1865: Creation of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Banking and Commerce Committee, reducing the tasks of the House Ways and Means Committee January, 1866: The second and current United States Capitol dome completed after 11 years of work. July 24, 1866: Tennessee became the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War. November 5, 1866: United States House of Representatives elections, 1866 January 8, 1867: African American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia
Major legislation
April 9, 1866: Civil Rights Act of 1866, Sess. 1, ch. 31, July 16, 1866: Freedmen's Bureau Bill, Sess. 1, ch. 200, July 23, 1866: Judicial Circuits Act, Sess. 1, ch. 210, , reduced the number of United States circuit courts to nine and the number of Supreme Court justices to seven July 23, 1866: District of Columbia Public Schools Act ("An Act relating to Public Schools in the District of Columbia"), Sess. 1, ch. 217, July 25, 1866: An Act to revive the grade of General in the United States Army, Sess. 1, ch. 232, , (now called "4-star general"); Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant became the first to have this rank. July 28, 1866: Metric Act of 1866, Sess. 1, ch. 301, , legalized the use of the metric system for weights and measures in the United States. July 28, 1866: Washington City Colored Schools Lots Donation Act ("An Act donating certain Lots in the City of Washington for Schools for Colored Children in the District of Columbia"), Sess. 1, ch. 308, March 2, 1867: Reconstruction Act, ch. 153, established five military districts, each headed by a general, in ten states of the former Confederate South (Tennessee excepted), and stipulates conditions for re-admission of these States into the Union. March 2, 1867: Tenure of Office Act, ch. 154, required the president to obtain the Senate's advice and consent to suspend or dismiss certain federal public officials (notably cabinet officers). Violation of this act will lead to the impeachment of Andrew Johnson by the next (40th) Congress in 1868.
Constitutional amendments December 18, 1865: Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution declared ratified June 13, 1866: Approved an amendment to the Constitution addressing citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification Amendment was later ratified on July 9, 1868, becoming the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
States admitted
July 24, 1866: Tennessee readmitted to representation. March 1, 1867: Nebraska admitted as the 37th state, sess. 2, ch. 36, (over president's veto)
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.
Senate During this Congress, two seats were added for the new state of Nebraska.
House of Representatives During this Congress, one seat was added for the new state of Nebraska.
Leadership
Senate President: Andrew Johnson (D), until April 15, 1865; vacant thereafter. President pro tempore: Lafayette S. Foster (R), until March 2, 1867 Benjamin F. Wade (R), elected March 2, 1867 Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony
House of Representatives Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R) Republican Conference Chairman: Justin S. Morrill
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.
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 reelection in 1868; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1870; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1866. Skip to House of Representatives, below
Alabama 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
Arkansas 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
California 1. John Conness (R) 3. James A. McDougall (D)
Connecticut 1. James Dixon (R) 3. Lafayette S. Foster (R)
Delaware 1. George R. Riddle (D) 2. Willard Saulsbury Sr. (D)
Florida 1. Vacant 3. Vacant
Georgia 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
Illinois 2. Richard Yates (R) 3. Lyman Trumbull (R)
Indiana 1. Thomas A. Hendricks (D) 3. Henry S. Lane (R)
Iowa 2. James W. Grimes (R) 3. James Harlan (R), until May 15, 1865 Samuel J. Kirkwood (R), from January 13, 1866
Kansas 2. Jim Lane (R), until July 11, 1866 Edmund G. Ross (R), from July 19, 1866 3. Samuel C. Pomeroy (R)
Kentucky 2. James Guthrie (D) 3. Garrett Davis (U)
Louisiana 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
Maine 1. Lot M. Morrill (R) 2. William P. Fessenden (R)
Maryland 1. Reverdy Johnson (D) 3. John A. J. Creswell (UU), from March 9, 1865
Massachusetts 1. Charles Sumner (R) 2. Henry Wilson (R)
Michigan 1. Zachariah Chandler (R) 2. Jacob M. Howard (R)
Minnesota 1. Alexander Ramsey (R) 2. Daniel S. Norton (R)
Mississippi 1. Vacant 2. Vacant
Missouri 1. John B. Henderson (R) 3. B. Gratz Brown (R)
Nebraska 1. Thomas Tipton (R), from March 1, 1867 (newly admitted state) 2. John M. Thayer (R), from March 1, 1867 (newly admitted state)
Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (R) 3. James W. Nye (R)
New Hampshire 2. Aaron H. Cragin (R) 3. Daniel Clark (R), until July 27, 1866 George G. Fogg (R), from August 31, 1866
New Jersey 1. William Wright (D), until November 1, 1866 Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R), from November 12, 1866 2. John P. Stockton (D), March 15, 1865 – March 27, 1866 Alexander G. Cattell (R), from September 19, 1866
New York 3. Ira Harris (R) 1. Edwin D. Morgan (R)
North Carolina 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
Ohio 1. Benjamin Wade (R) 3. John Sherman (R)
Oregon 2. George H. Williams (R) 3. James W. Nesmith (D)
Pennsylvania 1. Charles R. Buckalew (D) 3. Edgar Cowan (R)
Rhode Island 1. William Sprague IV (R) 2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
South Carolina 2. Vacant 3. Vacant
Tennessee 1. David T. Patterson (U), from July 28, 1866 2. Joseph S. Fowler (U), from July 24, 1866
Texas 1. Vacant 2. Vacant
Vermont 1. Solomon Foot (R), until March 28, 1866 George F. Edmunds (R), from April 3, 1866 3. Jacob Collamer (R), until November 9, 1865 Luke P. Poland (R), from November 21, 1865
Virginia 1. Vacant 2. Vacant
West Virginia 1. Peter G. Van Winkle (UU) 2. Waitman T. Willey (R)
Wisconsin 1. James R. Doolittle (R) 3. Timothy O. Howe (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant
Arkansas . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant
California (3 Republicans) . Donald C. McRuer (R) . William Higby (R) . John Bidwell (R)
Connecticut (4 Republicans) . Henry C. Deming (R) . Samuel L. Warner (R) . Augustus Brandegee (R) . John H. Hubbard (R)
Delaware (1 Democrat) . John A. Nicholson (D)
Florida . Vacant
Georgia . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant
Illinois (11–3 Republican) . John Wentworth (R) . John F. Farnsworth (R) . Elihu B. Washburne (R) . Abner C. Harding (R) . Ebon C. Ingersoll (R) . Burton C. Cook (R) . Henry P. H. Bromwell (R) . Shelby M. Cullom (R) . Lewis Winans Ross (D) . Anthony Thornton (D) . Samuel S. Marshall (D) . Jehu Baker (R) . Andrew J. Kuykendall (R) . Samuel W. Moulton (R)
Indiana (8–3 Republican) . William E. Niblack (D) . Michael C. Kerr (D) . Ralph Hill (R) . John H. Farquhar (R) . George W. Julian (R) . Ebenezer Dumont (R) . Daniel W. Voorhees (D), until February 23, 1866 Henry D. Washburn (R), from February 23, 1866 . Godlove S. Orth (R) . Schuyler Colfax (R) . Joseph H. Defrees (R) . Thomas N. Stilwell (R)
Iowa (6 Republicans) . James F. Wilson (R) . Hiram Price (R) . William B. Allison (R) . Josiah B. Grinnell (R) . John A. Kasson (R) . Asahel W. Hubbard (R)
Kansas (1 Republican) . Sidney Clarke (R)
Kentucky (4–5 Democratic) . Lawrence S. Trimble (D) . Burwell C. Ritter (D) . Henry Grider (D), until September 7, 1866 Elijah Hise (D), from December 3, 1866 . Aaron Harding (D) . Lovell H. Rousseau (UU), until July 21, 1866, and from December 3, 1866 . Green C. Smith (UU), until July ??, 1866 Andrew H. Ward (D), from December 3, 1866 . George S. Shanklin (D) . William H. Randall (UU) . Samuel McKee (UU)
Louisiana . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant
Maine (5 Republicans) . John Lynch (R) . Sidney Perham (R) . James G. Blaine (R) . John H. Rice (R) . Frederick A. Pike (R)
Maryland (3–2 Unconditional Unionist) . Hiram McCullough (D) . Edwin H. Webster (UU), until July ??, 1865 John L. Thomas Jr. (UU), from December 4, 1865 . Charles E. Phelps (UU) . Francis Thomas (UU) . Benjamin G. Harris (D)
Massachusetts (10 Republicans) . Thomas D. Eliot (R) . Oakes Ames (R) . Alexander H. Rice (R) . Samuel Hooper (R) . John B. Alley (R) . Daniel W. Gooch (R), until September 1, 1865 Nathaniel P. Banks (R), from December 4, 1865 . George S. Boutwell (R) . John D. Baldwin (R) . William B. Washburn (R) . Henry L. Dawes (R)
Michigan (6 Republicans) . Fernando C. Beaman (R) . Charles Upson (R) . John W. Longyear (R) . Thomas W. Ferry (R) . Rowland E. Trowbridge (R) . John F. Driggs (R)
Minnesota (2 Republicans) . William Windom (R) . Ignatius L. Donnelly (R)
Mississippi . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant . Vacant
Missouri (8–1 Republican) . John Hogan (D) . Henry T. Blow (R) . Thomas E. Noell (R) . John R. Kelso (IR) . Joseph W. McClurg (R) . Robert T. Van Horn (R) . Benjamin F. Loan (R) . John F. Benjamin (R) . George W. Anderson (R)
Nebraska (1 Republican) . Turner M. Marquette (R), from March 2, 1867 (newly admitted state)
Nevada (1 Republican) . Delos R. Ashley (R)
New Hampshire (3 Republicans) . Gilman Marston (R) . Edward H. Rollins (R) . James W. Patterson (R)
New Jersey (3–2 Democratic) . John F. Starr (R) . William A. Newell (R) . Charles Sitgreaves (D) . Andrew J. Rogers (D) . Edwin R. V. Wright (D)
New York (20–11 Republican) . Stephen Taber (D) . Teunis G. Bergen (D) . James Humphrey (R), until June 16, 1866 John W. Hunter (D), from December 4, 1866 . Morgan Jones (D) . Nelson Taylor (D) . Henry J. Raymond (R) . John W. Chanler (D) . James Brooks (D), until April 7, 1866 William E. Dodge (R), from April 7, 1866 . William A. Darling (R) . William Radford (D) . Charles H. Winfield (D) . John H. Ketcham (R) . Edwin N. Hubbell (D) . Charles Goodyear (D) . John Augustus Griswold (R) . Orlando Kellogg (R), until August 24, 1865