32nd United States Congress

The 32nd 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, 1851, to March 4, 1853, during the last two years of Millard Fillmore's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

32nd United States Congress
31st ←
→ 33rd
United States Capitol (1846)
March 4, 1851 – March 4, 1853
Members62 senators
233 representatives
4 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentVacant
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerLinn Boyd (D)
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1851 – March 13, 1851
1st: December 1, 1851 – August 31, 1852
2nd: December 6, 1852 – March 4, 1853

It was one of the least active Congresses, forwarding only 74 bills that were signed by the president.[1]

Major events
Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852
Main articles: 1851 in the United States, 1852 in the United States, and 1853 in the United States

Major legislation
Main article: Major legislation: 32nd United States Congress
  • March 2, 1853: An act providing for administering the oath of office to William R. King, Vice President elect of the United States of America. Sess. 2, Ch. 93, 10 Stat. 180

Territories organized

Party summary

Senate
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Free
Soil
(FS)		Whig
(W)
End of previous congress 36 2 24 62 0
Begin 34 2 21 57 5
End 35 3 23 611
Final voting share 57.4% 4.9% 37.7%
Beginning of next congress 36 3 22 61 2

House of Representatives
  Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Independent Democratic
(ID)		 Free
Soil
(FS)		 States' Rights
(SR)		 Unionist
(U)		 Whig
(W)		 Independent Whig
(IW)		 Other
End of previous Congress 113 0 9 0 0 107 0 2 231 2
Begin 127 3 4 3 10 85 1 0 233 0
End 125 86 232 1
Final voting share 54.7% 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 4.3% 36.8% 0.4% 0.0%
Beginning of next Congress 158 1 3 0 0 71 0 1 234 0

Leadership
Senate presidents pro tempore
William R. D. King
William R. King (D)
(until December 20, 1852)
David R. Atchison
David R. Atchison (D)
(from December 20, 1852)

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and representatives 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 with this Congress, facing re-election in 1856; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1852; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1854.

House of Representatives
Directory of the U.S. House of Representatives, 32nd Congress, first session

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
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 6
  • Interim appointments: 3
  • Total seats with changes: 13
See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
Senate changes
State
(class)		 Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
Ohio
(1)		 Vacant Failure to elect.
The winner was elected late on March 15, 1851, on the 37th ballot over the incumbent appointee.[2]
Successor was elected March 15, 1851.		 Benjamin Wade (W) Elected March 15, 1851
New York
(1)		 Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected March 19, 1851.		 Hamilton Fish (W) Elected March 19, 1851
Massachusetts
(1)		 Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected April 24, 1851.		 Charles Sumner (FS) Elected April 24, 1851
California
(1)		 Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected January 30, 1852.		 John B. Weller (D) Elected January 30, 1852
Connecticut
(1)		 Vacant Failure to elect.
Successor was elected May 12, 1852.		 Isaac Toucey (D) Seated May 12, 1852
Mississippi
(1)		 Jefferson Davis (D) Resigned September 23, 1851, to run for Governor of Mississippi.
Successor appointed December 1, 1851.		 John J. McRae (D) Appointed December 1, 1851
Mississippi
(2)		 Henry S. Foote (D) Resigned January 8, 1852, to become Governor of Mississippi.
Successor elected February 18, 1852.		 Walker Brooke (W) Elected February 18, 1852
Mississippi
(1)		 John J. McRae (D) Appointee was replaced by an elected successor.
Successor elected March 17, 1852.		 Stephen Adams (D) Elected March 17, 1852
South Carolina
(2)		 Robert Rhett (D) Resigned May 7, 1852.
Successor appointed May 10, 1852, and elected sometime thereafter to finish the term.		 William F. De Saussure (D) Appointed May 10, 1852
Georgia
(2)		 John M. Berrien (W) Resigned May 28, 1852.
Successor appointed May 31, 1852, to finish the term.		 Robert M. Charlton (D) Appointed May 31, 1852
Kentucky
(3)		 Henry Clay (W) Died June 29, 1852.
Successor appointed July 6, 1852.		 David Meriwether (D) Appointed July 6, 1852
Indiana
(3)		 James Whitcomb (D) Died October 4, 1852.
Successor appointed December 6, 1852.		 Charles W. Cathcart (D) Appointed December 6, 1852
Kentucky
(3)		 David Meriwether (D) Appointee was replaced by an elected successor.
Successor elected September 1, 1852.		 Archibald Dixon (W) Elected September 1, 1852
Alabama
(3)		 William R. King (D) Resigned December 20, 1852, due to ill health, having recently being elected Vice President of the United States
Successor appointed January 14, 1853, and elected December 12, 1853[3] thereafter to finish the term.		 Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) Appointed January 14, 1853
New Jersey
(1)		 Robert F. Stockton (D) Resigned January 1, 1853, to become president of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company.
Successor was not elected until the next Congress.		 Vacant Not filled this term
Vermont
(3)		 William Upham (W) Died January 14, 1853.
Successor appointed January 17, 1853, to continue the term.		 Samuel S. Phelps (W) Appointed January 17, 1853
Indiana
(3)		 Charles W. Cathcart (D) Appointee was replaced by an elected successor.
Successor elected January 18, 1853.		 John Pettit (D) Elected January 18, 1853

House of Representatives
  • Replacements: 6
  • Deaths: 2
  • Resignations: 5
  • Total seats with changes: 7
Main article: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 1]
Maine 4th Charles Andrews (D) Died April 30, 1852 Isaac Reed (W) Seated June 25, 1852
Virginia 15th George W. Thompson (D) Resigned July 30, 1852, after being appointed judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia Sherrard Clemens (D) Seated December 6, 1852
Kentucky 7th Humphrey Marshall (W) Resigned August 4, 1852, after being appointed Minister to China William Preston (W) Seated December 6, 1852
Massachusetts 2nd Robert Rantoul Jr. (D) Died August 7, 1852 Francis B. Fay (W) Seated December 13, 1852
Massachusetts 9th Orin Fowler (W) Died September 3, 1852 Edward P. Little (D) Seated December 13, 1852
Massachusetts 4th Benjamin Thompson (W) Died September 24, 1852 Lorenzo Sabine (W) Seated December 13, 1852
New York 17th Alexander H. Buell (D) Died January 29, 1853 Vacant Not filled this term

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes
  1. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References
  1. Faris, David M. (2018). It's Time to Fight Dirty: How Democrats Can Build a Lasting Majority in American Politics. Melville House Publishing. p. 123. ISBN 978-1612196954.
  2. Taylor, William Alexander; Taylor, Aubrey Clarence (1899). Ohio statesmen and annals of progress: from the year 1788 to the year 1900 . State of Ohio. p. 240.
  3. Byrd, Robert C.; Wolff, Wendy (October 1, 1993). The Senate, 1789-1989: Historical Statistics, 1789-1992 (volume 4 Bicentennial ed.). U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 76. ISBN 9780160632563.
  • 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.
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