25th United States Congress

25th United States Congress
25th United States Congress
24th ← → 26th
	United States Capitol (1827)
March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1839
Members	52 senators; 242 representatives; 3 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Democratic
Senate President	Richard M. Johnson (D)
House majority	Democratic
House Speaker	James K. Polk (D)
Sessions
	Special: March 4, 1837 – March 10, 1837; 1st: September 4, 1837 – October 16, 1837; 2nd: December 4, 1837 – July 9, 1838; 3rd: December 3, 1838 – March 3, 1839

The Twenty-fifth 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, 1837, to March 4, 1839, during the first two years of Martin Van Buren's presidency.

The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fifth Census of the United States in 1830. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

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

[data missing]

Territories organized

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

Party summary

The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.

Senate

	Party (shading shows control)			Total	Vacant

	Democratic (D)	Whig (W)	Other
End of previous congress	31^[a]	19^[b]	2^[c]	52	0

Begin	35	17	0	52	0
End	35	16	0	51	1
Final voting share	68.6%	31.4%	0.0%

Beginning of next congress	28	19	0	47	5

House of Representatives

	Party (shading shows control)					Total	Vacant

	Anti- Masonic (AM)	Democratic (D)	Nullifier (N)	Whig (W)	Other
End of previous congress	14	139^[d]	7	81^[e]	0	241	1

Begin	7	128	4	101	0	240	2
End	7	123	4	106	0	240	2
Final voting share	2.9%	51.3%	1.7%	44.2%	0.0%
Non-voting members	0	2	0	0	1	3	0

Beginning of next congress	6	124	0	109	2	241	1

Leadership

Senate

President: Richard Mentor Johnson (D)
President pro tempore: William R. King (D)

House of Representatives

Speaker: James K. Polk (D)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and Representatives by district.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

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 ended with this Congress, ending in 1839; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, ending in 1841; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, ending in 1843.

Alabama

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

Georgia

2. John P. King (D), until November 1, 1837
- Wilson Lumpkin (D), from November 22, 1837
3. Alfred Cuthbert (D)

Illinois

2. John M. Robinson (D)
3. Richard M. Young (D)

Indiana

1. John Tipton (D)
3. Oliver H. Smith (W)

Kentucky

2. John J. Crittenden (W)
3. Henry Clay (W)

Louisiana

2. Robert C. Nicholas (D)
3. Alexander Mouton (D)

Maine

1. Reuel Williams (D)
2. John Ruggles (D)

Maryland

1. Joseph Kent (W), until November 24, 1837
- William D. Merrick (W), from January 4, 1838
3. John S. Spence (W)

Massachusetts

1. Daniel Webster (W)
2. John Davis (W)

Michigan

1. Lucius Lyon (D)
2. John Norvell (D)

Mississippi

1. John Black (W), until January 22, 1838
- James F. Trotter (D), from January 22, 1838, until July 10, 1838
- Thomas H. Williams (D), from November 12, 1838
2. Robert J. Walker (D)

Missouri

1. Thomas H. Benton (D)
3. Lewis F. Linn (D)

New Hampshire

2. Henry Hubbard (D)
3. Franklin Pierce (D)

New Jersey

1. Samuel L. Southard (W)
2. Garret D. Wall (D)

New York

1. Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (D)
3. Silas Wright, Jr. (D)

North Carolina

2. Bedford Brown (D)
3. Robert Strange (D)

Ohio

1. Thomas Morris (D)
3. William Allen (D)

Pennsylvania

1. Samuel McKean (D)
3. James Buchanan (D)

Rhode Island

1. Asher Robbins (W)
2. Nehemiah R. Knight (W)

South Carolina

2. John C. Calhoun (D)
3. William C. Preston (W)

Tennessee

1. Felix Grundy (D), until July 4, 1838
- Ephraim H. Foster (W), from September 17, 1838 – March 3, 1839
2. Hugh Lawson White (W)

Vermont

1. Benjamin Swift (W)
3. Samuel Prentiss (W)

Virginia

1. William C. Rives (D)
2. Richard E. Parker (D), until March 4, 1837
- William H. Roane (D), from March 14, 1837

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Alabama

1. Reuben Chapman (D)
2. Joshua L. Martin (D)
3. Joab Lawler (W), until May 8, 1838
- George W. Crabb (W), from September 4, 1838
4. Dixon H. Lewis (D)
5. Francis S. Lyon (W)

Arkansas

At-large. Archibald Yell (D)

Connecticut

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

Delaware

At-large. John J. Milligan (W)

Georgia

All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

Illinois

Indiana

Kentucky

Louisiana

1. Henry Johnson (W)
2. Eleazar W. Ripley (D), until March 2, 1839
3. Rice Garland (W)

Maine

1. John Fairfield (D), until December 24, 1838
2. Francis O. J. Smith (D)
3. Jonathan Cilley (D), until February 24, 1838
- Edward Robinson (W), from April 28, 1838
4. George Evans (W)
5. Timothy J. Carter (D), until March 14, 1838
- Virgil D. Parris (D), from May 29, 1838
6. Hugh J. Anderson (D)
7. Joseph C. Noyes (W)
8. Thomas Davee (D)

Maryland

The 4th district was a plural district with two representatives.

1. John Dennis (W)
2. James A. Pearce (W)
3. John T. H. Worthington (D)
4. Benjamin C. Howard (D)
4. Isaac McKim (D), until April 1, 1838
- John P. Kennedy (W), from April 25, 1838
5. William Cost Johnson (W)
6. Francis Thomas (D)
7. Daniel Jenifer (W)

Massachusetts

1. Richard Fletcher (W)
2. Stephen C. Phillips (W), until September 28, 1838
- Leverett Saltonstall (W), from December 25, 1838
3. Caleb Cushing (W)
4. William Parmenter (D)
5. Levi Lincoln, Jr. (W)
6. George Grennell, Jr. (W)
7. George N. Briggs (W)
8. William B. Calhoun (W)
9. William S. Hastings (W)
10. Nathaniel B. Borden (D)
11. John Reed, Jr. (W)
12. John Quincy Adams (W)

Michigan

At-large. Isaac E. Crary (D)

Mississippi

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

At-large. John F. H. Claiborne (D), from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838
- Seargent S. Prentiss (W), from May 30, 1838
At-large. Samuel J. Gholson (D), from July 18, 1837, until February 5, 1838
- Thomas J. Word (W), from May 30, 1838

Missouri

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

At-large. Albert G. Harrison (D)
At-large. John Miller (D)

1. Thomas B. Jackson (D)
2. Abraham Vanderveer (D)
3. Churchill C. Cambreleng (D)
3. Edward Curtis (W)
3. Ogden Hoffman (W)
3. Ely Moore (D)
4. Gouverneur Kemble (D)
5. Obadiah Titus (D)
6. Nathaniel Jones (D)
7. John C. Brodhead (D)
8. Robert McClellan (D)
8. Zadock Pratt (D)
9. Henry Vail (D)
10. Albert Gallup (D)
11. John I. De Graff (D)
12. David A. Russell (W)
13. John Palmer (D)
14. James B. Spencer (D)
15. John Edwards (D)
16. Arphaxed Loomis (D)
17. Henry A. Foster (D)
17. Abraham P. Grant (D)
18. Isaac H. Bronson (D)
19. John H. Prentiss (D)
20. Amasa J. Parker (D)
21. John C. Clark (D)
22. Andrew D. W. Bruyn (D), until July 27, 1838
- Cyrus Beers (D), from December 3, 1838
22. Hiram Gray (D)
23. Bennet Bicknell (D)
23. William Taylor (D)
24. William H. Noble (D)
25. Samuel Birdsall (D)
26. Mark H. Sibley (W)
27. John T. Andrews (D)
28. Timothy Childs (W)
29. William Patterson (W), until August 14, 1838
- Harvey Putnam (W), from November 7, 1838
30. Luther C. Peck (W)
31. Richard P. Marvin (W)
32. Millard Fillmore (W)
33. Charles F. Mitchell (W)

North Carolina

Ohio

1. Alexander Duncan (D)
2. Taylor Webster (D)
3. Patrick G. Goode (W)
4. Thomas Corwin (W)
5. Thomas L. Hamer (D)
6. Calvary Morris (W)
7. William K. Bond (W)
8. Joseph Ridgway (W)
9. John Chaney (D)
10. Samson Mason (W)
11. James Alexander, Jr. (W)
12. Alexander Harper (W)
13. Daniel P. Leadbetter (D)
14. William H. Hunter (D)
15. John W. Allen (W)
16. Elisha Whittlesey (W), until July 9, 1838
- Joshua R. Giddings (W), from December 3, 1838
17. Andrew W. Loomis (W), until October 20, 1837
- Charles D. Coffin (W), from December 20, 1837
18. Matthias Shepler (D)
19. Daniel Kilgore (D), until July 4, 1838
- Henry Swearingen (D), from December 3, 1838

Pennsylvania

There were two plural districts, the 2nd had two representatives, the 4th had three representatives.

1. Lemuel Paynter (D)
2. John Sergeant (W)
2. George W. Toland (W)
3. Francis J. Harper (D), until March 18, 1837
- Charles Naylor (W), from June 29, 1837
4. Edward Darlington (AM)
4. Edward Davies (AM)
4. David Potts, Jr. (AM)
5. Jacob Fry, Jr. (D)
6. Mathias Morris (W)
7. David D. Wagener (D)
8. Edward B. Hubley (D)
9. Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (D), until February 9, 1838
- George M. Keim (D), from March 17, 1838
10. Luther Reily (D)
11. Henry Logan (D)
12. Daniel Sheffer (D)
13. Charles McClure (D)
14. William W. Potter (D)
15. David Petrikin (D)
16. Robert H. Hammond (D)
17. Samuel W. Morris (D)
18. Charles Ogle (AM)
19. John J. Klingensmith, Jr. (D)
20. Andrew Buchanan (D)
21. Thomas M. T. McKennan (AM)
22. Richard Biddle (AM)
23. William Beatty (D)
24. Thomas Henry (AM)
25. Arnold Plumer (D)

Rhode Island

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

At-large. Robert B. Cranston (W)
At-large. Joseph L. Tillinghast (W)

South Carolina

Tennessee

1. William B. Carter (W)
2. Abraham McClellan (D)
3. Joseph L. Williams (W)
4. James I. Standifer (W), until August 20, 1837
- William Stone (W), from September 14, 1837
5. Hopkins L. Turney (D)
6. William B. Campbell (W)
7. John Bell (W)
8. Abram P. Maury (W)
9. James K. Polk (D)
10. Ebenezer J. Shields (W)
11. Richard Cheatham (W)
12. John W. Crockett (W)
13. Christopher H. Williams (W)

Vermont

Virginia

1. Francis Mallory (W)
2. Francis E. Rives (D)
3. John W. Jones (D)
4. George C. Dromgoole (D)
5. James W. Bouldin (D)
6. Walter Coles (D)
7. Archibald Stuart (D)
8. Henry A. Wise (W)
9. Robert M. T. Hunter (W)
10. John Taliaferro (W)
11. John Robertson (W)
12. James Garland (D)
13. John M. Patton (D), until April 7, 1838
- Linn Banks (D), from April 28, 1838
14. Charles F. Mercer (W)
15. James M. Mason (D)
16. Isaac S. Pennybacker (D)
17. Robert Craig (D)
18. George W. Hopkins (D)
19. Andrew Beirne (D)
20. Joseph Johnson (D)
21. William S. Morgan (D)

Non-voting members

At-large. Charles Downing
At-large. William W. Chapman (D), from September 10, 1838
At-large. George Wallace Jones (D), until January 14, 1839
- James D. Doty (D), from January 14, 1839

House seats by party holding plurality in state

  80+% to 100% Democratic

  Up to 60% Whig

  60+% to 80% Democratic

  60+% to 80% Whig

  Up to 60% Democratic

  80+% to 100% Whig

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

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

Template:Ordinal US Congress Senate

|- | Virginia
(2) | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | Richard E. Parker (D) | Resigned March 4, 1837, after accepting a seat on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | William H. Roane (D) | Elected March 14, 1837 |- | Alabama
(3) | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | John McKinley (D) | Resigned April 22, 1837, after being appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | Clement C. Clay (D) | Elected June 19, 1837 |- | Georgia
(2) | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | John P. King (D) | Resigned November 1, 1837 | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | Wilson Lumpkin (D) | Elected November 22, 1837 |- | Maryland
(1) | style="background-color:#F0C862" | Joseph Kent (W) | Died November 24, 1837 | style="background-color:#F0C862" | William D. Merrick (W) | Elected January 4, 1838 |- | Mississippi
(1) | style="background-color:#F0C862" | John Black (W) | Resigned January 22, 1838 | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | James F. Trotter (D) | Appointed January 22, 1838 |- | Tennessee
(1) | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | Felix Grundy (D) | Resigned July 4, 1838, after being appointed United States Attorney General | style="background-color:#F0C862" | Ephraim H. Foster (W) | Elected September 17, 1838 |- | Mississippi
(1) | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | James F. Trotter (D) | Resigned July 10, 1838 | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | Thomas H. Williams (D) | Appointed November 12, 1838, and subsequently elected |- | Tennessee
(1) | style="background-color:#F0C862" | Ephraim H. Foster (W) | Resigned March 3, 1839 before start of new Congress under orders of state legislature. | Vacant | |}

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

Template:Ordinal US Congress Rep

|- | Massachusetts 2nd | style="background-color:#F0C862" | Stephen C. Phillips (W) | Seat declared vacant September 28, 1838 | style="background-color:#F0C862" | Leverett Saltonstall (W) | Seated December 15, 1838 |- | Maine 1st | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | John Fairfield (D) | Resigned December 24, 1838, after being elected Governor of Maine | Vacant | Not filled this congress |- | Wisconsin Territory At-large | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | George Wallace Jones (D) | Lost contested election January 14, 1839 | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | James D. Doty (D) | Seated January 14, 1839 |- | Louisiana 2nd | style="background-color:#B0CEFF" | Eleazar W. Ripley (D) | Died March 2, 1839 | Vacant | Not filled this congress |}

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

Agriculture (Chairman: Perry Smith)
Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Samuel McKean)
Claims (Chairman: Henry Hubbard)
Commerce (Chairman: William R. King)
Danger of Steam Vessels (Select)
Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
District of Columbia (Chairman: William H. Roane)
Engrossed Bills (Chairman: John Norvell)
Finance (Chairman: Silas Wright)
Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Buchanan)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: Hugh Lawson White)
Judiciary (Chairman: Felix Grundy)
Letter of Mr. Ruggles (Select)
Manufactures (Chairman: John M. Niles)
Memorial of A. B. Quinby (Select)
Memorial of the Citizens of Georgetown (DC) for the Retrocession of that Part of the District (Select)
Memorial of Duff Green (Select)
Memorial of Edward D. Tippett (Select)
Mileage of Members of Congress (Select)
Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
Militia (Chairman: Clement C. Clay)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: William C. Rives)
Occupation of the Columbia River (Select)
Oregon Territory (Select)
Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: John Ruggles then Robert Strange)
Pensions (Chairman: Thomas Morris)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Robinson)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: Lewis F. Linn)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: N/A)
Public Lands (Chairman: Robert J. Walker)
Purchasing Boyd Reilly's Gas Apparatus (Select)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Bedford Brown)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: Thomas Tipton)
Tariff Regulation (Select)
Whole

House of Representatives

Accounts (Chairman: Joseph Johnson)
Agriculture (Chairman: Edmund Deberry)
Amendment to the Constitution (Select)
Claims (Chairman: John Chambers)
Commerce (Chairman: Samuel Cushman)
District of Columbia (Chairman: James W. Bouldin)
Elections (Chairman: James Buchanan)
Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Richard Brodhead)
Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Timothy Childs)
Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Mathias Morris)
Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Heman Allen)
Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: William K. Clowney)
Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Samuel T. Sawyer)
Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Benjamin C. Howard)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
Invalid Pensions (Chairman: William Taylor)
Judiciary (Chairman: Francis Thomas)
Manufactures (Chairman: John Quincy Adams)
Mileage (Chairman: William C. Dawson)
Military Affairs (Chairman: James I. McKay)
Militia (Chairman: David D. Wagener)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: Samuel D. Ingham)
Patents (Chairman: Isaac Fletcher)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Henry W. Connor)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: William L. May)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Levi Lincoln, Jr.)
Public Expenditures (Chairman: Elisha Haley)
Public Lands (Chairman: Henry W. Connor)
Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Matthias Shepler)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Robert Craig)
Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: William S. Morgan)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: Charles F. Mercer)
Rules (Select)
Standards of Official Conduct
Territories (Chairman: Isaac H. Bronson)
Ways and Means (Chairman: Churchill C. Cambreleng)
Whole

Joint committees

Employees

Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

Senate

Chaplain: John R. Goodman (Episcopalian), until September 11, 1837
- Henry Slicer (Methodist), elected September 11, 1837
Secretary: Asbury Dickins
Sergeant at Arms: John Shackford (died)
- Stephen Haight, elected September 4, 1837

House of Representatives

Chaplain: Septimus Tustin (Presbyterian), elected September 4, 1837
- Levi R. Reese (Methodist), elected December 4, 1837
Clerk: Walter S. Franklin, until September 20, 1838 (died)
- Hugh A. Garland, elected December 3, 1838
Doorkeeper: Overton Carr
Postmaster: William J. McCormick
Reading Clerks: [data missing]
Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey

Notes

References

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

External links

[1] Jacksonians

[2] Anti-Jacksonians

[3] Nullifier

[4] Jacksonians

[5] Anti-Jacksonians

[a]

[b]

[c]

[d]

[e]

Major events

Major legislation

Territories organized

Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

Senate

House of Representatives

Non-voting members

Changes in membership

Senate

House of Representatives

Committees

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

References

External links