United States Capitol (1860)

The Thirty-seventh 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, 1861 to March 3, 1863, during the first two years of the first administration of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Seventh Census of the United States in 1850. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

Dates of sessions

March 4, 1861 - March 3, 1863

• Special session of the Senate: March 4, 1861 – March 28, 1861
• First session: July 4, 1861 – August 6, 1861
• Second session: December 2, 1861 - July 17, 1862
• Third session: December 1, 1862 - March 3, 1863 — a lame duck session

Previous: 36th Congress • Next: 38th Congress

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

• Democratic (D): 15
• Republican (R): 31 (majority)
• Unionist (U): 3
• vacant: 1

TOTAL members: 50

House of Representatives

• Democratic (D): 44
• Republican (R): 108 (majority)
• Constitutional Unionist (CU): 2
• Unionist (U): 28
• Independent Democratic (ID): 1

TOTAL members: 183

President of the Senate Hannibal Hamlin

Leadership

Senate

• President: Hannibal Hamlin (R)
• President pro tempore of the Senate: Solomon Foot (R)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: Galusha A. Grow (R)

Major events

Main article: Events of 1861; Events of 1862; Events of 1863

• 1861-03-04 - Abraham Lincoln became President of the United States
• 1861-04-12 - Hostilities begin the American Civil War. War continues until 1865.

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation in the 37th Congress

• August 5, 1861 - Revenue Act of 1861, Sess. 2, ch. 45, 12 Stat. 242
• May 20, 1862 - Homestead Act, Sess. 2, ch. 75, 12 Stat. 392
• July 1, 1862 - Revenue Act of 1862, Sess. 2, ch. 119, 12 Stat. 432
• July 1, 1862 - Pacific Railway Act, Sess. 2, ch. 120, 12 Stat. 489
• July 2, 1862 - Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act, Sess. 2, ch. 130, 12 Stat. 503 (7 U.S.C. § 301 et seq.)
• July 17, 1862 - Militia Act, Sess. 2, ch. 201, 12 Stat. 597
• February 24, 1863 - Arizona Territory organized, Sess. 3, ch. 56, 12 Stat. 664
• February 25, 1863 - National Banking Act, Sess. 3, ch 58, 12 Stat. 665
• March 2, 1863 - False Claims Act, Sess. 3, ch. 67, 12 Stat. 696 (31 U.S.C. § 3729 et seq.)
• March 3, 1863 - Enrollment Act, Sess. 3, ch. 75, 12 Stat. 731
• March 3, 1863 - Idaho Territory organized, Sess. 3, ch. 117, 12 Stat. 808

States seceded and Territories organized

Secession

Main article: Secession in the United States

Congress did not accept secession. Seceeding states lost their representation in Congress.

• Already seceeded: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
• Seceeded during this Congress:
  • Virginia (April 17, 1861)^[1] (See also rump Union government of Virginia^[2]
  • Arkansas (May 6, 1861)^[3]
  • North Carolina (May 20, 1861)^[4]
  • Tennessee (June 8, 1861)^[5][6]

Territories organized

• March 3, 1863 — Idaho Territory organized, Sess. 3, ch. 117, 12 Stat. 808

President pro tempore Solomon Foot

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

See also: 37th United States Congress - political parties

See also: 37th United States Congress - State Delegations

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, requiring reelection in 1862; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1866.

See also: :Category:United States Senators

See also: :Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

Speaker of the House
Galusha A. Grow

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide at-large, are preceded by an "A/L," and the names of those elected from districts, are preceded by their district numbers. Many of the congressional district numbers are linked to articles describing the district itself. Since the boundaries of the districts have changed often and substantially, the linked article may only describe the district as it exists today, and not as it was at the time of this Congress.

See also: :Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives

See also: :Category:United States Congressional Delegations by state

See also: United States House elections, 1860