# 36th United States Congress

The 36th 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, 1859, to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth years of James Buchanan's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1850 United States census. The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House had a Republican plurality.

## Major events

* June 8, 1859: Comstock Lode discovered in the western Utah Territory (present-day Nevada)
* August 27, 1859: First oil well was drilled in the United States, near Titusville, Pennsylvania
* October 16–18, 1859: John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
* December 2, 1859 John Brown executed.
* December 5, 1859 – February 1, 1860: The election for the House speakership takes 44 ballots
* April 3, 1860: Pony Express began its first run
* April 23 – May 3, 1860: Democratic National Convention held in Charleston, South Carolina. Unable to agree on a nominee, the delegates voted to reconvene in June.
* May 9, 1860: Constitutional Union Party National Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland, nominating John Bell for president.
* May 18, 1860: Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois, nominating Abraham Lincoln for president.
* June 18–23, 1860: Democratic Party reconvened in Baltimore, Maryland, nominating Stephen A. Douglas for president.
* June 26–28, 1860: Southern Democrats held a convention in Richmond, Virginia, nominating John C. Breckinridge for president.
* November 6, 1860: U.S. presidential election: Abraham Lincoln beat John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell.
* December 20, 1860: South Carolina Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* January 3, 1861: Delaware Secession Convention voted not to secede from the Union
* January 9, 1861: Mississippi Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* January 10, 1861: Florida Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* January 11, 1861: Alabama Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* January 18, 1861: Georgia Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* January 26, 1861: Louisiana Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* January 29, 1861. Kansas admitted to the Union as a free state.
* February 1, 1861: Texas Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
* February 13, 1861: Joint Session of Congress certified the election of President Abraham Lincoln and Vice President Hannibal Hamlin.
* February 23, 1861: The people of Texas ratified its Ordinance of Secession President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, D.C. after an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.

## Major legislation

* June 16, 1860: Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860, ch. 147, 12 Stat. 41
* March 2, 1861: Morrill Tariff, ch. 68, 12 Stat. 178
* December 18, 1860 (introduced): Crittenden Compromise, rejected by the House of Representatives and the Senate

## Constitutional amendments

* March 2, 1861: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution that would shield "domestic institutions" of the states (which in 1861 included slavery) from the constitutional amendment process and from abolition or interference by Congress, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification 12 Stat. 251
** This amendment, commonly known as the Corwin Amendment, has not been ratified and is still pending before the states.

## Treaties

* March 8, 1859: Quinault Treaty ratified, 12 Stat. 927
* March 8, 1859: Point No Point Treaty ratified, 12 Stat. 933

## States admitted and territories organized

* January 29, 1861: Kansas admitted as a state, ch. 20, 12 Stat. 126
* February 28, 1861: Colorado Territory organized, ch. 59, 12 Stat. 172
* March 2, 1861: Nevada Territory organized, ch. 83, 12 Stat. 209
* March 2, 1861: Dakota Territory organized, ch. 86, 12 Stat. 239

## Party summary

| Senate membership Begin (March 4, 1859) End (March 3, 1861) | House membership Begin (March 4, 1859) End (March 3, 1861) |

### Senate

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Know Nothing (A) | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 4 | 42 | 20 | 0 | 66 | 0 |
| Begin | 2 | 38 | 25 | 0 | 65 | 1 |
| End | 2 | 25 | 26 | 0 | 53 | 15 |
| Final voting share | 3.8% | 47.2% | 49.1% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 0 | 22 | 29 | 1 | 52 | 16 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Know Nothing (A) | Democratic (D) | Anti- Lecompton Democratic (ALD) | Independent Democratic (ID) | Opposition (O) | Republican (R) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 14 | 130 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 0 | 237 | 0 |
| Begin | 5 | 83 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 113 | 0 | 235 | 2 |
| End | 5 | 59 | 7 | 7 | 17 | 115 | 0 | 210 | 28 |
| Final voting share | 2.4% | 28.1% | 3.3% | 3.3% | 8.1% | 54.8% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 0 | 44 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 25 | 178 | 62 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: John C. Breckinridge (D)
* President pro tempore: Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), until February 26, 1860
** Jesse D. Bright (D), June 12–26, 1860
** Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), June 26, 1860 – December 2, 1860
** Solomon Foot (R), elected February 16, 1861

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: William Pennington (R), elected February 1, 1860, after 44 rounds of balloting
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: George S. Houston

## Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed 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 began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1862; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1860.

### House of Representatives

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: 4
** Democrats (D): no net change
** Republicans (R): no net change
* Deaths: 1
* Resignations: 1
* Interim appointments: 1
* Withdrawals: 13
* Total seats with changes: 16

### House of Representatives

* Replacements: 7
** Democrats (D): no net change
** Republicans (R): 1 seat net loss
** Anti-Lecompton Democrats (LD): 1 seat net gain
* Deaths: 4
* Resignations: 3
* Contested election: 1
* Withdrawals: 28
* Total seats with changes: 41

## Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

### Senate

* Alter and Improve Senate Chamber (Select)
* Amendments to the Constitution (Select)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Andrew Johnson)
* Banks of the District of Columbia (Select)
* Circulation of Bank Notes in the District of Columbia (Select)
* Claims (Chairman: Alfred Iverson Jr.)
* Commerce (Chairman: Clement Claiborne Clay)
* Comptroller William Medill (Select)
* Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Albert G. Brown)
* Duties of Imports (Select)
* Finance (Chairman: Robert M. T. Hunter)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: James M. Mason)
* French Spoilations (Select)
* Harpers Ferry Invasion (Select)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: William K. Sebastian)
* Judiciary (Chairman: James A. Bayard Jr.)
* Memorial of Houmas Lands Settlers (Select)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Jefferson Davis)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Stephen Mallory)
* Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
* Pacific Railroad (Select)
* Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: William Bigler)
* Pensions (Chairman: N/A)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: N/A)
* Printing (Chairman: N/A)
* Public Printing Investigation (Select)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: N/A)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Robert W. Johnson)
* Retrenchment (Chairman: N/A)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: N/A)
* Tariff Regulation (Select)
* Territories (Chairman: N/A)
* Thirteen on the Disturbed Condition of the Country (Select)
* Whole

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: Francis E. Spinner)
* Agriculture (Chairman: Martin Butterfield)
* Claims (Chairman: John Hickman)
* Commerce (Chairman: Elihu B. Washburne)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Luther C. Carter)
* Elections (Chairman: John A. Gilmer)
* Engraving (Chairman: Garnett B. Adrain)
* Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: N/A)
* Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Robert Hatton)
* Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: George W. Palmer)
* Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: James B. McKean)
* Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Dwight Loomis)
* Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: William Stewart)
* Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: William D. Brayton)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Corwin)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Emerson Etheridge)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Reuben E. Fenton)
* Judiciary (Chairman: John Hickman)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Charles F. Adams)
* Mileage (Chairman: John D. Ashmore)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Benjamin Stanton)
* Militia (Chairman: Cydnor B. Tompkins)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Freeman H. Morse)
* Patents (Chairman: William Millward)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Schuyler Colfax)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: Cadwallader C. Washburn)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Charles R. Train)
* Public Expenditures (Chairman: John B. Haskin)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Eli Thayer)
* Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: John A. Logan)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: George N. Briggs)
* Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: John F. Potter)
* Roads and Canals (Chairman: Robert Mallory)
* Rules (Select)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: Galusha A. Grow)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: John Sherman)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. Henry Haun then Sen. Willard Saulsbury Sr.)
* The Library (Chairman: Rep. John U. Pettit)
* Printing (Chairman: Rep. John A. Gurley)
* Making Arrangements for Inaugurating Washington's Statue

## Caucuses

* Democratic (House)
* Democratic (Senate)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter
* Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

### Senate

* Chaplain: Stephen P. Hill (Baptist), until December 15, 1859
** Phineas D. Gurley (Presbyterian), elected December 15, 1859
* Secretary: Asbury Dickins
* Sergeant at Arms: Dunning R. McNair

### House of Representatives

* Clerk: James C. Allen, until February 3, 1860
** John W. Forney, elected February 3, 1860
* Chaplain: None
* Doorkeeper: Robert B. Hackney, until February 6, 1860
** George Marston, elected February 6, 1860
* Messenger: Thaddeus Morrice
* Postmaster: Josiah M. Lucas
* Reading Clerks: [data missing]
* Sergeant at Arms: Adam J. Glossbrenner, until February 3, 1860
** Henry William Hoffman, from February 3, 1860