# 29th United States Congress

The 29th 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, 1845, to March 4, 1847, during the first two years of James Polk'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.

## Major events

* March 4, 1845: James K. Polk became President of the United States
* October 10, 1845: The Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opened in Annapolis, Maryland
* December 2, 1845: President Polk announced to Congress that the Monroe Doctrine should be strictly enforced and that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
* April 25, 1846: Open conflict over border disputes of Texas's boundaries began the Mexican–American War

## Major legislation

* May 13, 1846: Mexican–American War declared, ch. 16, 9 Stat. 9
* July 9, 1846: District of Columbia retrocession, ch. 35, 9 Stat. 35
* July 30, 1846: Walker tariff, ch. 74, 9 Stat. 42

## Treaties

* June 15, 1846: Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
* January 13, 1847: Treaty of Cahuenga ended the fighting in the Mexican–American War in California (not a formal treaty between nations but an informal agreement between rival military forces)

## States admitted

* December 29, 1845: Texas admitted as the 28th state
* December 28, 1846: Iowa admitted as the 29th state

## Party summary
### Senate

During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Liberty (L) | Whig (W) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 23 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 51 | 3 |
| Begin | 26 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 4 |
| End | 31 | 1 | 24 | 0 | 56 | 2 |
| Final voting share | 55.4% | 1.8% | 42.9% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 34 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 55 | 3 |

### House of Representatives

During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | American (A) | Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 0 | 141 | 78 | 4 | 223 | 1 |
| Begin | 6 | 137 | 78 | 0 | 221 | 3 |
| End | 6 | 142 | 78 | 0 | 226 | 2 |
| Final voting share | 2.7% | 62.8% | 34.5% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 1 | 107 | 116 | 3 | 227 | 1 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: George M. Dallas (D)
* President pro tempore: Willie P. Mangum (W), until March 4, 1845
** Ambrose Hundley Sevier (D), only on December 27, 1845
** David R. Atchison (D), from August 8, 1846

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: John W. Davis (D)

## 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 with this Congress, facing re-election in 1850; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1848.

### 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: 8
** Democrats (D): no net change
** Whigs (W): no net change
* Deaths: 3
* Resignations: 6
* Interim appointments: 1
* Seats of newly admitted states: 4
* Total seats with changes: 14

### House of Representatives

* Replacements: 12
** Democrats (D): 1 seat net gain
** Whigs (W): 1 seat net loss
* Deaths: 5
* Resignations: 6
* Contested election: 1
* Seats of newly admitted states: 4
* Total seats with changes: 17

## Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

### Senate

* Agriculture (Chairman: Daniel Sturgeon)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Jesse Speight)
* Charges of Corruption Contained in the Daily Times (Select)
* Claims (Chairman: Isaac S. Pennybacker)
* Commerce (Chairman: William Haywood then John Adams Dix)
* Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: William Haywood then Simon Cameron)
* Finance (Chairman: John C. Calhoun then Dixon H. Lewis)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: William Allen then Ambrose H. Sevier)
* French Spoilations (Select) (Chairman: Daniel Webster)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Ambrose H. Sevier then Arthur P. Bagby)
* International Copyright Law (Select) (Chairman: Lewis Cass)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Chester Ashley)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Daniel S. Dickinson)
* Memorial on W.T.G. Morton (Select)
* Memphis Convention (Select) (Chairman: John C. Calhoun)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas H. Benton)
* Militia (Chairman: David R. Atchison)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: John Fairfield)
* Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
* Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Simon Cameron then Walter Colquitt)
* Pensions (Chairman: Henry Johnson)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Niles)
* Printing (Chairman: Charles G. Atherton)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: David Levy Yulee)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Simon Cameron)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Sidney Breese)
* Retrenchment (Chairman: Dixon H. Lewis)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Thomas Clayton)
* Roads and Canals (Chairman: Edward A. Hannegan)
* Tariff Regulation (Select)
* Territories (Chairman: James Westcott)
* Smithsonian Institution (Select) (Chairman: John Adams Dix)
* Whole

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: Daniel P. King)
* Agriculture (Chairman: Joseph H. Anderson)
* Claims (Chairman: John Reeves Jones Daniel)
* Commerce (Chairman: Robert McClelland)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
* Elections (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
* Engraving (Chairman: Jacob S. Yost)
* Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: John F. Collin)
* Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: John H. Harmanson)
* Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Stephen Strong)
* Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: John F. Scammon)
* Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Owen D. Leib)
* Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Orlando B. Ficklin)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Charles J. Ingersoll)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: John A. McClernand)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Preston King)
* Judiciary (Chairman: George O. Rathbun)
* Manufactures (Chairman: John Quincy Adams)
* Mileage (Chairman: John P. Martin)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Hugh A. Haralson)
* Militia (Chairman: James A. Black)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Isaac E. Holmes)
* Patents (Chairman: Thomas J. Henley)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: George W. Hopkins)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: James B. Bowlin)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Orlando B. Ficklin)
* Public Expenditures (Chairman: Robert P. Dunlap)
* Public Lands (Chairman: John A. McClernand)
* Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Cullen Sawtelle)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Joseph Johnson)
* Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: Richard Brodhead)
* Roads and Canals (Chairman: Robert Smith)
* Rules (Select)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: James I. McKay)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. Jesse D. Bright)
* The Library (Chairman: N/A)
* Printing (Chairman: N/A)
* Smithsonian Bequest

## Employees

* Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

### Senate

* Chaplain: Septimus Tustin (Presbyterian), until December 16, 1846
** Henry Slicer (Methodist), elected December 16, 1846
* Secretary: Asbury Dickins
* Sergeant at Arms: Edward Dyer, died September 8, 1845
** Robert Beale, elected December 9, 1845

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: William H. Milburn (Methodist), elected December 3, 1845
** William T.S. Sprole (Presbyterian), elected December 7, 1846
* Clerk: Benjamin B. French
* Doorkeeper: Cornelius C. Whitney, elected December 3, 1845
* Postmaster: John M. Johnson
* Reading Clerks: [data missing]
* Sergeant at Arms: Newton Lane