# 41st United States Congress

The 41st 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, 1869, to March 4, 1871, during the first two years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1860 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

## Major events

* March 4, 1869: Ulysses Grant became President of the United States
* March 4, 1869: Carl Schurz R-Missouri became the first German American to serve in the United States Senate
* May 10, 1869: Golden spike marked the completion of the First transcontinental railroad in Promontory, Utah
* December 10, 1869: Wyoming Territory gave women the right to vote, one of the first such laws in the world
* February 12, 1870: Utah Territory gave women the right to vote
* February 25, 1870: Senator Hiram Rhodes Revels became the first African American in the U.S. Congress

## Major legislation

* March 18, 1869: Public Credit Act of 1869, Sess. 1, ch. 1, 16 Stat. 1
* April 10, 1869: Judiciary Act of 1869, Sess. 1, ch. 22, 16 Stat. 44
* May 31, 1870: Enforcement Act of 1870, Sess. 2, ch. 114, 16 Stat. 140
* June 22, 1870: An Act to establish the Department of Justice, Sess. 2, ch. 150, 16 Stat. 162
* June 29, 1870: An Act to reorganize the Marine Hospital Service, Sess. 2, ch. 169, 16 Stat. 169
* July 12, 1870: Currency Act of 1870, Sess. 2, ch. 252, 16 Stat. 251
* July 14, 1870: Funding Act of 1870, Sess. 2, ch. 256, 16 Stat. 272
* February 21, 1871: District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871, Sess. 3, ch. 62, Pub. L. 41–62, 16 Stat. 419

## Constitutional amendments

* February 3, 1870: Fifteenth Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 28) to become part of the Constitution

## States readmitted

* January 26, 1870: Virginia rejoined the Union
* February 23, 1870: Mississippi rejoined the Union
* March 30, 1870: Texas rejoined the Union
* July 15, 1870: Georgia rejoined the Union, the last former Confederate state to be readmitted

## 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.
During this Congress, Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, and Georgia were readmitted to representation.

### Senate

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 9 | 57 | 0 | 66 | 8 |
| Begin | 9 | 57 | 0 | 66 | 8 |
| End | 12 | 62 | 0 | 74 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 16.2% | 83.8% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 16 | 55 | 1 | 72 | 2 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Conservative (C) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 45 | 170 | 2 | 3 | 220 | 23 |
| Begin | 65 | 149 | 0 | 0 | 214 | 29 |
| End | 67 | 167 | 5 | 0 | 239 | 4 |
| Final voting share | 28.0% | 69.9% | 2.1% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 93 | 144 | 0 | 2 | 239 | 2 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: Schuyler Colfax (R)
* President pro tempore: Henry B. Anthony (R)

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: James G. Blaine (R)
* Republican Conference Chairman: Robert C. Schenck and Nathaniel P. Banks
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: William E. Niblack and Samuel J. Randall

## Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed then by class and representatives are listed then 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 this Congress, facing re-election in 1874; "Class 2" meant their term ended in this Congress, facing re-election in 1870; and "Class 3" meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1872.

### 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: 6
** Democratic: 1 seat net gain
** Republican: 1 seat net loss
* Deaths: 2
* Resignations:2
* Interim appointments: 2
* Seats of newly re-admitted states: 8
* Total seats with changes: 14

### House of Representatives

* Replacements: 14
** Democratic: 3 seat net loss
** Republican: 3 seat net gain
** Conservative Party of Virginia: no net change
* Deaths: 6
* Resignations: 6
* Contested election: 8
* Seats of newly re-admitted states: 17
* Total seats with changes: 44

## Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.

### Senate

* Agriculture (Chairman: Simon Cameron; Ranking Member: Abijah Gilbert)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Lot M. Morrill; Ranking Member: William Sprague IV)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Orris S. Ferry; Ranking Member: Garrett Davis)
* Claims (Chairman: Timothy O. Howe; Ranking Member: Thomas J. Robertson)
* Commerce (Chairman: Zachariah Chandler; Ranking Member: Roscoe Conkling)
* Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: James W. Patterson; Ranking Member: John S. Harris)
* Education (Chairman: Frederick A. Sawyer; Ranking Member: Henry W. Corbett)
* Engrossed Bills (Chairman: William A. Buckingham; Ranking Member: Daniel S. Norton)
* Finance (Chairman: John Sherman; Ranking Member: Willard Warner)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: Charles Sumner; Ranking Member: Oliver P. Morton)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: James Harlan; Ranking Member: William A. Buckingham)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Lyman Trumbull; Ranking Member: Benjamin F. Rice)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Oliver P. Morton; Ranking Member: Arthur I. Boreman)
* Memorial of Davis Hatch (Select)
* Military Affairs and the Militia (Chairman: Henry Wilson; Ranking Member: John M. Thayer)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: William M. Stewart; Ranking Member: Edmund G. Ross)
* Mississippi River Levee System (Select)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Aaron H. Cragin; Ranking Member: Charles D. Drake)
* Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
* Outrages in Southern States (Select)
* Pacific Railroad (Chairman: Jacob M. Howard; Ranking Member: Charles D. Drake)
* Patents (Chairman: Waitman T. Willey; Ranking Member: Thomas W. Osborn)
* Pensions (Chairman: George F. Edmunds; Ranking Member: William G. Brownlow)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Alexander Ramsey; Ranking Member: Cornelius Cole)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: George H. Williams; Ranking Member: William P. Kellogg)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Justin S. Morrill; Ranking Member: Adolphus H. Tanner)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Samuel C. Pomeroy; Ranking Member: Willard Warner)
* Removal of Political Disabilities (Select) (Chairman: Henry B. Anthony; Ranking Member: Orris S. Ferry)
* Retrenchment (Chairman: John S. Harris; Ranking Member: Carl Schurz)
* Revision of the Laws (Chairman: Roscoe Conkling; Ranking Member: John Pool)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Richard Yates; Ranking Member: William G. Brownlow)
* Rules (Select)
* Tariff Regulation (Select)
* Territories (Chairman: James W. Nye; Ranking Member: Jacob M. Howard)
* Traffic with Rebels in Texas (Select)
* Whole

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: Henry L. Cake; Ranking Member: Aaron A. Sargent)
* Agriculture (Chairman: John T. Wilson; Ranking Member: Jacob Benton)
* Appropriations (Chairman: Henry L. Dawes; Ranking Member: Aaron A. Sargent)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: James A. Garfield; Ranking Member: John B. Packer)
* Claims (Chairman: William B. Washburn; Ranking Member: Jacob H. Ela)
* Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: William D. Kelley; Ranking Member: Noah Davis)
* Commerce (Chairman: Nathan F. Dixon; Ranking Member: David S. Bennett)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Burton C. Cook; Ranking Member: Charles M. Hamilton)
* Education and Labor (Chairman: Samuel M. Arnell; Ranking Member: Samuel S. Burdett)
* Elections (Chairman: Halbert E. Paine; Ranking Member: Job E. Stevenson)
* Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: Jacob H. Ela; Ranking Member: Peter W. Strader)
* Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: John Lynch; Ranking Member: Patrick Hamill)
* Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: William Moore; Ranking Member: John F. Benjamin)
* Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Alexander H. Bailey; Ranking Member: John D. Stiles)
* Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: William B. Allison; Ranking Member: Samuel J. Randall)
* Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: William Williams; Ranking Member: Clinton L. Cobb)
* Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: John C. Churchill; Ranking Member: Truman H. Hoag)
* Freedmen's Affairs (Chairman: Oliver H. Dockery; Ranking Member: John B. Hawley)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Nathaniel P. Banks; Ranking Member: Charles W. Willard)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Sidney Clarke; Ranking Member: John T. Deweese)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: John F. Benjamin; Ranking Member: Christopher C. Bowen)
* Judiciary (Chairman: John A. Bingham; Ranking Member: Ulysses Mercur)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Daniel J. Morrell; Ranking Member: William H. Upson)
* Mileage (Chairman: Isaac R. Hawkins; Ranking Member: Job E. Stevenson)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: John A. Logan; Ranking Member: John S. Witcher)
* Militia (Chairman: John P. C. Shanks; Ranking Member: Eliakim H. Moore)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: Orange Ferriss; Ranking Member: Isaac H. Duval)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Glenni W. Scofield; Ranking Member: George W. McCrary)
* Pacific Railroads (Chairman: William A. Wheeler; Ranking Member: Logan H. Roots)
* Patents (Chairman: Thomas A. Jenckes; Ranking Member: James A. Johnson)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John F. Farnsworth; Ranking Member: James N. Tyner)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: Godlove Stein Orth; Ranking Member: Cadwallader C. Washburn)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: John Beatty)
* Public Expenditures (Chairman: John Coburn)
* Public Lands (Chairman: George W. Julian; Ranking Member: James J. Winans)
* Railways and Canals (Chairman: Ebon C. Ingersoll; Ranking Member: William F. Prosser)
* Revision of Laws (Chairman: Luke P. Poland; Ranking Member: George F. Hoar)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Sempronius H. Boyd; Ranking Member: Alexander H. Jones)
* Revolutionary Pensions and War of 1812 (Chairman: Charles W. Willard; Ranking Member: Roderick R. Butler)
* Rules (Select) (Chairman: Schuyler Colfax; Ranking Member: James A. Garfield)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: Shelby M. Cullom; Ranking Member: Eliakim H. Moore)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: Samuel Hooper; Ranking Member: James Brooks)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Rep. John Beatty; Vice Chairman: Rep. Joseph C. Abbott)
* The Library (Chairman: Rep. John A. Peters; Vice Chairman: Rep. George A. Woodward)
* Printing (Chairman: Rep. Addison H. Laflin; Vice Chairman: Rep. William Mungen)
* Retrenchment (Chairman: Rep. Martin Welker; Vice Chairman: Rep. Thomas A. Jenckes)

## Caucuses

* Democratic (House)
* Democratic (Senate)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
* Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford

### Senate

* Chaplain: John P. Newman (Methodist)
* Secretary: George C. Gorham
* Sergeant at Arms: George T. Brown, until March 22, 1869
** John R. French, elected March 22, 1869

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: John G. Butler (Presbyterian)
* Clerk: Edward McPherson
* Clerk at the Speaker's Table: John M. Barclay
* Doorkeeper: Otis S. Buxton
* Postmaster: William S. King
* Reading Clerks: Charles N. Clisbee (D) and William K. Mehaffey (R)
* Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway