# 26th United States Congress

The 26th 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, 1839, to March 4, 1841, during the third and fourth years of Martin Van Buren's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1830 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

## Major events

* 1839: The first state law permitting women to own property was passed in Jackson, Mississippi
* December 14–16, 1839: An election for the House speakership takes 11 ballots
* January 19, 1840: Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigated Antarctica, claiming what becomes known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
* November 7, 1840: 1840 United States presidential election: William Henry Harrison defeated Martin Van Buren
* February 18, 1841: The first ongoing filibuster in the United States Senate began and lasted until March 11

## Major legislation

* [data missing]

## Party summary
### Senate

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 35 | 16 | 51 | 1 |
| Begin | 28 | 19 | 47 | 5 |
| End | 29 | 23 | 52 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 55.8% | 44.2% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 22 | 29 | 51 | 1 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Anti- Masonic (AM) | Conservative (C) | Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | Other | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 7 | 0 | 123 | 106 | 4 | 240 | 2 |
| Begin | 6 | 2 | 125 | 109 | 0 | 242 | 0 |
| End | 5 | 2 | 123 | 111 | 0 | 241 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 2.1% | 0.8% | 51.0% | 46.1% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 0 | 0 | 99 | 142 | 1 | 242 | 0 |

## Leadership
### Senate

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

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: Robert M. T. Hunter (W) elected December 16, 1839, on the 11th ballot

## 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, requiring reelection in 1844; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1840; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1842.

### 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: 0-seat net loss
** Whigs: 0-seat net gain
* Deaths: 3
* Resignations: 7
* Interim appointments: 0
* Total seats with changes: 11

### House of Representatives

* Replacements: 15
** Democrats: 2-seat net loss
** Whigs: 3-seat net gain
** Anti-Masonic: 1-seat net loss
* Deaths: 6
* Resignations: 10
* Contested election: 0
* Total seats with changes: 17

## Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

### Senate

* Agriculture (Chairman: Alexander Mouton)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Nehemiah R. Knight)
* Claims (Chairman: Henry Hubbard)
* Commerce (Chairman: William R. King)
* Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Richard H. Bayard)&
* Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Oliver Smith then John Henderson)
* Finance (Chairman: Silas Wright)
* Fiscal Corporation of the United States (Select)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: James Buchanan)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Ambrose H. Sevier)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Garret D. Wall)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Wilson Lumpkin)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Hart Benton)
* Militia (Chairman: Clement C. Clay)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Reuel Williams)
* Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Daniel Sturgeon)
* Pensions (Chairman: Franklin Pierce)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John M. Robinson)
* Printing (Chairman: N/A)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: Lewis F. Linn)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: William S. Fulton)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Robert J. Walker)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Perry Smith)
* Roads and Canals (Chairman: Richard M. Young)
* Tariff Regulation (Select)
* Whole

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: Joseph Johnson)
* Agriculture (Chairman: Edmund Deberry)
* Apportionment of Representatives (Select)
* Claims (Chairman: David A. Russell)
* Commerce (Chairman: Edward Curtis)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: William C. Johnson)
* Elections (Chairman: Francis E. Rives)
* Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Leverett Saltonstall I)
* Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Richard P. Marvin)
* Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Joseph R. Underwood)
* Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: George Evans)
* Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Peter J. Wagner)
* Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Edward Stanly)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Francis W. Pickens)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: John Bell)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Sherrod Williams)
* Judiciary (Chairman: John Sergeant)
* Manufactures (Chairman: John Quincy Adams)
* Memorial of the Agricultural Bank of Mississippi (Select)
* Mileage (Chairman: Thomas W. Williams)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Cave Johnson until 1840, then Waddy Thompson Jr.)
* Militia (Chairman: George M. Keim)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Francis Thomas)
* Patents (Chairman: Issac Fletcher)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: James I. McKay)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: William B. Calhoun)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Stephen B. Leonard)
* Public Expenditures (Chairman: William K. Bond)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Thomas Corwin 1839-1840, then Samson Mason 1840, then Jeremiah Morrow)
* Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Luther C. Peck)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Joseph F. Randolph)
* Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: John Taliaferro)
* Roads and Canals (Chairman: Charles Ogle)
* Rules (Select)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: John Pope)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: John W. Jones)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. Benjamin Tappan)
* The Library (Chairman: N/A)

## Employees

* Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

### Senate

* Chaplain: Henry Slicer (Methodist), until December 31, 1839
** George G. Cookman (Methodist), from December 31, 1839
* Secretary: Asbury Dickins
* Sergeant at Arms: Stephen Haight

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: Levi M. Reese (Methodist), until February 4, 1840
** Joshua Bates (Congregationalist), elected February 4, 1840
** Thomas W. Braxton (Baptist), elected December 7, 1840
* Clerk: Hugh A. Garland
* Doorkeeper: Joseph Follansbee, elected December 23, 1839
* Postmaster: William J. McCormick, elected December 23, 1839
* Reading Clerks: [data missing]
* Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey