When the 34th United States Congress convened in December 1855, members opposed to Democratic President Franklin Pierce (most of them Northerners) held the majority in the House, while the Democrats retained their majority in the Senate. That House majority, however, was not fully unified, with some members adhering to the new anti-Nebraska party, and others loyal to the new nativist American (or "Know-Nothing") party. The Know Nothings were also fractious, with some former Whigs and some former Free Soilers in their ranks. The result was a House that was unable to elect a Speaker for two months. When they finally agreed on the election of Nathaniel Banks of Massachusetts, the House quickly turned to the matter of Kansas. Preventing the expansion of slavery to Kansas was the one issue that united Banks's fragile majority, and the House resolved to send three members to investigate the situation in that territory; Sherman was one of the three selected.