29th United States Congress

This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

29th United States Congress
28th ← → 30th
United States Capitol (1846)
March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1847
Members	58 senators 228 representatives 2 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Democratic
Senate President	George M. Dallas (D)
House majority	Democratic
House Speaker	John W. Davis (D)
Sessions
Special[a]: March 4, 1845 – March 20, 1845 1st: December 1, 1845 – August 10, 1846 2nd: December 7, 1846 – March 3, 1847

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.

• 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

• 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

• 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)

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

During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.

	Party (shading shows control)				Total	Vacant
	Democratic (D)	Liberty (L)	Whig (W)	Other
End of previous congress	23	0	27	1	51	3
Begin	26	0	24	0	50	4
End	31	1			56	2
Final voting share	55.4%	1.8%	42.9%	0.0%
Beginning of next congress	34	0	20	1	55	3

During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.

	Party (shading shows control)				Total	Vacant
	American (A)	Democratic (D)	Whig (W)	Other
End of previous congress	0	141	78	4	223	1
Begin	6	137	78	0	221	3
End		142			226	2
Final voting share	2.7%	62.8%	34.5%	0.0%
Beginning of next congress	1	107	116	3	227	1

• 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

• Speaker: John W. Davis (D)

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

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.

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

• 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

Senate changes

State (class)	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation[b]
Florida (1)	Vacant	Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress	David L. Yulee (D)	Elected July 1, 1845
Florida (3)	Vacant	Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress	James Westcott (D)	Elected July 1, 1845
South Carolina (2)	Vacant	Senator Daniel E. Huger resigned in previous congress. Successor elected November 26, 1845.	John C. Calhoun (D)	Elected November 26, 1845
Virginia (1)	Vacant	Failure to elect	Isaac S. Pennybacker (D)	Elected December 3, 1845
Mississippi (2)	Robert J. Walker (D)	Resigned March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Successor appointed November 3, 1845. Appointee was later elected on an unknown date.	Joseph W. Chalmers (D)	Appointed November 3, 1845
Pennsylvania (3)	James Buchanan (D)	Resigned March 5, 1845, after being appointed U.S. Secretary of State	Simon Cameron (D)	Elected March 13, 1845
Massachusetts (2)	Isaac C. Bates (W)	Died March 16, 1845	John Davis (W)	Elected March 24, 1845
Georgia (2)	John M. Berrien (W)	Resigned May, 1845 when appointed to the Georgia Supreme Court	John M. Berrien (W)	Elected November 13, 1845
New Hampshire (2)	Levi Woodbury (D)	Resigned November 20, 1845, to become Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court	Benning W. Jenness (D)	Appointed December 1, 1845
Texas (1)	Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845, and remained vacant until February 21, 1846		Thomas J. Rusk (D)	Elected February 21, 1846
Texas (2)	Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845, and remained vacant until February 21, 1846		Sam Houston (D)	Elected February 21, 1846
New Hampshire (2)	Benning W. Jenness (D)	Lost election to finish the term. Winner elected June 13, 1846.	Joseph Cilley (L)	Elected June 13, 1846
North Carolina (3)	William H. Haywood Jr. (D)	Resigned July 25, 1846, after having refused to be instructed by the North Carolina state legislature on a tariff question	George E. Badger (W)	Elected November 25, 1846
South Carolina (3)	George McDuffie (D)	Resigned August 17, 1846. Successor appointed December 4, 1846, and subsequently elected to finish the term.	Andrew Butler (D)	Seated December 4, 1846
Iowa (2)	Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846		Vacant	Not filled this term
Iowa (3)	Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846		Vacant	Not filled this term
Louisiana (2)	Alexander Barrow (W)	Died December 29, 1846	Pierre Soulé (D)	Elected January 21, 1847
Virginia (1)	Isaac S. Pennybacker (D)	Died January 12, 1847	James M. Mason (D)	Elected January 21, 1847

• 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

House changes

District	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation[b]
Florida At-large	Vacant	Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress	Edward C. Cabell (W)	Seated October 6, 1845
Georgia 3rd	Vacant	Rep-elect Washington Poe declined the seat	George W. Towns (D)	Seated January 5, 1846
Texas 1st	Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845, and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846		David S. Kaufman (D)	Seated March 30, 1846
Texas 2nd	Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845, and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846		Timothy Pilsbury (D)	Seated March 30, 1846
New Jersey 2nd	Samuel G. Wright (W)	Died July 30, 1845	George Sykes (D)	Seated November 4, 1845
Louisiana 1st	John Slidell (D)	Resigned November 10, 1845, after being appointed Minister to Mexico, but government refused to accept him	Emile La Sére (D)	Seated January 29, 1846
Tennessee 8th	Joseph H. Peyton (W)	Died November 11, 1845	Edwin H. Ewing (W)	Seated January 2, 1846
Virginia 11th	William Taylor (D)	Died January 17, 1846	James McDowell (D)	Seated March 6, 1846
Florida At-large	Edward C. Cabell (W)	Lost contested election January 24, 1846	William H. Brockenbrough (D)	Seated January 24, 1846
Mississippi At-large	Jefferson Davis (D)	Resigned some time in June, 1846 in order to take part in the Mexican War	Henry T. Ellett (D)	Seated January 26, 1847
New York 12th	Richard P. Herrick (W)	Died June 20, 1846	Thomas C. Ripley (W)	Seated December 17, 1846
Arkansas At-large	Archibald Yell (D)	Resigned July 1, 1846, in order to take part in the Mexican War	Thomas W. Newton (W)	Seated February 6, 1847
Missouri At-large	Sterling Price (D)	Resigned August 12, 1846, in order to take part in the Mexican War	William McDaniel (D)	Seated December 7, 1846
Alabama 3rd	William L. Yancey (D)	Resigned September 1, 1846	James L. Cottrell (D)	Seated December 7, 1846
Alabama 7th	Felix G. McConnell (D)	Died September 10, 1846	Franklin W. Bowdon (D)	Seated December 7, 1846
Iowa Territory At-large	Augustus C. Dodge (D)	Territory was dissolved after Iowa was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846
Iowa At-large	Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846		S. Clinton Hastings (D)	Seated December 28, 1846
Iowa At-large	Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846		Shepherd Leffler (D)	Seated December 28, 1846
Illinois 7th	Edward D. Baker (W)	Resigned January 15, 1847, in order to take part in the Mexican War	John Henry (W)	Seated February 5, 1847
Illinois 5th	Stephen A. Douglas (D)	Resigned March 3, 1847, at close of congress after being elected to the US Senate	Vacant	Not filled this term

Lists of committees and their party leaders.

• 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

• 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

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

• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

• 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

• 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

• 1844 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
  • 1844 United States presidential election
  • 1844–45 United States Senate elections
  • 1844–45 United States House of Representatives elections
• 1846 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
  • 1846–47 United States Senate elections
  • 1846–47 United States House of Representatives elections

• Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
• Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.

• Statutes at Large, 1789–1875
• Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
• Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
• U.S. House of Representatives: House History
• U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
• Congressional Directory for the 29th Congress, 1st Session.
• Congress, United States (1846). Congressional Directory for the 29th Congress, 1st Session (Revision).
• Congressional Directory for the 29th Congress, 2nd Session.