Twenty-fifth United States Congress

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25th Congress redirects here, for the Soviet congress, see 25th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

The Twenty-fifth 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, 1837 to March 4, 1839, during the first two years of Martin Van Buren's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fifth Census of the United States in 1830. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Major events

• March 4, 1837: Martin Van Buren became President of the United States
• May 10, 1837: Panic of 1837
• January 6, 1838: First public demonstration of Samuel Morse's telegraph
• May 26, 1838: Trail of Tears: The Cherokee removal began

Major legislation

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States admitted and territories organized

• June 12, 1838: Iowa Territory was formed from the Wisconsin Territory

Party summary

Senate

Template:USCongress Party summary

House of Representatives

Template:USCongress Party summary

Leadership

Senate

• President: Richard Mentor Johnson (D)
• President pro tempore: William R. King (D)

House of Representatives

• Speaker: James K. Polk (D)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1838; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1840; and Class 3 meant their term began in this 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: 6
  • Democrats: no net change
  • Whigs: no net change
• Deaths: 1
• Resignations: 6
• Total seats with changes: 7

Template:Ordinal US Congress Senate

|- | Virginia
(2) | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Richard E. Parker (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned March 4, 1837 after accepting a seat on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals | style="background:#B0CEFF" | William H. Roane (D) | Elected March 14, 1837 |- | Alabama
(3) | style="background:#B0CEFF" | John McKinley (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned April 22, 1837 after being appointed Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Clement C. Clay (D) | Elected June 19, 1837 |- | Georgia
(2) | style="background:#B0CEFF" | John P. King (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 1, 1837 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Wilson Lumpkin (D) | Elected November 22, 1837 |- | Maryland
(1) | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Joseph Kent (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 24, 1837 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | William D. Merrick (W) | Elected January 4, 1838 |- | Mississippi
(1) | style="background:#FFFFCC" | John Black (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 22, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | James F. Trotter (D) | Appointed January 22, 1838 |- | Tennessee
(1) | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Felix Grundy (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 4, 1838 after being appointed United States Attorney General | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Ephraim H. Foster (W) | Elected September 17, 1838 |- | Mississippi
(1) | style="background:#B0CEFF" | James F. Trotter (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 10, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Thomas H. Williams (D) | Appointed November 12, 1838 and subsequently elected |}

House of Representatives

• Replacements: 16
  • Democrats: 5-seat net loss
  • Whigs: 5-seat net gain
• Deaths: 8
• Resignations: 6
• Contested election:1
• Total seats with changes: 19

Template:Ordinal US Congress Rep

|- | Mississippi At-large | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep-elect Claiborne presented credentials July 18, 1837 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | John F. H. Claiborne (D) | Seated July 18, 1837 |- | Mississippi At-large | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep-elect Gholson presented credentials July 18, 1837 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Samuel J. Gholson (D) | Seated July 18, 1837 |- | Pennsylvania 3rd | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Francis J. Harper (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died March 18, 1837 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Charles Naylor (W) | Seated June 29, 1837 |- | Tennessee 4th | style="background:#FFFFCC" | James I. Standifer (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died August 20, 1837 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | William Stone (W) | Seated September 14, 1837 |- | Ohio 17th | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Elisha Whittlesey (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned October 20, 1837 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Charles D. Coffin (W) | Seated December 20, 1837 |- | Mississippi At-large | style="background:#B0CEFF" | John F. H. Claiborne (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Seat declared vacant February 5, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Seargent S. Prentiss (W) | Seated May 30, 1838 |- | Mississippi At-large | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Samuel J. Gholson (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Seat declared vacant February 5, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Thomas J. Word (W) | Seated May 30, 1838 |- | Pennsylvania 9th | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Henry A. P. Muhlenberg (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned February 9, 1838 after being appointed Minister to Austrian Empire | style="background:#B0CEFF" | George M. Keim (D) | Seated March 17, 1838 |- | Maine 3rd | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Jonathan Cilley (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Killed in a duel February 24, 1838 by Rep. William J. Graves | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Edward Robinson (W) | Seated April 28, 1838 |- | Maine 5th | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Timothy J. Carter (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died March 14, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Virgil D. Parris (D) | Seated May 29, 1838 |- | Maryland 4th | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Isaac McKim (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 1, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | John P. Kennedy (W) | Seated April 25, 1838 |- | Virginia 13th | style="background:#B0CEFF" | John M. Patton (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned April 7, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Linn Banks (D) | Seated April 28, 1838 |- | Alabama 3rd | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Joab Lawler (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died May 8, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | George W. Crabb (W) | Seated October 5, 1835 |- | Ohio 19th | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Daniel Kilgore (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 4, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Henry Swearingen (D) | Seated December 3, 1838 |- | Ohio 16th | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Elisha Whittlesey (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 9, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Joshua R. Giddings (W) | Seated December 3, 1838 |- | New York 22nd | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Andrew D. Bruyn (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died July 27, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | Cyrus Beers (D) | Seated December 3, 1838 |- | New York 29th | style="background:#FFFFCC" | William Patterson (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Died August 14, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Harvey Putnam (W) | Seated November 7, 1838 |- | Iowa Territory At-large | New seat | style="font-size:80%" | Iowa Territory seated its first delegate September 10, 1838 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | George W. Jones (D) | Seated September 10, 1838

|- | Massachusetts 2nd | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Stephen C. Phillips (W) | style="font-size:80%" | Seat declared vacant September 28, 1838 | style="background:#FFFFCC" | Leverett Saltonstall (W) | Seated December 15, 1838 |- | Maine 1st | style="background:#B0CEFF" | John Fairfield (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned December 24, 1838 after being elected Governor of Maine | Vacant | Not filled this congress |- | Wisconsin Territory At-large | style="background:#B0CEFF" | George W. Jones (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election January 14, 1839 | style="background:#B0CEFF" | James D. Doty (D) | Seated January 14, 1839 |}

Employees

Senate

• Chaplain: John R. Goodman (Episcopalian), elected December 28, 1836
  • Henry Slicer (Methodist), elected September 11, 1837
• Secretary: Asbury Dickens
• Sergeant at Arms: John Shackford (died)
  • Stephen Haight, elected September 4, 1837

House of Representatives

• Chaplain: Septimus Tustin (Presbyterian), elected September 4, 1837
  • Levi R. Reese (Methodist), elected December 4, 1837
• Clerk: Walter S. Franklin, until September 20, 1838 (died)
  • Hugh A. Garland, elected December 3, 1838
• Doorkeeper: Overton Carr
• Postmaster: William J. McCormick
• Sergeant at Arms: Roderick Dorsey

References

External links

• 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