33rd United States Congress

Major events

• March 4, 1853: Franklin Pierce became President of the United States
• April 18, 1853: Vice President William R. King died
• July 8, 1853: Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrived in Edo Bay with a request for a trade treaty
• December 30, 1853: Gadsden Purchase: The United States bought land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest
• March 20, 1854: Republican Party founded

  Major legislation

• May 30, 1854: Kansas–Nebraska Act, ch. 59,
• March 3, 1855: The U.S. Congress appropriates $30,000 to create the U.S. Camel Corps

  Treaties

• January 26, 1854: Point No Point Treaty signed
• March 31, 1854: Convention of Kanagawa signed with the Japanese government, opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade

  Territories organized

• May 30, 1854 – Kansas Territory was organized.
• May 30, 1854 – Nebraska Territory was organized.

  Party summary

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

• President: William R. King, until April 18, 1853; vacant thereafter.
• President pro tempore: David R. Atchison, until December 4, 1854
• * Lewis Cass, December 4, 1854
• * Jesse D. Bright, from December 5, 1854

  House of Representatives

• Speaker: Linn Boyd
• Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edson B. Olds

  Members

Senate

[List of [United States Senators from Alabama|Alabama]]

• 2. Clement C. Clay Jr., from November 29, 1853
• 3. Benjamin Fitzpatrick

  Arkansas">List of United States Senators from Arkansas">Arkansas

• 2. William K. Sebastian
• 3. Solon Borland, until April 11, 1853
• * Robert W. Johnson, from July 6, 1853

  California">List of United States Senators from California">California

• 1. John B. Weller
• 3. William M. Gwin

  Connecticut">List of United States Senators from Connecticut">Connecticut

• 1. Isaac Toucey
• 3. Truman Smith, until May 24, 1854
• * Francis Gillette, from May 24, 1854

  Delaware">List of United States Senators from Delaware">Delaware

• 1. James A. Bayard Jr.
• 2. John M. Clayton

  Florida">List of United States Senators from Florida">Florida

• 1. Stephen Mallory
• 3. Jackson Morton

  Georgia">List of United States Senators from Georgia">Georgia

• 2. Robert Toombs
• 3. William C. Dawson

  Illinois">List of United States Senators from Illinois">Illinois

• 2. Stephen A. Douglas
• 3. James Shields

  Indiana">List of United States Senators from Indiana">Indiana

• 1. Jesse D. Bright
• 3. John Pettit

  Iowa">List of United States Senators from Iowa">Iowa

• 2. George Wallace Jones
• 3. Augustus C. Dodge, until February 22, 1855

  Kentucky">List of United States Senators from Kentucky">Kentucky

• 2. John B. Thompson
• 3. Archibald Dixon

  Louisiana">List of United States Senators from Louisiana">Louisiana

• 2. Judah P. Benjamin
• 3. Pierre Soulé, until April 11, 1853
• * John Slidell, from December 5, 1853

  Maine">List of United States Senators from Maine">Maine

• 1. Hannibal Hamlin
• 2. William Pitt Fessenden, from February 10, 1854

  Maryland">List of United States Senators from Maryland">Maryland

• 1. Thomas Pratt
• 3. James Pearce

  Massachusetts">List of United States Senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts

• 1. Charles Sumner
• 2. Edward Everett, until June 1, 1854
• * Julius Rockwell, from June 3, 1854, until January 31, 1855
• * Henry Wilson, from January 31, 1855

  Michigan">List of United States Senators from Michigan">Michigan

• 1. Lewis Cass
• 2. Charles E. Stuart

  Mississippi">List of United States Senators from Mississippi">Mississippi

• 1. Stephen Adams
• 2. Albert G. Brown, from January 7, 1854

  Missouri">List of United States Senators from Missouri">Missouri

• 1. Henry S. Geyer
• 3. David R. Atchison

  New Hampshire">List of United States Senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire

• 2. Charles G. Atherton, until November 15, 1853
• * Jared W. Williams, from November 29, 1853, until July 15, 1854
• 3. Moses Norris Jr., until January 11, 1855
• * John S. Wells, from January 16, 1855

  New Jersey">List of United States Senators from New Jersey">New Jersey

• 1. John R. Thomson
• 2. William Wright

  New York">List of United States Senators from New York">New York

• 1. Hamilton Fish
• 3. William H. Seward

  North Carolina">List of United States Senators from North Carolina">North Carolina

• 2. David S. Reid, from December 6, 1854
• 3. George E. Badger

  Ohio">List of United States Senators from Ohio">Ohio

• 1. Benjamin Wade
• 3. Salmon P. Chase

  Pennsylvania">List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania

• 1. Richard Brodhead
• 3. James Cooper

  Rhode Island">List of United States Senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island

• 1. Charles T. James
• 2. Philip Allen, from July 20, 1853

  South Carolina">List of United States Senators from South Carolina">South Carolina

• 2. Josiah J. Evans
• 3. Andrew Butler

  Tennessee">List of United States Senators from Tennessee">Tennessee

• 1. James C. Jones
• 2. John Bell

  Texas">List of United States Senators from Texas">Texas

• 1. Thomas J. Rusk
• 2. Samuel Houston

  Vermont">List of United States Senators from Vermont">Vermont

• 1. Solomon Foot
• 3. Samuel S. Phelps, until March 16, 1854
• * Lawrence Brainerd, from October 14, 1854

  Virginia">List of United States Senators from Virginia">Virginia

• 1. James M. Mason
• 2. Robert M. T. Hunter

  Wisconsin">List of United States Senators from Wisconsin">Wisconsin

• 1. Henry Dodge
• 3. Isaac P. Walker

House of Representatives

[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]

• . Philip Phillips
• . James Abercrombie
• . Sampson W. Harris
• . William R. Smith
• . George S. Houston
• . Williamson R. W. Cobb
• . James F. Dowdell

  Arkansas">List of United States Representatives from Arkansas">Arkansas

• . Alfred B. Greenwood
• . Edward A. Warren

  California">List of United States Representatives from California">California

• . Milton Latham
• . James A. McDougall

  Connecticut">List of United States Representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut

• . James T. Pratt
• . Colin M. Ingersoll
• . Nathan Belcher
• . Origen S. Seymour

  Delaware">List of United States Representatives from Delaware">Delaware

• . George Read Riddle

  Florida">List of United States Representatives from Florida">Florida

• . Augustus Maxwell

  Georgia">List of United States Representatives from Georgia">Georgia

• . James L. Seward
• . Alfred H. Colquitt
• . David J. Bailey
• . William B. W. Dent
• . Elijah W. Chastain
• . Junius Hillyer
• . David A. Reese
• . Alexander Stephens

  Illinois">List of United States Representatives from Illinois">Illinois

• . Elihu B. Washburne
• . John Wentworth
• . Jesse O. Norton
• . James Knox
• . William A. Richardson
• . Richard Yates
• . James C. Allen
• . William H. Bissell
• . Willis Allen

  Indiana">List of United States Representatives from Indiana">Indiana

• . Smith Miller
• . William H. English
• . Cyrus L. Dunham
• . James H. Lane
• . Samuel W. Parker
• . Thomas A. Hendricks
• . John G. Davis
• . Daniel Mace
• . Norman Eddy
• . Ebenezer M. Chamberlain
• . Andrew J. Harlan

  Iowa">List of United States Representatives from Iowa">Iowa

• . Bernhart Henn
• . John P. Cook

  Kentucky">List of United States Representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky

• . Linn Boyd
• . Benjamin E. Grey
• . Presley Ewing, until September 27, 1854
• * Francis Bristow, from December 4, 1854
• . James Chrisman
• . Clement S. Hill
• . John M. Elliott
• . William Preston
• . John C. Breckinridge
• . Leander Cox
• . Richard H. Stanton

  Louisiana">List of United States Representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana

• . William Dunbar
• . Theodore G. Hunt
• . John Perkins Jr.
• . Roland Jones

  Maine">List of United States Representatives from Maine">Maine

• . Moses MacDonald
• . Samuel Mayall
• . E. Wilder Farley
• . Samuel P. Benson
• . Israel Washburn Jr.
• . Thomas J. D. Fuller

  Maryland">List of United States Representatives from Maryland">Maryland

• . John R. Franklin
• . Jacob Shower
• . Joshua Van Sant
• . Henry May
• . William T. Hamilton
• . Augustus R. Sollers

  Massachusetts">List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts

• . Zeno Scudder, until March 4, 1854
• * Thomas D. Eliot, from April 17, 1854
• . Samuel L. Crocker
• . J. Wiley Edmands
• . Samuel H. Walley
• . William Appleton
• . Charles W. Upham
• . Nathaniel P. Banks
• . Tappan Wentworth
• . Alexander De Witt
• . Edward Dickinson
• . John Z. Goodrich

  Michigan">List of United States Representatives from Michigan">Michigan

• . David Stuart
• . David A. Noble
• . Samuel Clark
• . Hestor L. Stevens

  Mississippi">List of United States Representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi

• . Daniel B. Wright
• . William T. S. Barry
• . Otho R. Singleton
• . Wiley P. Harris
• . William Barksdale

  Missouri">List of United States Representatives from Missouri">Missouri

• . Thomas H. Benton
• . Alfred W. Lamb
• . James J. Lindley
• . Mordecai Oliver
• . John G. Miller
• . John S. Phelps
• . Samuel Caruthers

  New Hampshire">List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire

• . George W. Kittredge
• . George W. Morrison
• . Harry Hibbard

  New Jersey">List of United States Representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey

• . Nathan T. Stratton
• . Charles Skelton
• . Samuel Lilly
• . George Vail
• . Alexander C. M. Pennington

  New York">List of United States Representatives from New York">New York

• . James Maurice
• . Thomas W. Cumming
• . Hiram Walbridge
• . Michael Walsh
• . William M. Tweed
• . John Wheeler
• . William A. Walker
• . Francis B. Cutting
• . Jared V. Peck
• . William Murray
• . Theodoric R. Westbrook
• . Gilbert Dean, until July 3, 1854
• * Isaac Teller, from November 7, 1854
• . Russell Sage
• . Rufus W. Peckham
• . Charles Hughes
• . George A. Simmons
• . Bishop Perkins
• . Peter Rowe
• . George W. Chase
• . Orsamus B. Matteson
• . Henry Bennett
• . Gerrit Smith, until August 7, 1854
• * Henry C. Goodwin, from November 7, 1854
• . Caleb Lyon
• . Daniel T. Jones
• . Edwin B. Morgan
• . Andrew Oliver
• . John J. Taylor
• . George Hastings
• . Azariah Boody until October 13, 1853
• * Davis Carpenter, from November 8, 1853
• . Benjamin Pringle
• . Thomas T. Flagler
• . Solomon G. Haven
• . Reuben Fenton

  North Carolina">List of United States Representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina

• . Henry M. Shaw
• . Thomas H. Ruffin
• . William S. Ashe
• . Sion H. Rogers
• . John Kerr Jr.
• . Richard C. Puryear
• . F. Burton Craige
• . Thomas L. Clingman

  Ohio">List of United States Representatives from Ohio">Ohio

• . David T. Disney
• . John Scott Harrison
• . Lewis D. Campbell
• . Matthias H. Nichols
• . Alfred P. Edgerton
• . Andrew Ellison
• . Aaron Harlan
• . Moses B. Corwin
• . Frederick W. Green
• . John L. Taylor
• . Thomas Ritchey
• . Edson B. Olds
• . William D. Lindsley
• . Harvey H. Johnson
• . William R. Sapp
• . Edward Ball
• . Wilson Shannon
• . George Bliss
• . Edward Wade
• . Joshua R. Giddings
• . Andrew Stuart

  Pennsylvania">List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania

• . Thomas B. Florence
• . Joseph R. Chandler
• . John Robbins Jr.
• . William H. Witte
• . John McNair
• . William Everhart
• . Samuel A. Bridges
• . Henry A. Muhlenberg, until January 9, 1854
• * J. Glancey Jones, from February 4, 1854
• . Isaac E. Hiester
• . Ner A. Middleswarth
• . Christian M. Straub
• . Hendrick B. Wright
• . Asa Packer
• . Galusha A. Grow
• . James Gamble
• . William H. Kurtz
• . Samuel L. Russell
• . John McCulloch
• . Augustus Drum
• . John L. Dawson
• . David Ritchie
• . Thomas M. Howe
• . Michael C. Trout
• . Carlton B. Curtis
• . John Dick

  Rhode Island">List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island

• . Thomas Davis
• . Benjamin B. Thurston

  South Carolina">List of United States Representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina

• . John McQueen
• . William Aiken
• . Laurence M. Keitt
• . Preston Brooks
• . James L. Orr
• . William W. Boyce

  Tennessee">List of United States Representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee

• . Brookins Campbell, until December 25, 1853
• * Nathaniel G. Taylor, from March 30, 1854
• . William M. Churchwell
• . Samuel A. Smith
• . William Cullom
• . Charles Ready
• . George W. Jones
• . Robert M. Bugg
• . Felix Zollicoffer
• . Emerson Etheridge
• . Frederick P. Stanton

  Texas">List of United States Representatives from Texas">Texas

• . George W. Smyth
• . Peter H. Bell

  Vermont">List of United States Representatives from Vermont">Vermont

• . James Meacham
• . Andrew Tracy
• . Alvah Sabin

  Virginia">List of United States Representatives from Virginia">Virginia

• . Thomas H. Bayly
• . John S. Millson
• . John Caskie
• . William Goode
• . Thomas S. Bocock
• . Paulus Powell
• . William Smith
• . Charles J. Faulkner
• . John Letcher
• . Zedekiah Kidwell
• . John F. Snodgrass, until June 5, 1854
• * Charles S. Lewis, from December 4, 1854
• . Henry A. Edmundson
• . LaFayette McMullen

  Wisconsin">List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin">Wisconsin

• . Daniel Wells Jr.
• . Ben C. Eastman
• . John B. Macy

  Non-voting members

• . John W. Whitfield, from December 20, 1854
• . Henry M. Rice
• . Napoleon B. Giddings, from January 5, 1855
• . José Manuel Gallegos
• . Joseph Lane
• . John M. Bernhisel
• . Columbia Lancaster, from April 12, 1854

Changes in membership

Senate

• replacements: 7
• * Democrats : no net change
• * Whigs : 2 seat net loss
• * Free Soilers : 2 seat net gain
• deaths: 2
• resignations: 4
• interim appointments: 1
• Total seats with changes: 13

  House of Representatives

• replacements: 7
• * Democrats : 2 seat net loss
• * Whigs : 3 seat net gain
• * Free Soilers : 1 seat net loss
• deaths: 4
• resignations: 4
• Total seats with changes: 8

  Committees

Senate

• Agriculture
• American Association for the Promotion of Science
• Atmospheric Telegraph Between Washington and Baltimore
• Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
• Claims
• Commerce
• Distributing Public Revenue Among the States
• District of Columbia
• Engrossed Bills
• Finance
• Foreign Relations
• French Spoilations
• Indian Affairs
• Judiciary
• Library
• Loss of Original Papers of Mark and Richard Bean
• Manufactures
• Mexican Claims Commission
• Military Affairs
• Militia
• Naval Affairs
• Ordnance and War Ships
• Pacific Railroad
• Patents and the Patent Office
• Pensions
• Post Office and Post Roads
• Printing
• Private Claims Commission
• Private Land Claims
• Protection of Life and Health in Passenger Ships
• Public Buildings and Grounds
• Public Lands
• Retrenchment
• Revolutionary Claims
• Roads and Canals
• Sickness on Emigrant Ships
• Tariff Regulation
• Territories
• Whole

  House of Representatives

• Accounts
• Agriculture
• Claims
• Commerce
• District of Columbia
• Elections
• Engraving
• Expenditures in the Navy Department
• Expenditures in the Post Office Department
• Expenditures in the State Department
• Expenditures in the Treasury Department
• Expenditures in the War Department
• Expenditures on Public Buildings
• Foreign Affairs
• Indian Affairs
• Invalid Pensions
• Judiciary
• Manufactures
• Mileage
• Military Affairs
• Militia
• Naval Affairs
• Patents
• Post Office and Post Roads
• Private Land Claims
• Public Buildings and Grounds
• Public Expenditures
• Public Lands
• Revisal and Unfinished Business
• Revolutionary Claims
• Revolutionary Pensions
• Roads and Canals
• Rules
• Standards of Official Conduct
• Territories
• Ways and Means
• Whole

  Joint committees

• Amending the Constitution on Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections
• Enrolled Bills
• The Library
• Printing
• San Francisco Disaster

  Caucuses

• Democratic
• Democratic

  Employees

Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#Legislative branch">Legislative branch agency directors

• Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter
• Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan

  Senate

• Chaplain: Clement M. Butler, until December 7, 1853
• * Henry Slicer, elected December 7, 1853
• Secretary: Asbury Dickins
• Sergeant at Arms: Robert Beale, until March 17, 1853
• * Dunning R. McNair, elected March 17, 1853

  House of Representatives

• Chaplain: William H. Milburn
• Clerk: John W. Forney
• Doorkeeper: Zadock W. McKnew
• Postmaster: John M. Johnson
• Reading Clerks:
• Sergeant at Arms: Adam J. Glossbrenner