33rd United States Congress

33rd United States Congress
33rd United States Congress
32nd ← → 34th
	United States Capitol (1846)
March 4, 1853 – March 4, 1855
Members	62 senators; 234 representatives; 7 non-voting delegates
Senate majority	Democratic
Senate President	William R. King (Democrat) ; (until April 18, 1853); Vacant ; (from April 18, 1853)
House majority	Democratic
House Speaker	Linn Boyd (Democrat)
Sessions
	Special: March 4, 1853 – April 11, 1853; 1st: December 5, 1853 – August 7, 1854; 2nd: December 4, 1854 – March 4, 1855

The 33rd 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, 1853, to March 4, 1855, during the first two years of Franklin Pierce's presidency. During this session, the Kansas–Nebraska Act was passed, an act that soon led to the creation of the Republican Party. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1850 United States census. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

Major events

March 4, 1853: Franklin Pierce became 14th 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, 10 Stat. 277
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

	Party (shading shows control)					Total	Vacant

	Know Nothing (A)	Democratic (D)	Free Soil (F)	Whig (W)	Other (O)
End of previous congress	0	35	3	23	0	61	1

Begin	1	35	2	19	0	57	5
End	1	37	5	17	0	60	2
Final voting share	1.7%	61.7%	8.3%	28.3%	0.0%

Beginning of next congress	2	35	2	9	7	55	7

House of Representatives

For the beginning of this congress, the size of the House was increased from 233 seats to 234 seats, following the 1850 United States census (See 9 Stat. 433).

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)						Total

	Democratic (D)	Independent Democratic (ID)	Free Soil (FS)	Whig (W)	Independent Party (United States) (I)	Other		Vacant
End of previous Congress	125	3	4	86	0	14	232	1

Begin	157	1	4	71	1	0	234	0
End	155	1	3	74	1	0	234	0
Final voting share	66.7%	0.4%	0.9%	31.6%	0.4%	0.1%

Beginning of next Congress	79	(Opposition coalition) 154					233	1

Leadership

Senate

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

House of Representatives

Speaker: Linn Boyd (D)
Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edson B. Olds

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, 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 began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1856; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1858; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1854. The United States consisted of 31 states during this Congress.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

Alabama

▌2. Clement C. Clay Jr. (D), from November 29, 1853

▌3. Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D)

Arkansas

▌2. William K. Sebastian (D)

▌3. Solon Borland (D), until April 11, 1853

▌Robert W. Johnson (D), from July 6, 1853

California

▌1. John B. Weller (D)

▌3. William M. Gwin (D)

Connecticut

▌1. Isaac Toucey (D)

▌3. Truman Smith (W), until May 24, 1854

▌Francis Gillette (FS), from May 24, 1854

▌John Slidell (D), from December 5, 1853

▌Julius Rockwell (W), from June 3, 1854, until January 31, 1855

▌Henry Wilson (FS), from January 31, 1855

▌3. Moses Norris Jr. (D), until January 11, 1855

▌John S. Wells (D), from January 16, 1855

▌Lawrence Brainerd (FS), from October 14, 1854

Virginia

▌1. James M. Mason (D)

▌2. Robert M. T. Hunter (D)

Wisconsin

▌1. Henry Dodge (D)

▌3. Isaac P. Walker (D)

Senate President pro tempore
Jesse D. Bright

House of Representatives

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

Alabama

▌1. Philip Phillips (D)

▌2. James Abercrombie (W)

▌3. Sampson W. Harris (D)

▌4. William R. Smith (D)

▌5. George S. Houston (D)

▌6. Williamson R. W. Cobb (D)

▌7. James F. Dowdell (D)

Arkansas

▌1. Alfred B. Greenwood (D)

▌2. Edward A. Warren (D)

California

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

▌At-large. Milton Latham (D)

▌At-large. James A. McDougall (D)

▌3. Presley Ewing (W), until September 27, 1854

▌Francis Bristow (W), from December 4, 1854

▌4. James Chrisman (D)

▌5. Clement S. Hill (W)

▌6. John M. Elliott (D)

▌7. William Preston (W)

▌8. John C. Breckinridge (D)

▌9. Leander Cox (W)

▌10. Richard H. Stanton (D)

Louisiana

▌1. William Dunbar (D)

▌2. Theodore G. Hunt (W)

▌3. John Perkins Jr. (D)

▌4. Roland Jones (D)

Maine

▌1. Moses MacDonald (D)

▌2. Samuel Mayall (D)

▌3. E. Wilder Farley (W)

▌4. Samuel P. Benson (W)

▌5. Israel Washburn Jr. (W)

▌6. Thomas J. D. Fuller (D)

Maryland

▌1. John R. Franklin (W)

▌2. Jacob Shower (D)

▌3. Joshua Van Sant (D)

▌4. Henry May (D)

▌5. William T. Hamilton (D)

▌6. Augustus R. Sollers (W)

Massachusetts

▌1. Zeno Scudder (W), until March 4, 1854

▌Thomas D. Eliot (W), from April 17, 1854

▌2. Samuel L. Crocker (W)

▌3. J. Wiley Edmands (W)

▌4. Samuel H. Walley (W)

▌5. William Appleton (W)

▌6. Charles W. Upham (W)

▌7. Nathaniel P. Banks (D)

▌8. Tappan Wentworth (W)

▌9. Alexander De Witt (FS)

▌10. Edward Dickinson (W)

▌11. John Z. Goodrich (W)

Michigan

▌1. David Stuart (D)

▌2. David A. Noble (D)

▌3. Samuel Clark (D)

▌4. Hestor L. Stevens (D)

Mississippi

▌1. Daniel B. Wright (D)

▌2. William T. S. Barry (D)

▌3. Otho R. Singleton (D)

▌4. Wiley P. Harris (D)

▌At-large. William Barksdale (D)

Missouri

▌1. Thomas H. Benton (D)

▌2. Alfred W. Lamb (D)

▌3. James J. Lindley (W)

▌4. Mordecai Oliver (W)

▌5. John G. Miller (W)

▌6. John S. Phelps (D)

▌7. Samuel Caruthers (W)

New Hampshire

▌1. George W. Kittredge (D)

▌2. George W. Morrison (D)

▌3. Harry Hibbard (D)

New Jersey

▌1. Nathan T. Stratton (D)

▌2. Charles Skelton (D)

▌3. Samuel Lilly (D)

▌4. George Vail (D)

▌5. Alexander C. M. Pennington (W)

New York

▌1. James Maurice (D)

▌2. Thomas W. Cumming (D)

▌3. Hiram Walbridge (D)

▌4. Michael Walsh (D)

▌5. William M. Tweed (D)

▌6. John Wheeler (D)

▌7. William A. Walker (D)

▌8. Francis B. Cutting (D)

▌9. Jared V. Peck (D)

▌10. William Murray (D)

▌11. Theodoric R. Westbrook (D)

▌12. Gilbert Dean (D), until July 3, 1854

▌Isaac Teller (W), from November 7, 1854

▌13. Russell Sage (W)

▌14. Rufus W. Peckham (D)

▌15. Charles Hughes (D)

▌16. George A. Simmons (W)

▌17. Bishop Perkins (D)

▌18. Peter Rowe (D)

▌19. George W. Chase (W)

▌20. Orsamus B. Matteson (W)

▌21. Henry Bennett (W)

▌22. Gerrit Smith (FS), until August 7, 1854

▌Henry C. Goodwin (W), from November 7, 1854

▌23. Caleb Lyon (I)

▌24. Daniel T. Jones (D)

▌25. Edwin B. Morgan (W)

▌26. Andrew Oliver (D)

▌27. John J. Taylor (D)

▌28. George Hastings (D)

▌29. Azariah Boody (W) until October 13, 1853

▌Davis Carpenter (W), from November 8, 1853

▌30. Benjamin Pringle (W)

▌31. Thomas T. Flagler (W)

▌32. Solomon G. Haven (W)

▌33. Reuben Fenton (D)

North Carolina

▌1. Henry M. Shaw (D)

▌2. Thomas H. Ruffin (D)

▌3. William S. Ashe (D)

▌4. Sion H. Rogers (W)

▌5. John Kerr Jr. (W)

▌6. Richard C. Puryear (W)

▌7. F. Burton Craige (D)

▌8. Thomas L. Clingman (D)

Ohio

▌1. David T. Disney (D)

▌2. John Scott Harrison (W)

▌3. Lewis D. Campbell (W)

▌4. Matthias H. Nichols (D)

▌5. Alfred P. Edgerton (D)

▌6. Andrew Ellison (D)

▌7. Aaron Harlan (W)

▌8. Moses B. Corwin (W)

▌9. Frederick W. Green (D)

▌10. John L. Taylor (W)

▌11. Thomas Ritchey (D)

▌12. Edson B. Olds (D)

▌13. William D. Lindsley (D)

▌14. Harvey H. Johnson (D)

▌15. William R. Sapp (W)

▌16. Edward Ball (W)

▌17. Wilson Shannon (D)

▌18. George Bliss (D)

▌19. Edward Wade (FS)

▌20. Joshua R. Giddings (FS)

▌21. Andrew Stuart (D)

Pennsylvania

▌1. Thomas B. Florence (D)

▌2. Joseph R. Chandler (W)

▌3. John Robbins Jr. (D)

▌4. William H. Witte (D)

▌5. John McNair (D)

▌6. William Everhart (W)

▌7. Samuel A. Bridges (D)

▌8. Henry A. Muhlenberg (D), until January 9, 1854

▌J. Glancey Jones (D), from February 4, 1854

▌9. Isaac E. Hiester (W)

▌10. Ner A. Middleswarth (W)

▌11. Christian M. Straub (D)

▌12. Hendrick B. Wright (D)

▌13. Asa Packer (D)

▌14. Galusha A. Grow (D)

▌15. James Gamble (D)

▌16. William H. Kurtz (D)

▌17. Samuel L. Russell (W)

▌18. John McCulloch (W)

▌19. Augustus Drum (D)

▌20. John L. Dawson (D)

▌21. David Ritchie (W)

▌22. Thomas M. Howe (W)

▌23. Michael C. Trout (D)

▌24. Carlton B. Curtis (D)

▌25. John Dick (W)

Rhode Island

▌1. Thomas Davis (D)

▌2. Benjamin B. Thurston (D)

South Carolina

▌1. John McQueen (D)

▌2. William Aiken Jr. (D)

▌3. Laurence M. Keitt (D)

▌4. Preston Brooks (D)

▌5. James L. Orr (D)

▌6. William W. Boyce (D)

Tennessee

▌1. Brookins Campbell (D), until December 25, 1853

▌Nathaniel G. Taylor (W), from March 30, 1854

▌2. William M. Churchwell (D)

▌3. Samuel A. Smith (D)

▌4. William Cullom (W)

▌5. Charles Ready (W)

▌6. George W. Jones (D)

▌7. Robert M. Bugg (W)

▌8. Felix K. Zollicoffer (W)

▌9. Emerson Etheridge (W)

▌10. Frederick P. Stanton (D)

Texas

▌1. George W. Smyth (D)

▌2. Peter H. Bell (D)

Vermont

▌1. James Meacham (W)

▌2. Andrew Tracy (W)

▌3. Alvah Sabin (W)

Virginia

▌1. Thomas H. Bayly (D)

▌2. John S. Millson (D)

▌3. John Caskie (D)

▌4. William Goode (D)

▌5. Thomas S. Bocock (D)

▌6. Paulus Powell (D)

▌7. William Smith (D)

▌8. Charles J. Faulkner Sr. (D)

▌9. John Letcher (D)

▌10. Zedekiah Kidwell (D)

▌11. John F. Snodgrass (D), until June 5, 1854

▌Charles S. Lewis (D), from December 4, 1854

▌12. Henry A. Edmundson (D)

▌13. LaFayette McMullen (D)

Wisconsin

▌1. Daniel Wells Jr. (D)

▌2. Ben C. Eastman (D)

▌3. John B. Macy (D)

Non-voting members

▌Kansas Territory. John W. Whitfield (D), from December 20, 1854

▌Minnesota Territory. Henry M. Rice (D)

▌Nebraska Territory. Napoleon B. Giddings (D), from January 5, 1855

▌New Mexico Territory. José Manuel Gallegos (D)

▌Oregon Territory. Joseph Lane (D)

▌Utah Territory. John M. Bernhisel

▌Washington Territory. Columbia Lancaster (D), from April 12, 1854

Changes in membership

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

Senate

Replacements: 7
- Democrats (D): 2 seat net gain
- Whigs (W): 2 seat net loss
- Free Soilers (FS): 3 seat net gain ^[a]
Deaths: 2
Resignations: 4
Interim appointments: 1
Total seats with changes: 13

Senate changes
State (class)	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation^[b]
Rhode Island (2)	Vacant	Failure to elect. Successor was elected July 20, 1853.	Philip Allen (D)	July 20, 1853
Alabama (2)	Vacant	Failure to elect. Successor elected November 29, 1853.	Clement C. Clay (D)	November 29, 1853
Mississippi (2)	Vacant	Failure to elect. Successor elected January 7, 1854.	Albert G. Brown (D)	January 7, 1854
Maine (2)	Vacant	Failure to elect. Successor was elected February 10, 1854.	William P. Fessenden (W)	February 10, 1854
North Carolina (2)	Vacant	Failure to elect. Successor was elected December 6, 1854.	David Reid (D)	December 6, 1854
Arkansas (3)	Solon Borland (D)	Resigned April 11, 1853, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Nicaragua and other Central American Republics. Successor appointed July 6, 1853.	Robert W. Johnson (D)	July 6, 1853
Louisiana (3)	Pierre Soulé (D)	Resigned April 11, 1853, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Spain. Successor elected December 5, 1853.	John Slidell (D)	December 5, 1853
New Hampshire (2)	Charles G. Atherton (D)	Died November 15, 1853.	Jared W. Williams (D)	November 29, 1853
Vermont (3)	Samuel S. Phelps (W)	Senate declared not entitled to seat March 16, 1854. Successor elected October 14, 1854.	Lawrence Brainerd (FS)	October 14, 1854
Connecticut (3)	Truman Smith (W)	Resigned May 24, 1854. Successor was elected May 24, 1854.	Francis Gillette (FS)	May 24, 1854
Massachusetts (2)	Edward Everett (W)	Resigned June 1, 1854 Successor was appointed to serve until a new successor was elected.	Julius Rockwell (W)	June 3, 1854
New Hampshire (2)	Jared W. Williams (D)	Resigned August 4, 1854.	Vacant	Not filled this term
New Hampshire (3)	Moses Norris Jr. (D)	Died January 11, 1855. Successor appointed January 16, 1855, to finish the term.	John S. Wells (D)	January 16, 1855
Massachusetts (2)	Julius Rockwell (W)	Successor elected January 31, 1855.	Henry Wilson (FS) ^[c]	January 31, 1855
Iowa (3)	Augustus C. Dodge (D)	Resigned February 22, 1855, after being appointed U.S. Minister to Spain.	Vacant	Not filled this term

House of Representatives

Replacements: 7
- Democrats (D): 2 seat net loss
- Whigs (W): 3 seat net gain
- Free Soilers (FS): 1 seat net loss
Deaths: 4
Resignations: 4
Total seats with changes: 8

House changes
District	Vacated by	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation^[b]
Washington Territory at-large	Vacant	New seat established after Washington became a territory near the end of previous Congress. Seat was vacant until April 12, 1854.	Columbia Lancaster (D)	Seated April 12, 1854
New York 29th	Azariah Boody (W)	Resigned on October 13, 1853	Davis Carpenter (W)	Seated November 8, 1853
Tennessee 1st	Brookins Campbell (D)	Died December 25, 1853	Nathaniel G. Taylor (W)	Seated March 30, 1854
Pennsylvania 8th	Henry A. Muhlenberg (D)	Died January 9, 1854	J. Glancy Jones (D)	Seated February 4, 1854
Massachusetts 1st	Zeno Scudder (W)	Resigned March 4, 1854	Thomas D. Eliot (W)	Seated April 17, 1854
Kansas Territory at-large	New seat	New seat established after Kansas became a territory May 30, 1854. Seat was vacant until December 20, 1854.	John W. Whitfield (D)	Seated December 20, 1854
Nebraska Territory at-large	New seat	New seat established after Nebraska became a territory May 30, 1854. Seat was vacant until January 5, 1855.	Napoleon B. Giddings (D)	Seated December 5, 1855
Virginia 11th	John F. Snodgrass (D)	Died June 5, 1854	Charles S. Lewis (D)	Seated December 4, 1854
New York 12th	Gilbert Dean (D)	Resigned July 3, 1854, after being appointed justice of the Supreme Court of New York	Isaac Teller (W)	Seated November 7, 1854
New York 22nd	Gerrit Smith (W)	Resigned August 7, 1854	Henry C. Goodwin (W)	Seated November 7, 1854
Kentucky 3rd	Presley Ewing (W)	Died September 27, 1854	Francis Bristow (W)	Seated December 4, 1854

Committees

List of committees and their party leaders.

Senate

Agriculture (Chairman: Philip Allen)
American Association for the Promotion of Science (Select)
Atmospheric Telegraph Between Washington and Baltimore (Select)
Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: Josiah J. Evans)
Claims (Chairman: Richard Brodhead)
Commerce (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
District of Columbia (Chairman: Moses Norris Jr.)
Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Benjamin Fitzpatrick)
Finance (Chairman: Robert M.T. Hunter)
Foreign Relations (Chairman: James M. Mason)
French Spoilations (Select)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: William K. Sebastian)
Judiciary (Chairman: Andrew P. Butler)
Library (Chairman: James A. Pearce)
Loss of Original Papers of Mark and Richard Bean (Select)
Manufactures (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin)
Mexican Claims Commission (Select)
Military Affairs (Chairman: James Shields)
Militia (Chairman: Sam Houston)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: William M. Gwin)
Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
Pacific Railroad (Select) (Chairman: William M. Gwin)
Patents and the Patent Office (Chairman: Charles T. James)
Pensions (Chairman: George Wallace Jones)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Thomas J. Rusk)
Printing (Chairman: Benjamin Fitzpatrick)
Private Claims Commission (Select)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: John Pettit)
Protection of Life and Health in Passenger Ships (Select)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: James A. Bayard Jr.)
Public Lands (Chairman: Augustus Dodge)
Retrenchment (Chairman: Stephen Adams)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Isaac P. Walker)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: John Slidell)
Sickness on Emigrant Ships (Select)
Tariff Regulation (Select)
Territories (Chairman: Stephen A. Douglas)
Whole

House of Representatives

Accounts (Chairman: Carlton B. Curtis)
Agriculture (Chairman: John L. Dawson)
Claims (Chairman: Alfred P. Edgerton)
Commerce (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
District of Columbia (Chairman: William T. Hamilton)
Elections (Chairman: Richard H. Stanton)
Engraving (Chairman: George R. Riddle)
Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Fayette McMullen)
Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Samuel Lilly)
Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Daniel Wells Jr.)
Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: David Stuart)
Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: George W. Kittredge)
Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry A. Edmundson)
Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas H. Bayly)
Indian Affairs (Chairman: James L. Orr)
Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Thomas A. Hendricks)
Judiciary (Chairman: Frederick P. Stanton)
Manufactures (Chairman: John McNair)
Mileage (Chairman: Andrew J. Harlan)
Military Affairs (Chairman: William H. Bissell)
Militia (Chairman: Elijah W. Chastain)
Naval Affairs (Chairman: Thomas S. Bocock)
Patents (Chairman: Benjamin B. Thurston)
Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Edson B. Olds)
Private Land Claims (Chairman: Junius Hillyer)
Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Francis B. Craige)
Public Expenditures (Chairman: William H. Kurtz)
Public Lands (Chairman: David T. Disney)
Revisal and Unfinished Business (Chairman: Williamson R. W. Cobb)
Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Rufus W. Peckham)
Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: William M. Churchwell)
Roads and Canals (Chairman: Cyrus L. Dunham)
Rules (Select)
Standards of Official Conduct
Territories (Chairman: William A. Richardson)
Ways and Means (Chairman: George S. Houston)
Whole

Joint committees

Amending the Constitution on Presidential and Vice Presidential Elections
Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Sen. George Wallace Jones)
The Library (Chairman: Joseph R. Chandler)
Printing (Chairman: William Murray)
San Francisco Disaster

Caucuses

Democratic (House)
Democratic (Senate)

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

Chaplain: Clement M. Butler (Episcopalian), until December 7, 1853
- Henry Slicer (Methodist), 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

Notes

^ By some reckonings, Wilson is a Know-Nothing/Free Soil joint candidate
^ ^a ^b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
^ By some reckonings, Wilson is a Know-Nothing/Free Soil joint candidate

References

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.