| 32nd United States Congress | |
|---|---|
31st ← → 33rd | |
 United States Capitol (1846) | |
March 4, 1851 – March 4, 1853 | |
| Members | 62 senators 233 representatives 4 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Vacant |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Linn Boyd (D) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1851 – March 13, 1851 1st: December 1, 1851 – August 31, 1852 2nd: December 6, 1852 – March 4, 1853 | |
The32nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of theUnited States Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives. It met inWashington, D.C. from March 4, 1851, to March 4, 1853, during the last two years ofMillard Fillmore'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1840 United States census. Both chambers had aDemocratic majority.
It was one of the least active Congresses, forwarding only 74 bills that were signed by thepresident.[1]
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Free Soil (FS) | Whig (W) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 36 | 2 | 24 | 62 | 0 |
| Begin | 34 | 2 | 21 | 57 | 5 |
| End | 35 | 3 | 23 | 61 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 57.4% | 4.9% | 37.7% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 36 | 3 | 22 | 61 | 2 |
| Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | Vacant | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Independent Democratic (ID) | Free Soil (FS) | Southern Rights (SR) | Union (U) | Whig (W) | Independent Whig (IW) | Other | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End ofprevious Congress | 113 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 107 | 0 | 2 | 231 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Begin | 127 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 85 | 1 | 0 | 233 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| End | 125 | 86 | 232 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Final voting share | 54.7% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 4.3% | 36.8% | 0.4% | 0.0% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Beginning ofnext Congress | 158 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 1 | 234 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and representatives by district.
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 areSenate 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 1856; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1852; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1854.
|
|  2 Democrats 1 Democrat and 1 Whig 2 Whigs |
|
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect. The winner was elected late on March 15, 1851, on the 37th ballot over the incumbent appointee.[2] Successor was elected March 15, 1851. | Benjamin Wade (W) | Elected March 15, 1851 |
| New York (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected March 19, 1851. | Hamilton Fish (W) | Elected March 19, 1851 |
| Massachusetts (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected April 24, 1851. | Charles Sumner (FS) | Elected April 24, 1851 |
| California (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected January 30, 1852. | John B. Weller (D) | Elected January 30, 1852 |
| Connecticut (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor was elected May 12, 1852. | Isaac Toucey (D) | Seated May 12, 1852 |
| Mississippi (1) | Jefferson Davis (D) | Resigned September 23, 1851, to run forGovernor of Mississippi. Successor appointed December 1, 1851. | John J. McRae (D) | Appointed December 1, 1851 |
| Mississippi (2) | Henry S. Foote (D) | Resigned January 8, 1852, to becomeGovernor of Mississippi. Successor elected February 18, 1852. | Walker Brooke (W) | Elected February 18, 1852 |
| Mississippi (1) | John J. McRae (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor. Successor elected March 17, 1852. | Stephen Adams (D) | Elected March 17, 1852 |
| South Carolina (2) | Robert Rhett (D) | Resigned May 7, 1852. Successor appointed May 10, 1852, and elected sometime thereafter to finish the term. | William F. De Saussure (D) | Appointed May 10, 1852 |
| Georgia (2) | John M. Berrien (W) | Resigned May 28, 1852. Successor appointed May 31, 1852, to finish the term. | Robert M. Charlton (D) | Appointed May 31, 1852 |
| Kentucky (3) | Henry Clay (W) | Died June 29, 1852. Successor appointed July 6, 1852. | David Meriwether (D) | Appointed July 6, 1852 |
| Indiana (3) | James Whitcomb (D) | Died October 4, 1852. Successor appointed December 6, 1852. | Charles W. Cathcart (D) | Appointed December 6, 1852 |
| Kentucky (3) | David Meriwether (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor. Successor elected September 1, 1852. | Archibald Dixon (W) | Elected September 1, 1852 |
| Alabama (3) | William R. King (D) | Resigned December 20, 1852, due to ill health, having recently being electedVice President of the United States Successor appointed January 14, 1853, and elected December 12, 1853[3] thereafter to finish the term. | Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) | Appointed January 14, 1853 |
| New Jersey (1) | Robert F. Stockton (D) | Resigned January 1, 1853, to become president of theDelaware and Raritan Canal Company. Successor was not elected until the next Congress. | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Vermont (3) | William Upham (W) | Died January 14, 1853. Successor appointed January 17, 1853, to continue the term. | Samuel S. Phelps (W) | Appointed January 17, 1853 |
| Indiana (3) | Charles W. Cathcart (D) | Appointee was replaced by an elected successor. Successor elected January 18, 1853. | John Pettit (D) | Elected January 18, 1853 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine 4th | Charles Andrews (D) | Died April 30, 1852 | Isaac Reed (W) | Seated June 25, 1852 |
| Virginia 15th | George W. Thompson (D) | Resigned July 30, 1852, after being appointed judge of the Circuit Court of Virginia | Sherrard Clemens (D) | Seated December 6, 1852 |
| Kentucky 7th | Humphrey Marshall (W) | Resigned August 4, 1852, after being appointedMinister to China | William Preston (W) | Seated December 6, 1852 |
| Massachusetts 2nd | Robert Rantoul Jr. (D) | Died August 7, 1852 | Francis B. Fay (W) | Seated December 13, 1852 |
| Massachusetts 9th | Orin Fowler (W) | Died September 3, 1852 | Edward P. Little (D) | Seated December 13, 1852 |
| Massachusetts 4th | Benjamin Thompson (W) | Died September 24, 1852 | Lorenzo Sabine (W) | Seated December 13, 1852 |
| New York 17th | Alexander H. Buell (D) | Died January 29, 1853 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
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