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| 26th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
25th ← → 27th | |
 United States Capitol (1846) | |
March 4, 1839 – March 4, 1841 | |
| Members | 52 senators 242 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Richard M. Johnson (D) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Robert M. T. Hunter (W) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: December 2, 1839 – July 21, 1840 2nd: December 7, 1840 – March 3, 1841 | |
The26th 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, 1839, to March 4, 1841, during the third and fourth years ofMartin Van Buren'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1830 United States census. Both chambers had aDemocratic majority.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 35 | 16 | 51 | 1 |
| Begin | 28 | 19 | 47 | 5 |
| End | 29 | 23 | 52 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 55.8% | 44.2% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 22 | 29 | 51 | 1 |
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anti- Masonic (AM) | Conservative (C) | Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 7 | 0 | 123 | 106 | 4[a] | 240 | 2 |
| Begin | 6 | 2 | 125 | 109 | 0 | 242 | 0 |
| End | 5 | 123 | 111 | 241 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 2.1% | 0.8% | 51.0% | 46.1% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 0 | 0 | 99 | 142 | 1 | 242 | 0 |
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed 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, requiring reelection in 1844; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1840; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1842.
|
|  2 Democrats 1 Democrat and 1 Whig 2 Whigs |  William R. King
|
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] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee (1) | Vacant after previous Congress | Felix Grundy (D) | Elected November 19, 1839 | |
| New York (1) | Vacant after previous Congress | Nathaniel P. Tallmadge (W) | Elected January 14, 1840 | |
| Pennsylvania (1) | Vacant after previous Congress | Daniel Sturgeon (D) | Elected January 14, 1840 | |
| Michigan (1) | Vacant after legislature failed to reelect incumbent. | Augustus S. Porter (W) | Elected January 20, 1840 | |
| Virginia (1) | Vacant after legislature failed to reelect incumbent. | William C. Rives (W) | Elected January 18, 1841 | |
| Delaware (1) | Richard H. Bayard (W) | Resigned September 19, 1839, to become Chief Justice of theDelaware Supreme Court | Richard H. Bayard (W) | Elected January 12, 1841, to his former position |
| Tennessee (2) | Hugh Lawson White (W) | Resigned January 13, 1840, because he could not conscientiously obey the intentions of his constituents | Alexander O. Anderson (D) | Elected February 26, 1840 |
| Connecticut (1) | Thaddeus Betts (W) | Died April 7, 1840 | Jabez W. Huntington (W) | Elected May 4, 1840 |
| Maryland (3) | John S. Spence (W) | Died October 24, 1840 | John L. Kerr (W) | Elected January 5, 1841 |
| North Carolina (2) | Bedford Brown (D) | Resigned November 16, 1840, because he could not obey instructions of theNorth Carolina General Assembly | Willie P. Mangum (W) | Elected November 25, 1840 |
| North Carolina (3) | Robert Strange (D) | Resigned November 16, 1840 | William A. Graham (W) | Elected November 25, 1840 |
| Tennessee (1) | Felix Grundy (D) | Died December 19, 1840 | Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) | Elected December 25, 1840 |
| Massachusetts (2) | John Davis (W) | Resigned January 5, 1841, after being electedGovernor of Massachusetts | Isaac C. Bates (W) | Elected January 13, 1841 |
| Massachusetts (1) | Daniel Webster (W) | Resigned February 22, 1841 | Rufus Choate (W) | Elected February 23, 1841 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana 7th | Vacant | Rep-elect Howard presented credentials August 5, 1839 | Tilghman Howard (D) | Seated August 5, 1839 |
| Missouri at-large | Albert G. Harrison (D) | Died September 7, 1839 | John Jameson (D) | Seated December 12, 1839 |
| Massachusetts 6th | James C. Alvord (W) | Died September 27, 1839 | Osmyn Baker (W) | Seated January 14, 1840 |
| Pennsylvania 14th | William W. Potter (D) | Died October 28, 1839 | George McCulloch (D) | Seated November 20, 1839 |
| Virginia 14th | Charles F. Mercer (W) | Resigned December 26, 1839 | William M. McCarty (W) | Seated January 25, 1840 |
| Ohio 4th | Thomas Corwin (W) | Resigned May 30, 1840, having become a candidate forGovernor of Ohio | Jeremiah Morrow (W) | Seated October 13, 1840 |
| Connecticut 2nd | William L. Storrs (W) | Resigned some time in June, 1840 | William W. Boardman (W) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| New York 11th | Anson Brown (W) | Died June 14, 1840 | Nicholas B. Doe (W) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| Indiana 7th | Tilghman Howard (D) | Resigned July 1, 1840 | HHenry S. Lane (W) | Seated August 3, 1840 |
| Georgia at-large | Walter T. Colquitt (W) | Resigned July 21, 1840 | Hines Holt (W) | Seated February 1, 1841 |
| Louisiana 3rd | Rice Garland (W) | Resigned July 21, 1840, to accept appointment as judge ofLouisiana Supreme Court | John Moore (W) | Seated December 17, 1840 |
| Pennsylvania 22nd | Richard Biddle (AM) | Resigned July 21, 1840 | Henry M. Brackenridge (W) | Seated October 13, 1840 |
| Kentucky 5th | Simeon H. Anderson (W) | Died August 11, 1840 | John B. Thompson (W) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| Massachusetts 1st | Abbott Lawrence (W) | Resigned September 18, 1840 | Robert C. Winthrop (W) | Seated November 9, 1840 |
| Pennsylvania 13th | William S. Ramsey (D) | Died October 17, 1840 | Charles McClure (D) | Seated December 7, 1840 |
| Iowa Territory at-large | William W. Chapman (D) | Term expired by law October 27, 1840 | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Seated October 28, 1840 |
| Virginia 1st | Joel Holleman (D) | Resigned in December 1840 | Francis Mallory (W) | Seated December 28, 1840 |
| Maine 4th | George Evans (W) | Resigned March 3, 1841, after being elected to theUS Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
