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| 29th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
28th ← → 30th | |
 United States Capitol (1846) | |
March 4, 1845 – March 4, 1847 | |
| Members | 58 senators 228 representatives 2 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | George M. Dallas (D) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | John W. Davis (D) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1845 – March 20, 1845 1st: December 1, 1845 – August 10, 1846 2nd: December 7, 1846 – March 3, 1847 | |
The29th 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, 1845, to March 4, 1847, during the first two years ofJames Polk'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1840 United States census. Both chambers had aDemocratic majority.
During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Liberty (L) | Whig (W) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 23 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 51 | 3 |
| Begin | 26 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 50 | 4 |
| End | 31 | 1 | 56 | 2 | ||
| Final voting share | 55.4% | 1.8% | 42.9% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 34 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 55 | 3 |
During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American (A) | Democratic (D) | Whig (W) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 0 | 141 | 78 | 4 | 223 | 1 |
| Begin | 6 | 137 | 78 | 0 | 221 | 3 |
| End | 142 | 226 | 2 | |||
| Final voting share | 2.7% | 62.8% | 34.5% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 1 | 107 | 116 | 3 | 227 | 1 |
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, facing re-election in 1850; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1848.
|
|  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] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (1) | Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | David L. Yulee (D) | Elected July 1, 1845 |
| Florida (3) | Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | James Westcott (D) | Elected July 1, 1845 |
| South Carolina (2) | Vacant | SenatorDaniel E. Huger resigned in previous congress. Successor elected November 26, 1845. | John C. Calhoun (D) | Elected November 26, 1845 |
| Virginia (1) | Vacant | Failure to elect | Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) | Elected December 3, 1845 |
| Mississippi (2) | Robert J. Walker (D) | Resigned March 5, 1845, after being appointedU.S. Secretary of the Treasury. Successor appointed November 3, 1845. Appointee was later elected on an unknown date. | Joseph W. Chalmers (D) | Appointed November 3, 1845 |
| Pennsylvania (3) | James Buchanan (D) | Resigned March 5, 1845, after being appointedU.S. Secretary of State | Simon Cameron (D) | Elected March 13, 1845 |
| Massachusetts (2) | Isaac C. Bates (W) | Died March 16, 1845 | John Davis (W) | Elected March 24, 1845 |
| Georgia (2) | John M. Berrien (W) | Resigned May, 1845 when appointed to theGeorgia Supreme Court | John M. Berrien (W) | Elected November 13, 1845 |
| New Hampshire (2) | Levi Woodbury (D) | Resigned November 20, 1845, to become Associate Justice of theU.S. Supreme Court | Benning W. Jenness (D) | Appointed December 1, 1845 |
| Texas (1) | Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845, and remained vacant until February 21, 1846 | Thomas J. Rusk (D) | Elected February 21, 1846 | |
| Texas (2) | Texas admitted to the Union December 29, 1845, and remained vacant until February 21, 1846 | Sam Houston (D) | Elected February 21, 1846 | |
| New Hampshire (2) | Benning W. Jenness (D) | Lost election to finish the term. Winner elected June 13, 1846. | Joseph Cilley (L) | Elected June 13, 1846 |
| North Carolina (3) | William H. Haywood Jr. (D) | Resigned July 25, 1846, after having refused to be instructed by the North Carolina state legislature on atariff question | George E. Badger (W) | Elected November 25, 1846 |
| South Carolina (3) | George McDuffie (D) | Resigned August 17, 1846. Successor appointed December 4, 1846, and subsequently elected to finish the term. | Andrew Butler (D) | Seated December 4, 1846 |
| Iowa (2) | Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | Vacant | Not filled this term | |
| Iowa (3) | Iowa admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | Vacant | Not filled this term | |
| Louisiana (2) | Alexander Barrow (W) | Died December 29, 1846 | Pierre Soulé (D) | Elected January 21, 1847 |
| Virginia (1) | Isaac S. Pennybacker (D) | Died January 12, 1847 | James M. Mason (D) | Elected January 21, 1847 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida At-large | Vacant | Florida admitted to the Union at end of previous congress | Edward C. Cabell (W) | Seated October 6, 1845 |
| Georgia 3rd | Vacant | Rep-electWashington Poe declined the seat | George W. Towns (D) | Seated January 5, 1846 |
| Texas 1st | Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845, and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846 | David S. Kaufman (D) | Seated March 30, 1846 | |
| Texas 2nd | Texas admitted into the Union December 29, 1845, and seat remained vacant until March 30, 1846 | Timothy Pilsbury (D) | Seated March 30, 1846 | |
| New Jersey 2nd | Samuel G. Wright (W) | Died July 30, 1845 | George Sykes (D) | Seated November 4, 1845 |
| Louisiana 1st | John Slidell (D) | Resigned November 10, 1845, after being appointedMinister to Mexico, but government refused to accept him | Emile La Sére (D) | Seated January 29, 1846 |
| Tennessee 8th | Joseph H. Peyton (W) | Died November 11, 1845 | Edwin H. Ewing (W) | Seated January 2, 1846 |
| Virginia 11th | William Taylor (D) | Died January 17, 1846 | James McDowell (D) | Seated March 6, 1846 |
| Florida At-large | Edward C. Cabell (W) | Lost contested election January 24, 1846 | William H. Brockenbrough (D) | Seated January 24, 1846 |
| Mississippi At-large | Jefferson Davis (D) | Resigned some time in June, 1846 in order to take part in theMexican War | Henry T. Ellett (D) | Seated January 26, 1847 |
| New York 12th | Richard P. Herrick (W) | Died June 20, 1846 | Thomas C. Ripley (W) | Seated December 17, 1846 |
| Arkansas At-large | Archibald Yell (D) | Resigned July 1, 1846, in order to take part in theMexican War | Thomas W. Newton (W) | Seated February 6, 1847 |
| Missouri At-large | Sterling Price (D) | Resigned August 12, 1846, in order to take part in theMexican War | William McDaniel (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |
| Alabama 3rd | William L. Yancey (D) | Resigned September 1, 1846 | James L. Cottrell (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |
| Alabama 7th | Felix G. McConnell (D) | Died September 10, 1846 | Franklin W. Bowdon (D) | Seated December 7, 1846 |
| Iowa Territory At-large | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Territory was dissolved after Iowa was admitted to the Union December 28, 1846 | ||
| Iowa At-large | Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 | S. Clinton Hastings (D) | Seated December 28, 1846 | |
| Iowa At-large | Iowa admitted into the Union December 28, 1846 | Shepherd Leffler (D) | Seated December 28, 1846 | |
| Illinois 7th | Edward D. Baker (W) | Resigned January 15, 1847, in order to take part in theMexican War | John Henry (W) | Seated February 5, 1847 |
| Illinois 5th | Stephen A. Douglas (D) | Resigned March 3, 1847, at close of congress after being elected to theUS Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
