| 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[a]: March 4, 1853 – April 11, 1853 1st: December 5, 1853 – August 7, 1854 2nd: December 4, 1854 – March 4, 1855 | |
The33rd 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, 1853, to March 4, 1855, during the first two years ofFranklin Pierce'spresidency. During this session, theKansas–Nebraska Act was passed, an act that soon led to the creation of theRepublican Party. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1850 United States census. Both chambers had aDemocratic majority.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing (A) | Democratic (D) | Free Soil (F) | Whig (W) | Other (O) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 0 | 35 | 3 | 23 | 0 | 61 | 1 |
| Begin | 1 | 35 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 57 | 5 |
| End | 37 | 5 | 17 | 60 | 2 | ||
| Final voting share | 1.7% | 61.7% | 8.3% | 28.3% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 2 | 35 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 55 | 7 |
For the beginning of this congress, thesize of the House was increased from 233 seats to 234 seats, following the1850 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 ofprevious Congress | 125 | 3 | 4 | 86 | 0 | 14 | 232 | 1 |
| Begin | 157 | 1 | 4 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 234 | 0 |
| End | 155 | 3 | 74 | |||||
| Final voting share | 66.7% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 31.6% | 0.4% | 0.1% | ||
| Beginning ofnext Congress | 79 | (Opposition coalition) 154 | 233 | 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 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.
|
|  2 Democrats 1 Democrat and 1 Whig 2 Whigs |  David R. Atchison  Jesse D. Bright
|
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[c] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 appointedU.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 appointedU.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)[d] | January 31, 1855 |
| Iowa (3) | Augustus C. Dodge (D) | Resigned February 22, 1855, after being appointedU.S. Minister to Spain. | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[c] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 theSupreme 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 |
List of committees and their party leaders.
