| 36th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
35th ← → 37th | |
 United States Capitol (1860) | |
March 4, 1859 – March 4, 1861 | |
| Members | 66 senators 238 representatives 5 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic (until February 4, 1861) Republican (from February 4, 1861) |
| Senate President | John C. Breckinridge (D) |
| House majority | Republican-ledcoalition |
| House Speaker | William Pennington (R) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1859 – March 10, 1859 1st: December 5, 1859 – June 26, 1860 Special[b]: June 26, 1860 – June 28, 1860 2nd: December 3, 1860 – March 4, 1861 | |
The36th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of theUnited States federal government, consisting of theUnited States Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives. It met inWashington, D.C. from March 4, 1859, to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth years ofJames Buchanan'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1850 United States census. The Senate had aDemocratic majority, and the House had aRepublican plurality.
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| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing (A) | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 4 | 42 | 20 | 0 | 66 | 0 |
| Begin | 2 | 38 | 25 | 0 | 65 | 1 |
| End | 25 | 26 | 53 | 15 | ||
| Final voting share | 3.8% | 47.2% | 49.1% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 0 | 22 | 29 | 1[c] | 52 | 16 |
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Know Nothing (A) | Democratic (D) | Anti- Lecompton Democratic (ALD) | Independent Democratic (ID) | Opposition (O) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 14 | 130 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 0 | 237 | 0 |
| Begin | 5 | 83 | 8 | 7 | 19 | 113 | 0 | 235 | 2 |
| End | 59 | 7 | 17 | 115 | 210 | 28 | |||
| Final voting share | 2.4% | 28.1% | 3.3% | 3.3% | 8.1% | 54.8% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 0 | 44 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 108 | 25[d] | 178 | 62 |
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 reelection in 1862; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1864; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1860.
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|  2 Democrats 1 Democrat and 1 Republican 2 Republicans |  Benjamin Fitzpatrick, until February 26, 1860 June 26, 1860 – December 2, 1860  Jesse D. Bright, June 12, 1860 – June 13, 1860  Solomon Foot, from February 16, 1861
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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[e] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon (2) | Vacant | Successorelected late due to legislature's failure to elect. | Edward D. Baker (R) | October 2, 1860 |
| California (1) | David C. Broderick (D) | Died September 16, 1859, after taking part in a duel he participated in, which he was unlucky. Interim successor was appointed to continue the term. | Henry P. Haun (D) | November 3, 1859 |
| Texas (1) | Matthias Ward (D) | Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term Successorelected December 5, 1859. | Louis Wigfall (D) | December 5, 1859 |
| California (1) | Henry P. Haun (D) | Interim appointee lost election to finish the term Successorelected March 5, 1860. | Milton Latham (D) | March 5, 1860 |
| South Carolina (2) | James Chesnut Jr. (D) | Withdrew November 10, 1860. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| South Carolina (3) | James H. Hammond (D) | Withdrew November 11, 1860. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Mississippi (2) | Albert G. Brown (D) | Withdrew January 12, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Maine (1) | Hannibal Hamlin (R) | Resigned January 17, 1861, to becomeVice President of the United States. Successorelected January 17, 1861. | Lot M. Morrill (R) | January 17, 1861 |
| Alabama (3) | Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Alabama (2) | Clement C. Clay (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Florida (1) | Stephen Mallory (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Florida (3) | David L. Yulee (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Mississippi (1) | Jefferson Davis (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Georgia (3) | Alfred Iverson Sr. (D) | Withdrew January 28, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Kansas (2) | New seat | New state admitted to the Union January 29, 1861 Senator was not elected until the next Congress. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Kansas (3) | New seat | New state admitted to the Union January 29, 1861 Senator was not elected until the next Congress. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Georgia (2) | Robert Toombs (D) | Withdrew February 4, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Louisiana (2) | Judah P. Benjamin (D) | Withdrew February 4, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Louisiana (3) | John Slidell (D) | Withdrew February 4, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| Tennessee (2) | Alfred O. P. Nicholson (D) | Withdrew March 3, 1861. | Vacant | Not filled this Congress |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[e] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois 6th | Vacant | Vacancy in term | John A. McClernand (D) | Seated November 8, 1859 |
| Kentucky 5th | Vacant | Brown could not take seat because he had not yet attained age required by theUS Constitution | John Y. Brown (D) | Seated December 3, 1860 |
| Ohio 14th | Cyrus Spink (R) | Died May 31, 1859 | Harrison G. O. Blake (R) | Seated October 11, 1859 |
| Virginia 4th | William Goode (D) | Died July 3, 1859 | Roger A. Pryor (D) | Seated December 7, 1859 |
| Michigan 1st | George B. Cooper (D) | Lost contested election May 15, 1860 | Francis P. Blair Jr. (R) | Seated May 15, 1860 |
| Nebraska Territory At-large | Experience Estabrook | Lost contested election May 18, 1860 | Samuel G. Daily (R) | Seated May 18, 1860 |
| New York 31st | Silas M. Burroughs (R) | Died June 3, 1860 | Edwin R. Reynolds (R) | Seated December 5, 1860 |
| Missouri 1st | John R. Barret (D) | Lost contested election June 8, 1860 | William A. Howard (R) | Seated June 8, 1860 |
| Pennsylvania 8th | John Schwartz (ALD) | Died June 20, 1860 | Jacob K. McKenty (D) | Seated December 3, 1860 |
| Missouri 1st | William A. Howard (R) | Resigned June 25, 1860 | John R. Barret (D) | Seated December 3, 1860 |
| Mississippi 1st | Lucius Q. C. Lamar II (D) | Retired December ???, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| South Carolina 3rd | Laurence M. Keitt (D) | Retired December ???, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| South Carolina 1st | John McQueen (D) | Retired December 21, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| South Carolina 2nd | William P. Miles (D) | Retired December 21, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| South Carolina 4th | Milledge L. Bonham (D) | Retired December 21, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| South Carolina 5th | John D. Ashmore (D) | Retired December 21, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| South Carolina 6th | William W. Boyce (D) | Retired December 21, 1860 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Maine 5th | Israel Washburn Jr. (R) | Resigned January 1, 1861, after being electedGovernor of Maine | Stephen Coburn (R) | Seated January 2, 1861 |
| Mississippi 2nd | Reuben Davis (D) | Withdrew January 12, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Mississippi 3rd | William Barksdale (D) | Withdrew January 12, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Mississippi 4th | Otho R. Singleton (D) | Withdrew January 12, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Mississippi 5th | John J. McRae (D) | Withdrew January 12, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 1st | James A. Stallworth (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 2nd | James L. Pugh (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 3rd | David Clopton (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 4th | Sydenham Moore (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 5th | George S. Houston (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 7th | Jabez L. M. Curry (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Florida At-large | George S. Hawkins (D) | Withdrew January 21, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 1st | Peter E. Love (D) | Retired January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 2nd | Martin J. Crawford (D) | Withdrew January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 3rd | Thomas Hardeman Jr. (O) | Withdrew January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 4th | Lucius J. Gartrell (D) | Retired January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 5th | John W. H. Underwood (D) | Withdrew January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 6th | James Jackson (D) | Retired January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 7th | Joshua Hill (O) | Resigned January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 8th | John J. Jones (D) | Withdrew January 23, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Kansas Territory At-large | Marcus J. Parrott (R) | Kansas was admitted to the Union January 29, 1861 | Seat eliminated | |
| Kansas At-large | New Seat | Kansas was admitted to the Union January 29, 1861 | Martin F. Conway (R) | Seated January 29, 1861 |
| Alabama 6th | Williamson R. W. Cobb (D) | Withdrew January 30, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Louisiana 2nd | Miles Taylor (D) | Withdrew February 5, 1861 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
