The Thirty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1859 to March 4, 1861, during the third and fourth years of James Buchanan's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Seventh Census of the United States in 1850. The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House had a Republican plurality.
June 8, 1859: Comstock Lode discovered in the western Utah Territory (present-day Nevada)
August 27, 1859: First oil well was drilled in the United States, near Titusville, Pennsylvania
October 16–18, 1859: John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry began
December 2, 1859 John Brown executed.
April 3, 1860: Pony Express began its first run
April 23 – May 3, 1860: Democratic National Convention held in Charleston, South Carolina. Unable to agree on a nominee, the delegates voted to reconvene in June.
May 9, 1860: Constitutional Union Party National Convention held in Baltimore, Maryland, nominating John Bell for President.
May 18, 1860: Republican National Convention held in Chicago, Illinois, nominating Abraham Lincoln for President.
June 18–23, 1860: Democratic Party reconvened in Baltimore, Maryland, nominating Stephen A. Douglas for President.
June 26–28, 1860: Southern Democrats held a convention in Richmond, Virginia, nominating John C. Breckinridge for President.
November 6, 1860: U.S. presidential election: Abraham Lincoln beat John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell.
December 20, 1860: South Carolina Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
January 3, 1861: Delaware Secession Convention voted not to secede from the Union
January 9, 1861: Mississippi Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
January 10, 1861: Florida Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
January 11, 1861: Alabama Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
January 18, 1861: Georgia Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
January 26, 1861: Louisiana Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
January 29, 1861. Kansas admitted to the Union as a free state.
February 1, 1861: Texas Secession Convention enacted an Ordinance of Secession
February 23, 1861: The people of Texas ratified its Ordinance of Secession President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, D.C. after an assassination attempt in Baltimore, Maryland.
June 16, 1860: Pacific Telegraph Act of 1860, ch. 147, 12 Stat. 41
March 2, 1861: Morrill Tariff, ch. 68, 12 Stat. 178
February 11, 1861: The U.S. House unanimously passed a resolution guaranteeing non-interference with slavery in any state
December 18, 1860: Crittenden Compromise proposed
March 8, 1859: Quinault Treaty ratified, 12 Stat. 927
March 8, 1859: Point No Point Treaty ratified, 12 Stat. 933
States admitted and territories organized
January 29, 1861: Kansas admitted as a state, ch. 20, 12 Stat. 126
February 28, 1861: Colorado Territory organized, ch. 59, 12 Stat. 172
March 2, 1861: Nevada Territory organized, ch. 83, 12 Stat. 209
March 2, 1861: Dakota Territory organized, ch. 86, 12 Stat. 239
President: John C. Breckinridge (D)
President pro tempore: Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), until February 26, 1860
Jesse D. Bright (D), June 12–13, 1860
Benjamin Fitzpatrick (D), June 26, 1860 – December 2, 1860
Solomon Foot (R), elected February 16, 1861
Speaker: William Pennington (R), elected February 1, 1860
Democratic Caucus Chairman: George S. Houston
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.
Skip to House of Representatives, below
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 are Senate 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.
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Replacements: 4
Democrats (D): no net change
Republicans (R): no net change
Deaths: 1
Resignations: 1
Interim appointments: 1
Withdrawals: 13
Total seats with changes: 16
Replacements: 7
Democrats (D): no net change
Republicans (R): 1 seat net loss
Anti-Lecompton Democrats (LD): 1 seat net gain
Deaths: 4
Resignations: 3
Contested election: 1
Withdrawals: 28
Total seats with changes: 41
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Alter and Improve Senate Chamber (Select)
Amendments to the Constitution (Select)
Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
Banks of the District of Columbia (Select)
Circulation of Bank Notes in the District of Columbia (Select)
Claims
Commerce
Comptroller William Medill (Select)
Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
District of Columbia
Duties of Imports (Select)
Finance
Foreign Relations
French Spoilations (Select)
Harpers Ferry Invasion (Select)
Indian Affairs
Judiciary
Memorial of Houmas Lands Settlers (Select)
Military Affairs
Naval Affairs
Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
Pacific Railroad (Select)
Patents and the Patent Office
Pensions
Post Office and Post Roads
Printing
Public Printing Investigation (Select)
Private Land Claims
Public Lands
Retrenchment
Revolutionary Claims
Tariff Regulation (Select)
Territories
Thirteen on the Disturbed Condition of the Country (Select)
Whole
Accounts
Agriculture
Claims
Commerce
District of Columbia
Elections
Engraving
Expenditures in the Interior Department
Expenditures in the Navy Department
Expenditures in the Post Office Department
Expenditures in the State Department
Expenditures in the Treasury Department
Expenditures in the War Department
Expenditures on Public Buildings
Foreign Affairs
Indian Affairs
Invalid Pensions
Manufactures
Mileage
Military Affairs
Militia
Naval Affairs
Patents
Post Office and Post Roads
Public Buildings and Grounds
Public Expenditures
Public Lands
Revisal and Unfinished Business
Revolutionary Claims
Roads and Canals
Rules (Select)
Standards of Official Conduct
Territories
Ways and Means
Whole
Enrolled Bills
Making Arrangements for Inaugurating Washington's Statue
Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter
Librarian of Congress: John Silva Meehan
Chaplain: Stephen P. Hill (Baptist)
Phineas D. Gurley (Presbyterian), elected December 15, 1859
Secretary: Asbury Dickens
Sergeant at Arms: Dunning R. McNair
Clerk: James C. Allen
John W. Forney, elected February 3, 1860
Chaplain: William H. Milburn (Methodist)
Doorkeeper: George Marston
Messenger: Thaddeus Morrice
Postmaster: Josiah M. Lucas
Sergeant at Arms: Henry William Hoffman
