The Thirty-ninth 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, 1865 to March 4, 1867, during the first month of Abraham Lincoln's fifth year as president, and the first two years of his successor, U.S. President Andrew Johnson.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Eighth Census of the United States in 1860. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
March 4, 1865: Second inauguration of President Abraham Lincoln.
April 9, 1865: Surrender of Confederate forces at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the American Civil War
April 15, 1865: Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became President of the United States
December 11, 1865: Creation of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Banking and Commerce Committee, reducing the tasks of the House Ways and Means Committee
January, 1866: The second and current United States Capitol dome completed after 11 years of work.
July 24, 1866: Tennessee became the first U.S. state to be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War.
November 5, 1866: United States House of Representatives elections, 1866
January 8, 1867: African American men are granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia
April 9, 1866: Civil Rights Act of 1866, Sess. 1, ch. 31, 14 Stat. 27
July 16, 1866: Freedmen's Bureau Bill, Sess. 1, ch. 200, 14 Stat. 173
July 23, 1866: Judicial Circuits Act, Sess. 1, ch. 210, 14 Stat. 209, reduced the number of United States circuit courts to nine and the number of Supreme Court justices to seven
July 25, 1866: An Act to revive the Grade of General in the United States Army, Sess. 1, ch. 232, 14 Stat. 223, (now called "5-star general"); Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant became the first to have this rank.
July 28, 1866: Metric Act of 1866, Sess. 1, ch. 301, 14 Stat. 339, legalized the use of the metric system for weights and measures in the United States.
December 18, 1865: Thirteenth Amendment declared ratified
June 13, 1866: Fourteenth Amendment passed Congress and sent to the states for ratification.
July 24, 1866: Tennessee readmitted to representation.
March 1, 1867: Nebraska admitted as the 37th state, Sess. 2, ch. 36, 14 Stat. 391 (over president's veto)
The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
During this Congress, two seats were added for the new state of Nebraska.
During this Congress, one seat was added for the new state of Nebraska.
President: Andrew Johnson (D), until April 15, 1865; vacant thereafter.
President pro tempore: Lafayette S. Foster (R), until March 2, 1867
Benjamin F. Wade (R), elected March 2, 1867
Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony
Speaker: Schuyler Colfax (R)
Republican Conference Chairman: Justin S. Morrill
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, 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 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 1868; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1870; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1866.
Skip to House of Representatives, below
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: 8
Democratic: 2-seat net loss
Republican: 2-seat net gain
Unionist: no net change
Unconditional Union: no net change
deaths: 4
resignations: 2
vacancy: 1
seats of newly admitted states: 2
seats of re-admitted states: 2
Total seats with changes: 12
replacements: 9
Democratic: 1-seat net gain
Republican: 2-seat net gain
Unconditional Unionist: 1 seat net loss
Unionist: 0 net change
deaths: 4
resignations: 4
contested election: 3
seats from newly admitted states: 1
seats from re-admitted states: 8
Total seats with changes: 21
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Agriculture
Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
Claims
Coins, Weights and Measures (Select)
Commerce
Compensation (Select)
Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
District of Columbia
Finance
Foreign Relations
Indian Affairs
Interior Department Clerical Force (Select)
Judiciary
Manufactures
Military Affairs
Mines and Mining
Mississippi River Levees Reconstruction (Select)
National Banks (Select)
National Telegraph Company (Select)
Naval Affairs
Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
Pacific Railroad
Patents and the Patent Office
Pensions
Post Office and Post Roads
Private Land Claims
Public Lands
Retrenchment
Revolutionary Claims
Tariff Regulation (Select)
Territories
Whole
Accounts
Agriculture
Appropriations
Banking and Currency
Claims
Commerce
District of Columbia
Elections
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
Freedmen's Affairs
Indian Affairs
Invalid Pensions
Manufactures
Mileage
Military Affairs
Militia
Mines and Mining
Naval Affairs
Pacific Railroads
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
Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
Conduct of the War
Enrolled Bills
Retrenchment
To Inquire into the Condition of the States which Formed the So-Called Confederate States
Architect of the Capitol: Thomas U. Walter, resigned May 26, 1865
Edward Clark, appointed August 30, 1865
Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
Chaplain: Edgar H. Gray (Baptist)
Secretary: John W. Forney
Sergeant at Arms: George T. Brown
Chaplain: Charles B. Boynton (Congregationalist)
Clerk: Edward McPherson
Doorkeeper: Ira Goodnow
Messenger to the Speaker: William D. Todd
Postmaster: Joshua Given
Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway
