37TH CONGRESS- IN GENERAL

By the start of the 37th Congress [4 March 1861], 7 States had seceded from the Union, as follows:

• 20 December 1860: State of SOUTH CAROLINA
• 9 January 1861: State of MISSISSIPPI
• 11 January 1861: State of ALABAMA
• 11 January 1861: State of FLORIDA
• 26 January 1861: State of LOUISIANA
• 28 January 1861: State of GEORGIA
• 1 February 1861: State of TEXAS

on 8 February 1861, the first 6 of these States formally organized themselves- under a Provisional Constitution adopted that same day- as constituent States of a federation to be known as the Confederate States of America; TEXAS was allowed to sign on to the Provisional Constitution of the new Confederacy as the 7th constituent State on 2 March 1861.

Although some of the States (11 all told) that would become part of this new Confederacy would still have Senators and Representatives sitting in the 37th Congress after their States had already seceded from the Union until they either voluntarily withdrew or were forcibly expelled by their respective houses of Congress, it is the opinion of TheGreenPapers.com that, as the secession of these States was an action taken by legally elected State governments in power at the time, no State which had already seceded from the Union should have their Senators and Congressmen counted as having been elected to Congress of the United States. In addition, while a few scattered Congressmen would be elected (some of whom were actually seated in the House of Representatives for short periods of time) from areas of the Confederacy subsequently occupied by Union forces in the course of the ensuing Civil War, it is also the opinion of TheGreenPapers.com that no seceded State should be counted as having Senators and Representatives elected to the Congress of the United States until the State in question had been duly readmitted to representation after the Civil War by Act of Congress.

Accordingly, as of the start of the 37th Congress [4 March 1861], there are- for purposes of this table- 14 vacancies in the Senate due to the secession of the 7 States named above; in addition, there are also 33 vacancies in the House of Representatives due to the secession of these States, as follows:

• ALABAMA: 7 Congressmen
• FLORIDA: 1 Congressman
• GEORGIA: 8 Congressmen
• LOUISIANA: 4 Congressmen
• MISSISSIPPI: 5 Congressmen
• SOUTH CAROLINA: 6 Congressmen
• TEXAS: 2 Congressmen

37TH CONGRESS- SENATE

The SENATE of the 37th Congress included 1 Senator from other than the two Major Parties as elected by his respective State legislature, as follows:

• 1 Unionist-
  • Senator Anthony Kennedy of MARYLAND (Class 1)

The SENATE of the 37th Congress also included 14 vacancies from the 7 States of the Confederate States of America which had seceded from the Union by the start of that Congress [4 March 1861], as noted under "IN GENERAL" above

The Legislature of the State of KANSAS, a State admitted to the Union during the preceding Congress, elected its first two Senators- James H. Lane and Samuel Pomeroy, both Republicans- on 4 April 1861, before the convening of the "long" session of the 37th Congress on 2 December 1861. Senators Lane and Pomeroy, therefore, are each counted among the 31 Republicans elected to the Senate of the 37th Congress; when lots were drawn in the Senate to determine the Electoral "Class" for each of Kansas' first two Senators, Senator Lane drew a Class 2 seat (term ending 3 March 1865), while Senator Worthington drew a Class 3 seat (term ending 3 March 1867).
[For further information about the methods used to determine the Electoral "Classes" for the Senators from a given State, please see our website's page dealing with United States Senate Electoral "Classes" ]

Waldo P. Johnson, a Democrat, was elected by the General Assembly of the State of MISSOURI to the Class 3 seat (term: 4 March 1861 to 3 March 1867) from that State on 17 March 1861, before the convening of the "long" session of the 37th Congress on 2 December 1861; Senator Johnson, therefore, is counted among the 22 Democrats elected to the Senate of the 37th Congress, notwithstanding the existence of a vacancy at the start of that Congress [4 March 1861] due to a failure of the legislature to elect.

Salmon P. Chase, a Republican, was elected by the General Assembly of OHIO to the Class 3 seat (term: 4 March 1861 to 3 March 1867) from that State but resigned 6 March 1861, having been appointed Secretary of the Treasury in the Lincoln Administration: the General Assembly of the State elected John Sherman- also a Republican- to fill the vacancy on 21 March 1861, before the convening of the "long" session of the 37th Congress on 2 December 1861; Senator Sherman, therefore- and not Senator Chase- is counted among the 31 Republicans elected to the Senate of the 37th Congress.