40TH CONGRESS- IN GENERAL

The Legislature of the State of NEBRASKA, a State admitted to the Union in the waning days of the preceding Congress, elected its first two Senators- John M. Thayer and Thomas W. Tipton, both Republicans- in time for each of them to be seated at the start of the 40th Congress on 4 March 1867. Senators Thayer and Tipton, therefore, are each counted among the 42 Republicans elected to the Senate of the 40th Congress.

10 States- all former constituent States of the defunct Confederate States of America- remained totally "unreconstructed" as of the start of the 40th Congress [4 March 1867]; 6 of these were readmitted to representation in Congress- with the right to have 2 Senators and the numbers of Congressmen noted below seated in each respective house of that Congress- as follows:

• 22 June 1868: State of ARKANSAS
  (3 Congressmen)
• 25 June 1868: State of FLORIDA
  (1 Congressman)
• 4 July 1868: State of NORTH CAROLINA
  (7 Congressmen)
• 9 July 1868: State of LOUISIANA
  (5 Congressmen)
• 9 July 1868: State of SOUTH CAROLINA
  (4 Congressmen)
• 13 July 1868: State of ALABAMA
  (6 Congressmen)

as these 6 States were all readmitted to representation in Congress after the convening of the "long" session of the 40th Congress on 2 December 1867, the 12 Senators from these 6 States are NOT counted among those elected to the Senate of the 40th Congress; neither are the 26 Congressmen from these 6 States counted among those elected to the House of Representatives in that Congress. In addition, there were 3 States of the former Confederacy- MISSISSIPPI, TEXAS and VIRGINIA- which remained "unreconstructed" throughout the remainder of the Congress: 6 Senators and a total of 17 Congressmen from these States are also not counted as elected to their respective houses during the 40th Congress.
[NOTE: For the special situation involving the State of GEORGIA, partially "reconstructed" in the course of the 40th Congress, see the relevant notes under each house of Congress below]

40TH CONGRESS- SENATE

The SENATE of the 40th Congress included 2 Senators from other than the two Major Parties as elected by their respective State Legislatures, as follows:

• 2 Unionists-
  • Senator John Conness of CALIFORNIA (Class 1)
  • Senator Joseph S. Fowler of TENNESSEE (Class 2)

The SENATE of the 40th Congress also included 20 vacancies: 12 from the 6 former Confederate States not yet readmitted to representation in the Senate as noted under "IN GENERAL" above, 6 from the 3 States- MISSISSIPPI, TEXAS and VIRGINIA- not yet readmitted to representation at any time during the course of the 40th Congress, plus 2 from the State of GEORGIA: even though its 7 Congressmen were re-entitled to seats in the House through action taken in this Congress (as noted below), GEORGIA was not formally readmitted to full representation in Congress until action taken in the 41st Congress; as a result, both Senate seats from the State of GEORGIA remained vacant throughout the 40th Congress.

Philip F. Thomas, a Democrat, was elected by the General Assembly of the State of MARYLAND to the Class 3 seat (term: 4 March 1867 to 3 March 1873) from that State; however, the Senate refused to seat him as there was evidence that he had given aid and comfort to the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, even though Maryland had never seceded from the Union: his successor was not elected by the General Assembly of the State until after the convening of the "long" session of the 40th Congress on 2 December 1867. Nevertheless, as Mr. Thomas clearly was the intended Senator-elect for that seat, he is counted among the 10 Democrats elected to that Congress.