The 29th 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, 1845, to March 4, 1847, during the first two years of James Polk 's presidency . The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1840 United States census . Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
30-457: During this congress, two Senate seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa. During this congress, two House seats were added for each of the new states of Texas and Iowa. 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
60-402: A 51st state is admitted, it will receive senators in classes 1 and 2, at which point all three classes would have 34 senators. Because each state is represented by 2 senators, regardless of population, each class varies in electorate and populace. Since the early 19th century, it so happens class 2 senators cumulatively co-represent 50–60% of the population; senators from each of
90-501: A general ticket . There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record. New York , North Carolina , and Rhode Island were the last states to ratify the U.S. Constitution and, due to their late ratification, were unable to send full representation at the beginning of this Congress. Six Senators and nine Representatives were subsequently seated from these states during
120-477: A class 2 senator: Alabama , Alaska , Arkansas , Colorado , Delaware , Georgia , Idaho , Illinois , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maine , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Montana , Nebraska , New Hampshire , New Jersey , New Mexico , North Carolina , Oklahoma , Oregon , Rhode Island , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Virginia , West Virginia , and Wyoming . Class 3 consists of: States with
150-451: A class 3 senator: Alabama , Alaska , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Connecticut , Florida , Georgia , Hawaii , Idaho , Illinois , Indiana , Iowa , Kansas , Kentucky , Louisiana , Maryland , Missouri , Nevada , New Hampshire , New York , North Carolina , North Dakota , Ohio , Oklahoma , Oregon , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , South Dakota , Utah , Vermont , Washington , and Wisconsin . This table
180-867: A new state joins the union (as mentioned above), or when there is a special election to fill a vacant seat. Special elections have no bearing on when the term for that seat ends, and a senator elected in a special election will serve the remainder of the term, until the next regularly scheduled election, not affecting which class that seat falls within. Class 1 consists of: States with a class 1 senator: Arizona , California , Connecticut , Delaware , Florida , Hawaii , Indiana , Maine , Maryland , Massachusetts , Michigan , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Jersey , New Mexico , New York , North Dakota , Ohio , Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Vermont , Virginia , Washington , West Virginia , Wisconsin , and Wyoming . Class 2 consists of: States with
210-456: A vacancy, usually either due to the incumbent resigning or dying while in office, may happen in any given year regardless of the seat's class. A senator's description as junior or senior senator is also not related to their class. Rather, a state's senior U.S. senator is the one with the greater seniority in the Senate , which is mostly based on length of service. The U. S. Constitution sets
240-444: Is re-sorted every two years so that the next scheduled election year appears at the top. The following table lists the senators by party by class. Democrat Independent who caucuses with Democrats Republican Not up for election The following table lists the senators by state and by class, including the states' Cook Partisan Voting Index ratings, which indicate
270-427: Is to promote stability in the Senate, and encourage senators to deliberate measures over time, rather than risk a rapid turnover of the entire chamber every six years. At the same time, it provided for more frequent elections as opposed to waiting every six years, to prevent senators from permanently combining for "sinister purposes". The three classes of the Senate are specified by Article I, Section 3 of
300-561: The Seventeenth Amendment required direct popular election of senators). When a new state is admitted to the Union , its two senators are placed into separate classes. Which two classes are determined by a scheme that keeps the three classes as close to the same size as possible, so that the largest class never differs by more than one senator from the smallest class. A random draw determined which new senator enters which of
330-488: The U.S. Constitution . The actual division was originally performed by the Senate of the 1st Congress in May 1789 by lot . Whenever a new state subsequently joined the union, its two Senate seats were assigned to two different classes by a random draw, while keeping the three classes as close to the same number as possible. The classes only apply to the regular fixed-term elections of the Senate. A special election to fill
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#1732772720846360-530: The " Changes in membership " section. During this congress, two Senate seats were added for North Carolina and Rhode Island when each ratified the Constitution. During this congress, five House seats were added for North Carolina and one House seat was added for Rhode Island when they ratified the Constitution. This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district. Senators were elected by
390-1238: The Constitution were passed by this Congress and sent to the states for ratification ; the ten ratified as additions to the Constitution on December 15, 1791, are collectively known as the Bill of Rights , with an additional amendment ratified more than two centuries later to become the Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution . Held March 4, 1789, through September 29, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City Held January 4, 1790, through August 12, 1790, at Federal Hall in New York City Held December 6, 1790, through March 3, 1791, at Congress Hall in Philadelphia There were no political parties in this Congress. Members are informally grouped into factions of similar interest, based on an analysis of their voting record. Details on changes are shown below in
420-491: The Secretary, rolled up and put into a box, and drawn by Mr. Langdon, Mr. Wingate, and Mr. Dalton, in behalf of the respective classes in which each of them are placed; and that the classes shall vacate their seats in the Senate according to the order of numbers drawn for them, beginning with number one: And that, when Senators shall take their seats from States that have not yet appointed Senators, they shall be placed by lot in
450-459: The Senate divided the members into three classes: Thursday, May 14, 1789. The committee appointed to consider and report a mode of carrying into effect the provision in the second clause of the third section of the first article of the Constitution, reported: Whereupon, Resolved, That the Senators be divided into three classes: That three papers of an equal size, numbered 1, 2, and 3, be, by
480-615: The U.S. Constitution: Immediately after they shall be assembled in Consequence of the first Election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three Classes. The Seats of the Senators of the first Class shall be vacated at the Expiration of the second Year, of the second Class at the Expiration of the fourth Year, and of the third Class at the Expiration of the sixth Year, so that one third may be chosen every second Year. The allocation took place in May 1789, several weeks after
510-496: The beginning of the first session of this Congress. Lists of committees and their party leaders. Classes of United States senators The 100 seats in the United States Senate are divided into three classes for the purpose of determining which seats will be up for election in any two-year cycle, with only one class being up for election at a time. With senators being elected to fixed terms of six years,
540-678: The classes allow about a third of the seats to be up for election in any presidential or midterm election year instead of having all 100 be up for election at the same time every six years. The seats are also divided in such a way that any given state 's two senators are in different classes so that each seat's term ends in different years. Class 1 and class 2 consist of 33 seats each, while class 3 consists of 34 seats. Elections for class 1 seats took place in 2024, and elections for classes 2 and 3 will take place in 2026 and 2028, respectively. The three classes were established by Article I , Section 3, Clause 2 of
570-481: The classes selected to be expanded. This means at least one of any new state's first pair of senators had a term of more than 2 and up to 6 years and the other had a term that was 2 or 4 years shorter. New York, which held its first Senate elections in July 1789, was the first state to undergo this process after the original May 1789 draw by the Senate of the 1st Congress . Among the new senators, Philip Schuyler drew
600-449: The first Senate assembled. Only twenty senators from ten states were present; North Carolina and Rhode Island had not yet ratified the U.S. Constitution, and New York, because of its late ratification, had not yet selected its senators. To decide on how to implement the division into classes, on May 11 the Senate appointed a committee consisting of Senators Ellsworth , Carroll , and Few . In accordance with their recommendation, on May 14
630-433: The fixed term of senators to six years and staggers their elections into three cycles, so that a third of the Senate was up for election every two years. This allows at least some Senate elections to be held during any presidential or midterm election year, as the U.S. President is elected to a fixed term of four years and members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected to fixed terms of two years. The objective
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#1732772720846660-427: The foregoing classes, but in such manner as shall keep the classes as nearly equal as may be in numbers. On the next day, May 15, the term expiration of each class was determined by drawing lots . Lot 1 was drawn by Dalton, 2 by Wingate, and 3 by Langdon. Upon the expiration of a senator's term of any length, someone starts a new six-year term as senator (based on election by the state legislatures until
690-604: The initial meeting of the First Congress, the United States federal government officially began operations under the new (and current) frame of government established by the 1787 Constitution . The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the provisions of Article I, Section 2, Clause 3 , of the Constitution. Both chambers had a Pro-Administration majority. Twelve articles of amendment to
720-470: The lot for class 1 (whose term would end in 1791) while Rufus King drew class 3 (whose term would end in 1795). This made class 1 have 8 senators while classes 2 and 3 had 7 senators each. North Carolina was then assigned classes 2 and 3 after holding its first Senate elections in November 1789, making all three classes have 8 seats each. When the newest state, Hawaii,
750-511: 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 with this Congress, facing re-election in 1850; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1846; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1848. The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers. The count below reflects changes from
780-401: The next two Congresses, requiring re-election in 1794. The names of members of the House of Representatives are listed by their districts. All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket . All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket . All representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket . All representatives were elected statewide on
810-411: The other 2 classes: 70–75% of the U.S. population. Because each state has 2 senators, the sum of these figures is 200%, not 100%. Several of the most populous states, such as California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, have their senators in classes 1 and 3, provoking this imbalance. The only times when both of a state's Senate seats are up for election in the same year are either when
840-635: The party direction in which a state tends to lean and the extent of that lean. 1st United States Congress The 1st United States Congress , comprising the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives , met from March 4, 1789, to March 4, 1791, during the first two years of George Washington's presidency , first at Federal Hall in New York City and later at Congress Hall in Philadelphia . With
870-480: 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, all senators were newly elected, and Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1790; Class 2 meant their term ended with the next Congress, requiring re-election in 1792; and Class 3 meant their term lasted through
900-466: Was admitted in 1959, its first Senate elections had candidates run either for "seat A" or "B". The new senators, Hiram Fong and Oren E. Long , in a process managed by the Secretary of the Senate , drew lots to determine which of the two would join class 1 (whose term would end in five-and-a-half years), and which would join class 3 (whose term would end in three-and-a-half years). If
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