39th United States Congress

39th United States Congress
Brady-Handy Photograph Collection (Library of Congress) · Public domain · source
Name	39th United States Congress
Number	39th
Start	March 4, 1865
End	March 4, 1867
Vp	Andrew Johnson
Pro tem	Hannibal Hamlin
Speaker	Schuyler Colfax
Senators	76
Reps	193
Majority1	Republican
Majority2	Republican
Sessionnumber1	1st
Sessionstart1	December 4, 1865
Sessionend1	July 13, 1866
Sessionnumber2	2nd
Sessionstart2	December 3, 1866
Sessionend2	March 4, 1867

39th United States Congress

The 39th United States Congress convened during the closing months of the American Civil War aftermath and the early Reconstruction era, meeting from March 4, 1865, to March 4, 1867. Dominated by the Republican Party majorities in both the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives, it acted under the presidency of Abraham Lincoln until his assassination and under Andrew Johnson thereafter. This Congress enacted pivotal legislation and constitutional amendments responding to the end of the Confederate States of America rebellion, the status of formerly enslaved people, and the reintegration of Southern states.

Background and Composition

The 39th Congress formed after the 1864 elections where the National Union coalition and Republicans prevailed, reflecting victories such as Abraham Lincoln’s re-election and Republican gains in the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. Membership included wartime leaders and figures from the Union wartime apparatus: former generals like Benjamin Wade and Oliver P. Morton in the Senate and representatives such as Thaddeus Stevens and Schuyler Colfax in the House. The Senate comprised 76 seats, with vacancies from Confederate States of America delegations and contested credentials affecting representation from states such as Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Delegates represented territories including Arizona Territory, Dakota Territory, New Mexico Territory, and Colorado Territory.

Major Legislation and Resolutions

The 39th enacted transformative measures including the adoption and submission of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ratification proclamation ending chattel slavery in the United States, and legislative predecessors to the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. It passed the Freedmen's Bureau Act reauthorization, the Civil Rights Act of 1866 reconciling federal protection for citizenship rights with Black Codes enforcement, and legislation concerning war claims and federal fiscal policy, including appropriations for National Bank Act implementations and wartime debt management. The Congress also debated and approved legislation affecting mercantile law and transportation, including measures touching the Transcontinental Railroad project and postal reforms tied to United States Post Office Department operations.

Leadership and Committee Structure

Leadership featured Schuyler Colfax as Speaker of the House and presiding officers in the Senate such as Hannibal Hamlin and Republican floor leaders like Benjamin Wade and Charles Sumner. Committee chairs included prominent legislators leading the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Military Affairs, the Committee on Finance, and the Committee on Reconstruction. Committees conducted investigations into Confederate administration remnants, supervised appointments and confirmations, and shaped major policy on reconstruction and civil rights. Seniority and party caucuses among Republicans consolidated control, while Democrats and Unionists organized minority strategies under leaders like Fernando Wood and George H. Pendleton.

Membership Changes and Party Divisions

During this Congress numerous vacancies occurred due to war-related deaths, resignations, expulsions, and contested elections; notable changes included seats vacated by Confederate legislators and later contested returns from states undergoing Reconstruction readmission processes such as Tennessee and Louisiana. Party divisions were stark: Republicans held decisive majorities, while Democrats and Conservative factions remained in opposition. Several contested Senate and House seats provoked committee hearings and rulings; the Senate exercised its authority to judge qualifications, leading to temporary exclusions and later seating of members as states complied with Congressional Reconstruction conditions. Territorial delegates shifted with settlement patterns in the West, reflecting Manifest Destiny-era politics.

Key Events and Debates

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865, and the succession of Andrew Johnson transformed the political dynamic, fueling clashes over presidential war measures and postwar policy. Debates raged over the Civil Rights Act of 1866, vetoes issued by President Johnson and subsequent overrides, and the passage of reconstruction policies including military reconstruction proposals championed by Radical Republicans such as Thaddeus Stevens and Benjamin Wade. The Congress conducted impeachment-related inquiries, laid groundwork that would culminate in the 1868 impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and responded to events like the Ku Klux Klan emergence and Southern enactment of Black Codes by legislating federal protections.

Congressional Procedures and Administration

The 39th managed extensive procedural innovations: use of special committees, expanded investigative powers, and enforcement mechanisms to implement reconstruction statutes. It exercised the power of oversight through confirmation of executive nominations, treaty considerations such as negotiations touching Mexico relations, and enforcement of statutes via appropriations and the Committee on Ways and Means budgeting. Administrative matters addressed chamber staffing, the reorganization of the Library of Congress acquisitions, and evolving rules for contested elections and credentials. The Congress set precedents in overriding presidential vetoes, managing joint sessions for constitutional amendment transmission, and employing select committees to supervise compliance with reconstruction conditions.

Category:United States congressional sessions Category:1865 in American politics Category:Reconstruction Era