The Thirty-eighth Congress of the United States opens in Washington, D.C. Its numbers have again been decimated by secession and only 184 representatives will sit in the House, along with ten territorial delegates. The Republican majority has been significantly reduced in the election and now there are 86 Republicans and 72 Democrats serving. Sixteen sit as Unconditional Unionists and nine others as Unionists. Two Pennsylvania representatives, James T. Hale and Henry W. Tracy, sit as Independent Republicans. Schuyler Colfax, Republican of Indiana, is elected Speaker of the House on this opening day. (By John Osborne)
Source Citation
Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives, "House History." http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/house_history/index.html
Record Data
Date Certainty
Exact
Type
Legal/Political
