The second session of the Thirty-first Congress of the United States opens in Washington, D.C. with Speaker Howell Cobb of Georgia presiding. This "lame duck" session will sit for 92 days and adjourn on March 3, 1851. (By John Osborne)

In Washington, Speaker Howell Cobb brought down the gavel on the first House session of the Thirty-first Congress of the United States. The chamber had been in session for 302 days, the longest continuous sitting in House history up to that time. It adjourned until the opening of its second session on December 2, 1850. (By John Osborne)

The Thirty-first Congress of the United States is in session in Washington, DC. It will sit until September 30, 1850. Democratic representative Howell Cobb of Georgia is in the Speaker's chair. (By John Osborne)

The Thirty-first Congress of the United States opens in Washington, D.C. Of the 233 representatives, 113 are Democrats, 108 are Whigs, nine are Free Soilers. One, Lewis Levin of Pennsylvania, sits for the American Party, and one other, George Washington Wright, sitting as one of the first two representatives of the new state of California, terms himself an Independent. Democrat Howell Cobb of Georgia will be elected Speaker of the House on December 22, 1849. (By John Osborne)

Speaker Linn Boyd gavels the eighty-eight day "lame-duck" second session of the House of Representatives to a close, ending the term of the Thirty-second Congress of the United States. (By John Osborne)

The second session of the Thirty-second Congress of the United States is sitting. It will serve for eighty-eight days and adjourn on March 3, 1853. (By John Osborne)

The second session of the Thirty-second Congress of the United States opens in Washington, D.C. with Speaker Linn Boyd of Kentucky presiding. This "lame duck" session will sit for 88 days and adjourn on March 3, 1853. (By John Osborne)

In Washington, Speaker Linn Boyd brings down the gavel on the first House session of the Thirty-second Congress of the United States. The chamber has been in session for 275 days. It will adjourn until the opening of its second session on December 6, 1852. (By John Osborne)

The Thirty-second Congress of the United States is in session in Washington, DC. It will sit until August 31, 1852. Democratic representative Lynn Boyd of Kentucky is in the Speaker's chair. (By John Osborne)

The Thirty-second Congress of the United States opens in Washington, D.C. Of the 233 representatives, 127 are Democrats, 85 are Whigs, four are Free Soilers, 10 are Unionists, three are Independent Democrats, three are States Rights, and one, Joseph S. Cottman of rural Maryland, is an Independent Whig. Democrat Linn Boyd of Kentucky is elected Speaker of the House on this opening day. (By John Osborne)