*Party division totals are based on election day results.
The narrowly divided House failed to organize itself for more than two weeks at the start of the 26th Congress (1839–1841), as Democrats and Whigs contested the elections of five Members from New Jersey. Massachusetts Representative John Quincy Adams presided as “chairman” of the House after the Clerk lost control the sessions. After 11 ballots, the House elected as its Speaker the States-Rights Whig Robert M.C. Hunter of Virginia. Congress also passed the Independent Treasury bill providing President Martin Van Buren with the tools he wanted to end the economic recession.
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Learn more about the People of the People's House
To view complete lists of individuals who have served in these leadership and official positions since the 1st Congress, visit the People section
