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The United States on March 9, 1839

Who held every office, how Congress and the Court were made up, and what happened within a week. Diff this day against today →

President
Buren
Martin Van Buren D · since Mar 4, 1837
Senate
25 D · 11 W
36 senators · 26th Congress
House
—
0 representatives
Supreme Court
7 D · 2 JR
9 justices by appointing party
Union
26 states
12 amendments in force
Public debt
$10M
as of Jan 1, 1839
1839-03-09/executiveThe administration
President Martin Van Buren D
since Mar 4, 1837
Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson D
Secretary of State John Forsyth D
since Jul 1, 1834
Secretary of the Treasury Levi Woodbury D
since Jul 1, 1834
Secretary of War Joel Roberts Poinsett DR
since Mar 7, 1837
Secretary of the Navy James Kirke Paulding D
since Jul 1, 1838
Attorney General Felix Grundy DR
since Jul 5, 1838
1839-03-09/congress26th Congress
Senate · 25 D · 11 W
William Rufus de Vane King (Democrat, AL)Clement Comer Clay (Democrat, AL)William Savin Fulton (Democrat, AR)Ambrose Hundley Sevier (Democrat, AR)Perry Smith (Democrat, CT)Wilson Lumpkin (Democrat, GA)Alfred Cuthbert (Democrat, GA)John McCracken Robinson (Democrat, IL)Richard Montgomery Young (Democrat, IL)Robert Carter Nicholas (Democrat, LA)Alexander Mouton (Democrat, LA)John Ruggles (Democrat, ME)John Norvell (Democrat, MI)Lewis Fields Linn (Democrat, MO)Robert John Walker (Democrat, MS)Bedford Brown (Democrat, NC)Robert Strange (Democrat, NC)Henry Hubbard (Democrat, NH)Franklin Pierce (Democrat, NH)Garret Dorset Wall (Democrat, NJ)Silas Wright Jr. (Democrat, NY)William Allen (Democrat, OH)James Buchanan (Democrat, PA)John Caldwell Calhoun (Democrat, SC)William Henry Roane (Democrat, VA)Thaddeus Betts (Whig, CT)Thomas Clayton (Whig, DE)Oliver Hampton Smith (Whig, IN)John Jordan Crittenden (Whig, KY)Henry Clay (Whig, KY)John Davis (Whig, MA)John Selby Spence (Whig, MD)Nehemiah Rice Knight (Whig, RI)William Campbell Preston (Whig, SC)Hugh Lawson White (Whig, TN)Samuel Prentiss (Whig, VT)
House ·
1839-03-09/supreme-courtThe bench
Joseph Story JR
Associate Justice · appointed by James Madison · since Nov 18, 1811
Smith Thompson JR
Associate Justice · appointed by James Monroe · since Dec 9, 1823
John McLean D
Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Mar 7, 1829
Henry Baldwin D
Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Jan 6, 1830
James Moore Wayne D
Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Jan 9, 1835
Philip Pendleton Barbour D
Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Mar 15, 1836
Roger Brooke Taney D
Chief Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Mar 15, 1836
John Catron D
Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Mar 8, 1837
John McKinley D
Associate Justice · appointed by Martin Van Buren · since Sep 25, 1837
1839-03-09/weekWithin a week · Mar 2, 1839 – Mar 16, 1839
Ruling Stokes v. Saltonstall
Mar 2, 1839 · 38 U.S. 181
Ruling Ex parte Jesse Hoyt
Mar 2, 1839 · 38 U.S. 279
Ruling Ness v. Alpheus Hyatt
Mar 2, 1839 · 38 U.S. 294
Ruling The Heirs of William Emerson v. Hall
Mar 2, 1839 · 38 U.S. 409
Ruling Downes and Company v. Edward B. Church
Mar 4, 1839 · 38 U.S. 205
Ruling Williams v. The Suffolk Insurance Company
Mar 6, 1839 · 38 U.S. 415
Ruling Story v. Louisa Livingston
Mar 7, 1839 · 38 U.S. 359
Ruling Wilcox v. Crester Hunt
Mar 7, 1839 · 38 U.S. 378
Ruling Barrington Anthony v. Cyrus Butler
Mar 7, 1839 · 38 U.S. 423
Ruling Burton v. Smith
Mar 7, 1839 · 38 U.S. 464
Ruling Carr v. Hoxie
Mar 8, 1839 · 38 U.S. 460
Ruling Meredith v. United States
Mar 8, 1839 · 38 U.S. 486
Ruling The New England Insurance Company v. The Brig Sarah Ann
Mar 9, 1839 · 38 U.S. 387
Ruling Ex parte Myra Clarke Whitney
Mar 9, 1839 · 38 U.S. 404
Ruling Carey Bagnell and the Executors of Morgan Byrne v. Broderick
Mar 9, 1839 · 38 U.S. 436
Ruling De la Fayette Wilcox v. Jackson
Mar 9, 1839 · 38 U.S. 498
Ruling The Bank of Augusta v. Earle
Mar 9, 1839 · 38 U.S. 519

Each office is shown as it stood at the end of the day. Cabinet records come from Wikidata and have gaps for some historical offices.