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The United States on March 6, 1856

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

President

Pierce

Franklin Pierce D · since Mar 4, 1853

Senate

37 D · 10 R

59 senators · 34th Congress

House

98 IRD · 88 D

240 representatives

Supreme Court

7 D · 2 W

9 justices by appointing party

Union

31 states

12 amendments in force

Public debt

$36M

as of Jul 1, 1855

1856-03-06/executiveThe administration

President Franklin Pierce D

since Mar 4, 1853

Vice President vacant

Secretary of the Navy James C. Dobbin D

since Jan 1, 1853

Attorney General Caleb Cushing W

since Mar 7, 1853

Postmaster General James Campbell D

since Mar 7, 1853

Secretary of War Jefferson Davis D

since Mar 7, 1853

Secretary of State William L. Marcy D

since Mar 7, 1853

Secretary of the Treasury James Guthrie D

since Mar 7, 1853

Secretary of the Interior Robert McClelland D

since Mar 8, 1853

1856-03-06/congress34th Congress

Senate · 37 D · 10 R · 8 IRD · 4 A

House · 98 IRD · 88 D · 52 A · 1 R · 1 W

1856-03-06/supreme-courtThe bench

John McLean D

Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Mar 7, 1829

James Moore Wayne D

Associate Justice · appointed by Andrew Jackson · since Jan 9, 1835

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

Peter Vivian Daniel D

Associate Justice · appointed by Martin Van Buren · since Mar 3, 1841

Samuel Nelson W

Associate Justice · appointed by John Tyler · since Feb 13, 1845

Robert Cooper Grier D

Associate Justice · appointed by James K. Polk · since Aug 4, 1846

Benjamin Robbins Curtis W

Associate Justice · appointed by Millard Fillmore · since Dec 20, 1851

John Archibald Campbell D

Associate Justice · appointed by Franklin Pierce · since Mar 22, 1853

1856-03-06/weekWithin a week · Feb 28, 1856 – Mar 13, 1856

Ruling Orton v. Smith

Feb 28, 1856 · 59 U.S. 263

Ruling Stockton v. Ford

Feb 28, 1856 · 59 U.S. 418

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.