40th to 49th Congresses (1867–1887)
March 4, 1867 to March 3, 1887
| Congress and Year | Session | Beginning Date | Adjournment Date1 | Calendar Days2 | Legislative Days | House Recesses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40th (1867–1869) | 1 | Mar. 4, 1867 | Dec. 1, 1867 | 42 | 42 | Mar. 31–Jul. 2, 1867; Jul. 21–Nov. 20, 1867 |
| 2 | Dec. 2, 1867 | Nov. 10, 1868 | 186 | 186 | Dec. 21, 1867–Jan. 5, 1868; Jul. 26–Sep. 20, 1868; Sep. 22–Oct. 15, 1868; Oct. 17–Nov. 9, 1868 | |
| 3 | Dec. 7, 1868 | Mar. 3, 1869 | 58 | 58 | Dec. 22, 1868–Jan. 4, 1869 | |
| 41st (1869–1871) | 1 | Mar. 4, 1869 | Apr. 10, 1869 | 26 | 25 | |
| 2 | Dec. 6, 1869 | Jul. 15, 1870 | 164 | 164 | Dec. 23, 1869–Jan. 9, 1870 | |
| 3 | Dec. 5, 1870 | Mar. 3, 1871 | 64 | 64 | Dec. 23, 1870–Jan. 3, 1871 | |
| 42nd (1871–1873) | 1 | Mar. 4, 1871 | Apr. 20, 1871 | 33 | 33 | |
| 2 | Dec. 4, 1871 | Jun. 8, 1872 | 138 | 136 | Dec. 22, 1871–Jan. 7, 1872 | |
| 3 | Dec. 2, 1872 | Mar. 3, 1873 | 64 | 64 | Dec. 21, 1872–Jan. 5, 1873 | |
| 43rd (1873–1875) | 1 | Dec. 1, 1873 | Jun. 23, 1874 | 155 | 155 | Dec. 20, 1873–Jan. 4, 1874 |
| 2 | Dec. 7, 1874 | Mar. 3, 1875 | 59 | 55 | Dec. 24, 1874–Jan. 4, 1875 | |
| 44th (1875–1877) | 1 | Dec. 6, 1875 | Aug. 15, 1876 | 183 | 183 | Dec. 21, 1875–Jan. 4, 1876 |
| 2 | Dec. 4, 1876 | Mar. 4, 1877 | 73 | 48 | ||
| 45th* (1877–1879) | 1 | Oct. 15, 1877 | Dec. 3, 1877 | 33 | 32 | |
| 2 | Dec. 3, 1877 | Jun. 20, 1878 | 139 | 138 | Dec. 16, 1877–Jan. 10, 1878 | |
| 3 | Dec. 2, 1878 | Mar. 4, 1879 | 65 | 63 | Dec. 21, 1878–Jan. 6, 1879 | |
| 46th* (1879–1881) | 1 | Mar. 18, 1879 | Jul. 1, 1879 | 79 | 79 | |
| 2 | Dec. 1, 1879 | Jun. 16, 1880 | 142 | 142 | Dec. 20, 1879–Jan. 5, 1880 | |
| 3 | Dec. 6, 1880 | Mar. 4, 1881 | 65 | 62 | Dec. 23, 1880–Jan. 4, 1881 | |
| 47th (1881–1883) | 1 | Dec. 5, 1881 | Aug. 8, 1882 | 178 | 178 | Dec. 22, 1881–Jan. 4, 1882 |
| 2 | Dec. 5, 1882 | Mar. 4, 1883 | 73 | 72 | ||
| 48th (1883–1885) | 1 | Dec. 3, 1883 | Jul. 7, 1884 | 158 | 155 | Dec. 25, 1883–Jan. 6, 1884 |
| 2 | Dec. 1, 1884 | Mar. 4, 1885 | 67 | 64 | Dec. 25, 1884–Jan. 4, 1885 | |
| 49th (1885–1887) | 1 | Dec. 7, 1885 | Aug. 5, 1886 | 181 | 181 | Dec. 22, 1885–Jan. 4, 1886 |
| 2 | Dec. 6, 1886 | Mar. 3, 1887 | 65 | 63 | Dec. 23, 1886–Jan. 3, 1887 |
*Indicates that a special session of the House and/or Senate was convened during a Congress. Article II, Section 3 of the constitution provides that the President "may, on extraordinary occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them." This procedure occurs only if the Congress is convened by presidential proclamation. Extraordinary sessions have been called by the Chief Executive to urge the Congress to focus on important national issues. These are separate sessions of Congress, unless otherwise noted. Source: Congressional Directory; House Journal.
Footnotes
1The adjournment date is consistently referred to as the last calendar date of the session, regardless of the legislative day.
2"Calendar days" is defined as the total number of calendar days from the convening date to adjournment date that Congress met during that session. “Legislative days” indicates the total days Congress recorded as a working parliamentary day.