Senate roll call 604 · 36th Congress · Mar 2, 1861
To go into executive session.
On Mar 2, 1861, the Senate voted 16–20. Result: failed. By party: Republicans 0–20, Democrats 15–0, Others 2–0. It was a party-line vote: most Democrats and most Republicans voted on opposite sides.
During the 36th Congress (1859–1860), James Buchanan was president, and Republicans held the House majority and Democrats the Senate majority.
- Yes
- 16
- No
- 20
- Did not vote
- 33
- Date
- Mar 2, 1861
By party
- Democrats15 yes · 0 no · 26 didn’t vote
- Republicans0 yes · 20 no · 7 didn’t vote
- Others2 yes · 0 no
Who broke with their party
Every member who voted sided with their party's majority.
How each senator voted: Yes
- William King Sebastian D-AR
- Milton Slocum Latham D-CA
- William McKendree Gwin D-CA
- Stephen Arnold Douglas D-IL
- Jesse David Bright D-IN
- John Jordan Crittenden O-KY
- Anthony Kennedy O-MD
- Trusten Polk D-MO
- John Renshaw Thomson D-NJ
- George Ellis Pugh D-OH
- Joseph Lane D-OR
- William Bigler D-PA
- Alfred Osborn Pope Nicholson D-TN
- Andrew Johnson D-TN
- Louis Trezevant Wigfall D-TX
- James Murray Mason D-VA
- Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter D-VA
How each senator voted: No
- James Dixon R-CT
- Lafayette Sabine Foster R-CT
- James Harlan R-IA
- James Wilson Grimes R-IA
- Lyman Trumbull R-IL
- Charles Sumner R-MA
- Henry Wilson R-MA
- Lot Myrick Morrill R-ME
- William Pitt Fessenden R-ME
- Kinsley Scott Bingham R-MI
- Zachariah Chandler R-MI
- Morton Smith Wilkinson R-MN
- Daniel Clark R-NH
- John Conover Ten Eyck R-NJ
- Preston King R-NY
- Benjamin Franklin Wade R-OH
- Henry Bowen Anthony R-RI
- Solomon Foot R-VT
- Charles Durkee R-WI
- James Rood Doolittle R-WI
Did not vote
- Benjamin Fitzpatrick D-AL
- Clement Claiborne Clay Jr. D-AL
- Robert Ward Johnson D-AR
- David Colbreth Broderick D-CA
- Henry Peter Haun D-CA
- James Asheton Bayard Jr. D-DE
- Willard Saulsbury Sr. D-DE
- David Levy Yulee D-FL
- Stephen Russell Mallory D-FL
- Alfred Iverson Sr. D-GA
- Robert Augustus Toombs D-GA
- Graham Newell Fitch D-IN
- Lazarus Whitehead Powell D-KY
- John Slidell D-LA
- Judah Philip Benjamin D-LA
- James Alfred Pearce D-MD
- Hannibal Hamlin R-ME
- Henry Mower Rice D-MN
- James Stephen Green D-MO
- Albert Gallatin Brown D-MS
- Jefferson Davis D-MS
- Thomas Bragg D-NC
- Thomas Lanier Clingman D-NC
- John Parker Hale R-NH
- William Henry Seward R-NY
- Edward Dickinson Baker R-OR
- Simon Cameron R-PA
- James Fowler Simmons R-RI
- James Chesnut Jr. D-SC
- James Henry Hammond D-SC
- John Hemphill D-TX
- Matthias Ward D-TX
- Jacob Collamer R-VT
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
Cite or embed this page
Capitol Receipts, “To go into executive session.: Senate Vote, Mar 2, 1861,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/36-S-604/to-go-into-executive-session (accessed 2026-10-13).