Senate roll call 172 · 47th Congress · May 17, 1881
To recommit to the committee on judiciary, the nomination of frederick douglass as recorder of deeds in the district of columbia.
On May 17, 1881, the Senate voted 9–48. Result: failed. By party: Republicans 1–31, Democrats 9–16, Independents 0–1, Others 0–1. It was a bipartisan vote: majorities of both parties voted no. 10 members voted against their own party.
During the 47th Congress (1881–1882), James A. Garfield was president, and Republicans held majorities in both the House and Senate.
- Yes
- 9
- No
- 48
- Did not vote
- 24
- Date
- May 17, 1881
By party
- Democrats9 yes · 16 no · 13 didn’t vote
- Republicans1 yes · 31 no · 11 didn’t vote
- Independents0 yes · 1 no
- Others0 yes · 1 no
Who broke with their party
- James Lawrence Pugh D-AL voted yes
- James Thompson Farley D-CA voted yes
- Eli Saulsbury D-DE voted yes
- Thomas Francis Bayard Sr. D-DE voted yes
- Benjamin Franklin Jonas D-LA voted yes
- Eugene Hale R-ME voted yes
- Matt Whitaker Ransom D-NC voted yes
- Zebulon Baird Vance D-NC voted yes
- John Rhoderic Mcpherson D-NJ voted yes
- La Fayette Grover D-OR voted yes
How each senator voted: Yes
- James Lawrence Pugh D-AL
- James Thompson Farley D-CA
- Eli Saulsbury D-DE
- Thomas Francis Bayard Sr. D-DE
- Benjamin Franklin Jonas D-LA
- Eugene Hale R-ME
- Matt Whitaker Ransom D-NC
- Zebulon Baird Vance D-NC
- John Rhoderic Mcpherson D-NJ
- La Fayette Grover D-OR
How each senator voted: No
- John Tyler Morgan D-AL
- John Franklin Miller R-CA
- Nathaniel Peter Hill R-CO
- Joseph Roswell Hawley R-CT
- Wilkinson Call D-FL
- Benjamin Harvey Hill D-GA
- Joseph Emerson Brown D-GA
- James Wilson Mcdill R-IA
- William Boyd Allison R-IA
- David Davis I-IL
- John Alexander Logan R-IL
- Benjamin Harrison R-IN
- Daniel Wolsey Voorhees D-IN
- John James Ingalls R-KS
- Preston B. Plumb R-KS
- James Burnie Beck D-KY
- William Pitt Kellogg R-LA
- George Frisbie Hoar R-MA
- Henry Laurens Dawes R-MA
- Arthur Pue Gorman D-MD
- William Pierce Frye R-ME
- Omar Dwight Conger R-MI
- Thomas White Ferry R-MI
- Alonzo Jay Edgerton R-MN
- Samuel James Renwick Mcmillan R-MN
- George Graham Vest D-MO
- Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar D-MS
- Alvin Saunders R-NE
- Charles Henry Van Wyck R-NE
- Edward Henry Rollins R-NH
- Henry William Blair R-NH
- William Joyce Sewell R-NJ
- John Percival Jones R-NV
- George Hunt Pendleton D-OH
- John Sherman R-OH
- James Donald Cameron R-PA
- John Inscho Mitchell R-PA
- Ambrose Everett Burnside R-RI
- Henry Bowen Anthony R-RI
- Matthew Calbraith Butler D-SC
- Howell Edmunds Jackson D-TN
- Isham Green Harris D-TN
- Richard Coke D-TX
- John Warfield Johnston D-VA
- William Mahone O-VA
- Justin Smith Morrill R-VT
- Angus Cameron R-WI
- Philetus Sawyer R-WI
- Henry Gassaway Davis D-WV
Did not vote
- Augustus Hill Garland D-AR
- James David Walker D-AR
- George Miles Chilcott R-CO
- Henry Moore Teller R-CO
- Horace Austin Warner Tabor R-CO
- Orville Hitchcock Platt R-CT
- Charles William Jones D-FL
- Middleton Pope Barrow D-GA
- John Stuart Williams D-KY
- James Black Groome D-MD
- William Windom R-MN
- Francis Marion Cockrell D-MO
- James Zachariah George D-MS
- James Graham Fair D-NV
- Elbridge Gerry Lapham R-NY
- Roscoe Conkling R-NY
- Thomas Collier Platt R-NY
- Warner Miller R-NY
- James Harvey Slater D-OR
- Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich R-RI
- Wade Hampton D-SC
- Samuel Bell Maxey D-TX
- George Franklin Edmunds R-VT
- Johnson Newlon Camden D-WV
Other votes
From Voteview roll call records.
Cite or embed this page
Capitol Receipts, “To recommit to the committee on judiciary…: Senate Vote, May 17, 1881,” https://www.capitolreceipts.com/vote/47-S-172/to-recommit-to-the-committee-on-judiciary-the-nomination (accessed 2026-10-17).