Civil War Congress, Did some senators and congressmen from seceded States continue to vote during war?
Hi Joni! The answer is yes, although as always with matters like this, the complete answer is complicated. As the first of the Confederate states seceded, many of their members voluntarily resigned from the US Congress. To do otherwise would have suggested that they really considered themselves still part of the United States. Many of those who left Washington were in turn elected members of the Confederate States of America Provisional Congress. On March 14, 1861, the new US Congress voted to expel any members from seceded states who were still in their seats. States continued to seceed. On July 11, 1861, Congress expelled members from Confederate states who would not take the oath of allegiance to the United States. Some members did indeed take the oath, such as Sen. Andrew Johnson of Tennessee, and he was permitted to keep his seat. So, the answer to your question is that yes, some like Sen. Johnson and a few House members continued to vote in Congress. Johnson stayed in the Senate
Congressional representatives from those states joining the Confederate States of America either resigned, or were expelled by vote of Congress. It was then agreed that a majority vote in either House was to based on the numbers of loyal states, The Reconstruction Period had specific periods designated by law to deal with the politics of reorganizing state governments, and then selecting and readmitting the Congressional delegations from the former Confederate states This was done state by state, and required for political office holders the taking of a loyalty oath to uphold the Constitution. The final readmission and re-seating of the seceded states occurred in 1887.
