Editing Roscoe Conkling (section)

===First term===
{{See also|1858 United States House of Representatives elections in New York|36th United States Congress}}
Almost immediately after his nomination for mayor, Conkling prepared to mount a run for Congress; incumbent Representative [[Orsamus B. Matteson]] had chosen to retire after his censure for corruption. Conkling's chief opponent was another Utica attorney, Charles H. Doolittle.{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=17–19}} Conkling said he hoped to be elected "because some men object to my nomination. So long as one man in the city opposes, I shall run on the Republican ticket." Conkling campaigned as a personal ally of Senator Seward, and Seward delivered a speech on Conkling's behalf.{{sfn|A.R. Conkling|pp=80–83}} Conkling won easily on the first ballot of the district convention; Doolittle was nominated by future Conkling ally [[Ward Hunt]].{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=16–19}}

Conkling's opponent in the general election, Judge [[P. Sheldon Root]], had the endorsement of the incumbent Matteson, his former law partner. Root refused to debate Conkling; Conkling stumped the county on his own behalf.{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=16–19}} Conkling won the election by 2,793 votes out of slightly under 20,000 cast. He ran 200 votes ahead of Governor [[Edwin D. Morgan]].{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=16–19}}

Conkling's first term as Representative was uneventful. He quietly opposed slavery and his speeches largely consisted of legal expositions.{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=26–28}} Throughout the protracted battle for Speaker that dominated the first session, Conkling supported [[John Sherman]] of Ohio.{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=21–23}} On the second day of the session, December 6, Conkling allegedly rose and stood to guard [[Thaddeus Stevens]] as he castigated Southern Representatives, amid fears that they would assault Stevens.{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=21–23}} (Representative Preston Brooks had [[Caning of Charles Sumner|beaten Charles Sumner unconscious]] only three years prior.) On April 17, 1860, Conkling delivered a long address attacking the [[Taney Court]] for its decisions in the [[Dred Scott case]] and ''[[Ableman v. Booth]]''. Conkling went so far as to reject [[judicial review]] as final, arguing "the judgments of the Supreme Court are binding only upon inferior courts and parties litigant."{{sfn|Jordan|1971|pp=21–23}}

In the second session of the 36th Congress, Conkling voted in favor of a committee to address the growing secession crisis and gave a speech denouncing secession and slavery. He voted in favor of the [[Morrill Tariff]] and against the proposed [[Corwin Amendment]], which would have shielded slavery from federal interference as a step toward reconciliation.{{sfn|A.R. Conkling|pp=118–20}}