Serfdom in Russia Great, businesses began to send serfs into those areas in an attempt to harvest their large amount of untapped natural resources Tsar Alexander I wanted to reform the system but was thwarted in this ambition. New laws allowed all classes (except the serfs) to own land, a privilege that had previously been confined to the nobility. Russian serfdom was finally abolished in the emancipation reform of 1861 by Tsar Alexander II. Scholars have proposed multiple overlapping reasons to account for the abolition, including fear of a large-scale revolt by the serfs, the government's financial needs, evolving cultural sensibilities, and the
1861 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania 14, 1861, to elect a new Senator to fill the vacancy. The results of the vote of both houses combined are as follows: 1861 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania The 1861 United States Senate special election in Pennsylvania was held on March 14, 1861. David Wilmot was elected by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to the United States Senate. The Republican Simon Cameron was elected to the United States Senate by the General Assembly, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, in January 1857. Sen. Cameron resigned on March 4, 1861, to become United States Secretary of