55th United States Congress
55th United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Fifty-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1897, to March 4, 1899, during the first two years of William McKinley's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Eleventh Census of the United States in 1890. Both chambers had a Republican majority. There was one African-American member, George Henry White, a Republican from the state of North Carolina.
<templatestyles src="Template:TOC limit/styles.css" />
Contents
- 1 Major events
- 2 Major legislation
- 3 Treaties ratified
- 4 Party summary
- 5 Leadership
- 6 Members
- 6.1 Senate
- 6.1.1 Alabama
- 6.1.2 Arkansas
- 6.1.3 California
- 6.1.4 Colorado
- 6.1.5 Connecticut
- 6.1.6 Delaware
- 6.1.7 Florida
- 6.1.8 Georgia
- 6.1.9 Idaho
- 6.1.10 Illinois
- 6.1.11 Indiana
- 6.1.12 Iowa
- 6.1.13 Kansas
- 6.1.14 Kentucky
- 6.1.15 Louisiana
- 6.1.16 Maine
- 6.1.17 Maryland
- 6.1.18 Massachusetts
- 6.1.19 Michigan
- 6.1.20 Minnesota
- 6.1.21 Mississippi
- 6.1.22 Missouri
- 6.1.23 Montana
- 6.1.24 Nebraska
- 6.1.25 Nevada
- 6.1.26 New Hampshire
- 6.1.27 New Jersey
- 6.1.28 New York
- 6.1.29 North Carolina
- 6.1.30 North Dakota
- 6.1.31 Ohio
- 6.1.32 Oregon
- 6.1.33 Pennsylvania
- 6.1.34 Rhode Island
- 6.1.35 South Carolina
- 6.1.36 South Dakota
- 6.1.37 Tennessee
- 6.1.38 Texas
- 6.1.39 Utah
- 6.1.40 Vermont
- 6.1.41 Virginia
- 6.1.42 Washington
- 6.1.43 West Virginia
- 6.1.44 Wisconsin
- 6.1.45 Wyoming
- 6.2 House of Representatives
- 6.2.1 Alabama
- 6.2.2 Arkansas
- 6.2.3 California
- 6.2.4 Colorado
- 6.2.5 Connecticut
- 6.2.6 Delaware
- 6.2.7 Florida
- 6.2.8 Georgia
- 6.2.9 Idaho
- 6.2.10 Illinois
- 6.2.11 Indiana
- 6.2.12 Iowa
- 6.2.13 Kansas
- 6.2.14 Kentucky
- 6.2.15 Louisiana
- 6.2.16 Maine
- 6.2.17 Maryland
- 6.2.18 Massachusetts
- 6.2.19 Michigan
- 6.2.20 Minnesota
- 6.2.21 Mississippi
- 6.2.22 Missouri
- 6.2.23 Montana
- 6.2.24 Nebraska
- 6.2.25 Nevada
- 6.2.26 New Hampshire
- 6.2.27 New Jersey
- 6.2.28 New York
- 6.2.29 North Carolina
- 6.2.30 North Dakota
- 6.2.31 Ohio
- 6.2.32 Oregon
- 6.2.33 Pennsylvania
- 6.2.34 Rhode Island
- 6.2.35 South Carolina
- 6.2.36 South Dakota
- 6.2.37 Tennessee
- 6.2.38 Texas
- 6.2.39 Utah
- 6.2.40 Vermont
- 6.2.41 Virginia
- 6.2.42 Washington
- 6.2.43 West Virginia
- 6.2.44 Wisconsin
- 6.2.45 Wyoming
- 6.2.46 Non-voting members
- 6.1 Senate
- 7 Changes in membership
- 8 Employees
- 9 See also
- 10 References
- 11 External links
Major events
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- March 4, 1897: William McKinley became President of the United States.
- February 15, 1898: Spanish–American War: USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor.
- December 10, 1898: Treaty of Paris ended Spanish–American War, 30 Stat. 1754.
Major legislation
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
- July 24, 1897: Dingley tariff, ch. 11, 30 Stat. 151, increased trade duties for revenue and protection
- April 20, 1898: Teller Resolution (Cuba), 30 Stat. 738
- April 25, 1898: Declaration of war on Spain (Spanish–American War), 30 Stat. 364
- June 1, 1898: Erdman Act, 30 Stat. 424
- June 13, 1898: War Revenue Act of 1898, 30 Stat. 448
- July 1, 1898: Bankruptcy Act of 1898 (Henderson-Nelson Act), ch. 541, 30 Stat. 544, gave companies an option of gaining protection from creditors.
- July 7, 1898: Newlands Resolution, No. 55, 30 Stat. 750, authorized the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii
- March 3, 1899: Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, Ch. 425, 33 Stat. 401, § 9, 30 Stat. 1151
Treaties ratified
- February 6, 1899: Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish–American War. Guam, The Philippines, and Puerto Rico became possessions of the U.S.
Party summary
The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of the first session of this Congress, and includes members from vacancies and newly admitted states, when they were first seated. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
Senate
Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Populist (P) |
Republican (R) |
Silver (S) |
Silver Republican (SR) |
|||
End of the previous congress | 40 | 4 | 44 | 2 | 0 | 90 | 0 |
Begin | 33 | 5 | 43 | 2 | 5 | 88 | 2 |
End | 34 | 44 | 90 | 0 | |||
Final voting share | 37.8% | 5.6% | 48.9% | 2.2% | 5.6% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 24 | 6 | 52 | 2 | 2 | 86 | 4 |
House of Representatives
Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Populist (P) |
Republican (R) |
Independent Republican (IR) |
Silver (S) |
Silver Republican (SR) |
|||
End of the previous congress | 94 | 9 | 252 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 356 | 1 |
Begin | 124 | 22 | 206 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 357 | 0 |
End | 207 | 358 | ||||||
Final voting share | 34.6% | 6.1% | 57.8% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.8% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 163 | 6 | 183 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 355 | 2 |
Leadership
Senate
House of Representatives
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.
Senate
Senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1902.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- replacements: 6
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
- deaths: 5
- resignations: 1
- Total seats with changes: 8
House of Representatives
- replacements: 13
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 10
- resignations: 8
- contested election: 3
- Total seats with changes: 23
Employees
Senate
- Secretary: William Ruffin Cox of North Carolina
- Sergeant at Arms: Richard J. Bright of Indiana
- Chaplain: William H. Millburn Methodist
House of Representatives
- Clerk: Alexander McDowell of Pennsylvania, elected March 15, 1897
- Sergeant at Arms: Benjamin F. Russell of Missouri, elected March 15, 1897
- Doorkeeper: William J. Glenn of New York, elected March 15, 1897
- Postmaster: Joseph C. McElroy of Ohio, elected March 15, 1897
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: Asher C. Hinds
- Chaplain: Henry N. Couden Universalist, elected March 15, 1897
See also
- United States elections, 1896 (elections leading to this Congress)
- United States elections, 1898 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
References
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.