55th United States Congress

55th United States Congress

United States Capitol (1906)

Duration: March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1899

Senate President: Garret Hobart
Senate Pres. pro tem: William P. Frye
House Speaker: Thomas B. Reed
Members: 90 Senators
357 Representatives
3 Non-voting members
Senate Majority: Republican
House Majority: Republican

Sessions
Special: March 4, 1897 – March 10, 1897
1st: March 15, 1897 – July 24, 1897
2nd: December 6, 1897 – July 8, 1898
3rd: December 5, 1898 – March 3, 1899
<54th 56th>

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 of North Carolina.

Contents

Major events

Major legislation

Treaties ratified

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

TOTAL members: 357

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.

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Alabama

Arkansas

California

Colorado

Connecticut

Delaware

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Kentucky

Louisiana

Maine

Maryland

Massachusetts

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

North Dakota

Ohio

Oregon

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

South Carolina

South Dakota

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Vermont

Virginia

Washington

Both representatives were elected statewide on a general ticket.

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Wyoming

Non-voting members

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

House of Representatives

Employees

Senate

House of Representatives

References

External links