56th United States Congress

56th United States Congress

United States Capitol (1906)

Duration: March 4, 1899 – March 4, 1901

Senate President: Garret Hobart (Mar-Nov 1899)
Vacant (1899–1901)
Senate Pres. pro tem: William P. Frye
House Speaker: David B. Henderson
Members: 90 Senators
357 Representatives
4 Non-voting members
Senate Majority: Republican
House Majority: Republican

Sessions
1st: December 4, 1899 – June 7, 1900
2nd: December 3, 1900 – March 3, 1901
<55th 57th>

The Fifty-sixth 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, 1899 to March 4, 1901, during the third and fourth years of William McKinley's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this 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, who served his second and final term as a Representative in this Congress, and would be the last black member of Congress until 1928, and the last black member of Congress from the South until 1972.

Contents

Major events

Major legislation

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 34 5 44 2 5 90 0
Begin 24 6 52 2 2 86 4
End 23 7 54 88 2
Final voting share 26.1% 8.0% 61.4% 2.3% 2.3%
Beginning of the next congress 28 2 53 0 3 86 4

House of Representatives

Party
(Shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Populist
(P)
Republican
(R)
Silver
(S)
Silver Republican
(SR)
End of the previous congress 124 22 207 1 3 357 0
Begin 163 6 183 1 2 355 2
End 159 186 354 3
Final voting share 44.9% 1.7% 52.5% 0.3% 0.6%
Non-voting members 1 0 2 0 0 3 1
Beginning of the next congress 151 5 200 0 1 357 0

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

At this time, 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 began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1904; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last 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

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

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