47th United States Congress
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The Forty-seventh United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881 to March 4, 1883, during the administration of U.S. President James A. Garfield, and the first year of the administration of his successor, U.S. President Chester A. Arthur. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House had a Republican majority.
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) |
Readjuster (RD) | Republican (R) | Independent (I) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 42 | 0 | 31 | 2 | 75 | 1 |
| Begin | 37 | 1 | 36 | 1 | 75 | 1 |
| End | 37 | 76 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 48.7% | 1.3% | 48.7% | 1.3% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 36 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 76 | 0 |
House of Representatives
- Democratic: 128
- Republican: 151 (majority)
- Independent Democrat: 1
- Independent: 1
- National Greenback: 10
TOTAL members: 293
Leadership
President of the Senate
Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Senate
- President: Chester A. Arthur, of New York, succeeded to the Presidency, September 19, 1881, vacant thereafter
- President pro tempore: Thomas F. Bayard (D)
- David Davis (I), from October 13, 1881.
- George F. Edmunds (R), from March 3, 1883.
House of Representatives
- Speaker: J. Warren Keifer (R)
Major events
- March 4, 1881: James A. Garfield became President of the United States
- September 19, 1881: Chester A. Arthur became President of the United States
Major legislation
- February 25, 1882: Apportionment of the Tenth Census, ch. 20, 22 Stat. 5
- May 6, 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act, 22 Stat. 58
- August 2, 1882: Rivers and Harbors Act
- January 16, 1883: Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403
- March 3, 1883: Tariff of 1883 (Mongrel Tariff)
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 1880; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1882; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1884.
See also: United States Senate elections, 1880
Alabama
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
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Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
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New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Tennessee
Texas
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin
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 President pro tempore Thomas F. Bayard  President pro tempore David Davis  President pro tempore George F. Edmunds |
House of Representatives
Members' names are preceded by their district numbers.
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Senate
- Deaths: 2
- Resignations: 8
- Interim appointments: 1
- Total replacements: 8
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
- Total seats with changes: 10
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin (3) | Vacant | Vacancy in term as Senator Matthew H. Carpenter died in previous congress | Angus Cameron (R) | March 14, 1881 |
| Maine (2) | James G. Blaine (R) | Resigned March 5, 1881 to become U.S. Secretary of State | William P. Frye (R) | March 15, 1881 |
| Iowa (2) | Samuel J. Kirkwood (R) | Resigned March 7, 1881 to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior | James W. McDill (R) | March 8, 1881 |
| Minnesota (2) | William Windom (R) | Resigned March 7, 1881 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury | Alonzo J. Edgerton (R) | March 12, 1881 |
| New York (1) | Thomas C. Platt (R) | Resigned May 16, 1881 as a protest against federal appointments made in New York | Warner Miller (R) | July 27, 1881 |
| New York (3) | Roscoe Conkling (R) | Resigned May 16, 1881 as a protest against federal appointments made in New York | Elbridge G. Lapham (R) | August 2, 1881 |
| Rhode Island (1) | Ambrose Burnside (R) | Died September 13, 1881 | Nelson W. Aldrich (R) | October 5, 1881 |
| Minnesota (2) | Alonzo J. Edgerton (R) | Interim appointee replaced by successor elected October 30, 1881 | William Windom (R) | November 15, 1881 |
| Colorado (2) | Henry M. Teller (R) | Resigned April 17, 1882 to become U.S. Secretary of the Interior | George M. Chilcott (R) | April 17, 1882 |
| Georgia (2) | Benjamin H. Hill (D) | Died August 16, 1882 | M. Pope Barrow (D) | November 15, 1882 |
| Colorado (2) | George M. Chilcott (R) | Interim appointee replaced by successor elected January 27, 1883 | Horace Tabor (R) | January 27, 1883 |
House of Representatives
- Deaths: 6
- Resignations: 9
- Contested elections: 8
- Total replacements: 14
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: 1 seat net loss
- Total seats with changes: 22
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan 7th | Vacant | Rep. Omar D. Conger resigned during previous congress | John T. Rich (R) | April 5, 1881 |
| New York 9th | Vacant | Rep. Fernando Wood resigned during previous congress | John Hardy (D) | December 5, 1881 |
| Maine 2nd | William P. Frye (R) | Resigned March 17, 1881 after being elected to the US Senate | Nelson Dingley, Jr. (R) | September 12, 1881 |
| New York 11th | Levi P. Morton (R) | Resigned March 21, 1881 after being appointed Minister to France | Roswell P. Flower (D) | November 8, 1881 |
| South Carolina 2nd | Michael P. O'Connor (D) | Died April 26, 1881 during a contested election. Dibble presented credentials to replace him due to his death. | Samuel Dibble (D) | June 9, 1881 |
| New York 22nd | Warner Miller (R) | Resigned July 26, 1881 after being elected to the US Senate | Charles R. Skinner (R) | November 8, 1881 |
| New York 27th | Elbridge G. Lapham (R) | Resigned August 2, 1881 after being elected to the US Senate | James W. Wadsworth (R) | November 8, 1881 |
| Rhode Island 1st | Nelson W. Aldrich (R) | Resigned October 5, 1881 after being elected to the US Senate | Henry J. Spooner (R) | December 5, 1881 |
| Missouri 2nd | Thomas Allen (D) | Died April 8, 1882 | James H. McLean (R) | December 15, 1882 |
| Mississippi 6th | James R. Chalmers (D) | Lost contested election April 29, 1882 | John R. Lynch (R) | April 29, 1882 |
| South Carolina 2nd | Samuel Dibble (D) | Lost contested election May 31, 1882 during an election originally contested with Michael P. O'Connor. Dibble presented credentials to replace him until Mackey was determined to be the victor under terms of the original election. | Edmund W. M. Mackey (IR) | May 31, 1882 |
| Florida 2nd | Jesse J. Finley (D) | Lost contested election June 1, 1882 | Horatio Bisbee, Jr. (R) | June 1, 1882 |
| Alabama 8th | Joseph Wheeler (D) | Lost contested election June 3, 1882 | William M. Lowe (GB) | June 3, 1882 |
| Illinois 5th | Robert M. A. Hawk (R) | Died June 29, 1882 | Robert R. Hitt (R) | November 7, 1882 |
| South Carolina 5th | George D. Tillman (D) | Lost contested election July 19, 1882 | Robert Smalls (R) | July 19, 1882 |
| Alabama 4th | Charles M. Shelley (D) | Election contested by James Q. Smith. Seat declared vacant July 20, 1882. Shelley re-elected to fill seat. | Charles M. Shelley (D) | November 7, 1882 |
| Alabama 8th | William M. Lowe (GB) | Died October 12, 1882 | Joseph Wheeler (D) | January 15, 1883 |
| Georgia 8th | Alexander H. Stephens (D) | Resigned November 4, 1882 after being elected Governor of Georgia | Seaborn Reese (D) | December 4, 1882 |
| Ohio 16th | Jonathan T. Updegraff (R) | Died November 30, 1882 | Joseph D. Taylor (R) | January 2, 1883 |
| Indiana 9th | Godlove S. Orth (R) | Died December 16, 1882 | Charles T. Doxey (R) | January 17, 1883 |
| North Carolina 3rd | John W. Shackelford (D) | Died January 18, 1883 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Missouri 3rd | Richard G. Frost (D) | Lost contested election March 2, 1883 | Gustavus Sessinghaus (R) | March 2, 1883 |
| Iowa 6th | Marsena E. Cutts (R) | Lost election contest March 3, 1883 | John C. Cook (D) | March 3, 1883 |
Employees
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark, appointed August 30, 1865
Senate
- Secretary: John C. Burch, elected March 24, 1879, died July 28, 1881
- Francis E. Shober, (Acting), elected October 25, 1881
- Sergeant at Arms: Richard J. Bright
- Chaplain: Joseph J. Bullock (Presbyterian)
House of Representatives
- Clerk: Edward McPherson
- Sergeant at Arms: George W. Hooker
- Doorkeeper: Walter P. Brownlow
- Postmaster: Henry Sherwood
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: J. Guilford White
- Michael Sullivan
- Chaplain: Frederick D. Power (Disciples of Christ)
References
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
External links
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
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