75th United States Congress
| 75th United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Washington, D.C., March 25, 1937: Navy Chaplain Edward Duff opens the House of Representatives with a prayer for the first time since 1820. It was the first time in 117 years that the Navy was again honored in giving the invocation. Left to right: James S. Montgomery, Chaplain of the House; Speaker William Bankhead; and Capt. Edward A. Duff, Chief of Chaplains U.S. Navy
The Seventy-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 January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years of the second administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Because of the 20th amendment, starting in 1937 the new Presidential term began 17 days after that of the new Congress). The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Fifteenth United States Census, conducted in 1930. Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority.
Major events
- January 20, 1937: Second inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt as President and John Nance Garner as Vice President
- February 5, 1937: President Franklin Roosevelt's court-packing plan proposed
- March 26, 1937: William Henry Hastie becomes the first African-American appointed to a federal judgeship.
- April 12, 1937: National Labor Relations Board v. Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation: The Supreme Court of the United States ruled the National Labor Relations Act constitutional.
- July 22, 1937: Senate rejects the court-packing plan
- October 5, 1937: Roosevelt delivers the Quarantine Speech
Major legislation
- May 1, 1937: Neutrality Acts of 1937
- June 3, 1937: Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act, ch. 296, 50 Stat. 246
- August 2, 1937: Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 50 Stat. 553
- August 5, 1937: National Cancer Institute Act, Pub.L. 75–244, ch. 565, 50 Stat. 559
- August 17, 1937: Miller-Tydings Act, ch. 690, title VIII, 50 Stat. 693
- March 21, 1938: Wheeler-Lea Act, ch. 49, 52 Stat. 111
- June 8, 1938: Foreign Agents Registration Act, ch. 327, 52 Stat. 631
- June 21, 1938: Natural Gas Act, ch. 556, 52 Stat. 821
- June 25, 1938: Civil Aeronautics Act, ch. 601, 52 Stat. 973
- June 25, 1938: Fair Labor Standards Act, ch. 676, 52 Stat. 1060
- June 25, 1938: Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, ch. 675, 52 Stat. 1040
- June 25, 1938: Wagner-O'Day Act, ch. 697, 52 Stat. 1196
Party summary
Senate
| Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Farmer-Labor (F) | Progressive (1924) (P) | Republican (R) | Independent (I) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 73 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 75 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 95 | 1 |
| End | 74 | 18 | 96 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 77.1% | 2.1% | 1.0% | 18.8% | 1.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 70 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 96 | 0 |
House of Representatives
- Democratic (D): 334 (majority)
- Republican (R): 88
- Wisconsin Progressive (P): 7
- Progressive (P): 1
- Farmer-Labor (FL): 5
TOTAL members: 435
Leadership
(L-R): House Speaker William Bankhead, Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley, and House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn
(L-R): Vice President John Nance Garner, Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley, Speaker of the House William Bankhead, and House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn, January 9, 1939
Senate
- President: John N. Garner (D)
- President pro tempore: Key Pittman (D)
House of Representatives
Members
Senate
Senators are popularly elected statewide 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.
Alabama
Arizona
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 Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
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.
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Senate
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa (2) |
Vacant | Herring chose to remain as Governor of Iowa until term expired. | Clyde L. Herring (D) | January 15, 1937 |
| Tennessee (2) |
Nathan L. Bachman (D) | Died April 23, 1937. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. | George L. Berry (D) | May 6, 1937 |
| Arkansas (2) |
Joseph T. Robinson (D) | Died July 14, 1937 | John E. Miller (D) | November 15, 1937 |
| Alabama (3) |
Hugo Black (D) | Resigned August 19, 1937 after being appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. | Dixie Bibb Graves (D) | August 20, 1937 |
| Alabama (3) |
Dixie Bibb Graves (D) | Resigned January 10, 1938 after successor was elected. | J. Lister Hill (D) | January 11, 1938 |
| New Jersey (1) |
A. Harry Moore (D) | Resigned January 17, 1938 after being elected Governor of New Jersey. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. | John G. Milton (D) | January 18, 1938 |
| Oregon (3) |
Frederick Steiwer (R) | Resigned January 31, 1938. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. | Alfred E. Reames (D) | February 1, 1938 |
| New York (1) |
Royal S. Copeland (D) | Died June 17, 1938. | James M. Mead (D) | December 3, 1938 |
| California (3) |
William G. McAdoo (D) | Resigned November 8, 1938 after losing nomination for upcoming term. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. | Thomas M. Storke (D) | November 9, 1938 |
| New Jersey (1) |
John G. Milton (D) | Successor was elected November 8, 1838. | William W. Barbour (R) | November 8, 1938 |
| Oregon (3) |
Alfred E. Reames (D) | Successor was elected November 8, 1938. | Alexander G. Barry (R) | November 9, 1938 |
| South Dakota (3) |
Herbert E. Hitchcock (D) | Appointed during previous congress to fill term of Sen. Peter Norbeck. Unsuccessful candidate for full term. Successor was elected November 8, 1838. | Gladys Pyle (R) | November 9, 1938 |
| Tennessee (2) |
George L. Berry (D) | Unsuccessful candidate for full term. Successor was elected November 8, 1838 but chose to continue term as attorney general until the next congress. | Vacant | Not filled for the remainder of this congress. |
House of Representatives
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia 3rd | Andrew Jackson Montague (D) | Died January 24, 1937 | Dave E. Satterfield, Jr. (D) | November 2, 1937 |
| Texas 10th | James P. Buchanan (D) | Died February 22, 1937 | Lyndon B. Johnson (D) | April 10, 1937 |
| California 10th | Henry E. Stubbs (D) | Died February 28, 1937 | Alfred J. Elliott (D) | May 4, 1937 |
| Pennsylvania 18th | Benjamin K. Focht (R) | Died March 27, 1937 | Richard M. Simpson (R) | May 11, 1937 |
| New York 27th | Philip A. Goodwin (R) | Died June 6, 1937 | Lewis K. Rockefeller (R) | November 2, 1937 |
| Massachusetts 7th | William P. Connery, Jr. (D) | Died June 15, 1937 | Lawrence J. Connery (D) | September 28, 1937 |
| New York 17th | Theodore A. Peyser (D) | Died August 8, 1937 | Bruce F. Barton (R) | November 2, 1937 |
| Ohio 4th | Frank Le Blond Kloeb (D) | Resigned August 19, 1937 after being appointed as a justice of United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Western Div. | Walter H. Albaugh (R) | November 8, 1938 |
| New York 25th | Charles D. Millard (R) | Resigned September 29, 1937 after being elected surrogate of Westchester County, New York | Ralph A. Gamble (R) | November 2, 1937 |
| Massachusetts 11th | John P. Higgins (D) | Resigned September 30, 1937 after being appointed chief justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court | Thomas A. Flaherty (D) | December 14, 1937 |
| Oklahoma 5th | Robert P. Hill (D) | Died October 29, 1937 | Gomer Griffith Smith (D) | December 10, 1937 |
| Arkansas 2nd | John E. Miller (D) | Resigned November 14, 1937 after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Pennsylvania 33rd | Henry Ellenbogen (D) | Resigned January 3, 1938 after being elected judge of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Alabama 2nd | J. Lister Hill (D) | Resigned January 11, 1938 after being appointed to the US Senate | George M. Grant (D) | June 14, 1938 |
| New Jersey 9th | Edward A. Kenney (D) | Died January 27, 1938 | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| California 17th | Charles J. Colden (D) | Died April 15, 1938 | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Kentucky 8th | Fred M. Vinson (D) | Resigned May 27, 1938 after being appointed associate justice on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | Joe B. Bates (D) | June 4, 1938 |
| New Hampshire 1st | Arthur B. Jenks (R) | Lost contested election June 9, 1938 | Alphonse Roy (D) | June 9, 1938 |
| South Carolina 6th | Allard H. Gasque (D) | Died June 17, 1938 | Elizabeth Hawley Gasque (D) | September 13, 1937 |
| New York 1st | Robert L. Bacon (R) | Died September 12, 1938 | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Resident Commissioner of the Philippines | Quintin Paredes (NAC) | Resigned September 29, 1938 | Joaquín Miguel Elizalde (NAC) | September 29, 1938 |
| New York 15th | John J. Boylan (D) | Died October 5, 1938 | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Iowa 1st | Edward C. Eicher (D) | Resigned December 2, 1938 after being appointed a commissioner to the Securities and Exchange Commission | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| New York 42nd | James M. Mead (D) | Resigned December 2, 1938 to run for the US Senate | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Maryland 5th | Stephen W. Gambrill (D) | Died December 19, 1938 | Vacant until the next Congress | |
Employees
- Architect of the Capitol: David Lynn[1]
- Assistant Architect: Horace D. Rouzer[1]
Senate
- Chaplain: Reverend ZeBarney Thorne Phillips[1]
- Parliamentarian: Charles L. Watkins[1]
- Secretary: Edwin Alexander Halsey[1]
- Sergeant at Arms: Chesley W. Jurney[1]
- Postmaster: Jack W. Gates[1]
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: James Shera Montgomery[1] (Methodist)
- Clerk: South Trimble[1]
- Journal clerk: Louis Sirkey[1]
- Reading Clerks: A.E. Chaffee, Patrick J. Haltigan[1]
- Librarian: W. Perry Miller[1]
- Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott[1]
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler[1]
- Postmaster: Finis E. Scott[1]
- Sergeant at Arms: Kenneth Romney[1]
- Postmaster: Finis E. Scott[1]
References
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