56th United States Congress
| 56th United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
Major events
- June 2, 1899: The Filipino Rebellion began the Philippine–American War.
- November 21, 1899: Vice President Garret Hobart died.
- January 8, 1900: President McKinley placed Alaska under military rule.
- January 17, 1900: Brigham H. Roberts was refused a seat in the United States House of Representatives because of his polygamy.
- February 5, 1900: Britain and the United States signed a treaty for the building of a Central American shipping canal through Nicaragua.
- February 16, 1900: The United States, Germany and Great Britain ratified the Tripartite Convention partitioning the Samoan Islands.
- November 6, 1900: U.S. presidential election, 1900: Republican incumbent William McKinley was reelected by defeating Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan.
Major legislation
- March 14, 1900: Gold Standard Act, Sess. 1, ch. 41, 31 Stat. 45
- April 2, 1900: Foraker Act, Sess. 1, ch. 191, 31 Stat. 77 (Puerto Rico Civil Code)
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
Garret Hobart
David B. Henderson
Senate
- President: Garret Hobart (R), until November 21, 1899 (died), vacant thereafter.
- President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R)
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones (D)
- Republican Conference Chairman: William B. Allison (R)
House of Representatives
- Speaker: David B. Henderson (R)
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: James Hay (D)
- Republican Conference Chairman: Joseph G. Cannon (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership
Minority (Democratic) leadership
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.
House of Representatives
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- replacements: 4
- Democratic: 1 seat gain
- Republican: 1 seat loss
- deaths: 3
- resignations: 1
- vacancy: 5
- interim appointments: 3
- Total seats with changes: 9
House of Representatives
- replacements: 18
- Democratic: 2 seat loss
- Republican: 2 seat gain
- deaths: 15
- resignations: 8
- contested election: 4
- Total seats with changes: 25
Employees
Senate
- Chaplain: William H. Millburn (Methodist)
- Secretary: William Ruffin Cox
- Charles G. Bennett, elected February 1, 1900
- Sergeant at Arms: Richard J. Bright
- Daniel M. Ransdell, elected February 1, 1900
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Henry N. Couden (Universalist)
- Clerk: Alexander McDowell
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: Asher C. Hinds
- Doorkeeper: William J. Glenn
- Postmaster: Joseph C. McElroy
- Sergeant at Arms: Henry Casson
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
- Statutes at Large, 1789-1875
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: Congressional History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
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