43rd United States Congress
43rd United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Forty-third 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, 1873 to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth years of Ulysses Grant's presidency . The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Major events
- September 18, 1873: New York stock market crash triggered the Panic of 1873, part of the Long Depression
- November 4, 1874: United States House of Representatives elections, 1874 -Democrats regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time since 1860
- November 25, 1874: United States Greenback Party established as a political party, made primarily of farmers financially hurt by the Panic of 1873
Major legislation
- June 23, 1874: Poland Act, 18 Stat. 253
- January 14, 1875: Specie Payment Resumption Act ch. 15, 18 Stat. 296
- March 1, 1875: Civil Rights Act of 1875, (Butler-Sumner Act) 18 Stat. 335
- March 3, 1875: Tariff of 1875
- March 3, 1875: Page Act of 1875, 18 Stat. 477
Treaties
- March 18, 1874: Hawaii signed a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.
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
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Liberal Republican (LR) |
Republican (R) |
Other | Vacant | ||
End of previous Congress | 17 | 1 | 54 | 0 | 72 | 2 |
Begin | 19 | 3 | 50 | 0 | 72 | 2 |
End | 20 | 2 | 51 | 73 | 1 | |
Final voting share | 30.1% | 69.9% | 0.0% | |||
Beginning of the next Congress | 26 | 0 | 46 | (Independent Republican) 1 |
73 | 1 |
House of Representatives
Before this Congress, the 1870 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 292 members.
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Independent Democratic (ID) |
Liberal Republican (LR) |
Republican (R) |
Other | Vacant | ||
End of previous Congress | 97 | 0 | 3 | 141 | (Independent Republican) 1 |
242 | 1 |
Begin | 91 | 6 | 4 | 189 | 0 | 290 | 2 |
End | 95 | 7 | 199 | ||||
Final voting share | 36.6% | 63.4% | 0.0% | ||||
Beginning of the next Congress | 177 | 1 | 0 | 102 | (Independent Republican +Independent) 7 |
287 | 5 |
Leadership
Senate
- President: Henry Wilson (R)
- President pro tempore: Matthew H. Carpenter (R)
- Henry B. Anthony (R), elected January 25, 1875.
House of Representatives
- Speaker: James G. Blaine (R)
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 1874; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1878.
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 the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- replacements: 5
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: no net change
- Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 3
- resignations: 3
- interim appointments: 1
- vacancy: 1
- Total seats with changes: 7
State (class) | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Massachusetts (2) | Vacant | Henry Wilson resigned in previous congress after becoming Vice President of the United States | George S. Boutwell (R) | March 17, 1873 |
Mississippi (1) | Adelbert Ames (R) | Resigned March 17, 1873 after being elected Governor of Mississippi | Henry R. Pease (R) | February 3, 1874 |
Kansas (2) | Alexander Caldwell (R) | Resigned March 24, 1873 | Robert Crozier (R) | November 24, 1873 |
California (1) | Eugene Casserly (D) | Resigned November 29, 1873 | John S. Hager (D) | December 23, 1873 |
Kansas (2) | Robert Crozier (R) | Successor elected February 2, 1874 | James M. Harvey (R) | February 2, 1874 |
Massachusetts (1) | Charles Sumner (LR) | Died March 11, 1874 | William B. Washburn (R) | April 17, 1874 |
Connecticut (1) | William A. Buckingham (R) | Died February 5, 1875 | William W. Eaton (D) | February 5, 1875 |
House of Representatives
- replacements: 15
- Democratic: 3 seat net gain
- Republican: 4 seat net loss
- Liberal Republican: 1 seat net gain
- deaths: 8
- resignations: 5
- contested election: 4
- Total seats with changes: 19
District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louisiana 4th | Vacant | Rep-elect Samuel Peters died before taking seat | George L. Smith (R) | November 24, 1873 |
Georgia 8th | Vacant | Rep-elect Ambrose R. Wright died before taking seat | Alexander H. Stephens (D) | December 1, 1873 |
Pennsylvania 23rd | Ebenezer McJunkin (R) | Resigned some time during this congress | John M. Thompson (R) | ?????? |
New York 6th | James Brooks (D) | Died April 30, 1873 | Samuel S. Cox (D) | November 4, 1873 |
Massachusetts 3rd | William Whiting (R) | Died June 29, 1873 | Henry L. Pierce (R) | December 1, 1873 |
Oregon At-large | Joseph G. Wilson (R) | Died July 2, 1873 | James Nesmith (D) | December 1, 1873 |
Michigan 5th | Wilder D. Foster (R) | Died September 20, 1873 | William B. Williams (R) | December 1, 1873 |
Virginia 5th | Alexander Davis (D) | Lost contested election March 5, 1874 | Christopher Thomas (R) | March 5, 1874 |
Georgia 1st | Morgan Rawls (D) | Lost contested election March 24, 1874 | Andrew Sloan (R) | March 24, 1874 |
New York 9th | David B. Mellish (R) | Died May 23, 1874 | Richard Schell (D) | December 7, 1874 |
Arkansas 3rd | William W. Wilshire (R) | Lost contested election June 16, 1874 | Thomas M. Gunter (D) | June 16, 1874 |
Ohio 12th | Hugh J. Jewett (D) | Resigned June 23, 1874 after becoming President of the Erie Railroad | William E. Finck (D) | December 7, 1874 |
New York 3rd | Stewart L. Woodford (R) | Resigned July 1, 1874 | Simeon B. Chittenden (IR) | November 3, 1874 |
South Carolina 3rd | Robert B. Elliott (R) | Resigned November 1, 1874 | Lewis C. Carpenter (R) | November 3, 1874 |
Illinois 1st | John B. Rice (R) | Died December 17, 1874 | Bernard G. Caulfield (D) | February 1, 1875 |
Massachusetts 10th | Alvah Crocker (R) | Died December 26, 1874 | Charles A. Stevens (R) | January 27, 1875 |
Florida At-large | William J. Purman (R) | Resigned January 25, 1875 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Maine 4th | Samuel F. Hersey (R) | Died February 3, 1875 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
Louisiana 1st | J. Hale Sypher (R) | Lost contested election March 3, 1875 | Effingham Lawrence (D) | March 3, 1875 |
Employees
Senate
- Chaplain: John P. Newman (Methodist)
- Byron Sunderland (Presbyterian), elected December 8, 1873
- Secretary: George C. Gorham
- Sergeant at Arms: John R. French
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: John G. Butler (Presbyterian)
- Clerk: Edward McPherson
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: John M. Barclay
- Doorkeeper: Otis S. Buxton
- Postmaster: Henry Sherwood
- Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway
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
- Senate Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
- House Journal, First Forty-three Sessions of Congress
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
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