46th_United_States_Congress

46th United States Congress

46th United States Congress

1879-1881 U.S. Congress

The 46th 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, 1879, to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of Rutherford Hayes's presidency.

Quick Facts March 4, 1879 – March 4, 1881, Members ...

The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1870 United States census. The Senate had a Democratic majority, while the House of Representatives had a Democratic plurality. The Democrats were still able to control the House, however, with the help of the Independent politicians who caucused with them.

Party summary

Senate

More information Party (shading shows control), Total ...

House of Representatives

More information Party (shading shows control), Total ...

Leadership

President of the Senate
William A. Wheeler
Senate President pro tempore Allen G. Thurman
House Speaker Samuel J. Randall

Senate

House of Representatives

Major events

Main articles: 1879 in the United States, 1880 in the United States, and 1881 in the United States
  • Depression of 1873–79
  • March 18, 1879: Samuel J. Randall was elected in one of the most tightly fought contests for the speakership after the Civil War. Randall, who favored the protective tariff and "hard money," drew his greatest strength from northern cities and greatest opposition from the west and south. The midterm elections of 1878 had gone badly for the Democrats, with the Greenback Party making inroads in key districts. This emboldened Randall's opponents, who rallied to the support of Joseph Blackburn from Kentucky. In the end, Randall prevailed in the Democratic caucus to receive the nomination, with 75 votes to Blackburn's 57 and a scattering of 9 votes to three other candidates. Blackburn, in moving to make Randall's nomination unanimous, steered his supporters away from the nomination of Hendrick B. Wright, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who was nominated by the Greenbacks. In the eventual vote in the House to elect the Speaker, Randall prevailed with 144 votes, to 125 for James Garfield (Republican from Ohio), 13 for Wright, and one for William "Pig Iron" Kelley (Pennsylvania).
  • November 2, 1880: U.S. presidential election, 1880: James Garfield (R) defeated Winfield S. Hancock (D)
  • February 19, 1881: Kansas became the first state to prohibit alcohol.

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation, 1789–1901

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate

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 re-election in 1880; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1882; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1884.

House of Representatives

The names of members are preceded by their district numbers.

More information House seats by party holding plurality in state ...

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

  • Replacements: 4
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 1
  • Interim appointments: 2
  • Total seats with changes: 5
See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate and List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
More information State (class), Vacated by ...

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 8
  • Deaths: 4
  • Resignations: 3
  • Contested election: 2
  • Total seats with changes: 11
More information District, Vacated by ...

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

  1. Readjuster
  2. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

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.
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