87th_United_States_Congress

87th United States Congress

87th United States Congress

1961–1963 U.S. Congress

The 87th 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, D.C. from January 3, 1961, to January 3, 1963, during the final weeks of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency and the first two years of John Kennedy's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census, along with two seats temporarily added in 1959 (one member each from recently admitted states of Alaska and Hawaii).

Quick Facts January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1963, Members ...

Both chambers had a Democratic majority (albeit reduced in the House). With President Kennedy being sworn in on January 20, 1961, this gave the Democrats an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 81st Congress in 1949.

Major events

Main articles: 1961 in the United States, 1962 in the United States, and 1963 in the United States
  • January 3, 1961: President Eisenhower severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba.
  • January 20, 1961: Inauguration of President John F. Kennedy.
  • April 17, 1961: Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba began; it fails by April 19.
  • May 4, 1961: Freedom Riders began interstate bus rides to test the new U.S. Supreme Court integration decision.
  • May 5, 1961: Alan Shepard became the first American in space aboard Mercury-Redstone 3.
  • May 25, 1961: President Kennedy announced his goal to put a man on the Moon before the end of the decade
  • November 20: 1961: Funeral of Speaker Sam Rayburn, who died on November 16
  • February 3, 1962: Embargo against Cuba was announced
  • February 20, 1962: John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth
  • March 26, 1962: Supreme Court ruled that federal courts could order state legislatures to reapportion seats (Baker v. Carr)
  • October 1, 1962: James Meredith registered as the first black student at the University of Mississippi, escorted by Federal Marshals.
  • October 14, 1962 - October 28, 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis

Major legislation

Senate President Lyndon Johnson (L) and House Speaker Sam Rayburn seated behind President John Kennedy during his first State of the Union address on January 30, 1961.
Main article: List of United States federal legislation

Constitutional amendments

The official Joint Resolution of Congress proposing what became the 24th Amendment as contained in the National Archives

Party summary

Senate

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

House of Representatives

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

Leadership

Senate President
Richard Nixon (R)
Until January 20, 1961
Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
From January 20, 1961
Senate President pro tempore
Carl Hayden (D)

Senate

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

House of Representatives

House Speaker
Sam Rayburn (D)
Until November 16, 1961
(1st session)
John W. McCormack (D)
From January 10, 1962
(2nd session)

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Caucuses

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, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1962; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1964; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1966.

Currently, this is the last Congressional session in which the Democratic Party commanded all Senate seats from the Deep South, a unity broken when a Republican defeated the appointed successor to Lyndon Johnson's seat in a 1961 Senate special election.

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

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

Changes in membership

Senate

See also: List of special elections to the United States Senate
More information State (class), Vacated by ...

House of Representatives

See also: List of special elections to the United States House of Representatives
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

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

  1. U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon's term as President of the Senate ended at noon January 20, 1961, when Lyndon B. Johnson's term began.
  2. In Wyoming, Senator-elect Edwin Keith Thomson (R) died December 9, 1960, before the term started.
  3. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References

  1. [1]
    "Proceedings and debates of the 87th Congress, first session" (PDF). Congressional Record. U.S. Government Publishing Office. January 3, 1961. p. 7.
  • 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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