85th_United_States_Congress

85th United States Congress

85th United States Congress

1957–1959 U.S. Congress

The 85th 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, 1957, to January 3, 1959, during the fifth and sixth years of Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census.

Quick Facts January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1959, Members ...

Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

To date, this is the earliest Congress with a member still living, Merwin Coad.

Major events

See also: 1957 in the United States, 1958 in the United States, and 1959 in the United States
  • January 5, 1957: President Eisenhower announced the Eisenhower Doctrine in a special message to Congress
  • January 20, 1957: Inauguration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower for a second term
  • August 21, 1957: President Eisenhower announced a 2-year suspension of nuclear testing
  • August 28, 1957: Senator Strom Thurmond set a record for the longest filibuster with his 24-hour, 18-minute speech against the Civil Rights Act of 1957
  • September 24, 1957: Little Rock Crisis: President Eisenhower sent federal troops to Arkansas to provide safe passage into Central High School for the Little Rock Nine.
  • October 4, 1957: The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth
  • October 21, 1957: The U.S. military sustained its first combat fatality in Vietnam
  • November 7, 1957: Gaither Report called for more American missiles and fallout shelters
  • November 25, 1957: President Eisenhower suffers from a stroke
  • January 31, 1958: U.S. launched its first satellite, Explorer 1
  • July 15, 1958: U.S intervenes in the Lebanon Crisis, the first major application of the Eisenhower Doctorine.
  • October 1, 1958: NASA started operations

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 85th United States Congress

States admitted

  • January 3, 1959: Alaska was admitted as the 49th state.

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)
Senate President pro tempore
Carl Hayden (D)
House Speaker
Sam Rayburn (D)

Senate

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

House of Representatives

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. Senators in each state are listed by class. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1958; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1960; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1962.

House of Representatives

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.

Joint committees

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

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

References

  • Gould, Lewis L. (2005). The Most Exclusive Club. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0-465-02778-4.
  • Remini, Robert V. (2006). The House. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-088434-7.
  • "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress". U.S. Congress. 2005. Archived from the original on June 1, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2006.
  • "Congressional History". U.S. House of Representatives. 2006. Archived from the original on June 1, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2006.
  • "Statistics and Lists". U.S. Senate. 2006. Archived from the original on June 1, 2006. Retrieved June 1, 2006.
  • House of Representatives Session Calendar for the 85th Congress (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 20, 2018. Retrieved June 6, 2016.
  • Official Congressional Directory for the 85th Congress, 1st Session. 1957.
  • Official Congressional Directory for the 85th Congress, 2nd Session. 1958.
  • Pocket Congressional Directory for the 85th Congress. U. S. Govt. Print. Off.; for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U. S. Govt. Print. Off. 1957.
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