54th United States Congress - Wikipedia
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| 54th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
53rd ← → 55th | |
 United States Capitol (1906) | |
March 4, 1895 – March 4, 1897 | |
| Members | 90 senators 357 representatives 4 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican (plurality) |
| Senate President | Adlai E. Stevenson (D) |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Thomas B. Reed (R) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: December 2, 1895 – June 11, 1896 2nd: December 7, 1896 – March 3, 1897 |
The 54th 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, 1895, to March 4, 1897, during the last two years of Grover Cleveland's second presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1890 United States census. The House had a Republican majority, and the Republicans were the largest party in the Senate.
- May 27, 1896: 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring over $10,000,000 (over $375 mil. in 2025) in damages at contemporaneous prices, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.
- November 3, 1896: U.S. presidential election, 1896: Republican William McKinley defeats Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan. This is regarded as a realigning election, that ended the old Third Party System and started the Fourth Party System
- February 19, 1897: United States Copyright Office established as a department in the Library of Congress.
- May 21, 1896: Oil Pipe Line Act, ch. 212, 29 Stat. 127 (43 U.S.C. § 962 et seq.)
- May 22, 1896: Condemned Cannon Act, 29 Stat. 133
- May 28, 1896: United States Commissioners Act, 29 Stat. 184
- June 1, 1896: Married Women's Rights Act (District of Columbia), 29 Stat. 193
- June 6, 1896: Filled Cheese Act, 29 Stat. 253
- January 13, 1897: Stock Reservoir Act, 29 Stat. 484, (43 U.S.C. § 952 et seq.)
- March 2, 1897: Tea Importation Act, 29 Stat. 604, (21 U.S.C. § 41 et seq.)
- January 4, 1896: Utah was admitted as the 45th state.
This count 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.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Populist (P) | Republican (R) | Silver Republican (SR) | Silver (S) |
|||
| End of previous congress | 43 | 3 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 88 | 0 |
| Begin | 39 | 4 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 87 | 1 |
| End | 40 | 44 | 90 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 44.4% | 4.4% | 48.9% | 0.0% | 2.2% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 33 | 5 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 88 | 2 |
House of Representatives
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| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Populist (P) | Republican (R) | Silver (S) | Other (O) |
|||
| End of previous congress | 214 | 11 | 123 | 1 | 1 | 350 | 6 |
| Begin | 104 | 7 | 240 | 1 | 0 | 352 | 4 |
| End | 94 | 9 | 252 | 356 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 26.4% | 2.5% | 70.8% | 0.3% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 126 | 22 | 202 | 1 | 4[a] | 355 | 2 |
Adlai E. Stevenson
Thomas B. Reed
Majority (Republican) leadership
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Minority (Democratic) leadership
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House of Representatives
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- Speaker: Thomas B. Reed (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership
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- Republican Conference Chairman: Charles H. Grosvenor
- Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Babcock
Minority (Democratic) leadership
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- Democratic Caucus Chairman: David B. Culberson
- Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles James Faulkner
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.
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 in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1896.
House of Representatives
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The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Changes in membership
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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Two seats were added when Utah was admitted and one seat was filled late.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Utah (1) |
New seat | State was admitted to the Union | Frank J. Cannon (R) | January 22, 1896 | New seat | Utah (1) |
State was admitted to the Union | Arthur Brown (R) | January 22, 1896 |
| Delaware (2) |
Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. A successor was eventually elected |
Richard R. Kenney (D) |
January 19, 1897 |
House of Representatives
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There were 4 deaths, 2 resignations, 13 election challenges, 1 new seat, and 4 seats vacant from the previous Congress. Democrats had a 10-seat net loss; Republicans had a 12-seat net gain; and Populists had a 2-seat net gain.
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York 10 | Vacant | Representative-elect Andrew J. Campbell died before the start of Congress. New member elected November 5, 1895. |
Amos J. Cummings (D) | November 5, 1895 |
| Illinois 10 | Vacant | Philip S. Post (R) was re-elected, but died before this Congress. New member elected December 2, 1895. |
George W. Prince (R) | December 2, 1895 |
| Michigan 3 | Vacant | Julius C. Burrows (R) was re-elected, but resigned in the previous Congress to serve in the Senate. New member elected December 2, 1895. |
Alfred Milnes (R) | December 2, 1895 |
| Pennsylvania 15 | Vacant | Rep-elect Myron B. Wright died in office. New member elected November 5, 1895. | James H. Codding (R) | November 5, 1895 |
| Utah Territory at-large | Frank J. Cannon (R) | Seat eliminated January 4, 1896, upon statehood. | Seat eliminated | |
| Utah at-large | New seat | State was admitted to the Union. New member elected November 5, 1895. |
Clarence E. Allen (R) | January 4, 1896 |
| Georgia 10 | James C. C. Black (D) | Resigned March 4, 1895. Incumbent was subsequently re-elected October 2, 1895. |
James C. C. Black (D) | October 2, 1895 |
| Massachusetts 6 | William Cogswell (R) | Died May 22, 1895. New member elected November 5, 1895. |
William H. Moody (R) | November 5, 1895 |
| Illinois 18 | Frederick Remann (R) | Died July 14, 1895. New member elected December 2, 1895. |
William F. L. Hadley (R) | December 2, 1895 |
| Illinois 3 | Lawrence E. McGann (D) | Election was successfully challenged December 27, 1895. | Hugh R. Belknap (R) | December 27, 1895 |
| Texas 11 | William H. Crain (D) | Died February 10, 1896. New member elected April 7, 1896. |
Rudolph Kleberg (D) | April 7, 1896 |
| Missouri 5 | John C. Tarsney (D) | Election was successfully challenged February 27, 1896. | Robert T. Van Horn (R) | February 27, 1896 |
| Alabama 4 | Gaston A. Robbins (D) | Election was successfully challenged March 13, 1896. | William F. Aldrich (R) | March 13, 1896 |
| Virginia 4 | William R. McKenney (D) | Election was successfully challenged May 2, 1896. | Robert T. Thorp (R) | May 2, 1896 |
| Louisiana 5 | Charles J. Boatner (D) | Election was challenged and declared vacant March 20, 1896. Incumbent was subsequently elected June 10, 1896. |
Charles J. Boatner (D) | June 10, 1896 |
| Alabama 5 | James E. Cobb (D) | Election was successfully challenged April 21, 1896. | Albert T. Goodwyn (P) | April 22, 1896 |
| South Carolina 7 | J. William Stokes (D) | Seat declared vacant June 1, 1896. Incumbent was subsequently elected November 3, 1896. |
J. William Stokes (D) | November 3, 1896 |
| New York 8 | James J. Walsh (D) | Election was successfully challenged June 2, 1896. | John M. Mitchell (R) | June 2, 1896 |
| South Carolina 1 | William Elliott (D) | Election was successfully challenged June 4, 1896. | George W. Murray (R) | June 4, 1896 |
| Illinois 16 | Finis E. Downing (D) | Election was successfully challenged June 5, 1896. | John I. Rinaker (R) | June 5, 1896 |
| North Carolina 6 | James A. Lockhart (D) | Election was successfully challenged June 5, 1896. | Charles H. Martin (P) | June 5, 1896 |
| Alabama 9 | Oscar W. Underwood (D) | Election was successfully challenged June 9, 1896. | Truman H. Aldrich (R) | June 9, 1896 |
| Georgia 3 | Charles F. Crisp (D) | Died October 23, 1896. New member elected December 19, 1896. |
Charles R. Crisp (D) | December 19, 1896 |
| New York 19 | Frank S. Black (R) | Resigned January 7, 1897. | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Kentucky 10 | Joseph M. Kendall (D) | Election was successfully challenged February 18, 1897. | Nathan T. Hopkins (R) | February 18, 1897 |
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.
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House of Representatives[edit]
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- Alcohol in the Arts (Select)
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
- Investigate Charities and Reformatory Institutions in the District of Columbia
- The Library
- Printing
- Ford's Theater Disaster
- Democratic (House)
- Democratic (Senate)
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
- Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
- Public Printer of the United States: Thomas E. Benedict
- Chaplain: William H. Millburn (Methodist)
- Secretary: William Ruffin Cox
- Librarian: Alonzo M. Church
- Sergeant at Arms: Richard J. Bright
House of Representatives
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- Chaplain: Edward P. Bagby (Disciples of Christ), until December 2, 1895
- Henry N. Couden (Universalist), elected December 2, 1895
- Clerk: James Kerr, until December 2, 1895
- Alexander McDowell, from December 2, 1895
- Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Asher C. Hinds
- Doorkeeper: William J. Glenn, elected December 2, 1895
- Postmaster: Joseph C. McElroy, elected December 2, 1895
- Reading Clerks: E. L. Sampson (D) and R. S. Hatcher (R)
- Sergeant at Arms: Herman W. Snow, until December 2, 1895
- Benjamin F. Russell, from December 2, 1895
- 1894 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1896 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
- 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.
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
- Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 1st Session. 1895.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 1st Session (1st Revision).
- Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 1st Session (2nd Revision).
- Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 2nd Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 54th Congress, 2nd Session (Revision).