48th United States Congress
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The Forty-eighth 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, 1883 to March 4, 1885, during the last two years of the administration of U.S. President Chester A. Arthur. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Tenth Census of the United States in 1880. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.
Major events
Washington Monument (seen here in 2006) was completed December 6, 1884.
- September 5, 1883: Mary F. Hoyt became the first woman appointed to the U.S. federal civil service (and the second person appointed by examination (in which she came top) instituted under the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act) when she became a clerk in the Bank Redemption Agency of the Department of the Treasury.
- October 15, 1883: The Supreme Court of the United States declared part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, as the Court allowed private individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.
- November 18, 1883: U.S. and Canadian railroads instituted 5 standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
- August 10, 1884: An earthquake measuring 5.5 Mfa (based on the felt area) affected a very large portion of the eastern United States. The shock had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). Chimneys were toppled in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Property damage was severe in Jamaica and Amityville in New York.
- October 6, 1884: The United States Naval War College was established in Newport, Rhode Island.
- October 22, 1884: International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. fixed the Greenwich meridian as the world's prime meridian.
- November 4, 1884: United States presidential election, 1884: Democratic Governor of New York Grover Cleveland defeated Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.
- December 6: 1884: The Washington Monument was completed.
Major legislation
Territories organized
- May 17, 1884: District of Alaska was organized.
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
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Independent (I) | Readjuster (RA) | Republican (R) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 37 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 76 | 0 |
| Begin | 36 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 75 | 1 |
| End | 38 | 76 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 47.4% | 0.0% | 2.6% | 50.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 34 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 73 | 3 |
House of Representatives
| House seats by party holding plurality in state | |
|---|---|
80.1-100% Democratic |
80.1-100% Republican |
60.1-80% Democratic |
60.1-80% Republican |
Up to 60% Democratic |
Up to 60% Republican |
- Democratic: 196 (majority)
- Republican: 117
- Readjuster: 4
- National Greenback: 2
- Independent: 2
- Independent Democratic: 3
- Independent Republican: 1
TOTAL members: 325
Leadership
Senate
- President: Vacant. Chester Arthur (R), the most recent Senate President, had become U.S. President on the death of his predecessor September 19, 1881, leaving the office vacant through the end of this Congress.
- President pro tempore: George F. Edmunds (R)
House of Representatives
- Speaker: John G. Carlisle (D)
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state.
Senate
Senators are listed by their states and Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election.
House of Representatives
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: 1
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: 1 seat net gain
- Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- Deaths: 1
- Resignations: 0
- Interim appointment: 1
- Late election: 1
- Total seats with changes: 3
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire (2) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. Senator elected August 2, 1883. |
Austin F. Pike (R) | August 2, 1883 |
| Rhode Island (2) | Henry B. Anthony (R) | Incumbent died September 2, 1884. Successor appointed November 19, 1884. |
William P. Sheffield (R) | November 19, 1884 |
| Rhode Island (2) | William P. Sheffield (R) | Interim appointee replaced by successor elected January 20, 1885. | Jonathan Chace (R) | January 20, 1885 |
House of Representatives
- replacements: 15
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: 1 seat net loss
- National Greenback: 1 seat net gain
- deaths: 9
- resignations: 9
- contested election: 8
- Total seats with changes: 25
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi 2nd | Vacant | Chalmers took seat after an election contest with Van H. Manning who challenged his election | James R. Chalmers (I) | June 25, 1884 |
| West Virginia 3rd | John E. Kenna (D) | Resigned March 4, 1883 after being elected to the US Senate | Charles P. Snyder (D) | May 15, 1883 |
| Alabama 1st | Thomas H. Herndon (D) | Died March 28, 1883 | James T. Jones (D) | December 3, 1883 |
| Virginia 7th | John Paul (D) | Resigned September 5, 1883 after being appointed judge of the US District Court of the Western District of Virginia. The House election was subsequently contested. | Charles T. O'Ferrall (D) | May 5, 1884 |
| Kansas 2nd | Dudley C. Haskell (R) | Died December 16, 1883 | Edward H. Funston (R) | March 21, 1884 |
| North Carolina 1st | Walter F. Pool (R) | Died August 25, 1883 | Thomas G. Skinner (D) | November 20, 1883 |
| Massachusetts 12th | George D. Robinson (R) | Resigned January 7, 1884 after being elected Governor of Massachusetts | Francis W. Rockwell (R) | January 17, 1884 |
| South Carolina 7th | Edmund W. M. Mackey (R) | Died January 27, 1884 | Robert Smalls (R) | March 18, 1884 |
| New Mexico Territory At-large | Tranquilino Luna (R) | Lost contested election March 5, 1884 | Francisco A. Manzanares (D) | March 5, 1884 |
| Virginia 1st | Robert M. Mayo (Readjuster) | Lost contested election March 20, 1884 | George T. Garrison (D) | March 20, 1884 |
| Indiana 7th | Stanton J. Peelle (R) | Lost contested election May 22, 1884 | William E. English (D) | May 22, 1884 |
| Ohio 18th | William McKinley (R) | Lost contested election May 27, 1884 | Jonathan H. Wallace (D) | May 27, 1884 |
| Ohio 7th | Henry L. Morey (R) | Lost contested election June 20, 1884 | James E. Campbell (D) | June 20, 1884 |
| Iowa 7th | John A. Kasson (R) | Resigned July 13, 1884 after being appointed Minister to Germany | Hiram Y. Smith (R) | December 2, 1884 |
| Indiana 13th | William H. Calkins (R) | Resigned October 20, 1884 | Benjamin F. Shively (Anti-Monopoly) | December 1, 1884 |
| South Carolina 4th | John H. Evins (D) | Died October 20, 1884 | John Bratton (D) | December 8, 1884 |
| Pennsylvania 19th | William A. Duncan (D) | Died November 14, 1884 | John A. Swope (D) | December 23, 1884 |
| North Carolina 5th | Alfred M. Scales (D) | Resigned December 30, 1884 after being elected Governor of North Carolina | James W. Reid (D) | January 28, 1885 |
| Alabama 4th | Charles M. Shelley (D) | Lost contested election January 9, 1885 | George H. Craig (R) | January 9, 1885 |
| Ohio 9th | James S. Robinson (R) | Resigned January 12, 1885 after becoming Ohio Secretary of State | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Rhode Island 2nd | Jonathan Chace (R) | Resigned January 26, 1885 after being elected to the US Senate | Nathan F. Dixon III (R) | February 12, 1885 |
| Arkansas 2nd | James K. Jones (D) | Resigned February 19, 1885 after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Iowa 5th | James Wilson (R) | Lost contested election March 3, 1885 | Benjamin T. Frederick (D) | March 3, 1885 |
| Iowa 6th | Marsena E. Cutts (R) | Lost contested election March 3, 1885 | John C. Cook (D) | March 3, 1885 |
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
- Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress (Select)
- Agriculture
- Appropriations
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
- Civil Service and Retrenchment
- Claims
- Commerce
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Engrossed Bills
- Enrolled Bills
- Epidemic Diseases (Select)
- Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service (Select)
- Expenditures of Public Money
- Finance
- Fisheries
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Judiciary
- Library
- Manufactures
- Military Affairs
- Mines and Mining
- Mississippi River and its Tributaries (Select)
- Naval Affairs
- Nicaraguan Claims (Select)
- Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Potomac River Front (Select)
- Printing
- Private Land Claims
- Privileges and Elections
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railroads
- Revision of the Laws
- Revolutionary Claims
- Rules
- Sioux and Crow Indians (Select)
- Steel Producing Capacity of the United States (Select)
- Tariff Regulation (Select)
- Tenth Census (Select)
- Territories
- Transportation Routes to the Seaboard
- Whole
- Woman Suffrage (Select)
House of Representatives
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (Select)
- American Ship building (Select)
- Appropriations
- Banking and Currency
- Boynton Investigation (Select)
- Claims
- Coinage, Weights and Measures
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Education
- Elections
- Enrolled Bills
- Expenditures in the Interior Department
- Expenditures in the Justice Department
- Expenditures in the Navy Department
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department
- Expenditures in the State Department
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department
- Expenditures in the War Department
- Expenditures on Public Buildings
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Invalid Pensions
- Labor
- Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River
- Manufactures
- Mileage
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Mines and Mining
- Naval Affairs
- Pacific Railroads
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railways and Canals
- Revision of Laws
- Rivers and Harbors
- Rules
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories
- War Claims
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Scientific Bureaus
Employees
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
- Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
- Public Printer of the United States: Sterling P. Rounds
Senate
- Chaplain: Elias D. Huntley (Methodist)
- Secretary: Francis E. Shober (Acting), to December 18, 1883
- Anson G. McCook, from December 18, 1883
- Sergeant at Arms: Richard J. Bright, to December 18, 1883
- William P. Canady, from December 18, 1883
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: John S. Lindsay (Episcopalian)
- Clerk: John B. Clark, Jr.
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: Nathaniel T. Crutchfield
- Doorkeeper: James G. Wintersmith
- Postmaster: Lycurgus Dalton
- Sergeant at Arms: John P. Leedom
See also
- United States elections, 1882 (elections leading to this Congress)
- United States elections, 1884 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
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
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
- Congressional Directory for the 48th Congress, 1st Session.
- Congressional Directory for the 48th Congress, 1st Session (Revision).
- Congressional Directory for the 48th Congress, 2nd Session.
- Congressional Directory for the 48th Congress, 2nd Session (Revision).
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