44th United States Congress

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44th United States Congress
43rd ←
→ 45th
USCapitol1877.jpg
United States Capitol (1877)

March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1877
Members76 senators
293 representatives
9 non-voting delegates
Senate PresidentHenry Wilson (R)
(until November 22, 1875)
Vacant
(from November 22, 1875)
House SpeakerMichael C. Kerr (D)
until August 19, 1876
Samuel J. Randall (D)
from December 4, 1876
Sessions
Special: March 5, 1875 – March 24, 1875
1st: December 6, 1875 – August 15, 1876
2nd: December 4, 1876 – March 3, 1877

The 44th 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, 1875, to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and eighth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. For the first time since the American Civil War, the House had a Democratic majority. The Senate maintained a Republican majority.

Major events[]

A political cartoon by Joseph Keppler depicts Roscoe Conkling as Mephistopheles, as Rutherford B. Hayes strolls off with a woman labeled as "Solid South"
  • November 22, 1875: Vice President Henry Wilson died from a stroke
  • June 25, 1876: Custer's Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn
  • July 4, 1876: United States Centennial
  • November 7, 1876: United States general elections, 1876, including the disputed Presidential election of 1876, later settled with the Compromise of 1877 which ended Reconstruction.

Major legislation[]

  • January 29, 1877: Electoral Commission Act, ch. 37, 19 Stat. 227
  • March 3, 1877: Desert Land Act, ch. 107, 19 Stat. 377

State admitted[]

  • August 1, 1876: Colorado admitted as the 38th state

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.

During this Congress, two Senate seats and one House seat were added for the new state, Colorado.

Senate[]

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Anti-
Monopoly

(AM)
Republican
(R)
Other
End of previous congress 20 0 51 2[a] 73 1
Begin 28 1 44 0 73 1
End 30 45 760
Final voting share 39.5% 1.3% 59.2% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 35 1 39 1[b] 76 0

House of Representatives[]

Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
Total
Democratic
(D)
Independent
Democratic

(ID)
Independent
(I)
Independent
Republican

(IR)
Republican
(R)
Other Vacant
End of previous Congress 95 7 0 0 199 (Liberal
Republican
)

4
290 2
Begin 176 1 4 4 104 0 289 3
End 179 3 103 290 3
Final voting share 62.8% 1.4% 35.8% 0.0%
Beginning of the next Congress 144 2 0 0 146 0 292 1

Leadership[]

President of the Senate Henry Wilson

Senate[]

  • President: Henry Wilson (R), until November 22, 1875; vacant thereafter.
  • President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry (R), from March 9, 1875
  • Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony
  • Democratic Caucus Chairman: John W. Stevenson

House of Representatives[]

  • Speaker: Michael C. Kerr (D), until August 19, 1876 (died)
    • Samuel J. Randall (D), elected December 4, 1876
  • Democratic Caucus Chairman: Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II
  • Republican Conference Chairman: George W. McCrary

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[]

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 this Congress, facing re-election in 1880; Class 2 meant their term ended in this Congress, facing re-election in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1878.

House of Representatives[]

The names of 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: 4
    • Democratic: 1 seat net gain
    • Republican: 1 seat net loss
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 1
  • Vacancy: 1
  • Interim appointments: 3
  • Seats of newly admitted states: 2
  • Total seats with changes: 7
State
(class)
Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[c]
Louisiana (3) Vacant Senate had declined to seat rival claimants William L. McMillen and P. B. S. Pinchback.[1] Successor elected January 12, 1876. James B. Eustis (D) January 10, 1876
Tennessee (1) Andrew Johnson (D) Died July 31, 1875.
Successor appointed August 18, 1875, to continue the term.
David M. Key (D) August 18, 1875
Connecticut (3) Orris S. Ferry (R) Died November 21, 1875.
Successor appointed November 27, 1875, to continue the term.
James E. English (D) November 27, 1875
Connecticut (3) James E. English (D) Interim appointee retired May 17, 1876 when successor elected.
Successor elected May 17, 1876.
William H. Barnum (D) May 18, 1876
Maine (2) Lot M. Morrill (R) Resigned July 7, 1876 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Successor appointed July 10, 1876, to continue the term.
Interim appointee later elected January 17, 1877.
James G. Blaine (R) July 10, 1876
West Virginia (1) Allen T. Caperton (D) Died July 26, 1876.
Successor appointed August 26, 1876, to continue the term.
Samuel Price (D) August 26, 1876
Colorado (2) New seat Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876.
First senator elected November 15, 1876
Henry M. Teller (R) November 15, 1876
Colorado (3) New seat Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876.
First senator elected November 15, 1876
Jerome B. Chaffee (R) November 15, 1876
Tennessee (1) David M. Key (D) Interim appointee lost special election.
Successor elected January 19, 1877.
James E. Bailey (D) January 19, 1877
West Virginia (1) Samuel Price (D) Interim appointee lost special election.
Successor elected January 26, 1877, but seat remained vacant until successor qualified by resigning from the U.S. House on January 31, 1877.
Frank Hereford (D) January 31, 1877

House of Representatives[]

House seats by party holding plurality in state
  80+% Democratic
  80+% Republican
  60+ to 80% Democratic
  60+ to 80% Republican
  Up to 60% Democratic
  Up to 60% Republican
  • Replacements: 14
    • Democratic: no net change
    • Republican: no net change
  • Deaths: 9
  • Resignations: 6
  • Contested election: 5
  • Seats of newly admitted states: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 21
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[c]
Georgia 9 Vacant Rep-elect Garnett McMillan died before taking seat Benjamin H. Hill (D) May 5, 1875
Maine 4 Vacant Rep. Samuel F. Hersey died during previous congress Harris M. Plaisted (R) September 13, 1875
New York 33 Vacant Rep.-elect Augustus F. Allen died before taking seat Nelson I. Norton (R) December 6, 1875
Massachusetts 1 James Buffington (R) Died March 7, 1875 William W. Crapo (R) November 2, 1875
Oregon at-large George A. La Dow (D) Died May 1, 1875 Lafayette Lane (D) October 25, 1875
Tennessee 4 Samuel M. Fite (D) Died October 23, 1875 Haywood Y. Riddle (D) December 14, 1875
Connecticut 3 Henry H. Starkweather (R) Died January 28, 1876 John T. Wait (R) April 12, 1876
Florida 2 Josiah T. Walls (R) Lost contested election April 19, 1876 Jesse J. Finley (D) April 19, 1876
Illinois 3 Charles B. Farwell (R) Lost contested election May 6, 1876 John V. Le Moyne (D) May 6, 1876
Connecticut 4 William H. Barnum (D) Resigned May 18, 1876, after being elected to the US Senate Levi Warner (D) December 4, 1876
Louisiana 5 Frank Morey (R) Lost contested election June 8, 1876 William B. Spencer (D) June 8, 1876
Idaho Territory at-large Thomas W. Bennett (I) Lost contested election June 23, 1876 Stephen S. Fenn (D) June 23, 1876
Maine 3 James G. Blaine (R) Resigned July 10, 1876, after being appointed to the US Senate Edwin Flye (R) December 4, 1876
Kentucky 5 Edward Y. Parsons (D) Died July 8, 1876 Henry Watterson (D) August 12, 1876
Pennsylvania 12 Winthrop W. Ketcham (R) Resigned July 19, 1876, after being appointed judge to the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania William H. Stanton (D) November 7, 1876
South Carolina 2 Edmund W. M. Mackey (IR) Seat declared vacant July 19, 1876 Charles W. Buttz (R) November 7, 1876
Massachusetts 4 Rufus S. Frost (R) Lost contested election July 28, 1876 Josiah G. Abbott (D) July 28, 1876
Colorado Territory at-large Thomas M. Patterson (D) Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876 Statehood achieved
Colorado at-large New seat Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. Seat remained vacant until October 3, 1876. James B. Belford (R) October 3, 1876
Indiana 3 Michael C. Kerr (D) Died August 19, 1876 Nathan T. Carr (D) December 15, 1876
Indiana 2 James D. Williams (D) Resigned December 1, 1876, after being elected Governor of Indiana Andrew Humphreys (D) December 5, 1876
New York 7 Smith Ely Jr. (D) Resigned December 11, 1876 David D. Field II (D) January 11, 1877
Louisiana 5 William B. Spencer (D) Resigned January 8, 1877, to become an associate justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court Vacant Not filled this term
West Virginia 3 Frank Hereford (D) Resigned January 31, 1877, after being elected to the US Senate Vacant Not filled this term
Georgia 9 Benjamin H. Hill (D) Resigned March 3, 1877, after being elected to the US Senate Vacant Not filled this term

Committees[]

Lists of committees and their party leaders, for members (House and Senate) of the committees and their assignments, go into the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of the article and click on the link (5 links), in the directory after the pages of terms of service, you will see the committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and after the committee pages, you will see the House/Senate committee assignments in the directory, 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[]

  • Agriculture (Chairman: Frederick T. Frelinghuysen; Ranking Member: Henry G. Davis)
  • Appropriations (Chairman: William Windom; Ranking Member: Stephen W. Dorsey)
  • Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: John P. Jones; Ranking Member: George R. Dennis)
  • Civil Service and Retrenchment (Chairman: Thomas F. Bayard; Ranking Member: John J. Patterson)
  • Claims (Chairman: George G. Wright; Ranking Member: Samuel J.R. McMillan)
  • Commerce (Chairman: Roscoe Conkling; Ranking Member: Samuel J.R. McMillan)
  • (Select)
  • (Select)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: George E. Spencer; Ranking Member: Thomas J. Robertson)
  • Education and Labor (Chairman: John J. Patterson; Ranking Member: William Sharon)
  • Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Thomas F. Bayard; Ranking Member: Henry B. Anthony)
  • Enrolled Bills
  • Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service (Select) (Chairman: James M. Harvey; Ranking Member: Augustus S. Merrimon)
  • Finance (Chairman: John Sherman; Ranking Member: John P. Jones)
  • Foreign Relations (Chairman: Simon Cameron; Ranking Member: Roscoe Conkling)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: William B. Allison; Ranking Member: Powell Clayton)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: George F. Edmunds; Ranking Member: Timothy O. Howe)
  • Manufactures (Chairman: Thomas J. Robertson; Ranking Member: William A. Wallace)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: John A. Logan; Ranking Member: Ambrose E. Burnside)
  • Mines and Mining (Chairman: Aaron A. Sargent; Ranking Member: William Sharon)
  • (Select) (Chairman: James L. Alcorn; Ranking Member: Henry Cooper)
  • (Chairman: George S. Boutwell; Ranking Member: Joseph E. McDonald)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Aaron H. Cragin; Ranking Member: Simon B. Conover)
  • (Select)
  • Patents (Chairman: Bainbridge Wadleigh; Ranking Member: John W. Johnston)
  • Pensions (Chairman: John J. Ingalls; Ranking Member: Blanche Bruce)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin; Ranking Member: Algernon S. Paddock)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: Allen G. Thurman; Ranking Member: George F. Edmunds)
  • Privileges and Elections (Chairman: Oliver P. Morton; Ranking Member: Samuel J.R. McMillan)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Justin S. Morrill; Ranking Member: Newton Booth)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: Richard J. Oglesby; Ranking Member: Newton Booth)
  • Railroads (Chairman: Joseph R. West; Ranking Member: John H. Mitchell)
  • (Chairman: George S. Boutwell; Ranking Member: Isaac P. Christiancy)
  • Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: John W. Stevenson; Ranking Member: George G. Wright)
  • Rules (Chairman: Thomas W. Ferry; Ranking Member: Augustus S. Merrimon)
  • Tariff Regulation (Select)
  • Territories (Chairman: Phineas W. Hitchcock; Ranking Member: William Sharon)
  • (Select)
  • Whole

House of Representatives[]

  • Accounts (Chairman: Charles B. Roberts; Ranking Member: George G. Hoskins)
  • Agriculture (Chairman: John H. Caldwell; Ranking Member: William B. Anderson)
  • Appropriations (Chairman: William S. Holman; Ranking Member: Otho R. Singleton)
  • Banking and Currency (Chairman: Samuel S. Cox; Ranking Member: Scott Wike)
  • Claims (Chairman: John M. Bright; Ranking Member: John F. Philips)
  • Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: Alexander H. Stephens; Ranking Member: Levi Maish)
  • Commerce (Chairman: Elijah Ward; Ranking Member: Henry Myer Phillips)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: Aylett H. Buckner; Ranking Member: George Willard)
  • Education and Labor (Chairman: Gilbert C. Walker; Ranking Member: William M. Springer)
  • Elections (Chairman: John T. Harris; Ranking Member: Earley F. Poppleton)
  • Enrolled Bills
  • Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: William Mutchler; Ranking Member: Laurin D. Woodworth)
  • Expenditures in the Justice Department (Chairman: Bernard G. Caulfield; Ranking Member: Edwin R. Meade)
  • Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: George M. Beebe; Ranking Member: John H. Burleigh)
  • Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: William H. Stone; Ranking Member: William H.H. Stowell)
  • Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: William M. Springer; Ranking Member: John W. Wallace)
  • Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: John M. Bright; Ranking Member: John S. Savage)
  • Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: John Robbins; Ranking Member: Lyman K. Bass)
  • Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Henry B. Metcalfe; Ranking Member: Samuel N. Bell)
  • Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Swann; Ranking Member: William H. Forney)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: Alfred M. Scales; Ranking Member: Lafayette Lane)
  • Invalid Pensions (Chairman: George A. Jenks; Ranking Member: Jesse J. Yeates)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: J. Proctor Knott; Ranking Member: Bernard G. Caulfield)
  • Manufactures (Chairman: William H. Stone; Ranking Member: Samuel D. Burchard)
  • Mileage (Chairman: Albert G. Egbert; Ranking Member: Nathaniel H. Odell)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: Henry B. Banning; Ranking Member: Augustus A. Hardenbergh)
  • Militia (Chairman: Jacob P. Cowan; Ranking Member: John K. Tarbox)
  • Mines and Mining (Chairman: Richard P. Bland; Ranking Member: Alexander Campbell)
  • (Chairman: E. John Ellis; Ranking Member: James Sheakley)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Washington C. Whitthorne; Ranking Member: John Robbins)
  • (Chairman: Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II; Ranking Member: John F. Philips)
  • Patents (Chairman: Robert B. Vance; Ranking Member: William E. Smith)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John B. Clark Jr.; Ranking Member: William F. Slemons)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: Thomas M. Gunter; Ranking Member: Lucien L. Ainsworth)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: William S. Holman; Ranking Member: Casey Young)
  • Public Expenditures (Chairman: Charles W. Milliken; Ranking Member: Alexander Campbell)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: Milton Sayler; Ranking Member: Lafayette Lane)
  • Railways and Canals (Chairman: Thomas L. Jones; Ranking Member: Levi A. Mackey)
  • (Chairman: John O. Whitehouse; Ranking Member: Augustus W. Cutler)
  • Revision of Laws (Chairman: Milton J. Durham; Ranking Member: Milton J. Durham)
  • Revolutionary Pensions and War of 1812 (Chairman: Eppa Hunton; Ranking Member: John G. Schumaker)
  • Rules (Select) (Chairman: Michael C. Kerr; Ranking Member: Samuel S. Cox)
  • Standards of Official Conduct
  • Territories (Chairman: Milton I. Southard; Ranking Member: Peter D. Wigginton)
  • War Claims (Chairman: John R. Eden; Ranking Member: John H. Caldwell)
  • Ways and Means (Chairman: William R. Morrison; Ranking Member: Chester W. Chapin)
  • Whole

Joint committees[]

  • Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Rep. Henry R. Harris; Vice Chairman: Rep. Harris M. Plaisted)
  • The Library (Chairman: Rep. Hiester Clymer; Vice Chairman: Rep. James Monroe)
  • Printing (Chairman: Rep. John L. Vance; Vice Chairmam: Rep. Latimer W. Ballou)

Caucuses[]

  • Democratic (House)
  • Democratic (Senate)

Employees[]

Legislative branch agency directors[]

  • Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
  • Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
  • Public Printer of the United States: Almon M. Clapp, from 1876

Senate[]

House of Representatives[]

  • Chaplain: John George Butler (Lutheran), until December 6, 1875
    • (Episcopalian), from December 6, 1875
  • Clerk: Edward McPherson, until December 6, 1875
    • George M. Adams, elected December 6, 1875
  • Clerk at the Speaker’s Table:
  • Doorkeeper:
  • Postmaster:
  • Reading Clerks: Thomas S. Pettit (D) and (R)
  • Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway, until December 6, 1875
    • , elected December 6, 1875

See also[]

  • United States elections, 1874 (elections leading to this Congress)
    • United States Senate elections, 1874 and 1875
    • United States House of Representatives elections, 1874
  • United States elections, 1876 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
    • 1876 United States presidential election
    • United States Senate elections, 1876
    • United States House of Representatives elections, 1876

Notes[]

  1. ^ Liberal
    Republican
  2. ^ Independent
  3. ^ a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References[]

  1. ^ Taft, George S. (1885). Compilation of Senate Election Cases from 1789 to 1885 - Pages 483 - 512. U.S. Government Publishing Office.
  • 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[]

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