45th United States Congress

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45th United States Congress
44th ←
→ 46th
USCapitol1877.jpg
United States Capitol (1877)

March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1879
Members76 senators
293 representatives
8 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityRepublican
Senate PresidentWilliam A. Wheeler (R)
House MajorityDemocratic
House SpeakerSamuel J. Randall (D)
Sessions
Special: March 5, 1877 – March 17, 1877
1st: October 15, 1877 – December 3, 1877
2nd: December 3, 1877 – June 20, 1878
3rd: December 2, 1878 – March 3, 1879

The 45th 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, 1877, to March 4, 1879, during the first two years of Rutherford Hayes's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.

The 45th Congress remained politically divided between a Democratic House and Republican Senate.[1] President Hayes vetoed an Army appropriations bill from the House which would have ended Reconstruction and prohibited the use of federal troops to protect polling stations in the former Confederacy.[1] Striking back, Congress overrode another of Hayes’s vetoes and enacted the Bland-Allison Act that required the purchase and coining of silver.[1] Congress also approved a generous increase in pension eligibility for Northern Civil War veterans.[1]

Major events[]

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
  • March 4, 1877: Rutherford B. Hayes became President of the United States

Major legislation[]

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
Anti-
Monopoly

(AM)
Democratic
(D)
Republican
(R)
Independent
(I)
End of previous congress 1 30 45 0 76 0
Begin 1 35 39 1 76 0
End 36 38
Final voting share 1.3% 47.4% 50.0% 1.3%
Beginning of next congress 1 42 32 1 76 0

House of Representatives[]

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Independent
Democratic

(ID)
Independent
Independent
Republican

Republican
(R)
Greenback
End of previous congress 183 1 3 4 100 0 291 1
Begin 149 2 0 0 141 0 292 1
End 153 136 2912
Final voting share 52.6% 0.7% 0.0% 0.0% 46.7% 0.0%
Non-voting members 3 00050 8 0
Beginning of next congress 145 4 1 0 131 11 292 1

Leadership[]

President of the Senate
William A. Wheeler

Senate[]

  • President: William A. Wheeler (R)
  • President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry (R)
  • Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony
  • Democratic Caucus Chairman: William A. Wallace

House of Representatives[]

Members[]

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.

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 the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1880; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1882; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1878.

Skip to House of Representatives, below

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: 5
    • Democratic: 1 seat net gain
    • Republican: 1 seat net loss
  • Deaths: 2
  • Resignations: 3
  • Interim appointments: 1
  • Contested elections: 0
  • Total seats with changes: 5
State
(class)
Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Ohio (3) John Sherman (R) Resigned March 8, 1877 to become U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Successor elected March 21, 1877.
Stanley Matthews (R) March 21, 1877
Pennsylvania (3) Simon Cameron (R) Resigned March 12, 1877.
Successor elected March 20, 1877.
J. Donald Cameron (R) March 20, 1877
Missouri (3) Lewis V. Bogy (D) Died September 20, 1877.
Successor was appointed September 29, 1877, to continue the term.
David H. Armstrong (D) September 29, 1877
Indiana (3) Oliver P. Morton (R) Died November 1, 1877.
Successor elected January 31, 1879.
Daniel W. Voorhees (D) November 6, 1877
Missouri (3) David H. Armstrong (D) Interim appointee retired.
Successor elected January 26, 1879.
James Shields (D) January 27, 1879
Michigan (1) Isaac P. Christiancy (R) Resigned February 10, 1879 due to ill health.
Successor elected February 22, 1879.
Zachariah Chandler (R) February 22, 1879

House of Representatives[]

  • Replacements: 10
    • Democratic: 5 seat net gain
    • Republican: 5 seat net loss
  • Deaths: 7
  • Resignations: 1
  • Contested election: 5
  • Total seats with changes: 13
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Georgia 9th Vacant Rep. Benjamin Harvey Hill resigned in previous congress Hiram P. Bell (D) March 13, 1877
Colorado At-large James B. Belford (R) Lost contested election December 13, 1877 Thomas M. Patterson (D) December 13, 1877
California 4th Romualdo Pacheco (R) Lost contested election February 7, 1878 Peter D. Wigginton (D) February 7, 1878
Louisiana 3rd Chester B. Darrall (R) Lost contested election February 20, 1878 Joseph H. Acklen (D) February 20, 1878
Louisiana 5th John E. Leonard (R) Died March 15, 1878 J. Smith Young (D) November 5, 1878
Massachusetts 3rd Walbridge A. Field (R) Lost contested election March 28, 1878 Benjamin Dean (D) March 28, 1878
New York 16th Terence J. Quinn (D) Died June 18, 1878 John M. Bailey (R) November 5, 1878
Nebraska At-large Frank Welch (R) Died September 4, 1878 Thomas J. Majors (R) November 5, 1878
Michigan 1st Alpheus S. Williams (D) Died December 21, 1878 Vacant Not filled this term
Virginia 1st Beverly B. Douglas (D) Died December 22, 1878 Richard L. T. Beale (D) January 23, 1879
Georgia 1st Julian Hartridge (D) Died January 8, 1879 William B. Fleming (D) February 10, 1879
Texas 6th Gustav Schleicher (D) Died January 10, 1879 Vacant Not filled this term
Florida 2nd Horatio Bisbee Jr. (R) Lost contested election February 20, 1879 Jesse J. Finley (D) February 20, 1879

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 or tap 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: Algernon S. Paddock; Ranking Member: Henry G. Davis)
  • Appropriations (Chairman: William Windom; Ranking Member: Henry G. Davis)
  • Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: John P. Jones; Ranking Member: George R. Dennis)
  • Civil Service and Retrenchment (Chairman: Henry M. Teller; Ranking Member: Thomas C. McCreery)
  • Claims (Chairman: Samuel J. R. McMillan; Ranking Member: Francis M. Cockrell)
  • Commerce (Chairman: Roscoe Conkling; Ranking Member: John B. Gordon)
  • Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: Stephen W. Dorsey; Ranking Member: Augustus S. Merrimon)
  • Education and Labor (Chairman: Ambrose E. Burnside; Ranking Member: John B. Gordon)
  • Elections of 1878 (Select)
  • Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Thomas F. Bayard; Ranking Member: Henry B. Anthony)
  • Epidemic Diseases (Select)
  • Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service (Select) (Chairman: Jerome B. Chaffee; Ranking Member: Augustus S. Merrimon)
  • Finance (Chairman: Justin S. Morrill; Ranking Member: Thomas F. Bayard)
  • Foreign Relations (Chairman: Hannibal Hamlin; Ranking Member: Thomas C. McCreery)
  • Hot Springs (Arkansas) Commission (Special)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: William B. Allison; Ranking Member: Thomas C. McCreery)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: George F. Edmunds; Ranking Member: David Davis)
  • Late Presidential Election Louisiana
  • Manufactures (Chairman: Edward H. Rollins; Ranking Member: John W. Johnston)
  • Mexican Relations (Select)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: George E. Spencer; Ranking Member: Theodore F. Randolph)
  • Mines and Mining (Chairman: William Sharon; Ranking Member: Frank Hereford)
  • Mississippi River Levee System (Select) (Chairman: Blanche Bruce; Ranking Member: Francis M. Cockrell)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Aaron A. Sargent; Ranking Member: William P. Whyte)
  • Ordnance and War Ships (Select)
  • Patents (Chairman: Newton Booth; Ranking Member: Francis Kernan)
  • Pensions (Chairman: John J. Ingalls; Ranking Member: Robert E. Withers)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Thomas W. Ferry; Ranking Member: Ambrose E. Burnside)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: Allen G. Thurman; Ranking Member: Isaac P. Christiancy)
  • Privileges and Elections (Chairman: Bainbridge Wadleigh; Ranking Member: John J. Ingalls)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: Richard J. Oglesby; Ranking Member: Joseph E. McDonald)
  • Railroads (Chairman: John H. Mitchell; Ranking Member: Stanley Matthews)
  • (Chairman: Isaac P. Christiancy; Ranking Member: William A. Wallace)
  • Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: John W. Johnston; Ranking Member: Henry L. Dawes)
  • Rules (Chairman: James G. Blaine; Ranking Member: Augustus S. Merrimon)
  • Tariff Regulation (Select)
  • Tenth Census (Select) (Chairman: Justin S. Morrill; Ranking Member: N/A)
  • Territories (Chairman: John J. Patterson; Ranking Member: Augustus H. Garland)
  • (Select) (Chairman: Angus Cameron; Ranking Member: N/A)
  • (Select) (Chairman: Henry G. Davis; Ranking Member: John J. Ingalls)
  • Whole

House of Representatives[]

  • Accounts (Chairman: Charles B. Roberts; Ranking Member: Henry W. Blair)
  • Agriculture (Chairman: Augustus W. Cutler; Ranking Member: Walter L. Steele)
  • Appropriations (Chairman: John DeWitt Clinton Atkins; Ranking Member: Milton J. Durham)
  • Banking and Currency (Chairman: Aylett H. Buckner; Ranking Member: Elizur K. Hart)
  • Claims (Chairman: John M. Bright; Ranking Member: Daniel N. Lockwood)
  • Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: Alexander H. Stephens; Ranking Member: John B. Clarke)
  • Commerce (Chairman: John H. Reagan; Ranking Member: John E. Kenna)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: Alpheus S. Williams then Joseph C.S. Blackburn; Ranking Member: Gabriel Bouck)
  • Education and Labor (Chairman: John Goode; Ranking Member: Van H. Manning)
  • Elections (Chairman: John T. Harris; Ranking Member: E. John Ellis)
  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Andrew H. Hamilton; Ranking Member: Nelson H. Van Vorhes)
  • Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: William A.J. Sparks; Ranking Member: Edwin Willits)
  • Expenditures in the Justice Department (Chairman: Edward S. Bragg; Ranking Member: Nicholas Muller)
  • Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Benjamin A. Willis; Ranking Member: Jay A. Hubbell)
  • Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Jeremiah N. Williams; Ranking Member: Curtis H. Brogden)
  • Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: William M. Springer; Ranking Member: Thomas M. Bayne)
  • Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: John M. Glover; Ranking Member: Henry L. Dickey)
  • Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Joseph C. S. Blackburn; Ranking Member: Benjamin T. Eames)
  • Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: William P. Lynde; Ranking Member: William S. Stenger)
  • Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Thomas Swann; Ranking Member: Benjamin Wilson)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: Alfred M. Scales; Ranking Member: George M. Beebe)
  • Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Americus V. Rice; Ranking Member: Clement H. Sinnickson)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: J. Proctor Knott; Ranking Member: David B. Culberson)
  • Manufactures (Chairman: Hendrick B. Wright; Ranking Member: Robert F. Ligon)
  • Mileage (Chairman: Thomas R. Cobb; Ranking Member: Lorenzo Danford)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: Henry B. Banning; Ranking Member: Edward S. Bragg)
  • Militia (Chairman: Miles Ross; Ranking Member: Thomas Turner)
  • Mines and Mining (Chairman: George M. Beebe; Ranking Member: James T. Jones)
  • (Chairman: Edward W. Robertson; Ranking Member: Benjamin F. Martin)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Washington C. Whitthorne; Ranking Member: Benjamin W. Harris)
  • (Chairman: James W. Throckmorton; Ranking Member: Charles O'Neill)
  • Patents (Chairman: Robert B. Vance; Ranking Member: Augustus W. Cutler)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Alfred M. Waddell; Ranking Member: Terence J. Quinn then Joseph G. Cannon)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: Thomas M. Gunter; Ranking Member: Dudley C. Denison)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Philip Cook; Ranking Member: James A. McKenzie)
  • Public Expenditures (Chairman: Robert A. Hatcher; Ranking Member: Robert H.M. Davidson)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: William R. Morrison; Ranking Member: William E. Smith)
  • Railways and Canals (Chairman: George C. Cabell; Ranking Member: Alvah A. Clark)
  • Revision of Laws (Chairman: William Walsh; Ranking Member: Walbridge A. Field)
  • Rules (Select) (Chairman: Samuel J. Randall; Ranking Member: Nathaniel P. Banks)
  • Revolutionary Pensions (Chairman: Levi A. Mackey; Ranking Member: William Kimmel)
  • Standards of Official Conduct
  • Territories (Chairman: Benjamin J. Franklin; Ranking Member: George A. Bagley)
  • War Claims (Chairman: John R. Eden; Ranking Member: S. Addison Oliver)
  • Ways and Means (Chairman: Fernando Wood; Ranking Member: James Phelps)
  • Whole

Joint committees[]

  • Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Rep. Andrew H. Hamilton; Vice Chairman: Rep. Nelson H. Van Vorhes)
  • The Library (Chairman: Rep. Samuel S. Cox; Vice Chairman: Rep. Eugene Hale)
  • Printing (Chairman: Rep. Otho R. Singleton; Vice Chairman: Rep. Latimer W. Ballou)
  • Reorganization of the Army
  • Transfer of the Indian Bureau

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: John D. Defrees

Senate[]

House of Representatives[]

  • Chaplain: I.L. Townsend (Episcopalian), until October 15, 1877
    • John Poise (Methodist), until December 3, 1877
    • W. P. Harrison (Methodist), elected December 3, 1877
  • Clerk: George M. Adams
  • Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: William H. Scudder
  • Doorkeeper: John W. Polk, elected October 17, 1877
    • Charles W. Field, elected April 8, 1878
  • Postmaster: James M. Steuart
  • Reading Clerks: Thomas S. Pettit (D) and Neill S. Brown Jr. (R)
  • Sergeant at Arms: [

John G. Thompson]]

See also[]

  • 1876 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
    • 1876 United States presidential election
    • 1876 United States Senate elections
    • 1876 United States House of Representatives elections
  • 1878 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
    • 1878 and 1879 United States Senate elections
    • 1878 United States House of Representatives elections

Notes[]

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

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.
  1. ^ a b c d "Congress Profiles: 45th Congress (1877–1879)". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved June 5, 2015.

External links[]

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