64th United States Congress

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64th United States Congress
63rd ←
→ 65th
USCapitol1906.jpg
United States Capitol (1906)

March 4, 1915 – March 4, 1917
Members96 senators
435 representatives
5 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentThomas R. Marshall (D)
House MajorityDemocratic
House SpeakerChamp Clark (D)
Sessions
1st: December 6, 1915 – September 8, 1916
2nd: December 4, 1916 – March 3, 1917 (lame duck)

The 64th 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, DC from March 4, 1915, to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910.

The Democrats maintained a majority in both chambers (albeit reduced in the House), and along with President Wilson also maintained an overall federal government trifecta.

Major events[]

President Wilson before Congress, announcing the break in the official relations with Germany. February 3, 1917.
  • June 9, 1915: (Prelude to World War I):U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned over a disagreement regarding the nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.
  • July 24, 1915: The steamer SS Eastland capsized in central Chicago, with the loss of 844 lives.
  • July 28, 1915: The United States occupation of Haiti began.
  • August 5–August 23, 1915: Hurricane Two of the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season over Galveston and New Orleans left 275 dead.
  • March 8–March 9, 1916: Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa led about 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 12 U.S. soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fights back and drives them away.
  • March 15, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
  • May 5, 1916: United States Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.
  • July 30, 1916: German agents caused the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City, New Jersey, an act of sabotage destroying an ammunition depot and killing at least 7 people.
  • November 7, 1916: U.S. presidential election, 1916: Democratic President Woodrow Wilson narrowly defeated Republican Charles E. Hughes.
  • January 11, 1917: (Prelude to World War I): German saboteurs set off the Kingsland Explosion at Kingsland, NJ (now Lyndhurst, NJ), one of the events leading to U.S. involvement in World War I.
  • February 3, 1917: (Prelude to World War I):The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany

Major legislation[]

Treaties[]

  • January 17, 1917: Treaty of the Danish West Indies signed by President Wilson, ceding the Danish West Indies to the United States after their purchase from Denmark, and renaming them the US Virgin Islands.

Party summary[]

Senate[]

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Republican
(R)
Other
End of previous congress 53 42 1[a] 96 0
Begin 56 40 0 96 0
End 55 41
Final voting share 57.3% 42.7% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 54 42 0 96 0

House of Representatives[]

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Bull
Moose

(Prog.)
Socialist
(Soc.)
Independent
(I)
Prohibition
(Proh.)
Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 282 11 0 1 0 130 424 11
Begin 230 5 1 1 1 193 431 4
End 227 4 200 4341
Final voting share 52.3% 0.9% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 46.1%
Beginning of next congress 213 3 1 0 1 216 434 1

Leadership[]

Senate[]

  • President: Thomas R. Marshall (D)
  • Presidents pro tempore: James P. Clarke (D) and Willard Saulsbury Jr. (D)
  • Majority Whip: J. Hamilton Lewis (D)
  • Minority Whip: Charles Curtis (R)
  • Republican Conference Chairman: Jacob Harold Gallinger
  • Democratic Caucus Chairman: John W. Kern
  • Republican Conference Secretary: James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.
  • Democratic Caucus Secretary: Willard Saulsbury Jr., until December 14, 1916
    • Key Pittman, acting

House of Representatives[]

  • Speaker: Champ Clark (D)

Majority (Democratic) leadership[]

  • Majority Leader: Claude Kitchin
  • Majority Whip: vacant
  • Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edward W. Saunders
  • Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Frank Ellsworth Doremus

Minority (Republican) leadership[]

  • Minority Leader: James R. Mann
  • Minority Whip: Charles M. Hamilton
  • Republican Conference Chairman: William S. Greene
  • Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Frank P. Woods

Members[]

Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate[]

At this time, most sitting senators had been elected by the state legislatures, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Due to the 17th Amendment, the incoming class of senators from the 1914 election were all elected directly by the residents of their state, In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1916; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1918; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1920.

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: 3
    • Democratic: 1 seat net loss
    • Republican: 1 seat net gain
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 0
  • Vacancy: 0
  • Total seats with changes: 4
State Senator Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
Indiana
(3)
Benjamin F. Shively (D) Died March 14, 1916. Successor was appointed. Thomas Taggart (D) March 20, 1916
Maine
(2)
Edwin C. Burleigh (R) Died June 16, 1916. Successor was elected. Bert M. Fernald (R) September 12, 1916
Arkansas
(3)
James P. Clarke (D) Died October 1, 1916. Successor was elected. William F. Kirby (D) November 8, 1916
Indiana
(3)
Thomas Taggart (D) Successor was elected. James E. Watson (R) November 8, 1916

House of Representatives[]

  • Replacements: 9
    • Democratic: 2 seat loss
    • Republican: 3 seat gain
    • Progressive: 1 seat loss
  • Deaths: 8
  • Resignations: 12
  • Contested elections: 4
  • Total seats with changes: 15
District Vacated by Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
New York 31st Vacant Rep. Edwin A. Merritt died during previous congress Bertrand Snell (R) November 2, 1915
New York 36th Vacant Rep. Sereno E. Payne died during previous congress Norman J. Gould (R) November 2, 1915
Pennsylvania 24th Vacant Rep.-elect William M. Brown died during previous congress Henry W. Temple (R) November 2, 1915
New York 1st Vacant Election was tied up in the courts Frederick C. Hicks (R) January 4, 1916
South Carolina 4th Joseph T. Johnson (D) Resigned April 19, 1915 Samuel J. Nicholls (D) September 4, 1915
New York 23rd Joseph A. Goulden (D) Died May 3, 1915 William S. Bennet (R) November 2, 1915
Mississippi 5th Samuel A. Witherspoon (D) Died November 24, 1915 William W. Venable (D) January 4, 1916
West Virginia 2nd William Gay Brown Jr. (D) Died March 9, 1916 George M. Bowers (R) May 9, 1916
West Virginia 4th Hunter H. Moss Jr. (R) Died July 15, 1916 Harry C. Woodyard (R) November 7, 1916
California 10th William Stephens (Prog.) Resigned July 22, 1916, after being elected Lieutenant Governor of California Henry S. Benedict (R) November 7, 1916
Virginia 7th James Hay (D) Resigned October 1, 1916, after being appointed judge of the United States Court of Claims Thomas W. Harrison (D) November 7, 1916
Philippines Resident Commissioner Manuel L. Quezon Resigned October 15, 1916, after being elected to the Senate of the Philippines Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera Died November 15, 1916 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Georgia 8th Samuel J. Tribble (D) Incumbent died December 8, 1916.
Successor elected January 11, 1917.
Tinsley W. Rucker Jr. (D) January 11, 1917
South Carolina 5th David E. Finley (D) Resigned January 26, 1917.
Successor elected February 21, 1917.
Paul G. McCorkle (D) February 21, 1917
New York 15th Michael F. Conry (D) Died March 2, 1917 Seat remained vacant until next Congress

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[]

  • (Select) (Chairman: Boies Penrose; Ranking Member: William J. Stone)
  • Agriculture and Forestry (Chairman: Thomas P. Gore; Ranking Member: Francis E. Warren)
  • Appropriations (Chairman: Thomas P. Gore; Ranking Member: Francis E. Warren)
  • Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: John S. Williams; Ranking Member: William P. Dillingham)
  • Banking and Currency (Chairman: Robert L. Owen; Ranking Member: Knute Nelson)
  • Canadian Relations (Chairman: John K. Shields; Ranking Member: George T. Oliver)
  • Census (Chairman: William E. Chilton; Ranking Member: Robert M. La Follette)
  • Civil Service and Retrenchment (Chairman: Atlee Pomerene; Ranking Member: Albert B. Cummins)
  • Claims (Chairman: Nathan P. Bryan; Ranking Member: Edwin C. Burleigh then Nathan Goff)
  • Coast and Insular Survey (Chairman: Willard Saulsbury; Ranking Member: Charles E. Townsend)
  • Coast Defenses (Chairman: James E. Martine; Ranking Member: Henry A. du Pont)
  • Commerce (Chairman: James P. Clarke; Ranking Member: Knute Nelson)
  • Conservation of National Resources (Chairman: James K. Vardaman; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Clark)
  • Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia (Chairman: Robert M. La Follette; Ranking Member: William J. Stone)
  • Cuban Relations (Chairman: Joseph L. Bristow then Oscar Underwood; Ranking Member: William A. Smith)
  • (Chairman: Carroll S. Page; Ranking Member: James E. Martine)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: John W. Smith; Ranking Member: William P. Dillingham)
  • Education and Labor (Chairman: Hoke Smith; Ranking Member: William E. Borah)
  • Engrossed Bills (Chairman: Francis E. Warren; Ranking Member: Furnifold M. Simmons)
  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Henry F. Hollis; Ranking Member: Charles Curtis)
  • (Select) (Chairman: N/A)
  • (Chairman: William A. Smith; Ranking Member: Luke Lea)
  • Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture (Chairman: Morris Sheppard; Ranking Member: Henry F. Lippitt)
  • Expenditures in the Department of Commerce and Labor (Chairman: William H. Thompson; Ranking Member: Albert B. Fall)
  • Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: Reed Smoot; Ranking Member: Claude A. Swanson)
  • Expenditures in the Department of Justice (Chairman: George Sutherland; Ranking Member: Key Pittman)
  • Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: William Hughes)
  • Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Blair Lee; Ranking Member: Asle Gronna)
  • Expenditures in the Department of State (Chairman: J. Hamilton Lewis; Ranking Member: Boies Penrose)
  • Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Joseph T. Robinson; Ranking Member: John D. Works)
  • Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: Miles Poindexter; Ranking Member: Harry Lane)
  • Finance (Chairman: Furnifold M. Simmons; Ranking Member: Boies Penrose)
  • (Chairman: John R. Thornton; Ranking Member: John D. Works)
  • Five Civilized Tribes of Indians (Chairman: Knute Nelson; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
  • Foreign Relations (Chairman: Augustus O. Bacon; Ranking Member: Henry Cabot Lodge)
  • Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game (Chairman: Harry Lane; Ranking Member: George P. McLean)
  • (Chairman: Clarence D. Clark; Ranking Member: John W. Kern)
  • Immigration (Chairman: Ellison D. Smith; Ranking Member: Henry Cabot Lodge)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: William J. Stone; Ranking Member: Moses E. Clapp)
  • Indian Depredations (Chairman: William E. Borah; Ranking Member: Claude A. Swanson)
  • Industrial Expositions (Chairman: Henry F. Ashurst; Ranking Member: George T. Oliver)
  • Interoceanic Canals (Chairman: James A. O'Gorman; Ranking Member: Frank B. Brandegee)
  • Interstate Commerce (Chairman: Francis G. Newlands; Ranking Member: Moses E. Clapp)
  • Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands (Chairman: Marcus A. Smith; Ranking Member: Wesley L. Jones)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: Charles A. Culberson; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Clark)
  • Library (Chairman: Luke Lea; Ranking Member: Albert B. Cummins)
  • Manufactures (Chairman: James A. Reed; Ranking Member: George T. Oliver)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: George E. Chamberlain; Ranking Member: Henry A. du Pont)
  • Mines and Mining (Chairman: Thomas J. Walsh; Ranking Member: Miles Poindexter)
  • (Select) (Chairman: Albert B. Cummins; Ranking Member: John Sharp Williams)
  • (Chairman: Charles F. Johnson; Ranking Member: James H. Brady)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Benjamin R. Tillman; Ranking Member: Boies Penrose)
  • Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico (Chairman: John F. Shafroth; Ranking Member: Miles Poindexter)
  • Pacific Railroads (Chairman: Frank B. Brandegee; Ranking Member: James A. Reed)
  • Patents (Chairman: Ollie M. James; Ranking Member: Frank B. Brandegee)
  • Pensions (Chairman: Benjamin F. Shively; Ranking Member: Porter J. McCumber)
  • Philippines (Chairman: Gilbert M. Hitchcock; Ranking Member: George P. McLean)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John H. Bankhead; Ranking Member: Boies Penrose)
  • Printing (Chairman: Duncan U. Fletcher; Ranking Member: Reed Smoot)
  • Private Land Claims (Chairman: Henry Cabot Lodge; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
  • Privileges and Elections (Chairman: John W. Kern; Ranking Member: William P. Dillingham)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Claude A. Swanson; Ranking Member: George Sutherland)
  • Public Health and National Quarantine (Chairman: Joseph E. Ransdell; Ranking Member: Reed Smoot)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: Henry L. Myers; Ranking Member: Reed Smoot)
  • Railroads (Chairman: George C. Perkins; Ranking Member: George T. Oliver)
  • (Chairman: Joseph T. Robinson; Ranking Member: N/A)
  • Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: William O. Bradley; Ranking Member: Edwin C. Burleigh then Charles Curtis)
  • Rules (Chairman: Lee S. Overman; Ranking Member: Jacob H. Gallinger)
  • (Chairman: Moses E. Clapp; Ranking Member: John H. Bankhead)
  • Tariff Regulation (Select)
  • (Select)
  • Territories (Chairman: Key Pittman; Ranking Member: Knute Nelson)
  • Transportation and Sale of Meat Products (Select) (Chairman: Henry A. du Pont; Ranking Member: Henry F. Hollis)
  • Transportation Routes to the Seaboard (Chairman: Porter J. McCumber; Ranking Member: Morris Sheppard)
  • (Select) (Chairman: Isaac Stephenson; Ranking Member: Miles Poindexter)
  • Whole
  • (Chairman: Charles S. Thomas; Ranking Member: George Sutherland)

House of Representatives[]

  • Accounts (Chairman: James T. Lloyd; Ranking Member: Thomas W. Miller)
  • Agriculture (Chairman: Asbury F. Lever; Ranking Member: Gilbert N. Haugen)
  • Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (Chairman: Adolph J. Sabath; Ranking Member: Addison T. Smith)
  • Appropriations (Chairman: John J. Fitzgerald; Ranking Member: Frederick H. Gillett)
  • Banking and Currency (Chairman: Carter Glass; Ranking Member: Everis A. Hayes)
  • Census (Chairman: Harvey Helm; Ranking Member: Asher C. Hinds)
  • Claims (Chairman: Edward W. Pou; Ranking Member: George W. Edmonds)
  • Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: Thomas W. Hardwick; Ranking Member: Edwin E. Roberts)
  • Disposition of Executive Papers (Chairman: J. Frederick Cockey Talbott; Ranking Member: William S. Bennet)
  • District of Columbia (Chairman: Ben Johnson; Ranking Member: William J. Cary)
  • Education (Chairman: Dudley M. Hughes; Ranking Member: Caleb Powers)
  • Election of the President, Vice President and Representatives in Congress (Chairman: William W. Rucker; Ranking Member: Carl E. Mapes)
  • Elections No.#1 (Chairman: James D. Post; Ranking Member: Merrill Moores)
  • Elections No.#2 (Chairman: James A. Hamill; Ranking Member: John Jacob Rogers)
  • Elections No.#3 (Chairman: Lewis L. Morgan; Ranking Member: Cassius C. Dowell)
  • Enrolled Bills (Chairman: William A. Ashbrook; Ranking Member: William R. Wood)
  • Expenditures in the Agriculture Department (Chairman: Robert L. Doughton; Ranking Member: Edward J. King)
  • Expenditures in the Commerce Department (Chairman: John H. Rothermel; Ranking Member: Thomas Sutler Williams)
  • Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: James M. Graham; Ranking Member: Aaron S. Kreider)
  • Expenditures in the Justice Department (Chairman: Robert F. Broussard; Ranking Member: Stephen G. Porter)
  • Expenditures in the Labor Department (Chairman: James P. Maher; Ranking Member: John G. Cooper)
  • Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Rufus Hardy; Ranking Member: George Edmund Foss)
  • Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: N/A; Ranking Member: Harry H. Pratt)
  • Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: Courtney W. Hamlin; Ranking Member: George H. Tinkham)
  • Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Charles O. Lobeck; Ranking Member: Henry Wilson Temple)
  • Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: John A.M. Adair; Ranking Member: Luther W. Mott)
  • Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: Thomas F. Konop; Ranking Member: William A. Rodenberg)
  • Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Henry D. Flood; Ranking Member: Henry Allen Cooper)
  • Immigration and Naturalization (Chairman: John L. Burnett; Ranking Member: Everis A. Hayes)
  • Indian Affairs (Chairman: John H. Stephens; Ranking Member: Philip P. Campbell)
  • (Chairman: Edwin S. Underhill; Ranking Member: Frank P. Woods)
  • Insular Affairs (Chairman: William A. Jones; Ranking Member: Horace M. Towner)
  • Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: William C. Adamson; Ranking Member: John J. Esch)
  • Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Isaac R. Sherwood; Ranking Member: John W. Langley)
  • Irrigation of Arid Lands (Chairman: William R. Smith; Ranking Member: Moses P. Kinkaid)
  • Judiciary (Chairman: Henry De Lamar Clayton; Ranking Member: Andrew J. Volstead)
  • Labor (Chairman: David J. Lewis; Ranking Member: John M.C. Smith)
  • Library (Chairman: James L. Slayden; Ranking Member: William B. McKinley)
  • Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: Joshua W. Alexander; Ranking Member: William S. Greene)
  • Mileage (Chairman: Warren W. Bailey; Ranking Member: Burnett M. Chiperfield)
  • Military Affairs (Chairman: James Hay; Ranking Member: Julius Kahn)
  • Mines and Mining (Chairman: Martin D. Foster; Ranking Member: Mahlon M. Garland)
  • Naval Affairs (Chairman: Lemuel P. Padgett; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Butler)
  • Patents (Chairman: William A. Oldfield; Ranking Member: John I. Nolan)
  • (Chairman: John A. Key; Ranking Member: Sam R. Sells)
  • Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: John A. Moon; Ranking Member: Halvor Steenerson)
  • Printing (Chairman: Henry A. Barnhart; Ranking Member: Edgar R. Kiess)
  • Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Frank Clark; Ranking Member: Richard W. Austin)
  • Public Lands (Chairman: Scott Ferris; Ranking Member: Irvine L. Lenroot)
  • Railways and Canals (Chairman: Martin Dies; Ranking Member: William L. La Follette)
  • (Chairman: Hannibal L. Godwin; Ranking Member: William B. McKinley)
  • Revision of Laws (Chairman: John T. Watkins; Ranking Member: Merrill Moores)
  • Rivers and Harbors (Chairman: Stephen M. Sparkman; Ranking Member: William E. Humphrey)
  • Roads (Chairman: Dorsey W. Shackleford; Ranking Member: Thomas B. Dunn)
  • Rules (Chairman: Robert L. Henry; Ranking Member: Philip P. Campbell)
  • Standards of Official Conduct
  • Territories (Chairman: William C. Houston; Ranking Member: Frank Guernsey)
  • War Claims (Chairman: Alexander W. Gregg; Ranking Member: Benjamin K. Focht)
  • Ways and Means (Chairman: Oscar Underwood; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Fordney)
  • Whole

Joint committees[]

  • (Special)
  • Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
  • The Library (Chairman: Sen. John Sharp Williams)
  • (Chairman: Sen. Francis G. Newlands)
  • Printing (Chairman: Sen. Duncan U. Fletcher)
  • Postage on 2nd Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Transportation of Mail (Chairman: Sen. Jonathan Bourne Jr.)
  • (Chairman: Rep. Carter Glass)

Caucuses[]

  • Democratic (House)
  • Democratic (Senate)

Employees[]

Legislative branch agency directors[]

  • Architect of the Capitol: Elliott Woods
  • Librarian of Congress: Herbert Putnam
  • Public Printer of the United States:

Senate[]

House of Representatives[]

  • Chaplain: Henry N. Couden
  • Clerk: South Trimble
  • Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Bennett C. Clark
  • Doorkeeper:
  • Reading Clerks: Patrick Joseph Haltigan (D) and H. Martin Williams (R)
  • Postmaster:
  • Sergeant at Arms: Robert B. Gordon

See also[]

  • United States elections, 1914 (elections leading to this Congress)
    • United States Senate elections, 1914
    • United States House of Representatives elections, 1914
  • United States elections, 1916 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
    • 1916 United States presidential election
    • United States Senate elections, 1916
    • United States House of Representatives elections, 1916

Notes[]

  1. ^ Progressive

References[]

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