| 51st United States Congress | |
|---|---|
50th ← → 52nd | |
 United States Capitol (1906) | |
March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1891 | |
| Members | 88 senators 332 representatives 9 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican |
| Senate President | Levi P. Morton (R) |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Thomas B. Reed (R) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1889 – April 2, 1889 1st: December 2, 1889 – October 1, 1890 2nd: December 1, 1890 – March 3, 1891 | |
The51st United States Congress, referred to by some critics as theBillion Dollar Congress, was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of theUnited States Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives. It met inWashington, D.C., from March 4, 1889, to March 4, 1891, during the first two years ofBenjamin Harrison'spresidency.
The apportionment of seats in thisHouse of Representatives was based on the1880 United States census.
TheRepublicans maintained their majority in the Senate, and won the majority in the House. With Benjamin Harrison being sworn in as president on March 4, 1889, this gave the Republicans an overall federal governmenttrifecta for the first time since the43rd Congress in 1873–1875.
It was responsible for a number of pieces of landmark legislation, many of which asserted the authority of thefederal government.
Emboldened by their success in the elections of 1888, the Republicans enacted virtually their entire platform during their first 303-day session, including a measure that providedAmerican Civil War veterans with generous pensions and expanded the list of eligible recipients to include noncombatants and the children of veterans.Grover Cleveland had vetoed a similar bill in 1887. It was criticized as the "Billion Dollar Congress'" for its lavish spending and, for this reason it incited drastic reversals in public support that led toCleveland's reelection in 1892.
Other important legislation passed into law by the Congress included theMcKinley tariff, authored by Representative, and future President,William McKinley; theSherman Antitrust Act, which prohibited business combinations that restricted trade; and theSherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the U.S. government to mintsilver. The last two were concessions to Western farmer interests in exchange for support of the tariff and would become central tenets of thePopulist Party later in the decade. They were authored by SenatorJohn Sherman.
The Fifty-first Congress was also responsible for passing theLand Revision Act of 1891, which created thenational forests. Harrison authorized America's first forest reserve inYellowstone,Wyoming, the same year.
Other bills were discussed but failed to pass, including two significant pieces of legislation focused on ensuring African Americans the right to vote.Henry Cabot Lodge sponsored a so-calledLodge Bill that would have established federal supervision of Congressional elections so as to prevent the disfranchisement of southern blacks.Henry W. Blair sponsored theBlair Education Bill, which advocated the use of federal aid for education in order to frustrate southern whites employing literacy tests to prevent blacks from registering to vote.
The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of this Congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
Six new states were admitted during this Congress, and their senators and representatives were elected throughout the Congress.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 37 | 38 | 1[b] | 76 | 0 |
| Begin | 37 | 39 | 0 | 76 | 0 |
| End | 35 | 51 | 86 | 2 | |
| Final voting share | 40.7% | 59.3% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 36 | 46 | 2[c] | 84 | 4 |
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Labor (L) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 167 | 2 | 152 | 4[d] | 325 | 0 |
| Begin | 160 | 0 | 164 | 0 | 324 | 1 |
| End | 153 | 1 | 176 | 330 | 2 | |
| Final voting share | 46.4% | 0.3% | 53.3% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 238 | 0 | 86 | 8[e] | 332 | 0 |
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 areSenate 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 1892; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1894; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1890.
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for vacancy | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhode Island (2) | Jonathan Chace (R) | Resigned April 9, 1889. Successor was elected. | Nathan F. Dixon III (R) | April 10, 1889 |
| New Hampshire (2) | Gilman Marston (R) | Successor was elected June 18, 1889. | William E. Chandler (R) | June 18, 1889 |
| South Dakota (2) | New seats | South Dakota achieved statehood November 2, 1889. First senators were elected October 16, 1889.[1] | Richard F. Pettigrew (R) | November 2, 1889 |
| South Dakota (3) | Gideon C. Moody (R) | |||
| Montana (1) | New seats | Montana achieved statehood November 8, 1889. First Senator was elected January 1, 1890.[2] His election was challenged based on the legitimacy of the nascent state legislature. The Senate resolved the dispute in his favor April 16, 1890 and he was seated that day.[3] | Wilbur F. Sanders (R) | April 16, 1890 |
| Montana (2) | Montana achieved statehood November 8, 1889. First Senator was elected January 2, 1890.[2] His election was challenged based on the legitimacy of the nascent state legislature. The Senate resolved the dispute in his favor April 16, 1890 and he was seated that day.[3] | Thomas C. Power (R) | April 16, 1890 | |
| Washington (1) | New seats | Washington achieved statehood November 11, 1889. | John B. Allen (R) | November 20, 1889 |
| Washington (3) | Watson C. Squire (R) | |||
| Kentucky (2) | James B. Beck (D) | Died May 3, 1890. Successor was elected. | John G. Carlisle (D) | May 26, 1890 |
| North Dakota (3) | New seats | North Dakota achieved statehood November 2, 1889. First senators were elected November 25, 1889. | Gilbert A. Pierce (R) | November 21, 1889 |
| North Dakota (1) | Lyman R. Casey (R) | November 25, 1889 | ||
| Idaho (2) | New seats | Idaho achieved statehood July 3, 1890. | George L. Shoup (R) | December 18, 1890 |
| Idaho (3) | William J. McConnell (R) | |||
| Wyoming (2) | New seats | Wyoming achieved statehood July 10, 1890. New Senator was elected November 15, 1890. | Joseph M. Carey (R) | November 15, 1890 |
| Wyoming (1) | Wyoming achieved statehood July 10, 1890. New Senator was elected November 18, 1890. | Francis E. Warren (R) | November 24, 1890 | |
| Maryland (3) | Ephraim K. Wilson (D) | Died February 24, 1891, having already been re-elected to the next term. | Vacant until next Congress | |
| California (1) | George Hearst (D) | Died February 28, 1891. | Vacant until next Congress | |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri 4th | Vacant | Elected to finish Rep.James N. Burnes who was re-elected to this Congress, but died during previous one. In addition, Rep.Charles F. Booher was elected to finish Burnes's term in previous Congress but chose not to run for re-election for this Congress. | Robert P. C. Wilson (D) | December 2, 1889 |
| Illinois 19th | Richard W. Townshend (D) | Died March 9, 1889 | James R. Williams (D) | December 2, 1889 |
| Kansas 4th | Thomas Ryan (R) | Resigned April 4, 1889 after being appointedU.S. Minister to Mexico | Harrison Kelley (R) | December 2, 1889 |
| Louisiana 3rd | Edward J. Gay (D) | Died May 30, 1889 | Andrew Price (D) | December 2, 1889 |
| Nebraska 2nd | James Laird (R) | Died August 17, 1889 | Gilbert L. Laws (R) | December 2, 1889 |
| New York 9th | Samuel S. Cox (D) | Died September 10, 1889 | Amos J. Cummings (D) | November 5, 1889 |
| New York 27th | Newton W. Nutting (R) | Died October 15, 1889 | Sereno E. Payne (R) | December 2, 1889 |
| Dakota Territory At-large | George A. Mathews (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Remained in seat until November 2, 1889 | Territory achieved statehood | |
| North Dakota At-large | Henry C. Hansbrough (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Took seat November 2, 1889 | New seat | |
| South Dakota At-large | Oscar S. Gifford (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Took seats November 2, 1889 | New seats | |
| John Pickler (R) | ||||
| Montana Territory At-large | Thomas H. Carter (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Remained in seat until November 7, 1889 | Territory achieved statehood | |
| New York 6th | Frank T. Fitzgerald (D) | Resigned November 4, 1889 after being elected Register ofNew York County | Charles H. Turner (D) | December 9, 1889 |
| Washington Territory At-large | John B. Allen (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Remained in seat until November 11, 1889 | Territory achieved statehood | |
| Pennsylvania 4th | William D. Kelley (R) | Died January 9, 1890 | John E. Reyburn (R) | February 18, 1890 |
| West Virginia 4th | James M. Jackson (D) | Election was successfully challenged on February 3, 1890 | Charles B. Smith (R) | February 3, 1890 |
| West Virginia 1st | John O. Pendleton (D) | Election was successfully challenged on February 26, 1890 | George W. Atkinson (R) | February 26, 1890 |
| Arkansas 1st | William H. Cate (D) | Election was successfully challenged on March 5, 1890 | Lewis P. Featherstone (L) | March 5, 1890 |
| Maryland 5th | Barnes Compton (D) | Election was successfully challenged on March 20, 1890 | Sydney E. Mudd (R) | March 20, 1890 |
| New York 24th | David Wilber (R) | Died April 1, 1890 | John S. Pindar (D) | November 4, 1890 |
| Virginia 3rd | George D. Wise (D) | Election was successfully challenged on April 10, 1890 | Edmund Waddill Jr. (R) | April 12, 1890 |
| Pennsylvania 3rd | Samuel J. Randall (D) | Died April 13, 1890 | Richard Vaux (D) | May 20, 1890 |
| Kentucky 6th | John G. Carlisle (D) | Resigned May 26, 1890, after being elected to theU.S. Senate | William W. Dickerson (D) | June 21, 1890 |
| Alabama 4th | Louis W. Turpin (D) | Election was successfully challenged on June 4, 1890 | John V. McDuffie (R) | June 4, 1890 |
| Idaho Territory At-large | Fred Dubois (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Remained in seat until July 3, 1890 | Territory achieved statehood | |
| Wyoming Territory At-large | Joseph M. Carey (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Remained in seat until July 10, 1889 | Territory achieved statehood | |
| Montana At-large | Thomas H. Carter (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Took seat November 8, 1889 | New seat | |
| Washington At-large | John L. Wilson (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Took seat November 20, 1889 | New seat | |
| Missouri 14th | James P. Walker (D) | Died July 19, 1890 | Robert H. Whitelaw (D) | November 4, 1890 |
| Pennsylvania 27th | Lewis F. Watson (R) | Died August 25, 1890 | Charles W. Stone (R) | November 4, 1890 |
| Arkansas 2nd | Clifton R. Breckinridge (D) | Election was successfully challenged on September 5, 1890, however Rep-electJohn M. Clayton died during election challenge, so seat was declared vacant. Breckinridge was elected to open seat. | Clifton R. Breckinridge (D) | November 4, 1890 |
| South Carolina 7th | William Elliott (D) | Election was successfully challenged on September 23, 1890 | Thomas E. Miller (R) | September 24, 1890 |
| Virginia 4th | Edward C. Venable (D) | Election was successfully challenged on September 23, 1890 | John M. Langston (R) | September 23, 1890 |
| California 1st | John J. De Haven (R) | Resigned October 1, 1890 | Thomas J. Geary (D) | December 9, 1890 |
| Idaho At-large | Willis Sweet (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Took seat October 1, 1890 | New seat | |
| Iowa 7th | Edwin H. Conger (R) | Resigned October 3, 1890, after being appointedU.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Brazil | Edward R. Hays (R) | November 4, 1890 |
| Oklahoma Territory At-large | David A. Harvey (R) | Territory organized fromIndian Territory. Took seat November 4, 1890 | New seat | |
| Wyoming At-large | Clarence D. Clark (R) | Territory achieved statehood. Took seat December 1, 1890 | New seat | |
| New York 8th | John H. McCarthy (D) | Resigned January 14, 1891, after being appointed justice of theCity Court of New York | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Tennessee 10th | James Phelan Jr. (D) | Died January 30, 1891 | Vacant until next Congress | |
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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