| 55th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
54th ← → 56th | |
 United States Capitol (1906) | |
March 4, 1897 – March 4, 1899 | |
| Members | 90 senators 357 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican (plurality) |
| Senate President | Garret Hobart (R) |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Thomas B. Reed (R) |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 4, 1897 – March 10, 1897 1st: March 15, 1897 – July 24, 1897 2nd: December 6, 1897 – July 8, 1898 3rd: December 5, 1898 – March 3, 1899 | |
The55th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of theUnited States Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives. It met inWashington, D.C., from March 4, 1897, to March 4, 1899, during the first two years ofWilliam McKinley'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1890 United States census. Both chambers had aRepublican majority. There was one African-American member,George Henry White, aRepublican from the state ofNorth Carolina, and oneKaw member,Charles Curtis, a Republican fromKansas.
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.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Populist (P) | Republican (R) | Silver Republican (SR) | Silver (S) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 40 | 4 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 0 |
| Begin | 33 | 5 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 88 | 2 |
| End | 34 | 44 | 90 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 37.8% | 5.6% | 48.9% | 5.6% | 2.2% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 26 | 4 | 51 | 3 | 2 | 86 | 4 |
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Populist (P) | Republican (R) | Independent Republican (IR) | Silver Republican (SR) | Silver (S) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 94 | 9 | 252 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 356 | 1 |
| Begin | 126 | 22 | 202 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 355 | 2 |
| End | 122 | 201 | 350 | 7 | ||||
| Final voting share | 34.9% | 6.3% | 57.4% | 0.3% | 0.9% | 0.3% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 163 | 6 | 183 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 355 | 2 |
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 ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1902.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio (1) | John Sherman (R) | Resigned March 4, 1897, to becomeU.S. Secretary of State. Elected to fill remainder of term. | Mark Hanna (R) | March 5, 1897 |
| Florida (3) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor elected May 14, 1897.[1] | Stephen R. Mallory (D) | May 15, 1897 |
| Oregon (3) | Vacant | Failure to elect. Successor elected October 8, 1898. | Joseph Simon (R) | October 8, 1898 |
| South Carolina (3) | Joseph H. Earle (D) | Died May 20, 1897. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. | John L. McLaurin (D) | June 1, 1897 |
| Tennessee (2) | Isham G. Harris (D) | Died July 8, 1897. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. | Thomas B. Turley (D) | July 20, 1897 |
| Mississippi (1) | James Z. George (D) | Died August 14, 1897. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. | Hernando Money (D) | October 8, 1897 |
| Mississippi (2) | Edward C. Walthall (D) | Died April 21, 1898. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. | William V. Sullivan (D) | May 31, 1898 |
| Vermont (3) | Justin S. Morrill (R) | Died December 28, 1898. Successor was appointed. | Jonathan Ross (R) | January 11, 1899 |
| District | Previous | Reason for change | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania 25th | Vacant | Rep.-electJames J. Davidson died before being seated. Showalter was elected to finish term. | Joseph B. Showalter (R) | April 20, 1897 |
| Missouri 1st | Vacant | Rep.-electRichard P. Giles died before being seated. Lloyd was elected to finish term. | James T. Lloyd (D) | June 1, 1897 |
| Maine 3rd | Seth L. Milliken (R) | Died April 18, 1897 | Edwin C. Burleigh (R) | June 21, 1897 |
| Indiana 4th | William S. Holman (D) | Died April 22, 1897. | Francis M. Griffith (D) | December 6, 1897 |
| South Carolina 6th | John L. McLaurin (D) | Resigned May 31, 1897, after being appointed to theU.S. Senate | James Norton (D) | December 6, 1897 |
| Illinois 6th | Edward D. Cooke (R) | Died June 24, 1897 | Henry S. Boutell (R) | November 23, 1897 |
| Massachusetts 1st | Ashley B. Wright (R) | Died August 14, 1897 | George P. Lawrence (R) | November 2, 1897 |
| New York 3rd | Francis H. Wilson (R) | Resigned September 30, 1897, to become Postmaster ofBrooklyn, New York | Edmund H. Driggs (D) | December 6, 1897 |
| Alabama 4th | Thomas S. Plowman (D) | Lost contested election February 9, 1898 | William F. Aldrich (R) | February 9, 1898 |
| Virginia 4th | Sidney P. Epes (D) | Lost contested election March 23, 1898 | Robert T. Thorp (R) | March 23, 1898 |
| Massachusetts 13th | John Simpkins (R) | Died March 27, 1898 | William S. Greene (R) | May 31, 1898 |
| Virginia 2nd | William A. Young (D) | Lost contested election April 26, 1898 | Richard A. Wise (R) | April 26, 1898 |
| Mississippi 2nd | William V. Sullivan (D) | Resigned May 31, 1898, after being appointed to theU.S. Senate | Thomas Spight (D) | July 5, 1898 |
| Ohio 19th | Stephen A. Northway (R) | Died September 8, 1898 | Charles W. F. Dick (R) | November 8, 1898 |
| Mississippi 6th | William F. Love (D) | Died October 16, 1898 | Frank A. McLain (D) | December 12, 1898 |
| Pennsylvania 23rd | William A. Stone (R) | Resigned November 9, 1898, to run forGovernor of Pennsylvania | William H. Graham (R) | November 29, 1898 |
| New York 34th | Warren B. Hooker (R) | Resigned November 10, 1898, after being appointed judge for theNew York Supreme Court | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
| Tennessee 4th | Benton McMillin (D) | Resigned January 6, 1899, after being electedGovernor of Tennessee | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
| New Jersey 4th | Mahlon Pitney (R) | Resigned January 10, 1899, after being elected to theNew Jersey Senate | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
| Maine 2nd | Nelson Dingley Jr. (R) | Died January 13, 1899 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
| Texas 9th | Joseph D. Sayers (D) | Resigned January 16, 1899, after being electedGovernor of Texas | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
| New York 2nd | Denis M. Love (R) | Died February 26, 1899 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
| Texas 4th | John W. Cranford (D) | Died March 3, 1899 | Seat remained 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.
