| 44th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
43rd ← → 45th | |
 United States Capitol (1877) | |
March 4, 1875 – March 4, 1877 | |
| Members | 76 senators 293 representatives 9 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican |
| Senate President | Henry Wilson (R) (until November 22, 1875) Vacant (from November 22, 1875) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Michael C. Kerr (D) until August 19, 1876 Samuel J. Randall (D) from December 4, 1876 |
| Sessions | |
| Special[a]: March 5, 1875 – March 24, 1875 1st: December 6, 1875 – August 15, 1876 2nd: December 4, 1876 – March 3, 1877 | |
The44th United States 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, 1875, to March 4, 1877, during the seventh and eighth years ofUlysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1870 United States census. For the first time since theAmerican Civil War, the House had aDemocratic majority. The Senate maintained aRepublican majority.
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.
|
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Anti- Monopoly (AM) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 20 | 0 | 51 | 2[b] | 73 | 1 |
| Begin | 28 | 1 | 44 | 0 | 73 | 1 |
| End | 30 | 45 | 76 | 0 | ||
| Final voting share | 39.5% | 1.3% | 59.2% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 35 | 1 | 39 | 1[c] | 76 | 0 |
|
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Independent Democratic (ID) | Independent (I) | Independent Republican (IR) | Republican (R) | Other | Vacant | ||
| End ofprevious 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 | ||||
| Final voting share | 62.8% | 1.4% | 35.8% | 0.0% | ||||
| Beginning of thenext Congress | 144 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 146 | 0 | 292 | 1 |
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 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.
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 change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[d] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana (3) | Vacant | Senate had declined to seat rival claimantsWilliam L. McMillen andP. B. S. Pinchback.[1] Successor electedJanuary 12, 1876. | James B. Eustis (D) | January 10, 1876 |
| Tennessee (1) | Andrew Johnson (D) | DiedJuly 31, 1875. Successor appointed August 18, 1875, to continue the term. | David M. Key (D) | August 18, 1875 |
| Connecticut (3) | Orris S. Ferry (R) | DiedNovember 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 retiredMay 17, 1876 when successor elected. Successor elected May 17, 1876. | William H. Barnum (D) | May 18, 1876 |
| Maine (2) | Lot M. Morrill (R) | ResignedJuly 7, 1876 to becomeU.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) | DiedJuly 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 electedNovember 15, 1876 | Henry M. Teller (R) | November 15, 1876 |
| Colorado (3) | New seat | Colorado admitted to the Union August 1, 1876. First senator electedNovember 15, 1876 | Jerome B. Chaffee (R) | November 15, 1876 |
| Tennessee (1) | David M. Key (D) | Interim appointee lost special election. Successor electedJanuary 19, 1877. | James E. Bailey (D) | January 19, 1877 |
| West Virginia (1) | Samuel Price (D) | Interim appointee lost special election. Successor electedJanuary 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 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 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[d] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia 9 | Vacant | Rep-electGarnett 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.-electAugustus 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 theUS 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 theUS 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 theUnited 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 electedGovernor 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 theLouisiana Supreme Court | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| West Virginia 3 | Frank Hereford (D) | Resigned January 31, 1877, after being elected to theUS Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Georgia 9 | Benjamin H. Hill (D) | Resigned March 3, 1877, after being elected to theUS Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
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.
