1877-1879 U.S. Congress
45th United States Congress Members 76 senators Senate majority Republican VP )Senate President William A. Wheeler (R)House majority Democratic House Speaker Samuel J. Randall (D)Sessions Special[ a] : March 5, 1877 – March 17, 18771st : October 15, 1877 – December 3, 18772nd : December 3, 1877 – June 20, 18783rd : December 2, 1878 – March 3, 1879
The45th 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, 1877, to March 4, 1879, during the first two years ofRutherford Hayes's presidency . The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1870 United States census . The Senate had aRepublican majority, and the House had aDemocratic majority.
The 45th Congress remained politically divided between a Democratic House and Republican Senate.[ 1] [ 1] [ 1] [ 1]
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
February 28, 1878:Bland–Allison Act (Coinage Act (Silver Dollar)), Sess. 2, ch. 20, 20 Stat. 25 April 29, 1878:National Quarantine Act of 1878 , Sess. 2, ch. 66, 20 Stat. 37 June 3, 1878:Timber and Stone Act , Sess. 2, ch. 151, 20 Stat. 89 June 18, 1878:Posse Comitatus Act , Sess. 2, ch. 263, §15, 20 Stat. 152 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.
Republicans controlled the Senate through a VP-tie-breaking majority.
House of Representatives [ edit ] President of the SenateWilliam A. Wheeler House of Representatives [ edit ] This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, 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 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▌ 2.John T. Morgan (D)▌ 3.George E. Spencer (R)▌ 2.Augustus H. Garland (D)▌ 3.Stephen W. Dorsey (R)▌ 1.Newton Booth (AM)▌ 3.Aaron A. Sargent (R)▌ 2.Henry M. Teller (R)▌ 3.Jerome B. Chaffee (R)▌ 1.William W. Eaton (D)▌ 3.William H. Barnum (D)▌ 1.Thomas F. Bayard Sr. (D)▌ 2.Eli Saulsbury (D)▌ 1.Charles W. Jones (D)▌ 3.Simon B. Conover (R)▌ 2.Benjamin H. Hill (D)▌ 3.John B. Gordon (D)▌ 2.David Davis (I)▌ 3.Richard J. Oglesby (R)▌ 1.Joseph E. McDonald (D)▌ 3.Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R), until November 1, 1877▌ Daniel W. Voorhees (D), from November 6, 1877▌ 2.Samuel J. Kirkwood (R)▌ 3.William B. Allison (R)▌ 2.Preston B. Plumb (R)▌ 3.John J. Ingalls (R)▌ 2.James B. Beck (D)▌ 3.Thomas C. McCreery (D)▌ 2.William Pitt Kellogg (R)▌ 3.James B. Eustis (D)▌ 1.Hannibal Hamlin (R)▌ 2.James G. Blaine (R)▌ 1.William Pinkney Whyte (D)▌ 3.George R. Dennis (D)▌ 1.Henry L. Dawes (R)▌ 2.George F. Hoar (R)▌ 1.Isaac P. Christiancy (R), until February 10, 1879▌ Zachariah Chandler (R), from February 22, 1879▌ 2.Thomas W. Ferry (R)▌ 1.Samuel J. R. McMillan (R)▌ 2.William Windom (R)▌ 1.Blanche Bruce (R)▌ 2.Lucius Q. C. Lamar (D)▌ 1.Francis Cockrell (D)▌ 3.Lewis V. Bogy (D), until September 20, 1877▌ David H. Armstrong (D), September 29, 1877 - January 26, 1879▌ James Shields (D), from January 27, 1879▌ 1.Algernon Paddock (R)▌ 2.Alvin Saunders (R)▌ 1.William Sharon (R)▌ 3.John P. Jones (R)▌ 2.Edward H. Rollins (R)▌ 3.Bainbridge Wadleigh (R)▌ 1.Theodore F. Randolph (D)▌ 2.John R. McPherson (D)▌ 1.Francis Kernan (D)▌ 3.Roscoe Conkling (R)▌ 2.Matt W. Ransom (D)▌ 3.Augustus S. Merrimon (D)▌ 1.Allen G. Thurman (D)▌ 3.John Sherman (R), until March 8, 1877▌ Stanley Matthews (R), from March 21, 1877▌ 2.La Fayette Grover (D)▌ 3.John H. Mitchell (R)▌ 1.William A. Wallace (D)▌ 3.Simon Cameron (R), until March 12, 1877▌ J. Donald Cameron (R), from March 20, 1877▌ 1.Ambrose Burnside (R)▌ 2.Henry B. Anthony (R)▌ 2.Matthew C. Butler (D)▌ 3.John J. Patterson (R)▌ 1.James E. Bailey (D)▌ 2.Isham G. Harris (D)▌ 1.Samuel B. Maxey (D)▌ 2.Richard Coke (D)▌ 1.George F. Edmunds (R)▌ 3.Justin S. Morrill (R)▌ 1.Robert E. Withers (D)▌ 2.John W. Johnston (D)▌ 1.Frank Hereford (D)▌ 2.Henry G. Davis (D)▌ 1.Angus Cameron (R)▌ 3.Timothy O. Howe (R)Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 45th Congress in March 1877. The green stripes in California represent Newton Booth of theAnti-Monopoly Party , while the gray stripes in Illinois represent independent David Davis. 2 Democrats
1 Democrat and 1 Republican
2 Republicans
Territories
President pro temporeThomas W. Ferry
House of Representatives [ edit ] The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
▌ 1 James T. Jones (D)▌ 2 Hilary A. Herbert (D)▌ 3 Jeremiah N. Williams (D)▌ 4 Charles M. Shelley (D)▌ 5 Robert F. Ligon (D)▌ 6 Goldsmith W. Hewitt (D)▌ 7 William H. Forney (D)▌ 8 William W. Garth (D)▌ 1 Lucien C. Gause (D)▌ 2 William F. Slemons (D)▌ 3 Jordan E. Cravens (ID)▌ 4 Thomas M. Gunter (D)▌ 1 Horace Davis (R)▌ 2 Horace F. Page (R)▌ 3 John K. Luttrell (D)▌ 4 Romualdo Pacheco (R), until February 7, 1878▌ Peter D. Wigginton (D), from February 7, 1878▌ At-large James B. Belford (R), until December 13, 1877▌ Thomas M. Patterson (D), from December 13, 1877▌ 1 George M. Landers (D)▌ 2 James Phelps (D)▌ 3 John T. Wait (R)▌ 4 Levi Warner (D)▌ At-large James Williams (D)▌ 1 Robert H. M. Davidson (D)▌ 2 Horatio Bisbee Jr. (R), until February 20, 1879▌ Jesse J. Finley (D), from February 20, 1879▌ 1 Julian Hartridge (D), until January 8, 1879▌ William B. Fleming (D), from February 10, 1879▌ 2 William E. Smith (D)▌ 3 Philip Cook (D)▌ 4 Henry R. Harris (D)▌ 5 Milton A. Candler (D)▌ 6 James H. Blount (D)▌ 7 William H. Felton (ID)▌ 8 Alexander H. Stephens (D)▌ 9 Hiram P. Bell (D), from March 13, 1877▌ 1 William Aldrich (R)▌ 2 Carter H. Harrison (D)▌ 3 Lorenzo Brentano (R)▌ 4 William Lathrop (R)▌ 5 Horatio C. Burchard (R)▌ 6 Thomas J. Henderson (R)▌ 7 Philip C. Hayes (R)▌ 8 Greenbury L. Fort (R)▌ 9 Thomas A. Boyd (R)▌ 10 Benjamin F. Marsh (R)▌ 11 Robert M. Knapp (D)▌ 12 William M. Springer (D)▌ 13 Thomas F. Tipton (R)▌ 14 Joseph G. Cannon (R)▌ 15 John R. Eden (D)▌ 16 William A. J. Sparks (D)▌ 17 William R. Morrison (D)▌ 18 William Hartzell (D)▌ 19 Richard W. Townshend (D)▌ 1 Benoni S. Fuller (D)▌ 2 Thomas R. Cobb (D)▌ 3 George A. Bicknell (D)▌ 4 Leonidas Sexton (R)▌ 5 Thomas M. Browne (R)▌ 6 Milton S. Robinson (R)▌ 7 John Hanna (R)▌ 8 Morton C. Hunter (R)▌ 9 Michael D. White (R)▌ 10 William H. Calkins (R)▌ 11 James L. Evans (R)▌ 12 Andrew H. Hamilton (D)▌ 13 John Baker (R)▌ 1 Joseph C. Stone (R)▌ 2 Hiram Price (R)▌ 3 Theodore W. Burdick (R)▌ 4 Nathaniel C. Deering (R)▌ 5 Rush Clark (R)▌ 6 Ezekiel S. Sampson (R)▌ 7 Henry J. B. Cummings (R)▌ 8 William F. Sapp (R)▌ 9 S. Addison Oliver (R)▌ 1 William A. Phillips (R)▌ 2 Dudley C. Haskell (R)▌ 3 Thomas Ryan (R)▌ 1 Andrew Boone (D)▌ 2 James A. McKenzie (D)▌ 3 John William Caldwell (D)▌ 4 J. Proctor Knott (D)▌ 5 Albert S. Willis (D)▌ 6 John G. Carlisle (D)▌ 7 Joseph C. S. Blackburn (D)▌ 8 Milton J. Durham (D)▌ 9 Thomas Turner (D)▌ 10 John B. Clarke (D)▌ 1 Randall L. Gibson (D)▌ 2 E. John Ellis (D)▌ 3 Chester B. Darrall (R), until February 20, 1878▌ Joseph H. Acklen (D), from February 20, 1878▌ 4 Joseph B. Elam (D)▌ 5 John E. Leonard (R), until March 15, 1878▌ John S. Young (D), from November 5, 1878▌ 6 Edward W. Robertson (D)▌ 1 Thomas B. Reed (R)▌ 2 William P. Frye (R)▌ 3 Stephen D. Lindsey (R)▌ 4 Llewellyn Powers (R)▌ 5 Eugene Hale (R)▌ 1 Daniel M. Henry (D)▌ 2 Charles B. Roberts (D)▌ 3 William Kimmel (D)▌ 4 Thomas Swann (D)▌ 5 Eli J. Henkle (D)▌ 6 William Walsh (D)▌ 1 William W. Crapo (R)▌ 2 Benjamin W. Harris (R)▌ 3 Walbridge A. Field (R), until March 28, 1878▌ Benjamin Dean (D), from March 28, 1878▌ 4 Leopold Morse (D)▌ 5 Nathaniel P. Banks (R)▌ 6 George B. Loring (R)▌ 7 Benjamin F. Butler (R)▌ 8 William Claflin (R)▌ 9 William W. Rice (R)▌ 10 Amasa Norcross (R)▌ 11 George D. Robinson (R)▌ 1 Alpheus S. Williams (D), until December 21, 1878▌ 2 Edwin Willits (R)▌ 3 Jonas H. McGowan (R)▌ 4 Edwin W. Keightley (R)▌ 5 John W. Stone (R)▌ 6 Mark S. Brewer (R)▌ 7 Omar D. Conger (R)▌ 8 Charles C. Ellsworth (R)▌ 9 Jay A. Hubbell (R)▌ 1 Mark H. Dunnell (R)▌ 2 Horace B. Strait (R)▌ 3 Jacob H. Stewart (R)▌ 1 Henry L. Muldrow (D)▌ 2 Vannoy H. Manning (D)▌ 3 Hernando Money (D)▌ 4 Otho R. Singleton (D)▌ 5 Charles E. Hooker (D)▌ 6 James R. Chalmers (D)▌ 1 Anthony F. Ittner (R)▌ 2 Nathan Cole (R)▌ 3 Lyne S. Metcalfe (R)▌ 4 Robert A. Hatcher (D)▌ 5 Richard P. Bland (D)▌ 6 Charles H. Morgan (D)▌ 7 Thomas T. Crittenden (D)▌ 8 Benjamin J. Franklin (D)▌ 9 David Rea (D)▌ 10 Henry M. Pollard (R)▌ 11 John B. Clark Jr. (D)▌ 12 John M. Glover (D)▌ 13 Aylett H. Buckner (D)▌ At-large Frank Welch (R), until September 4, 1878▌ Thomas J. Majors (R), from November 5, 1878▌ At-large Thomas Wren (R)▌ 1 Frank Jones (D)▌ 2 James F. Briggs (R)▌ 3 Henry W. Blair (R)▌ 1 Clement H. Sinnickson (R)▌ 2 John H. Pugh (R)▌ 3 Miles Ross (D)▌ 4 Alvah A. Clark (D)▌ 5 Augustus W. Cutler (D)▌ 6 Thomas B. Peddie (R)▌ 7 Augustus A. Hardenbergh (D)▌ 1 James W. Covert (D)▌ 2 William D. Veeder (D)▌ 3 Simeon B. Chittenden (R)▌ 4 Archibald M. Bliss (D)▌ 5 Nicholas Muller (D)▌ 6 Samuel S. Cox (D)▌ 7 Anthony Eickhoff (D)▌ 8 Anson G. McCook (R)▌ 9 Fernando Wood (D)▌ 10 Abram S. Hewitt (D)▌ 11 Benjamin A. Willis (D)▌ 12 Clarkson N. Potter (D)▌ 13 John H. Ketcham (R)▌ 14 George M. Beebe (D)▌ 15 Stephen L. Mayham (D)▌ 16 Terence J. Quinn (D), until June 18, 1878▌ John M. Bailey (R), from November 5, 1878▌ 17 Martin I. Townsend (R)▌ 18 Andrew Williams (R)▌ 19 Amaziah B. James (R)▌ 20 John H. Starin (R)▌ 21 Solomon Bundy (R)▌ 22 George A. Bagley (R)▌ 23 William J. Bacon (R)▌ 24 William H. Baker (R)▌ 25 Frank Hiscock (R)▌ 26 John H. Camp (R)▌ 27 Elbridge G. Lapham (R)▌ 28 Jeremiah W. Dwight (R)▌ 29 John N. Hungerford (R)▌ 30 E. Kirke Hart (D)▌ 31 Charles B. Benedict (D)▌ 32 Daniel N. Lockwood (D)▌ 33 George W. Patterson (R)▌ 1 Jesse J. Yeates (D)▌ 2 Curtis H. Brogden (R)▌ 3 Alfred M. Waddell (D)▌ 4 Joseph J. Davis (D)▌ 5 Alfred M. Scales (D)▌ 6 Walter L. Steele (D)▌ 7 William M. Robbins (D)▌ 8 Robert B. Vance (D)▌ 1 Milton Sayler (D)▌ 2 Henry B. Banning (D)▌ 3 Mills Gardner (R)▌ 4 John A. McMahon (D)▌ 5 Americus V. Rice (D)▌ 6 Jacob D. Cox (R)▌ 7 Henry L. Dickey (D)▌ 8 J. Warren Keifer (R)▌ 9 John S. Jones (R)▌ 10 Charles Foster (R)▌ 11 Henry S. Neal (R)▌ 12 Thomas Ewing Jr. (D)▌ 13 Milton I. Southard (D)▌ 14 Ebenezer B. Finley (D)▌ 15 Nelson H. Van Vorhes (R)▌ 16 Lorenzo Danford (R)▌ 17 William McKinley (R)▌ 18 James Monroe (R)▌ 19 James A. Garfield (R)▌ 20 Amos Townsend (R)▌ At-large Richard Williams (R)▌ 1 Chapman Freeman (R)▌ 2 Charles O'Neill (R)▌ 3 Samuel J. Randall (D)▌ 4 William D. Kelley (R)▌ 5 Alfred C. Harmer (R)▌ 6 William Ward (R)▌ 7 I. Newton Evans (R)▌ 8 Hiester Clymer (D)▌ 9 A. Herr Smith (R)▌ 10 Samuel A. Bridges (D)▌ 11 Francis D. Collins (D)▌ 12 Hendrick B. Wright (D)▌ 13 James B. Reilly (D)▌ 14 John W. Killinger (R)▌ 15 Edward Overton Jr. (R)▌ 16 John I. Mitchell (R)▌ 17 Jacob M. Campbell (R)▌ 18 William Stenger (D)▌ 19 Levi Maish (D)▌ 20 Levi A. Mackey (D)▌ 21 Jacob Turney (D)▌ 22 Russell Errett (R)▌ 23 Thomas M. Bayne (R)▌ 24 William S. Shallenberger (R)▌ 25 Harry White (R)▌ 26 John M. Thompson (R)▌ 27 Lewis F. Watson (R)▌ 1 Benjamin T. Eames (R)▌ 2 Latimer W. Ballou (R)▌ 1 Joseph Rainey (R)▌ 2 Richard H. Cain (R)▌ 3 D. Wyatt Aiken (D)▌ 4 John H. Evins (D)▌ 5 Robert Smalls (R)▌ 1 James H. Randolph (R)▌ 2 Jacob M. Thornburgh (R)▌ 3 George G. Dibrell (D)▌ 4 Haywood Y. Riddle (D)▌ 5 John M. Bright (D)▌ 6 John F. House (D)▌ 7 Washington C. Whitthorne (D)▌ 8 John D. C. Atkins (D)▌ 9 William P. Caldwell (D)▌ 10 H. Casey Young (D)▌ 1 John H. Reagan (D)▌ 2 David B. Culberson (D)▌ 3 James W. Throckmorton (D)▌ 4 Roger Q. Mills (D)▌ 5 Dewitt C. Giddings (D)▌ 6 Gustave Schleicher (D), until January 10, 1879▌ 1 Charles H. Joyce (R)▌ 2 Dudley C. Denison (R)▌ 3 George W. Hendee (R)▌ 1 Beverly B. Douglas (D), until December 22, 1878▌ Richard Lee T. Beale (D), from January 23, 1879▌ 2 John Goode Jr. (D)▌ 3 Gilbert C. Walker (D)▌ 4 Joseph Jorgensen (R)▌ 5 George Cabell (D)▌ 6 John R. Tucker (D)▌ 7 John T. Harris (D)▌ 8 Eppa Hutton, II (D)▌ 9 Auburn Pridemore (D)▌ 1 Benjamin Wilson (D)▌ 2 Benjamin F. Martin (D)▌ 3 John E. Kenna (D)▌ 1 Charles G. Williams (R)▌ 2 Lucien B. Caswell (R)▌ 3 George C. Hazelton (R)▌ 4 William P. Lynde (D)▌ 5 Edward S. Bragg (D)▌ 6 Gabriel Bouck (D)▌ 7 Herman L. Humphrey (R)▌ 8 Thaddeus C. Pound (R)▌ Arizona Territory Hiram S. Stevens (D)▌ Dakota Territory Jefferson P. Kidder (R)▌ Idaho Territory Stephen S. Fenn (D)▌ Montana Territory Martin Maginnis (D)▌ New Mexico Territory Trinidad Romero (R)▌ Utah Territory George Q. Cannon (R)▌ Washington Territory Orange Jacobs (R)▌ Wyoming Territory William W. Corlett (R)SpeakerSamuel J. Randall
Changes in membership [ edit ] The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Replacements: 5 Deaths: 2 Resignations: 3 Interim appointments: 1 Contested elections: 0 Total seats with changes: 5 Senate changes State Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's formal installation[ b] Ohio (3)John Sherman (R)Resigned March 8, 1877 to becomeU.S. Secretary of the Treasury .elected March 21, 1877. Stanley Matthews (R)March 21, 1877 Pennsylvania (3)Simon Cameron (R)Resigned March 12, 1877.elected March 20, 1877. J. Donald Cameron (R)March 20, 1877 Missouri (3)Lewis V. Bogy (D)Died September 20, 1877. David H. Armstrong (D)September 29, 1877 Indiana (3)Oliver P. Morton (R)Died November 1, 1877.elected January 31, 1879. Daniel W. Voorhees (D)November 6, 1877 Missouri (3)David H. Armstrong (D)Interim appointee retired.elected January 26, 1879. James Shields (D)January 27, 1879 Michigan (1)Isaac P. Christiancy (R)Resigned February 10, 1879 due to ill health.elected February 22, 1879. Zachariah Chandler (R)February 22, 1879
House of Representatives [ edit ] Replacements: 10 Deaths: 7 Resignations: 1 Contested election: 5 Total seats with changes: 13 House changes District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's formal installation[ b] 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
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.
House of Representatives [ edit ] House of Representatives [ edit ] ^ Special session of the Senate. ^a b When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began. 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.
