| 48th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
47th ← → 49th | |
 United States Capitol (1906) | |
March 4, 1883 – March 4, 1885 | |
| Members | 76 senators 325 representatives 8 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican (through caucus) |
| Senate President | Vacant |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | John G. Carlisle (D) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: December 3, 1883 – July 7, 1884 2nd: December 1, 1884 – March 3, 1885 | |
The48th 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, 1883, to March 4, 1885, during the last two years ofChester A. Arthur'spresidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1880 United States census. The Senate had aRepublican majority, and the House had aDemocratic 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.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Readjuster (RA) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 37 | 1 | 37 | 1[a] | 76 | 0 |
| Begin | 36 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 75 | 1 |
| End | 38 | 76 | 0 | |||
| Final voting share | 47.4% | 2.6% | 50.0% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 34 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 73 | 3 |
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Independent Democratic (ID) | Readjuster (RA) | Independent (I) | Greenback (GB) | Independent Republican (IR) | Republican (R) | Anti- Monopoly (AM) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 130 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 150 | 0 | 292 | 1 |
| Begin | 192 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 120 | 0 | 324 | 1 |
| End | 197 | 4 | 2 | 113 | 1 | 323 | 2 | |||
| Final voting share | 61.0% | 0.9% | 1.2% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.3% | 35.0% | 0.3% | ||
| Non-voting members | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Beginning ofnext congress | 128 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 151 | 128 | 419 | 0 |
| House seats by party holding plurality in state | |
|---|---|
80+% to 100% Democratic | 80+% to 100% Republican |
60+% to 80% Democratic | 60+% to 80% Republican |
Up to 60% Democratic | Up to 60% Republican |
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state.
Senators are listed by their states andSenate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election.
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[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire (2) | Vacant | Legislature had failed to elect. Senator elected August 2, 1883. | Austin F. Pike (R) | August 2, 1883 |
| Rhode Island (2) | Henry B. Anthony (R) | Incumbent died September 2, 1884. Successor appointed November 19, 1884. | William P. Sheffield (R) | November 19, 1884 |
| Rhode Island (2) | William P. Sheffield (R) | Interim appointee replaced by successor elected January 20, 1885. | Jonathan Chace (R) | January 20, 1885 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi 2nd | Vacant | Chalmers took seat after an election contest withVan H. Manning who challenged his election | James R. Chalmers (I) | June 25, 1884 |
| West Virginia 3rd | John E. Kenna (D) | Resigned March 4, 1883, whenelected U.S. Senator. | Charles P. Snyder (D) | May 15, 1883 |
| Alabama 1st | Thomas H. Herndon (D) | Died March 28, 1883. | James T. Jones (D) | December 3, 1883 |
| Iowa 6th | Marsena E. Cutts (R) | Died September 1, 1883. | John C. Cook (D) | October 9, 1883 |
| Virginia 7th | John Paul (D) | Resigned September 5, 1883, to become judge of the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Virginia. The House election was subsequently contested. | Charles T. O'Ferrall (D) | May 5, 1884 |
| Kansas 2nd | Dudley C. Haskell (R) | Died December 16, 1883. | Edward H. Funston (R) | March 21, 1884 |
| North Carolina 1st | Walter F. Pool (R) | Died August 25, 1883. | Thomas G. Skinner (D) | November 20, 1883 |
| Massachusetts 12th | George D. Robinson (R) | Resigned January 7, 1884, whenelected Governor of Massachusetts. | Francis W. Rockwell (R) | January 17, 1884 |
| South Carolina 7th | Edmund W. M. Mackey (R) | Died January 27, 1884. | Robert Smalls (R) | March 18, 1884 |
| New Mexico Territory At-large | Tranquilino Luna (R) | Lost contested election March 5, 1884. | Francisco A. Manzanares (D) | March 5, 1884 |
| Virginia 1st | Robert M. Mayo (RA) | Lost contested election March 20, 1884. | George T. Garrison (D) | March 20, 1884 |
| Indiana 7th | Stanton J. Peelle (R) | Lost contested election May 22, 1884. | William E. English (D) | May 22, 1884 |
| Ohio 18th | William McKinley (R) | Lost contested election May 27, 1884. | Jonathan H. Wallace (D) | May 27, 1884 |
| Ohio 7th | Henry L. Morey (R) | Lost contested election June 20, 1884. | James E. Campbell (D) | June 20, 1884 |
| Iowa 7th | John A. Kasson (R) | Resigned July 13, 1884, to becomeU.S. Minister to Germany. | Hiram Y. Smith (R) | December 2, 1884 |
| Indiana 13th | William H. Calkins (R) | Resigned October 20, 1884. | Benjamin F. Shively (AM) | December 1, 1884 |
| South Carolina 4th | John H. Evins (D) | Died October 20, 1884. | John Bratton (D) | December 8, 1884 |
| Pennsylvania 19th | William A. Duncan (D) | Died November 14, 1884. | John A. Swope (D) | December 23, 1884 |
| North Carolina 5th | Alfred M. Scales (D) | Resigned December 30, 1884, whenelected Governor of North Carolina. | James W. Reid (D) | January 28, 1885 |
| Alabama 4th | Charles M. Shelley (D) | Lost contested election January 9, 1885. | George H. Craig (R) | January 9, 1885 |
| Ohio 9th | James S. Robinson (R) | Resigned January 12, 1885, to becomeOhio Secretary of State. | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Rhode Island 2nd | Jonathan Chace (R) | Resigned January 26, 1885, whenelected U.S. Senator. | Nathan F. Dixon III (R) | February 12, 1885 |
| Arkansas 2nd | James K. Jones (D) | Resigned February 19, 1885, whenelected U.S. Senator. | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Iowa 5th | James Wilson (R) | Lost contested election March 3, 1885. | Benjamin T. Frederick (D) | March 3, 1885 |
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.
