| 72nd United States Congress | |
|---|---|
71st ← → 73rd | |
 United States Capitol (1906) | |
March 4, 1931 – March 4, 1933 | |
| Members | 96 senators 435 representatives 5 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican (with tie-breakingVP) |
| Senate President | Charles Curtis (R) |
| House majority | Republican, thenDemocratic |
| House Speaker | John N. Garner (D) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: December 7, 1931 – July 16, 1932 2nd: December 2, 1932 – March 3, 1933 | |
The72nd 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.[1][2] It met inWashington, D.C. from March 4, 1931, to March 4, 1933, during the last two years ofHerbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in thisHouse of Representatives was based on the1910 United States census. The Senate had aRepublican majority. The House started with a very slim Republican majority, but by the time it first met in December 1931, the Democrats had gained a majority through special elections.
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.
Republicans controlled the Senate through a VP-tie-breaking majority.
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Farmer– Labor (FL) | Republican (R) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 42 | 1 | 53 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | 0 |
| End | 46 | 95 | 1 | ||
| Final voting share | 48.4% | 1.1% | 50.5% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 58 | 1 | 36 | 95 | 1 |
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Farmer–Labor | Republican | Vacant | ||
| End ofprevious Congress | 166 | 1 | 265 | 432 | 3 |
| Begin | 216 | 1 | 217 | 434 | 1 |
| March 16, 1931 | 215 | 433 | 2 | ||
| April 9, 1931 | 216 | 432 | 3 | ||
| May 12, 1931 | 216 | 216 | 433 | 2 | |
| May 26, 1931 | 215 | 216 | 432 | 3 | |
| May 29, 1931 | 214 | 431 | 4 | ||
| July 4, 1931 | 215 | 430 | 5 | ||
| July 13, 1931 | 213 | 429 | 6 | ||
| July 18, 1931 | 214 | 428 | 7 | ||
| July 28, 1931 | 212 | 427 | 8 | ||
| September 9, 1931 | 213 | 428 | 7 | ||
| September 29, 1931 | 214 | 214 | 429 | 6 | |
| October 13, 1931 | 215 | 430 | 5 | ||
| October 18, 1931 | 214 | 429 | 6 | ||
| October 22, 1931 | 214 | 213 | 428 | 7 | |
| November 3, 1931 | 217 | 215 | 433 | 2 | |
| November 6, 1931 | 214 | 432 | 3 | ||
| November 24, 1931 | 218 | 433 | 2 | ||
| December 1, 1931 Beginning of first session | 219 | 1 | 214 | 434 | 1 |
| January 5, 1932 | 220 | 435 | 0 | ||
| January 29, 1932 | 213 | 434 | 1 | ||
| February 4, 1932 | 218 | 432 | 3 | ||
| March 2, 1932 | 219 | 433 | 2 | ||
| March 15, 1932 | 220 | 434 | 1 | ||
| April 1, 1932 | 212 | 433 | 2 | ||
| April 5, 1932 | 221 | 211 | |||
| April 21, 1932 | 210 | 432 | 3 | ||
| April 26, 1932 | 211 | 433 | 2 | ||
| May 31, 1932 | 210 | 432 | 3 | ||
| June 14, 1932 | 220 | 431 | 4 | ||
| July 23, 1932 | 219 | 430 | 5 | ||
| August 14, 1932 | 220 | 431 | 4 | ||
| October 5, 1932 | 219 | 430 | 5 | ||
| October 7, 1932 | 218 | 429 | 6 | ||
| November 6, 1932 | 217 | 428 | 7 | ||
| November 8, 1932 | 220 | 212 | 433 | 2 | |
| November 29, 1932 | 211 | 432 | 3 | ||
| December 3, 1932 | 210 | 431 | 4 | ||
| December 13, 1932 | 219 | 430 | 5 | ||
| January 7, 1933 | 209 | 429 | 6 | ||
| January 8, 1933 | 208 | 428 | 7 | ||
| January 28, 1933 | 220 | 429 | 6 | ||
| February 16, 1933 | 206 | 427 | 8 | ||
| Final voting share | 51.4% | 0.2% | 48.4% | ||
| Non-voting members | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| Beginning ofnext Congress | 311 | 5 | 117 | 433 | 2 |
Note: RepublicanNicholas Longworth, the Speaker of the House in theprevious Congress, was Speaker-presumptive with his party's mere three-seat majority. However, Longworth died on April 9, 1931, and by the time the 72nd Congress convened in December 1931, Democrats had gained four seats from Republicans through special elections following deaths, thus becoming the majority party in the House. DemocratJohn Garner was subsequently elected as Speaker.[4]
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.
Senators were elected 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 1934; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1936; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1932.
The names of representatives elected statewide on thegeneral ticket or otherwiseat-large, are preceded by an "At-large," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vermont (1) | Frank C. Partridge (R) | Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term. Successor elected March 31, 1931. | Warren Austin (R) | April 1, 1931 |
| New Jersey (2) | Dwight Morrow (R) | Died October 5, 1931. Successor was appointed and later elected. | William W. Barbour (R) | December 1, 1931 |
| Arkansas (3) | Thaddeus H. Caraway (D) | Died November 6, 1931. Successor was appointed to finish the term. | Hattie Caraway (D) | November 13, 1931 |
| Georgia (2) | William J. Harris (D) | Died April 18, 1932. Successor was appointed to finish the term. | John S. Cohen (D) | April 25, 1932 |
| Colorado (3) | Charles W. Waterman (R) | Died August 27, 1932. Successor was appointed to finish the term. | Walter Walker (D) | September 26, 1932 |
| Washington (3) | Wesley L. Jones (R) | Died November 19, 1932 having just lost re-election. Successor was appointed to finish the term. | Elijah S. Grammer (R) | November 22, 1932 |
| Colorado (3) | Walter Walker (D) | Interim appointee lost election to finish term. Successor elected November 8, 1932. | Karl C. Schuyler (R) | December 7, 1932 |
| North Carolina (3) | Cameron A. Morrison (D) | Interim appointee lost election to finish term. Successor elected November 8, 1932. | Robert R Reynolds (D) | December 5, 1932 |
| Georgia (2) | John S. Cohen (D) | Interim appointee lost election to finish term. Successor elected January 12, 1933. | Richard Russell Jr. (D) | January 12, 1933 |
| Missouri (3) | Harry B. Hawes (D) | Incumbent retired and then resigned early February 3, 1933. Successor appointed having already been elected. | Bennett Champ Clark (D) | February 3, 1933 |
| Montana (2) | Thomas J. Walsh (D) | Died March 2, 1933 Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Vacant | |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin 1st | Vacant | RepresentativeHenry A. Cooper (R) died in previous congress. | Thomas R. Amlie (R) | October 13, 1931 |
| Louisiana 8th | James B. Aswell (D) | Died March 16, 1931 | John H. Overton (D) | May 12, 1931 |
| Ohio 1st | Nicholas Longworth (R) | Died April 9, 1931 | John B. Hollister (R) | November 3, 1931 |
| New York 7th | Matthew V. O'Malley (D) | Died May 26, 1931. Because Congress was not in session at the time of his death, O'Malley never took his oath of office or exercised any of the duties of a Congressman. He was, nevertheless, serving in office from the beginning of his term on March 4, 1931. | John J. Delaney (D) | November 3, 1931 |
| Ohio 20th | Charles A. Mooney (D) | Died May 29, 1931 | Martin L. Sweeney (D) | November 3, 1931 |
| Pennsylvania 2nd | George S. Graham (R) | Died July 4, 1931 | Edward L. Stokes (R) | November 3, 1931 |
| Georgia 1st | Charles G. Edwards (D) | Died July 13, 1931 | Homer C. Parker (D) | September 9, 1931 |
| Michigan 8th | Bird J. Vincent (R) | Died July 18, 1931 | Michael J. Hart (D) | November 3, 1931 |
| Missouri 7th | Samuel C. Major (D) | Died July 28, 1931 | Robert D. Johnson (D) | September 29, 1931 |
| New Jersey 5th | Ernest R. Ackerman (R) | Died October 18, 1931 | Percy H. Stewart (D) | December 1, 1931 |
| New Hampshire 1st | Fletcher Hale (R) | Died October 22, 1931 | William N. Rogers (D) | January 5, 1932 |
| Texas 14th | Harry M. Wurzbach (R) | Died November 6, 1931 | Richard M. Kleberg (D) | November 24, 1931 |
| Pennsylvania 20th | James R. Leech (R) | Resigned January 29, 1932, to become a member of theUnited States Board of Tax Appeals | Howard W. Stull (R) | April 26, 1932 |
| Mississippi 7th | Percy Quin (D) | Died February 4, 1932 | Lawrence R. Ellzey (D) | March 15, 1932 |
| Georgia 6th | Samuel Rutherford (D) | Died February 4, 1932 | Carlton Mobley (D) | March 2, 1932 |
| Indiana 8th | Albert H. Vestal (R) | Died April 1, 1932 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Illinois 8th | Peter C. Granata (R) | Lost contested election April 5, 1932 | Stanley H. Kunz (D) | April 5, 1932 |
| Puerto Rico at-large | Félix Córdova Dávila | resigned April 11, 1932, to become Associate Justice of theSupreme Court of Puerto Rico | José Lorenzo Pesquera | April 15, 1932 |
| Massachusetts 8th | Frederick W. Dallinger (R) | Resigned October 1, 1932 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Pennsylvania 18th | Edward M. Beers (R) | Died April 21, 1932 | Joseph F. Biddle (R) | November 8, 1932 |
| Pennsylvania 6th | George A. Welsh (R) | Resigned May 31, 1932, to become judge for theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania | Robert L. Davis (R) | November 8, 1932 |
| Tennessee 7th | Edward E. Eslick (D) | Died June 14, 1932 | Willa McCord Blake Eslick (D) | August 14, 1932 |
| Virginia 10th | Henry St. George Tucker III (D) | Died July 23, 1932 | Joel W. Flood (D) | November 8, 1932 |
| Maryland 4th | J. Charles Linthicum (D) | Died October 5, 1932 | Ambrose J. Kennedy (D) | November 8, 1932 |
| Georgia 3rd | Charles R. Crisp (D) | Resigned October 7, 1932, to become a member of theUS Tariff Commission | Bryant T. Castellow (D) | November 8, 1932 |
| Illinois 22nd | Charles A. Karch (D) | Resigned November 6, 1932 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Michigan 9th | James C. McLaughlin (R) | Died November 29, 1932 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Connecticut 3rd | John Q. Tilson (R) | Resigned December 3, 1932 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Texas 8th | Daniel E. Garrett (D) | Died December 13, 1932 | Joe H. Eagle (D) | January 28, 1933 |
| Oregon 2nd | Robert R. Butler (R) | Died January 7, 1933 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Pennsylvania 24th | Samuel A. Kendall (R) | Died January 8, 1933 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress. | |
| Minnesota 10th | Godfrey G. Goodwin (R) | Died February 16, 1933 | 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.
Senate[edit]
| House of Representatives[edit]
|
