| 78th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
77th ← → 79th | |
 United States Capitol (1956) | |
January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1945 | |
| Members | 96 senators 435 representatives 4 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Henry A. Wallace (D) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Sam Rayburn (D) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 6, 1943 – December 21, 1943 2nd: January 10, 1944 – December 19, 1944 | |
The78th 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 January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1945, during the last two years ofFranklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in theHouse of Representatives was based on the1940 United States census.
Both chambers had aDemocratic majority - albeit greatly reduced from the77th Congress, with the Democrats losing theirsupermajority in the House and Senate. Along withPresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, the Democrats maintained an overall federal governmenttrifecta.[1]
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Wisconsin Progressive (WP) | Republican (R) | Other | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 64 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 57 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 96 | 0 |
| End | 56 | 39 | ||||
| Final voting share | 58.3% | 1.0% | 40.6% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 57 | 1 | 38 | 0 | 96 | 0 |
| Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) | Farmer– Labor (FL) | American Labor (AL) | Wisconsin Progressive (WP) | Republican (R) | |||
| End ofprevious congress | 254 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 165 | 424 | 11 |
| Begin | 222 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 208 | 434 | 1 |
| End | 212 | 0 | 211 | 426 | 9 | ||
| Final voting share | 49.8% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 49.5% | ||
| Beginning ofnext congress | 242 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 190 | 434 | 1 |
Section contents:Senate:Majority (D),Minority (R) •House:Majority (D),Minority (R)
Senators are popularly elected statewide 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 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1944; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1946; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1948.
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Jersey (1) | William Warren Barbour (R) | Died November 22, 1943. Successor was appointed until an election. | Arthur Walsh (D) | November 26, 1943 |
| Indiana (3) | Frederick Van Nuys (D) | Died January 25, 1944. Successor was appointed until an election. | Samuel D. Jackson (D) | January 28, 1944 |
| Massachusetts (2) | Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R) | Resigned February 3, 1944, to go on active duty in theUS Army. Successor was appointed until a special election. | Sinclair Weeks (R) | February 8, 1944 |
| Oregon (2) | Charles L. McNary (R) | Died February 25, 1944. Successor was appointed and subsequently won special election | Guy Cordon (R) | March 4, 1944 |
| Washington (3) | Homer Bone (D) | Resigned November 13, 1944, to become Judge of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Successor was appointed to finish the term, having just been elected to the next term. | Warren Magnuson (D) | December 14, 1944 |
| Indiana (3) | Samuel D. Jackson (D) | Appointee was not a candidate to finish the term. Successor was elected. | William E. Jenner (R) | November 7, 1944 |
| South Carolina (3) | Ellison D. Smith (D) | Died November 17, 1944. | Wilton E. Hall (D) | November 20, 1944 |
| New Jersey (1) | Arthur Walsh (D) | Appointee was not a candidate to finish the term. Successor was elected. | Howard Alexander Smith (R) | December 7, 1944 |
| Massachusetts (2) | Sinclair Weeks (R) | Appointee was not a candidate to finish the term. Successor was elected. Successor chose not to take the seat until the next Congress, but was nevertheless duly elected and qualified. | Leverett Saltonstall (R) | January 4, 1945 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[a] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri 6th | Vacant | Rep.Philip A. Bennett died in previous Congress | Marion T. Bennett (R) | January 12, 1943 |
| California 2nd | Harry L. Englebright (R) | Died May 13, 1943 | Clair Engle (D) | August 31, 1943 |
| Kansas 2nd | Ulysses S. Guyer (R) | Died June 5, 1943 | Errett P. Scrivner (R) | September 14, 1943 |
| Oklahoma 2nd | John C. Nichols (D) | Resigned July 3, 1943, to become vice-president ofTranscontinental and Western Air. | William G. Stigler (D) | March 28, 1944 |
| New York 32nd | Francis D. Culkin (R) | Died August 4, 1943 | Hadwen C. Fuller (R) | November 2, 1943 |
| Pennsylvania 23rd | James E. Van Zandt (R) | Resigned September 24, 1943, after being called to active duty in the US Armed Forces. | D. Emmert Brumbaugh (R) | November 2, 1943 |
| Kentucky 4th | Edward W. Creal (D) | Died October 13, 1943 | Chester O. Carrier (R) | November 30, 1943 |
| Pennsylvania 2nd | James P. McGranery (D) | Resigned November 17, 1943, after being appointed anAssistant Attorney General | Joseph Marmaduke Pratt (R) | January 18, 1944 |
| Pennsylvania 17th | J. William Ditter (R) | Died November 21, 1943 | Samuel K. McConnell Jr. (R) | |
| Alabama 3rd | Henry B. Steagall (D) | Died November 22, 1943 | George W. Andrews (D) | March 14, 1944 |
| Colorado 1st | Lawrence Lewis (D) | Died December 9, 1943 | Dean M. Gillespie (R) | March 7, 1944 |
| New York 21st | Joseph A. Gavagan (D) | Resigned December 30, 1943, after being elected a justice of theNew York Supreme Court | James H. Torrens (D) | February 29, 1944 |
| Illinois 19th | William H. Wheat (R) | Died January 16, 1944 | Rolla C. McMillen (R) | June 13, 1944 |
| Illinois 7th | Leonard W. Schuetz (D) | Died February 13, 1944 | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| New York 4th | Thomas H. Cullen (D) | Died March 1, 1944 | John J. Rooney (D) | June 6, 1944 |
| New York 11th | James A. O'Leary (D) | Died March 16, 1944 | Ellsworth B. Buck (R) | June 6, 1944 |
| Louisiana 3rd | James Domengeaux (D) | Resigned April 15, 1944, to join US Armed Forces | James Domengeaux (D) | Re-elected to fill his own vacancy November 7, 1944 |
| Minnesota 9th | Harold Hagen (FL) | Changed parties April 15, 1944, afterMinnesota Farmer–Labor andDemocratic parties merged to become theMinnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL) | Harold Hagen (R) | April 15, 1944 |
| California 16th | Will Rogers Jr. (D) | Resigned May 23, 1944, to enter theUS Army | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Philippines at-large | Joaquín Miguel Elizalde | Resigned August 9, 1944, to become a member of the war cabinet of PresidentManuel L. Quezon | Carlos P. Romulo | August 10, 1944 |
| Virginia 2nd | Winder R. Harris (D) | Resigned September 15, 1944 | Ralph Hunter Daughton (D) | November 7, 1944 |
| Florida 3rd | Robert L. F. Sikes (D) | Resigned October 19, 1944, to enter theU.S. Army | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| South Carolina 2nd | Hampton P. Fulmer (D) | Died October 19, 1944 | Willa L. Fulmer (D) | November 7, 1944 |
| Florida at-large | Robert A. Green (D) | Resigned November 25, 1944, to enter the United States Navy | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Tennessee 4th | Albert Gore Sr. (D) | Resigned December 4, 1944, to enter the United States Army | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Rhode Island 2nd | John E. Fogarty (D) | Resigned December 7, 1944, to enter the United States Navy | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Washington 1st | Warren Magnuson (D) | Resigned December 14, 1944, when appointed U.S. Senator | Vacant until the next Congress | |
| Pennsylvania at-large | William I. Troutman (R) | Resigned January 2, 1945 | Vacant until the 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.
