50th United States Congress
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The Fiftieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1887 to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth years of Grover Cleveland's first presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Tenth Census of the United States in 1880. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.
Major events
Major legislation
Main article: List of United States federal legislation
- October 8, 1888: Chinese Exclusion Act (Scott Act)
- January 14, 1889: Nelson Act of 1889
- February 22, 1889: Enabling Act of 1889
Party summary
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.
Senate
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Readjuster (RA) | Republican (R) | |||
| End of the previous congress | 34 | 2 | 40 | 76 | 0 |
| Begin | 36 | 1 | 38 | 75 | 1 |
| End | 37 | 76 | 0 | ||
| Final voting share | 48.7% | 1.3% | 50.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next congress | 37 | 0 | 39 | 76 | 0 |
House of Representatives
- Democratic: 167 (majority)
- Republican: 152
- Independent Republican: 2
- Labor: 2
- National Greenback: 1
- Independent: 1
TOTAL members: 325
Leadership
Senate
- President: Vacant
- President pro tempore: John J. Ingalls (R)
House of Representatives
- Speaker: John G. Carlisle (D)
Members
Senate
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 are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1892; Class 2 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1888; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1890.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
Senate
- replacements: 1
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
- Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 0
- resignations: 1
- interim appointments: 1
- Total seats with changes: 2
| State (class) |
Vacator | Reason for Vacancy | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida (1) |
Vacant | Filled vacancy in term. | Samuel Pasco (D) | May 19, 1887 |
| New Hampshire (2) |
Person C. Cheney (R) | Successor was elected June 14, 1887 | William E. Chandler (R) | June 14, 1887 |
House of Representatives
- replacements: 8
- Democratic: no net change
- Republican: no net change
- deaths: 4
- resignations: 5
- contested election: 0
- Total seats with changes: 8
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York 25th | Vacant | Rep. Frank Hiscock resigned during previous congress | James J. Belden (R) | November 8, 1887 |
| Texas 2nd | John H. Reagan (D) | Resigned March 4, 1887 after being elected to the U.S. Senate | William H. Martin (D) | November 4, 1887 |
| Louisiana 6th | Edward W. Robertson (D) | Died August 2, 1887 | Samuel M. Robertson (D) | December 5, 1891 |
| New York 19th | Nicholas T. Kane (D) | Died September 14, 1887 | Charles Tracey (D) | November 8, 1887 |
| Michigan 11th | Seth C. Moffatt (R) | Died December 22, 1887 | Henry W. Seymour (R) | February 14, 1888 |
| New York 1st | Perry Belmont (D) | Resigned December 1, 1888 after being appointed Minister to Spain | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Indiana 1st | Alvin P. Hovey (R) | Resigned January 17, 1889 after being elected Governor of Indiana | Francis B. Posey (R) | January 29, 1889 |
| Missouri 4th | James N. Burnes (D) | Died January 23, 1889 | Charles F. Booher (D) | February 19, 1889 |
Committees
Lists of committees and their party leaders.
Senate
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House of Representatives
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (Select)
- American Ship building (Select)
- Appropriations
- Banking and Currency
- Claims
- Coinage, Weights and Measures
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Education
- Elections
- Enrolled Bills
- Expenditures in the Interior Department
- Expenditures in the Justice Department
- Expenditures in the Navy Department
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department
- Expenditures in the State Department
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department
- Expenditures in the War Department
- Expenditures on Public Buildings
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Invalid Pensions
- Labor
- Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River
- Manufactures
- Merchant Marine and Fisheries
- Mileage
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Mines and Mining
- Naval Affairs
- Pacific Railroads
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railways and Canals
- Revision of Laws
- Rivers and Harbors
- Rules
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories
- War Claims
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
- To Investigate Work on the Washington Aqueduct Tunnel
Administrative officers
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
- Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
- Public Printer of the United States: Thomas E. Benedict
Senate
- Chaplain: John G. Butler (Lutheran)
- Secretary: Anson G. McCook
- Sergeant at Arms: William P. Canady
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: William H. Milburn (Methodist)
- Clerk: John B. Clark, Jr.
- Doorkeeper: Alvin B. Hurt
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: Nathaniel T. Crutchfield
- Postmaster: Lycurgus Dalton
- Sergeant at Arms: John P. Leedom
See also
- United States elections, 1886 (elections leading to this Congress)
- United States elections, 1888 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
References
- 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.
External links
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
- Official Congressional Directory for the 50th Congress, 1st Session.
- Official Congressional Directory for the 50th Congress, 2nd Session.
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