56th United States Congress

The 56th Congress of the United States , composed of the House and Senate , was the legislature of the United States . Its legislative period lasted from March 4, 1899 to March 4, 1901. All members of the House of Representatives and a third of the senators ( Class I ) were elected in the 1898 congressional elections. This resulted in a majority in both chambers for the Republican Party , which with William McKinley also provided the president. The only remaining role for the Democratic Party was in the opposition. The African American George Henry White of North Carolina completed his second and final term in the House. He was to remain the last African American on this body until 1928. The next colored man from the south was not to be elected to Congress until 1972. The Congress met in the American capital Washington, DC The United States at that time consisted of 45 states. The distribution of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1890 census .

Important events

See also 1899 1900 and 1901

• March 4, 1899: beginning of the legislative period of the 56th Congress
• June 2, 1899: Beginning of the Philippine-American War
• November 21, 1899: Vice President Garret Hobart dies , making the position of official Senate President vacant.
• January 8, 1900: President McKinley puts the Alaska District under military control.
• January 17, 1900: BH Roberts is denied his seat in the House of Representatives for practicing polygamy, which is prohibited by law, by being married to several women at the same time.
• February 16, 1900: The Samoa Treaty between the USA, Great Britain and the German Empire is signed.
• November 6, 1900: US presidential and congressional elections. President William McKinley is re-elected. In Congress, the Republicans retain their majorities in both chambers.

The main laws

During the session of the 56th Congress, the following federal laws were passed ( see also: Legislative procedure ):

• March 14, 1900: Gold Standard Act
• April 2, 1900: Foraker Act, which sets up a civil administration for Puerto Rico .

Composition according to parties

senate

• Democratic Party: 24
• Republican Party: 52 (majority)
• Others: 10
• Vacant: 4

Total: 90

House of Representatives

• Democratic Party: 163
• Republican Party: 183 (majority)
• Others: 9
• Vacant: 2

Total: 357

There were also four congressional delegates who were not entitled to vote

Public officials

senate

• President of the Senate : Garret Hobart (R) until November 21, 1899, after which the office was vacant.
• President pro tempore : William P. Frye (R)

House of Representatives

• House Speaker : David B. Henderson (R)

Leadership of the majority party

• Majority Leader : Sereno E. Payne (R)

Leadership of the minority party

• Minority Leader: James D. Richardson (D)

Senate members

The following senators represented their respective states in the 56th Congress:

Alabama 2. John Tyler Morgan (D) 3. Edmund Pettus (D) Arkansas 2. James Henderson Berry (D) 3. James Kimbrough Jones (D) California 1. Thomas R. Bard (R) from February 7, 1900 3. George Clement Perkins (R) Colorado 2. Edward O. Wolcott (R) 3. Henry Moore Teller (SR = Silver Republican Party) Connecticut 1. Joseph Roswell Hawley (R) 3. Orville H. Platt (R) Delaware 1. Vacant 2. Richard R. Kenney (R) Florida 1. Samuel Pasco (D) until April 18, 1899 James Taliaferro (D) from April 19, 1899 3. Stephen R. Mallory Jr. (D) Georgia 2. Augustus Octavius ​​Bacon (D) 3. Alexander S. Clay (D) Idaho 2. George Laird Shoup (R) 3. Henry Heitfeld (P = Populist Party) Illinois 2. Shelby Moore Cullom (R) 3. William E. Mason (R) Indiana 1. Albert J. Beveridge (R) 3. Charles W. Fairbanks (R) Iowa 2. John H. Gear (R) until July 14, 1900 Jonathan P. Dolliver (R) from August 22, 1900 3. William B. Allison (R) Kansas 2. Lucien Baker (R) 3. William A. Harris (P) Kentucky 2. William Lindsay (D) 3. William Joseph Deboe (R) Louisiana 2. Donelson Caffery (D) 3. Samuel D. McEnery (D) Maine 1. Eugene Hale (R) 2. William P. Frye (R) Maryland 1. Louis E. McComas (R) 3. George Wellington (R) Massachusetts 1. Henry Cabot Lodge (R) 2. George Frisbie Hoar (R) Michigan 1. Julius C. Burrows (R) 2. James McMillan (R) Minnesota 1. Cushman Kellogg Davis (R) through November 7, 1900 Charles Arnette Towne (D) from December 5, 1900 to January 23, 1901 Moses Edwin Clapp (R) from January 23, 1901 2. Knute Nelson (R) Mississippi 1. Hernando Money (D) 2. William V. Sullivan (D) Missouri 1. Francis Cockrell (D) 3. George Graham Vest (D)

Montana 1. William A. Clark (D) until May 15, 1900, after which the seat remained vacant 2. Thomas Henry Carter (R) Nebraska 1. Monroe Leland Hayward (R) from March 8 to December 5, 1899 William V. Allen (P) from December 13, 1899 2. John Mellen Thurston (R) Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (S) 3. John P. Jones (S) New Hampshire 2. William E. Chandler (R) 3. Jacob Harold Gallinger (R) New Jersey 1. John Kean (R) 2. William Joyce Sewell (R) new York 1. Chauncey Depew (R) 3. Thomas C. Platt (R) North Carolina 2. Marion Butler (P) 3. Jeter Connelly Pritchard (R) North Dakota 1. Porter J. McCumber (R) 3. Henry C. Hansbrough (R) Ohio 1. Mark Hanna (R) 3. Joseph B. Foraker (R) Oregon 2. George W. McBride (R) 3. Joseph Simon (R) Pennsylvania 1. Matthew Quay (R) from January 16, 1901 3. Boies Penrose (R) Rhode Island 1. Nelson W. Aldrich (R) 2. George P. Wetmore (R) South carolina 2. Benjamin Tillman (D) 3. John L. McLaurin (D) South Dakota 2. Richard F. Pettigrew (R) 3. James H. Kyle (P) Tennessee 1. William B. Bate (D) 2. Thomas B. Turley (D) Texas 1. Charles Allen Culberson (D) 2. Horace Chilton (D) Utah 1. Thomas Kearns (R) from January 23, 1901 3. Joseph Lafayette Rawlins (D) Vermont 1. Redfield Proctor (R) 3. Jonathan Ross (R) until October 18, 1900 William P. Dillingham (R) from October 18, 1900 Virginia 1. John W. Daniel (D) 2. Thomas S. Martin (D) Washington 1. Addison G. Foster (R) 3. George Turner (S) West Virginia 1. Nathan B. Scott (R) 2. Stephen Benton Elkins (R) Wisconsin 1. Joseph V. Quarles (R) 3. John Coit Spooner (R) Wyoming 1. Clarence Don Clark (R) 2. Francis E. Warren (R)

Members of the House of Representatives

The following congressmen represented the interests of their respective states in the 56th Congress:

Alabama 9 constituencies 1. George W. Taylor (D) 2. Jesse F. Stallings (D) 3. Henry De Lamar Clayton, Jr. (D) 4. Gaston A. Robbins (D) until March 8, 1900 William F. Aldrich (R) from March 8, 1900 5. Willis Brewer (D) 6. John H. Bankhead (D) 7. John Lawson Burnett (D) 8. Joseph Wheeler (D) until April 20, 1900 William N. Richardson (D) from December 3, 1900 9. Oscar Underwood (D) Arkansas 6 constituencies. 1. Philip D. McCulloch (D) 2. John Sebastian Little (D) 3. Thomas Chipman McRae (D) 4. William L. Terry (D) 5. Hugh A. Dinsmore (D) 6. Stephen Brundidge (D) California 7 constituencies. 1. John All Barham (R) 2. Marion De Vries (D) until August 20, 1900 Samuel D. Woods (R) from December 3, 1900 3. Victor H. Metcalf (R) 4. Julius Kahn (R) 5. Eugene F. Loud (R) 6. Russell J. Waters (R) 7. James C. Needham (R) Colorado 2 constituencies 1. John F. Shafroth (SR) 2. John Calhoun Bell (P) Connecticut 4 constituencies 1. E. Stevens Henry (R) 2. Nehemiah D. Sperry (R) 3. Charles A. Russell (R) 4. Ebenezer J. Hill (R) Delaware state-wide choice John H. Hoffecker (R) until June 16, 1900 Walter O. Hoffecker (R) from December 3, 1900 Florida Two constituencies 1. Stephen M. Sparkman (D) 2. Robert Wyche Davis (D) Georgia 11 constituencies 1. Rufus E. Lester (D) 2. James M. Griggs (D) 3. Elijah B. Lewis (D) 4. William C. Adamson (D) 5. Leonidas F. Livingston (D) 6. Charles Lafayette Bartlett (D) 7. John W. Maddox (D) 8. William Marcellus Howard (D) 9. Farish Carter Tate (D) 10. William Henry Fleming (D) 11. William Gordon Brantley (D) Idaho state-wide election Edgar Wilson (Silver Republican) Illinois 22 constituencies 1. James Robert Mann (R) 2. William Lorimer (R) 3. George Peter Foster (D) 4. Thomas Cusack (D) 5. Edward Thomas Noonan (D) 6. Henry Sherman Boutell (R) 7. George Edmund Foss (R) 8. Albert J. Hopkins (R) 9. Robert R. Hitt (R) 10. George W. Prince (R) 11. Walter Reeves (R) 12. Joseph Gurney Cannon (R) 13. Vespasian Warner (R) 14. Joseph V. Graff (R) 15. Benjamin F. Marsh (R) 16. William E. Williams (D) 17. Ben F. Caldwell (D) 18. Thomas M. Jett (D) 19. Joseph B. Crowley (D) 20. James R. Williams (D) 21. William A. Rodenberg (R) 22. George W. Smith (R) Indiana 13 constituencies 1. James A. Hemenway (R) 2. Robert W. Miers (D) 3. William T. Zenor (D) 4. Francis M. Griffith (D) 5. George W. Faris (R) 6. James Eli Watson (R) 7. Jesse Overstreet (R) 8. George W. Cromer (R) 9. Charles B. Landis (R) 10. Edgar D. Crumpacker (R) 11. George Washington Steele (R) 12. James McClellan Robinson (D) 13. Abraham L. Brick (R) Iowa 11 constituencies 1. Thomas Hedge (R) 2. Joseph R. Lane (R) 3. David B. Henderson (R) 4. Gilbert N. Haugen (R) 5. Robert G. Cousins (R) 6. John F. Lacey (R) 7. John AT Hull (R) 8. William Peters Hepburn (R) 9. Smith McPherson (R) through June 6, 1900 Walter I. Smith (R) from December 3, 1900 10. Jonathan P. Dolliver (R) until August 22, 1900 James Perry Conner from December 4th 1900 11. Lot Thomas (R) Kansas 7 constituencies. In addition, a member was elected nationwide 1. Charles Curtis (R) 2. Justin De Witt Bowersock (R) 3. Edwin R. Ridgely (P) 4. James Monroe Miller (R) 5. William A. Calderhead (R) 6. William A. Reeder (R) 7. Chester I. Long (R) 8. Willis Bailey (R) elected state-wide Kentucky 11 constituencies 1. Charles K. Wheeler (D) 2. Henry Dixon Allen (D) 3. John Stockdale Rhea (D) 4. David Highbaugh Smith (D) 5. Oscar Turner (D) 6. Albert S. Berry (D) 7. Evan E. Settle (D) until November 16, 1899 June Ward Gayle (D) from January 15, 1900 8. George G. Gilbert (D) 9. Samuel Johnson Pugh (R) 10. Thomas Y. Fitzpatrick (D) 11. Vincent Boreing (R) Louisiana 6 constituencies 1. Adolph Meyer (D) 2. Robert C. Davey (D) 3. Robert F. Broussard (D) 4. Phanor Breazeale (D) 5. Samuel T. Baird (D) until April 22, 1899 Joseph E. Ransdell (D) from August 29, 1899 6. Samuel Matthews Robertson (D) Maine 4 constituencies 1. Thomas Brackett Reed (R) through September 4, 1899 Amos L. Allen (R) from November 6, 1899 2. Charles E. Littlefield (R) from June 19, 1899 3. Edwin C. Burleigh (R) 4. Charles A. Boutelle (R) through March 3, 1901 Maryland 6 constituencies. 1. John Walter Smith (D) until January 12, 1900 Josiah Kerr (R) from November 6, 1900 2. William Benjamin Baker (R) 3. Frank Charles Wachter (R) 4. James William Denny (D) 5. Sydney Emanuel Mudd (R) 6. George Alexander Pearre (R) Massachusetts 13 constituencies 1. George P. Lawrence (R) 2. Frederick H. Gillett (R) 3. John R. Thayer (D) 4. George W. Weymouth (R) 5. William Shadrach Knox (R) 6. William H. Moody (R) 7. Ernest W. Roberts (R) 8. Samuel W. McCall (R) 9. John F. Fitzgerald (D) 10. Henry F. Naphen (D) 11. Charles F. Sprague (R) 12. William C. Lovering (R) 13. William S. Greene (R) Michigan 12 constituencies 1. John Blaisdell Corliss (R) 2. Henry C. Smith (R) 3. Washington Gardner (R) 4. Edward L. Hamilton (R) 5. William Alden Smith (R) 6. Samuel William Smith (R) 7. Edgar Weeks (R) 8. Joseph W. Fordney (R) 9. Roswell P. Bishop (R) 10. Rousseau Owen Crump (R) 11. William S. Mesick (R) 12. Carlos D. Shelden (R) Minnesota 7th constituencies 1. James Albertus Tawney (R) 2. James McCleary (R) 3. Joel Heatwole (R) 4. Frederick Stevens (R) 5. Loren Fletcher (R) 6. Robert P. Morris (R) 7. Frank Eddy (R) Mississippi 7 constituencies 1. John Mills Allen (D) 2. Thomas Spight (D) 3. Thomas C. Catchings (D) 4. Andrew F. Fox (D) 5. John Sharp Williams (D) 6. Frank A. McLain (D) 7. Patrick Henry (D) Missouri 15 constituencies 1. James Tilghman Lloyd (D) 2. William W. Rucker (D) 3. John Dougherty (D) 4. Charles F. Cochran (D) 5. William S. Cowherd (D) 6. David A. De Armond (D) 7. James Cooney (D) 8. Richard P. Bland (D) until June 15, 1899 Dorsey William Shackleford (D) from August 29, 1899 9. Champ Clark (D) 10. Richard Bartholdt (R) 11. Charles Frederick Joy (R) 12. Charles Edward Pearce (R) 13. Edward Robb (D) 14. Willard Duncan Vandiver (D) 15. Maecenas Eason Benton (D) Montana state-wide choice Albert J. Campbell (D)

Nebraska 6 constituencies 1. Elmer Jacob Burkett (R) 2. David Henry Mercer (R) 3. John Seaton Robinson (D) 4. William Ledyard Stark (P) 5. Roderick Dhu Sutherland (P) 6. William Laury Greene (P) until March 11, 1899 William Neville (P) from December 4, 1899 Nevada state-wide election Francis G. Newlands (S) New Hampshire 2 electoral divisions 1. Cyrus A. Sulloway (R) 2. Frank Gay Clarke (R) until January 9, 1901, after which the seat remained vacant New Jersey 8 constituencies 1. Henry C. Loudenslager (R) 2. John J. Gardner (R) 3. Benjamin Franklin Howell (R) 4. Joshua S. Salmon (D) 5. James F. Stewart (R) 6. Richard W. Parker (R) 7. William Davis Daly (D) until July 31, 1900 Allan Langdon McDermott (D) from December 3, 1900 8. Charles N. Fowler (R) New York 34 constituencies 1. Townsend Scudder (D) 2. John Joseph Fitzgerald (D) 3. Edmund H. Driggs (D) 4. Bertram Tracy Clayton (D) 5. Frank E. Wilson (D) 6. Mitchell May (D) 7. Nicholas Muller (D) 8. Daniel J. Riordan (D) 9. Thomas J. Bradley (D) 10. Amos J. Cummings (D) 11. William Sulzer (D) 12. George B. McClellan Jr. D) 13. Jefferson Monroe Levy (D) 14. William A. Chanler (D) 15. Jacob Ruppert (D) 16. John Q. Underhill (D) 17. Arthur S. Tompkins (R) 18. John H. Ketcham (R) 19. Aaron Van Schaick Cochrane (R) 20. Martin H. Glynn (D) 21. John Knox Stewart (R) 22. Lucius Littauer (R) 23. Louis W. Emerson (R) 24. Charles A. Chickering (R) through February 13, 1900 Albert D. Shaw (R) from Nov. 6, 1900 to Feb. 10, 1901, after which the seat remained vacant 25. James S. Sherman (R) 26. George W. Ray (R) 27. Michael E. Driscoll (R) 28. Sereno E. Payne (R) 29. Charles W. Gillet (R) 30. James Wolcott Wadsworth (R) 31. James ME O'Grady (R) 32.William H. Ryan (D) 33.De Alva S. Alexander (R) 34. Edward B. Vreeland (R) from November 7, 1899 North Carolina 9 constituencies 1. John Humphrey Small (D) 2. George Henry White (R) 3. Charles R. Thomas (D) 4. John Wilbur Atwater (P) 5. William Walton Kitchin (D) 6. John Dillard Bellamy (D) 7. Theodore F. Kluttz (D) 8. Romulus Zachariah Linney (R) 9. William T. Crawford (D) until May 10, 1900 Richmond Pearson (R) from May 10, 1900 North Dakota State Election Burleigh F. Spalding (R) Ohio 21 constituencies 1. William B. Shattuc (R) 2. Jacob H. Bromwell (R) 3. John Lewis Brenner (D) 4. Robert B. Gordon (D) 5. David Meekison (D) 6. Seth W. Brown (R) 7. Walter L. Weaver (R) 8. Archibald Lybrand (R) 9. James H. Southard (R) 10. Stephen Morgan (R) 11. Charles H. Grosvenor (R) 12. John J. Lentz (D) 13. James A. Norton (D) 14. Winfield S. Kerr (R) 15. H. Clay Van Voorhis (R) 16. Lorenzo Danford (R) until June 19, 1899 Joseph J. Gill (R) from December 4, 1899 17. John A. McDowell (D) 18. Robert Walker Tayler (R) 19. Charles WF Dick (R) 20. Fremont O. Phillips (R) 21. Theodore E. Burton (R) Oregon 2 constituencies 1. Thomas H. Tongue (R) 2. Malcolm A. Moody (R) Pennsylvania 28 constituencies. In addition, two representatives were elected nationwide 1. Henry H. Bingham (R) 2. Robert Adams (R) 3. William McAleer (D) 4. James R. Young (R) 5. Alfred C. Harmer (R) until March 6, 1900 Edward de Veaux Morrell (R) from November 6, 1900 6. Thomas S. Butler (Independent Republican) 7. Irving Price Wanger (R) 8. Laird Howard Barber (D) 9. Daniel Ermentrout (D) until September 17, 1899 Henry Dickinson Green (D) from November 7, 1899 10. Marriott Henry Brosius (R) 11. William Connell (R) 12. Stanley Woodward Davenport (D) 13. James Wilfrid Ryan (D) 14. Marlin Edgar Olmsted (R) 15. Charles Frederick Wright (R) 16. Horace Billings Packer (R) 17. Rufus King Polk (D) 18. Thaddeus Maclay Mahon (R) 19. Edward Danner Ziegler (D) 20. Joseph Earlston Thropp (R) 21. Summers Melville Jack (R) 22. John Dalzell (R) 23. William Graham Harrison (R) 24. Ernest F. Acheson (R) 25. Joseph Baltzell Showalter (R) 26. Athelston Gaston (D) 27. Joseph C. Sibley (D) 28. James Hall (D) 29. Samuel Arza Davenport (R) elected state wide 30. Galusha A. Grow (R) elected nationwide Rhode Island 2 electoral districts 1. Melville Bull (R) 2. Adin B. Capron (R) South Carolina 7 constituencies. 1. William Elliott (D) 2. W. Jasper Talbert (D) 3. Asbury Latimer (D) 4. Stanyarne Wilson (D) 5. David E. Finley (D) 6. James Norton (D) 7. J. William Stokes (D) South Dakota State-wide election for both MPs Charles H. Burke (R) Robert J. Gamble (R) Tennessee 10 constituencies 1. Walter P. Brownlow (R) 2. Henry R. Gibson (R) 3. John A. Moon (D) 4. Charles Edward Snodgrass (D) 5. James D. Richardson (D) 6. John W. Gaines (D) 7. Nicholas N. Cox (D) 8. Thetus W. Sims (D) 9. Rice Alexander Pierce (D) 10. Edward W. Carmack (D) Texas 13 constituencies. 1. Thomas Henry Ball (D) 2. Samuel B. Cooper (D) 3. Reese C. De Graffenreid (D) 4. John Levi Sheppard (D) 5. Joseph Weldon Bailey (D) 6. Robert E. Burke (D) 7. Robert Lee Henry (D) 8. Samuel WT Lanham (D) 9. Albert S. Burleson (D) 10. Robert B. Hawley (R) 11. Rudolph Kleberg (D) 12. James Luther Slayden (D) 13. John Hall Stephens (D) Utah State Election William H. King (D) from April 2, 1900 Vermont 2 constituencies 1. H. Henry Powers (R) 2. William W. Grout (R) Virginia 10 constituencies 1. William Atkinson Jones (D) 2. William Albin Young (D) until March 12, 1900 Richard Alsop Wise (R) from March 12th to December 21st, 1900, after which the seat remained vacant 3. John Lamb (D) 4. Sydney Parham Epes (D) until March 3, 1900 Francis R. Lassiter (D) from April 19, 1900 5. Claude A. Swanson (D) 6. Peter J. Otey (D) 7. James Hay (D) 8. John Franklin Rixey (D) 9. William Francis Rhea (D) 10. Julian M. Quarles (D) Washington state wide election Francis W. Cushman (R) Wesley Livsey Jones (R) West Virginia 4 electoral divisions 1. Blackburn B. Dovener (R) 2. Alston G. Dayton (R) 3. David Emmons Johnston (D) 4. Romeo H. Freer (R) Wisconsin 10 constituencies 1. Henry A. Cooper (R) 2. Herman Bjorn Dahle (R) 3. Joseph W. Babcock (R) 4. Theobald Otjen (R) 5. Samuel S. Barney (R) 6. James H. Davidson (R) 7. John J. Esch (R) 8. Edward S. Minor (R) 9. Alexander Stewart (R) 10. John J. Jenkins (R) Wyoming state-wide elections Franklin Wheeler Mondell (R)

Members of the House of Representatives who are not entitled to vote:

• Arizona Territory : John Frank Wilson (D)
• Hawaii Territory : Robert William Wilcox (Independent)
• New Mexico Territory : Pedro Perea (R)
• Oklahoma Territory : Dennis Thomas Flynn (R)

Web links

Commons : 56th United States Congress  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• bioguide.congress.gov (by entering 56 under Year OR Congress: you get a list of the members of the 56th Congress with a link to the official biographies; English)