56th United States Congress


The 56th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of [the United States federal government], composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1899, to March 4, 1901, during the third and fourth years of William McKinley's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1890 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority. There was one African-American member, George Henry White of North Carolina, who served his second and final term as a representative in this Congress, and would be the last black member of Congress until 1928, and the last black member of Congress from the South until 1972.

Major events

Major legislation

Territory organized

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.

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.

Senate

At this time, 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 with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1904; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1902.

Georgia">List of United States senators from Georgia">Georgia


Maine">List of United States senators from Maine">Maine


Nebraska">List of United States senators from Nebraska">Nebraska


Oregon">List of United States senators from Oregon">Oregon


Vermont">List of United States senators from Vermont">Vermont


Wyoming">List of United States senators from Wyoming">Wyoming

[File:56th United States Congress Senators.svg|thumb|375px|Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 56th Congress in March 1899. The green stripes represent Populists, while the gray stripes represent Silver Republicans. One of Delaware's seats was never filled.
]

House of Representatives

Georgia">List of United States representatives from Georgia">Georgia


Maine">List of United States representatives from Maine">Maine


Nebraska">List of United States representatives from Nebraska">Nebraska


Oregon">List of United States representatives from Oregon">Oregon


Vermont">List of United States representatives from Vermont">Vermont


Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

  • Replacements: 7
  • * Democratic: no net change
  • * Republican: 1 seat loss
  • * Populist: 1 seat gain
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 1
  • Vacancies: 5
  • Interim appointments: 2
  • '''Total seats with changes: 9'''

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 21
  • * Democratic: 5 seat loss
  • * Republican: 5 seat gain
  • * Populist: no net change
  • Deaths: 12
  • Resignations: 7
  • Contested election: 3
  • New seats: 1
  • '''Total seats with changes: 26'''

Committees

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#United States Congress">Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives