48th United States Congress
The 48th 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, 1883, to March 4, 1885, during the last two years of Chester A. Arthur's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1880 United States census. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.
Major events
- September 5, 1883: Mary F. Hoyt became the first woman appointed to the U.S. federal civil service when she became a clerk in the Bank Redemption Agency of the Department of the Treasury.
- October 15, 1883: The Supreme Court of the United States declared part of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional, as the Court allowed private individuals and corporations to discriminate based on race.
- November 18, 1883: U.S. and Canadian railroads instituted 5 standard continental time zones, ending the confusion of thousands of local times.
- August 10, 1884: An earthquake measuring 5.5 affected a very large portion of the eastern United States. The shock had a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. Chimneys were toppled in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. Property damage was severe in Jamaica and Amityville in New York.
- October 6, 1884: The United States Naval War College was established in Newport, Rhode Island.
- October 22, 1884: International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C., fixed the Greenwich meridian as the world's prime meridian.
- November 4, 1884: 1884 United States presidential election: Democratic governor of New York Grover Cleveland defeated Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest to win the first of his non-consecutive terms.
- December 6: 1884: The Washington Monument was completed.
Major legislation
Territories organized
- May 17, 1884: District of Alaska was organized.
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate
- President: Vacant. Chester Arthur, the most recent Senate president, had become U.S. president on the death of his predecessor September 19, 1881, leaving the office vacant through the end of this Congress.
- President pro tempore: George F. Edmunds
- Republican Conference Chairman: John Sherman
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: George H. Pendleton
House of Representatives
- Speaker: John G. Carlisle
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: George W. Geddes
- Republican Conference Chairman: Joseph Gurney Cannon
- Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: William Rosecrans
Members
Senate
Senators are listed by their states and Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election.[List of [United States senators from Alabama|Alabama]]
Arkansas">List of United States senators from Arkansas">Arkansas
California">List of United States senators from California">California
Colorado">List of United States senators from Colorado">Colorado
Connecticut">List of United States senators from Connecticut">Connecticut
Delaware">List of United States senators from Delaware">Delaware
Florida">List of United States senators from Florida">Florida
Georgia">List of United States senators from Georgia">Georgia
Illinois">List of United States senators from Illinois">Illinois
Indiana">List of United States senators from Indiana">Indiana
Iowa">List of United States senators from Iowa">Iowa
Kansas">List of United States senators from Kansas">Kansas
Kentucky">List of United States senators from Kentucky">Kentucky
Louisiana">List of United States senators from Louisiana">Louisiana
Maine">List of United States senators from Maine">Maine
Maryland">List of United States senators from Maryland">Maryland
Massachusetts">List of United States senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
Michigan">List of United States senators from Michigan">Michigan
Minnesota">List of United States senators from Minnesota">Minnesota
Mississippi">List of United States senators from Mississippi">Mississippi
Missouri">List of United States senators from Missouri">Missouri
Nebraska">List of United States senators from Nebraska">Nebraska
Nevada">List of United States senators from Nevada">Nevada
New Hampshire">List of United States senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
New Jersey">List of United States senators from New Jersey">New Jersey
New York">List of United States senators from New York">New York
North Carolina">List of United States senators from North Carolina">North Carolina
Ohio">List of United States senators from Ohio">Ohio
Oregon">List of United States senators from Oregon">Oregon
Pennsylvania">List of United States senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
Rhode Island">List of United States senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
South Carolina">List of United States senators from South Carolina">South Carolina
Tennessee">List of United States senators from Tennessee">Tennessee
Texas">List of United States senators from Texas">Texas
Vermont">List of United States senators from Vermont">Vermont
Virginia">List of United States senators from Virginia">Virginia
West Virginia">List of United States senators from West Virginia">West Virginia
Wisconsin">List of United States senators from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
House of Representatives
Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.[List of [United States representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]
Arkansas">List of United States representatives from Arkansas">Arkansas
California">List of United States representatives from California">California
Colorado">List of United States representatives from Colorado">Colorado
Connecticut">List of United States representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut
Delaware">List of United States representatives from Delaware">Delaware
Florida">List of United States representatives from Florida">Florida
Georgia">List of United States representatives from Georgia">Georgia
Illinois">List of United States representatives from Illinois">Illinois
Indiana">List of United States representatives from Indiana">Indiana
Iowa">List of United States representatives from Iowa">Iowa
Kansas">List of United States representatives from Kansas">Kansas
Kentucky">List of United States representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky
Louisiana">List of United States representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana
Maine">List of United States representatives from Maine">Maine
Maryland">List of United States representatives from Maryland">Maryland
Massachusetts">List of United States representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
Michigan">List of United States representatives from Michigan">Michigan
Minnesota">List of United States representatives from Minnesota">Minnesota
Mississippi">List of United States representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi
Missouri">List of United States representatives from Missouri">Missouri
Nebraska">List of United States representatives from Nebraska">Nebraska
Nevada">List of United States representatives from Nevada">Nevada
New Hampshire">List of United States representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
New Jersey">List of United States representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey
New York">List of United States representatives from New York">New York
North Carolina">List of United States representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina
Ohio">List of United States representatives from Ohio">Ohio
Oregon">List of United States representatives from Oregon">Oregon
Pennsylvania">List of United States representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
Rhode Island">List of United States representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
South Carolina">List of United States representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina
Tennessee">List of United States representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee
Texas">List of United States representatives from Texas">Texas
Vermont">List of United States representatives from Vermont">Vermont
Virginia">List of United States representatives from Virginia">Virginia
West Virginia">List of United States representatives from West Virginia">West Virginia
Wisconsin">List of United States representatives from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
Non-voting members
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.Senate
- Replacements: 1
- * Democratic: no net change
- * Republican: 1 seat net gain
- * Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- Deaths: 1
- Resignations: 0
- Interim appointment: 1
- Late election: 1
- '''Total seats with changes: 3'''
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 15
- * Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- * Republican: 1 seat net loss
- * National Greenback: 1 seat net gain
- Deaths: 9
- Resignations: 9
- Contested election: 8
- '''Total seats with changes: 25'''
Committees
Senate
- Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Appropriations
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
- Civil Service and Retrenchment
- Claims
- Commerce
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Engrossed Bills
- Enrolled Bills
- Epidemic Diseases
- Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service
- Expenditures of Public Money
- Finance
- Fisheries
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Judiciary
- Library
- Manufactures
- Military Affairs
- Mines and Mining
- Mississippi River and its Tributaries
- Naval Affairs
- Nicaraguan Claims
- Ordnance and War Ships
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Potomac River Front
- Printing
- Private Land Claims
- Privileges and Elections
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railroads
- Revision of the Laws
- Revolutionary Claims
- Rules
- Sioux and Crow Indians
- Steel Producing Capacity of the United States
- Tariff Regulation
- Tenth Census
- Territories
- Transportation Routes to the Seaboard
- Whole
- Woman Suffrage