63rd United States Congress

The 63rd 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, 1913, to March 4, 1915, during the first two years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census.
The Democrats had greatly increased their majority in the House, and won control of the Senate, giving them full control of Congress for the first time since the 53rd Congress in 1893. With Woodrow Wilson being sworn in as president on March 4, 1913, this gave the Democrats an overall federal government trifecta - also for the first time since the 53rd Congress.

Major events

March 4, 1913: Woodrow Wilson became President of the United States.
March 9, 1914: The Senate adopted a rule forbidding smoking on the floor of the Senate because Senator Ben Tillman, recovering from a stroke, found the smoke irritating.
July 28, 1914: World War I began in Europe
August 15, 1914: The Panama Canal was inaugurated
August 19, 1914: President Woodrow Wilson declared strict U.S. neutrality
November 1914: United States House of Representatives elections, 1914 and United States Senate elections, 1914
November 16, 1914: Federal Reserve Bank opened

Major legislation

May 27, 1913: Kern Resolution
July 9, 1913: Saboth Act
July 15, 1913: Newlands Labor Act
October 3, 1913: Revenue Act of 1913, including Underwood Tariff
October 22, 1913: Urgent Deficiencies Act
December 19, 1913: Raker Act
December 23, 1913: Federal Reserve Act, ch. 6,,, et seq.
May 8, 1914: Smith–Lever Act, ch. 79,,
June 24, 1914: Cutter Service Act
June 30, 1914: Cooperative Funds Act
July 17, 1914: Agricultural Entry Act
July 18, 1914: Aviation Service Act
July 21, 1914: Borland Amendment
August 13, 1914: Smith–Hayden Act
August 15, 1914: Sponge Act
August 18, 1914: Cotton Futures Act of 1914
August 18, 1914: Foreign Ship Registry Act
August 22, 1914: Glacier National Park Act of 1914
September 2, 1914: War Risk Insurance Act
September 26, 1914: Federal Trade Commission Act, ch. 311, 38 Stat. 717,
October 2, 1914: River and Harbors Act of 1914
October 15, 1914: Clayton Antitrust Act, ch. 323, 38 Stat. 730,, et seq.
October 22, 1914: Emergency Internal Revenue Tax Act
December 17, 1914: Harrison Narcotics Tax Act
January 28, 1915: Coast Guard Act
March 4, 1915: Merchant Marine Act of 1915
March 4, 1915: River and Harbors Act of 1915
March 4, 1915: Standard Barrel Act For Fruits, Vegetables, and Dry Commodities
March 4, 1915: Federal Boiler Inspection Act
March 4, 1915: Uniform Bill of Lading Act
March 4, 1915: Occupancy Permits Act

Constitutional amendments

April 8, 1913: Seventeenth Amendment to [the United States Constitution], establishing the popular election of United States senators by the people of the states, was ratified by the requisite number of states to become part of the Constitution

Leadership

Senate leadership

Presiding

House leadership

Presiding

Speaker: Champ Clark

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Members

Senate

Most senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. A few senators were elected directly by the residents of the state. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election, In this Congress, Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1914; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1916; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1918.

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

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

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

North Dakota">List of United States senators from North Dakota">North Dakota

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

House of Representatives

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

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

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

North Dakota">List of United States representatives from North Dakota">North Dakota

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

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

Changes in membership

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

Senate

Replacements: 3
* Democratic: 2 seat net gain
* Republican: 2 seat net loss
Deaths: 3
Resignations: 3
Vacancies: 3Total seats with changes: 9

State	Senator	Reason for vacancy	Successor	Date of successor's installation
New Hampshire	Vacant	Elected late.	Henry F. Hollis	March 13, 1913
Illinois	Vacant	Due to US Sen.Lorimer (politician)\|Lorimer] scandal, general assembly refused to seat elected Senator at beginning of term. Compromise was later reached with Governor of Illinois to seat senator to replace Lorimer after another election was called.	J. Hamilton Lewis	March 26, 1913
Illinois	Vacant	Due to US Sen.Lorimer scandal, general assembly refused to seat elected Senator at beginning of term. Compromise was later reached with Governor of Illinois to seat senator who supported Sen Lorimer.	Lawrence Y. Sherman	March 26, 1913
West Virginia	Vacant	Elected to seat at beginning of term but delayed installation to continue as judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit	Nathan Goff Jr.	April 1, 1913
Alabama	Joseph F. Johnston	Died August 8, 1913. Successor was appointed to finish term.	Francis S. White	May 11, 1914
Maryland	William P. Jackson	Successor was elected.	Blair Lee	January 28, 1914
Georgia	Augustus O. Bacon	Died February 14, 1914. Successor was appointed.	William S. West	March 2, 1914
Kentucky	William O. Bradley	Died May 23, 1914. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected.	Johnson N. Camden Jr.	June 16, 1914
Georgia	William S. West	Successor was elected.	Thomas W. Hardwick	November 4, 1914

House of Representatives

Replacements: 20
* Democratic: 1 seat gain
* Republican: 2 seat loss
* Progressive: 1 seat gain
Deaths: 11
Resignations: 19
Contested elections: 2Total seats with changes: 15

Committees

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Armor Plant Costs
Conditions of Indian Tribes
Federal Aid in Construction of Post Roads
Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
The Library
Interstate Commerce
Investigate the General Parcel Post
Printing
Postage on 2nd Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Transportation of Mail
Rural Credits
Second Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Rail Mail Service

Caucuses

Employees

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

Architect of the Capitol: Elliott Woods
Librarian of Congress: Herbert Putnam
Public Printer of the United States: Samuel B. Donnelly, until 1913
* Cornelius Ford, from 1913

Senate

Secretary: Charles G. Bennett, until March 13, 1913.
*James M. Baker, elected March 13, 1913.
E. Livingston Cornelius, elected December 10, 1912
*Charles P. Higgins, elected March 13, 1913
Chaplain: Edward Everett Hale, Unitarian, until March 13, 1913
* F.J. Prettyman, Methodist, elected March 13, 1913.

House of Representatives

Clerk: South Trimble
Sergeant at Arms: Charles F. Riddell, until April 7, 1913
* Robert B. Gordon, from April 7, 1913
Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
Postmaster: William M. Dunbar
Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Bennett C. Clark
Reading Clerks: Patrick Joseph Haltigan and H. Martin Williams
Chaplain: Henry N. Couden, Universalist