| 49th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
48th ← → 50th | |
United States Capitol (1906)
| |
March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1887 | |
| Members | 76 senators 325 representatives 8 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican |
| Senate President | Thomas A. Hendricks (D) (until November 25, 1885) Vacant (from November 25, 1885) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | John Carlisle (D) |
| Sessions | |
| Special: March 4, 1885 – April 2, 1885 1st: December 7, 1885 – August 5, 1886 2nd: December 6, 1886 – March 3, 1887 | |
The 49th 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, 1885, to March 4, 1887, during the first two years of Grover Cleveland's first 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.
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.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Readjuster (RA) | Republican (R) |
|||
| End of previous congress | 36 | 2 | 38 | 76 | 0 |
| Begin | 34 | 2 | 37 | 73 | 3 |
| End | 40 | 76 | 0 | ||
| Final voting share | 44.7% | 2.6% | 52.6% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 36 | 1 | 38 | 75 | 1 |
| House seats by party holding plurality in state | |
|---|---|
80+% to 100% Democratic
|
80+% to 100% Republican
|
60+% to 80% Democratic
|
60+% to 80% Republican
|
Up to 60% Democratic
|
Up to 60% Republican
|
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Readjuster (RA) | Greenback (GB) | Republican (R) | Other |
|||
| End of previous congress | 197 | 4 | 2 | 113 | 7[a] | 323 | 2 |
| Begin | 181 | 1 | 1 | 140 | 0 | 323 | 2 |
| End | 180 | 138 | 320 | 5 | |||
| Final voting share | 56.3% | 0.3% | 0.3% | 43.1% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 168 | 0 | 1 | 150 | 5 | 324 | 1 |
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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1886; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1888; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1890.
The names of members of the House of Representatives are listed by district.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for vacancy | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Hampshire (3) |
Vacant | Appointed to fill vacancy in term. | Henry W. Blair (R) | March 5, 1885 |
| Illinois (3) |
Vacant | Legislature failed to elect, with several delays in election process held from February 18 to May 19. Incumbent Logan eventually chosen to retake seat. | John A. Logan (R) | May 19, 1885 |
| Oregon (3) |
Vacant | Failure to elect. | John H. Mitchell (R) | November 18, 1885 |
| Arkansas (2) |
Augustus H. Garland (D) | Resigned March 6, 1885, after being appointed United States Attorney General. Successor was elected. | James H. Berry (D) | March 20, 1885 |
| Delaware (1) |
Thomas F. Bayard (D) | Resigned March 6, 1885, after being appointed United States Secretary of State. Successor was elected. | George Gray (D) | March 18, 1885 |
| Mississippi (2) |
Lucius Q. C. Lamar II (D) | Resigned March 6, 1885, after being appointed United States Secretary of the Interior. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. | Edward C. Walthall (D) | March 9, 1885 |
| California (1) |
John F. Miller (R) | Died March 8, 1886. Successor was appointed. | George Hearst (D) | March 23, 1886 |
| Tennessee (1) |
Howell E. Jackson (D) | Resigned April 14, 1886, after being appointed judge for the United States Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit. Successor was appointed. | Washington C. Whitthorne (D) | April 16, 1886 |
| California (1) |
George Hearst (D) | Successor was elected August 4, 1886. | Abram Williams (R) | August 4, 1886 |
| New Hampshire (2) |
Austin F. Pike (R) | Died October 8, 1886. Successor was appointed. | Person C. Cheney (R) | November 24, 1886 |
| Illinois (3) |
John A. Logan (R) | Died December 26, 1886. Successor was elected. | Charles B. Farwell (R) | January 19, 1887 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date successor seated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania 19th | Vacant | Elected to finish term of Rep. William A. Duncan resigned during previous congress | John A. Swope (D) | November 3, 1885 |
| Arkansas 3rd | Vacant | Elected to finish term of Rep. James K. Jones resigned during previous congress | Thomas C. McRae (D) | December 7, 1885 |
| New York 8th | Samuel S. Cox (D) | Resigned May 20, 1885, after being appointed Minister to the Ottoman Empire | Timothy J. Campbell (D) | November 3, 1885 |
| Illinois 5th | Reuben Ellwood (R) | Died July 1, 1885 | Albert J. Hopkins (R) | December 7, 1885 |
| Wisconsin 5th | Joseph Rankin (D) | Died January 24, 1886 | Thomas R. Hudd (D) | March 8, 1886 |
| Louisiana 2nd | Michael Hahn (R) | Died March 15, 1886 | Nathaniel D. Wallace (D) | December 9, 1886 |
| New York 9th | Joseph Pulitzer (D) | Resigned April 10, 1886 | Samuel S. Cox (D) | November 2, 1886 |
| Maryland 3rd | William H. Cole (D) | Died July 8, 1886 | Harry W. Rusk (D) | November 2, 1886 |
| New York 15th | Lewis Beach (D) | Died August 10, 1886 | Henry Bacon (D) | December 6, 1886 |
| New York 28th | John Arnot Jr. (D) | Died November 20, 1886 | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Wisconsin 8th | William T. Price (R) | Died December 6, 1886 | Hugh H. Price (R) | January 18, 1887 |
| New York 12th | Abraham Dowdney (D) | Died December 10, 1886 | Vacant until next Congress | |
| New York 10th | Abram Hewitt (D) | Resigned December 30, 1886, after being elected Mayor of New York | Vacant until next Congress | |
| North Carolina 5th | James W. Reid (D) | Resigned December 31, 1886 | Vacant until next Congress | |
| New Jersey 3rd | Robert S. Green (D) | Resigned January 17, 1887, after being elected Governor of New Jersey | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Rhode Island 2nd | William A. Pirce (R) | Seat declared vacant January 25, 1887, due to election irregularities | Charles H. Page (D) | February 21, 1887 |
Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. On the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.
|
United States congresses (and year convened)
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||||||||||||
