45th United States Congress

45th United States Congress


44th ←	→ 46th
United States Capitol (1869)
Duration: March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1879

Senate President:	William A. Wheeler
Senate Pres. pro tem:	Thomas W. Ferry
House Speaker:	Samuel J. Randall
Members:	76 Senators 293 Representatives 8 Non-voting members
Senate Majority:	Republican
House Majority:	Democratic

Sessions
Special: March 5, 1877 – March 17, 1877 1st: October 15, 1877 – December 3, 1877 2nd: December 3, 1877 – June 20, 1878 3rd: December 2, 1878 – March 3, 1879

The Forty-fifth 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, 1877 to March 4, 1879, during the first two years of Rutherford Hayes's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.

1 Major events
2 Major legislation
3 Party summary
- 3.1 Senate
- 3.2 House of Representatives
4 Leadership
- 4.1 Senate
- 4.2 House of Representatives
5 Members
- 5.1 Senate
- 5.2 House of Representatives
6 Changes in membership
- 6.1 Senate
- 6.2 House of Representatives
7 Employees
- 7.1 Senate
- 7.2 House of Representatives
8 References
9 External links

Major events

March 4, 1877: Rutherford B. Hayes became President of the United States

Major legislation

February 28, 1878: Bland–Allison Act (Coinage Act (Silver Dollar)), Sess. 2, ch. 20, 20 Stat. 25
April 29, 1878: National Quarantine Act, Sess. 2, ch. 66, 20 Stat. 37
June 3, 1878: Timber and Stone Act, Sess. 2, ch. 151, 20 Stat. 89
June 18, 1878: Posse Comitatus Act, Sess. 2, ch. 263, §15, 20 Stat. 152

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.

During this Congress, two Senate seats and one House seat were added for the new state, Colorado.

Senate

	Party (Shading shows control)				Total	Vacant

	Democratic (D)	Republican (R)	Independent (I)	Other
End of the previous congress	28	47	0	(Independent Republican) 1	76	0

Begin	35	40	1	0	76	0
End	36	39	1	0	76	0
Final voting share	700147400000000000047.4%	700151300000000000051.3%	70001300000000000001.3%	50000000000000000000.0%

Beginning of the next congress	42	32	2	0	76	0

House of Representatives

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)				Total

	Democratic (D)	Independent Democratic (ID)	Republican (R)	Other		Vacant
End of previous Congress	183	1	100	(Independent Republican & Independent) 7	292	1

Begin	144	2	146	0	292	1
Start of the 1st Session	145	2	146		293	0
End	148	2	141		291	2
Final voting share	51.5%		48.5%	0.0%

Beginning of the next Congress	145	4	131	12	293	0

Leadership

President of the Senate
William A. Wheeler

Senate

President: William A. Wheeler (R)
President pro tempore: Thomas W. Ferry (R)

House of Representatives

Speaker: Samuel J. Randall (D)

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district.

Senate

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 in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1880; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1882; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1878.

Indiana

3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R), until November 1, 1877
- Daniel W. Voorhees (D), from November 6, 1877
1. Joseph E. McDonald (D)

Iowa

3. William B. Allison (R)
2. Samuel J. Kirkwood (R)

Kansas

3. John J. Ingalls (R)
2. Preston B. Plumb (R)

Kentucky

3. Thomas C. McCreery (D)
2. James B. Beck (D)

Louisiana

3. James B. Eustis (D)
2. William Pitt Kellogg (R)

Maine

1. Hannibal Hamlin (R)
2. James G. Blaine (R)

Maryland

3. George R. Dennis (D)
1. William Pinkney Whyte (D)

Massachusetts

1. Henry L. Dawes (R)
2. George F. Hoar (R)

Michigan

2. Thomas W. Ferry (R)
1. Isaac P. Christiancy (R), until February 10, 1879
- Zachariah Chandler (R), from February 22, 1879

Minnesota

2. William Windom (R)
1. Samuel J. R. McMillan (R)

Mississippi

1. Blanche Bruce (R)
2. Lucius Q. C. Lamar (D)

Missouri

3. Lewis V. Bogy (D), until September 20, 1877
- David H. Armstrong (D), September 29, 1877 - January 26, 1879
- James Shields (D), from January 27, 1879
1. Francis Cockrell (D)

Nebraska

1. Algernon Paddock (R)
2. Alvin Saunders (R)

Nevada

3. John P. Jones (R)
1. William Sharon (R)

New Hampshire

3. Bainbridge Wadleigh (R)
2. Edward H. Rollins (R)

New Jersey

1. Theodore F. Randolph (D)
2. John R. McPherson (D)

New York

3. Roscoe Conkling (R)
1. Francis Kernan (D)

North Carolina

2. Matt W. Ransom (D)
3. Augustus S. Merrimon (D)

Ohio

3. John Sherman (R), until March 8, 1877
- T. Stanley Matthews (R), from March 21, 1877
1. Allen G. Thurman (D)

Oregon

3. John H. Mitchell (R)
2. La Fayette Grover (D)

Pennsylvania

3. Simon Cameron (R), until March 12, 1877
- J. Donald Cameron (R), from March 20, 1877
1. William A. Wallace (D)

Rhode Island

2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
1. Ambrose Burnside (R)

South Carolina

3. John J. Patterson (R)
2. Matthew Butler (D)

Tennessee

1. James E. Bailey (D)
2. Isham G. Harris (D)

Texas

1. Samuel B. Maxey (D)
2. Richard Coke (D)

Vermont

1. George F. Edmunds (R)
3. Justin S. Morrill (R)

Virginia

2. John W. Johnston (D)
1. Robert E. Withers (D)

West Virginia

2. Henry G. Davis (D)
1. Frank Hereford (D)

Wisconsin

3. Timothy O. Howe (R)
1. Angus Cameron (R)

President pro tempore Thomas W. Ferry

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

1. Horace Davis (R)
2. Horace F. Page (R)
3. John K. Luttrell (D)
4. Romualdo Pacheco (R) until February 7, 1878
- Peter D. Wigginton (D), from February 7, 1878

Colorado

At-large. James B. Belford (R), until December 13, 1877
- Thomas M. Patterson (D), from December 13, 1877

Connecticut

Delaware

At-large. James Williams (D)

Florida

1. Robert H. M. Davidson (D)
2. Horatio Bisbee, Jr. (R), until February 20, 1879
- Jesse J. Finley (D), from February 20, 1879

Georgia

1. Julian Hartridge (D), until January 8, 1879
- William B. Fleming (D), from February 10, 1879
2. William E. Smith (D)
3. Philip Cook (D)
4. Henry R. Harris (D)
5. Milton A. Candler (D)
6. James H. Blount (D)
7. William H. Felton (ID)
8. Alexander Stephens (D)
9. Hiram P. Bell (D), from March 13, 1877

1. Randall L. Gibson (D)
2. E. John Ellis (D)
3. Chester B. Darrall (R), until February 20, 1878
- Joseph H. Acklen (D), from February 20, 1878
4. Joseph B. Elam (D)
5. John E. Leonard (R), until March 15, 1878
- John S. Young (D), from November 5, 1878
6. Edward W. Robertson (D)

1. William W. Crapo (R)
2. Benjamin W. Harris (R)
3. Walbridge A. Field (R), until March 28, 1878
- Benjamin Dean (D), from March 28, 1878
4. Leopold Morse (D)
5. Nathaniel P. Banks (R)
George B. Loring (R)
7. Benjamin F. Butler (R)
8. William Claflin (R)
9. William W. Rice (R)
10. Amasa Norcross (R)
George D. Robinson (R)

Michigan

1. Alpheus S. Williams (D), until December 21, 1878
2. Edwin Willits (R)
3. Jonas H. McGowan (R)
4. Edwin W. Keightley (R)
5. John W. Stone (R)
6. Mark S. Brewer (R)
7. Omar D. Conger (R)
8. Charles C. Ellsworth (R)
9. Jay A. Hubbell (R)

At-large. Frank Welch (R), until September 4, 1878
- Thomas J. Majors (R), from November 5, 1878

Nevada

At-large. Thomas Wren (R)

1. James W. Covert (D)
2. William D. Veeder (D)
3. Simeon B. Chittenden (R)
4. Archibald M. Bliss (D)
5. Nicholas Muller (D)
6. Samuel S. Cox (D)
7. Anthony Eickhoff (D)
8. Anson G. McCook (R)
9. Fernando Wood (D)
10. Abram S. Hewitt (D)
11. Benjamin A. Willis (D)
12. Clarkson N. Potter (D)
13. John H. Ketcham (R)
George M. Beebe (D)
15. Stephen L. Mayham (D)
16. Terence J. Quinn (D), until June 18, 1878
- John M. Bailey (R), from November 5, 1878
17. Martin I. Townsend (R)
18. Andrew Williams (R)
19. Amaziah B. James (R)
20. John H. Starin (R)
21. Solomon Bundy (R)
George A. Bagley (R)
23. William J. Bacon (R)
24. William H. Baker (R)
25. Frank Hiscock (R)
26. John H. Camp (R)
27. Elbridge G. Lapham (R)
28. Jeremiah W. Dwight (R)
29. John N. Hungerford (R)
30. E. Kirke Hart (D)
31. Charles B. Benedict (D)
32. Daniel N. Lockwood (D)
George W. Patterson (R)

At-large. Richard Williams (R)

Pennsylvania

Rhode Island

1. Benjamin T. Eames (R)
2. Latimer W. Ballou (R)

1. John H. Reagan (D)
2. David B. Culberson (D)
3. James W. Throckmorton (D)
4. Roger Q. Mills (D)
5. De Witt C. Giddings (D)
6. Gustave Schleicher (D), until January 10, 1879

Vermont

Virginia

1. Beverly B. Douglas (D), until December 22, 1878
- Richard Lee T. Beale (D), from January 23, 1879
2. John Goode, Jr. (D)
3. Gilbert C. Walker (D)
Joseph Jorgensen (R)
George Cabell (D)
6. John R. Tucker (D)
7. John T. Harris (D)
8. Eppa Hutton, II (D)
9. Auburn Pridemore (D)

West Virginia

Wisconsin

Non-voting members

Arizona Territory. Hiram S. Stevens (D)
Dakota Territory. Jefferson P. Kidder (R)
Idaho Territory. Stephen S. Fenn (D)
Montana Territory. Martin Maginnis (D)
New Mexico Territory. Trinidad Romero (R)
George Q. Cannon (R)
Washington Territory. Orange Jacobs (R)
Wyoming Territory. William W. Corlett (R)

Speaker Samuel J. Randall

Changes in membership

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

Senate

replacements: 5
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: 1 seat net loss
deaths: 2
resignations: 3
interim appointments: 1
contested elections: 0
Total seats with changes: 5

State (class)	Vacator	Reason for change	Successor	Date of successor's formal installation
Ohio (3)	John Sherman (R)	Resigned March 8, 1877 after being appointed United States Secretary of the Treasury	T. Stanley Matthews (R)	March 21, 1877
Pennsylvania (3)	Simon Cameron (R)	Resigned March 12, 1877	J. Donald Cameron (R)	March 20, 1877
Missouri (3)	Lewis V. Bogy (D)	Died September 20, 1877. An interim successor was appointed.	David H. Armstrong (D)	September 29, 1877
Indiana (3)	Oliver P. Morton (R)	Died November 1, 1877.	Daniel W. Voorhees (D)	November 6, 1877
Missouri (3)	David H. Armstrong (D)	Successor elected January 26, 1879	James Shields (D)	January 27, 1879
Michigan (1)	Isaac P. Christiancy (R)	Resigned February 10, 1879 due to ill health	Zachariah Chandler (R)	February 22, 1879

House of Representatives

replacements: 10
- Democratic: 5 seat net gain
- Republican: 5 seat net loss
deaths: 7
resignations: 1
contested election: 5
Total seats with changes: 13

District	Vacator	Reason for change	Successor	Date successor seated
Georgia 9th	Vacant	Rep Benjamin Harvey Hill resigned in previous congress	Hiram P. Bell (D)	March 13, 1877
Colorado At-large	James B. Belford (R)	Lost contested election December 13, 1877	Thomas M. Patterson (D)	December 13, 1877
California 4th	Romualdo Pacheco (R)	Lost contested election February 7, 1878	Peter D. Wigginton (D)	February 7, 1878
Louisiana 3rd	Chester B. Darrall (R)	Lost contested election February 20, 1878	Joseph H. Acklen (D)	February 20, 1878
Louisiana 5th	John E. Leonard (R)	Died March 15, 1878	J. Smith Young (D)	November 5, 1878
Massachusetts 3rd	Walbridge A. Field (R)	Lost contested election March 28, 1878	Benjamin Dean (D)	March 28, 1878
New York 16th	Terence J. Quinn (D)	Died June 18, 1878	John M. Bailey (R)	November 5, 1878
Nebraska At-large	Frank Welch (R)	Died September 4, 1878	Thomas J. Majors (R)	November 5, 1878
Michigan 1st	Alpheus S. Williams (D)	Died December 21, 1878	Vacant	Not filled this term
Virginia 1st	Beverly B. Douglas (D)	Died December 22, 1878	Richard L. T. Beale (D)	January 23, 1879
Georgia 1st	Julian Hartridge (D)	Died January 8, 1879	William B. Fleming (D)	February 10, 1879
Texas 6th	Gustav Schleicher (D)	Died January 10, 1879	Vacant	Not filled this term
Florida 2nd	Horatio Bisbee, Jr. (R)	Lost contested election February 20, 1879	Jesse J. Finley (D)	February 20, 1879

Employees

Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark

Senate

House of Representatives

Chaplain: John Poise (Methodist)
- W. P. Harrison (Methodist), elected December 3, 1877
George M. Adams
Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: William H. Scudder
- J. Randolph Tucker, Jr.
Doorkeeper: John W. Polk
Postmaster: James M. Steuart
Sergeant at Arms: John G. Thompson

References

Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.