43rd United States Congress
The 43rd 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, 1873, to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Major events
- September 18, 1873: New York stock market crash triggered the Panic of 1873, part of the Long Depression
- November 4, 1874: United States House of Representatives elections, 1874 -Democrats regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time since 1860
- November 25, 1874: United States Greenback Party established as a political party, made primarily of farmers financially hurt by the Panic of 1873
Major legislation
- June 22, 1874: Revised Statutes of the United States
- June 23, 1874: Poland Act,
- January 14, 1875: Specie Payment Resumption Act ch. 15,
- March 1, 1875: Civil Rights Act of 1875,
- March 3, 1875: Tariff of 1875
- March 3, 1875: Page Act of 1875,
Treaties
- March 18, 1874: Hawaii signed a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Before this Congress, the 1870 United States Census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 292 members.Leadership
Senate
- President: Henry Wilson
- President pro tempore: Matthew H. Carpenter
- * Henry B. Anthony, elected January 25, 1875.
House of Representatives
- Speaker: James G. Blaine
- Republican Conference Chairman: Horace Maynard
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: William E. Niblack
Members
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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1874; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1876; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1878.[List of [United States Senators from Alabama|Alabama]]
- 3. George E. Spencer
- 2. George Goldthwaite
Arkansas">List of United States Senators from Arkansas">Arkansas
- 2. Powell Clayton
- 3. Stephen W. Dorsey
California">List of United States Senators from California">California
- 1. Eugene Casserly, until November 29, 1873
- * John S. Hager, from December 23, 1873
- 3. Aaron A. Sargent
Connecticut">List of United States Senators from Connecticut">Connecticut
- 3. Orris S. Ferry
- 1. William A. Buckingham, until February 5, 1875
- * William W. Eaton, from February 5, 1875
Delaware">List of United States Senators from Delaware">Delaware
- 1. Thomas F. Bayard, Sr.
- 2. Eli M. Saulsbury
Florida">List of United States Senators from Florida">Florida
- 1. Abijah Gilbert
- 3. Simon B. Conover
Georgia">List of United States Senators from Georgia">Georgia
- 2. Thomas M. Norwood
- 3. John B. Gordon
Illinois">List of United States Senators from Illinois">Illinois
- 2. John A. Logan
- 3. Richard J. Oglesby
Indiana">List of United States Senators from Indiana">Indiana
- 3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton
- 1. Daniel D. Pratt
Iowa">List of United States Senators from Iowa">Iowa
- 2. George G. Wright
- 3. William B. Allison
Kansas">List of United States Senators from Kansas">Kansas
- 2. Alexander Caldwell, until March 24, 1873
- * Robert Crozier, November 24, 1873 - February 12, 1874
- * James M. Harvey, from February 12, 1874
- 3. John J. Ingalls
Kentucky">List of United States Senators from Kentucky">Kentucky
- 2. John W. Stevenson
- 3. Thomas C. McCreery
Louisiana">List of United States Senators from Louisiana">Louisiana
- 2. J. Rodman West
- 3: vacant
Maine">List of United States Senators from Maine">Maine
- 1. Hannibal Hamlin
- 2. Lot M. Morrill
Maryland">List of United States Senators from Maryland">Maryland
- 1. William T. Hamilton
- 3. George R. Dennis
Massachusetts">List of United States Senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- 1. Charles Sumner, until March 11, 1874
- * William B. Washburn, from April 17, 1874
- 2. George S. Boutwell, from March 17, 1873
Michigan">List of United States Senators from Michigan">Michigan
- 1. Zachariah Chandler
- 2. Thomas W. Ferry
Minnesota">List of United States Senators from Minnesota">Minnesota
- 1. Alexander Ramsey
- 2. William Windom
Mississippi">List of United States Senators from Mississippi">Mississippi
- 1. Adelbert Ames, until January 10, 1874
- * Henry R. Pease, from February 3, 1874
- 2. James L. Alcorn
Missouri">List of United States Senators from Missouri">Missouri
- 1. Carl Schurz
- 3. Lewis V. Bogy
Nebraska">List of United States Senators from Nebraska">Nebraska
- 1. Thomas W. Tipton
- 2. Phineas W. Hitchcock
Nevada">List of United States Senators from Nevada">Nevada
- 1. William M. Stewart
- 3. John P. Jones
New Hampshire">List of United States Senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- 2. Aaron H. Cragin
- 3. Bainbridge Wadleigh
New Jersey">List of United States Senators from New Jersey">New Jersey
- 1. John P. Stockton
- 2. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen
New York">List of United States Senators from New York">New York
- 3. Roscoe Conkling
- 1. Reuben E. Fenton
North Carolina">List of United States Senators from North Carolina">North Carolina
- 2. Matt W. Ransom
- 3. Augustus S. Merrimon
Ohio">List of United States Senators from Ohio">Ohio
- 3. John Sherman
- 1. Allen G. Thurman
Oregon">List of United States Senators from Oregon">Oregon
- 2. James K. Kelly
- 3. John H. Mitchell
Pennsylvania">List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- 3. Simon Cameron
- 1. John Scott
Rhode Island">List of United States Senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- 2. Henry B. Anthony
- 1. William Sprague
South Carolina">List of United States Senators from South Carolina">South Carolina
- 2. Thomas J. Robertson
- 3. John J. Patterson
Tennessee">List of United States Senators from Tennessee">Tennessee
- 1. William G. Brownlow
- 2. Henry Cooper
Texas">List of United States Senators from Texas">Texas
- 1. James W. Flanagan
- 2. Morgan C. Hamilton
Vermont">List of United States Senators from Vermont">Vermont
- 1. George F. Edmunds
- 3. Justin S. Morrill
Virginia">List of United States Senators from Virginia">Virginia
- 1. John F. Lewis
- 2. John W. Johnston
West Virginia">List of United States Senators from West Virginia">West Virginia
- 1. Arthur I. Boreman
- 2. Henry G. Davis
Wisconsin">List of United States Senators from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
- 3. Timothy O. Howe
- 1. Matthew H. Carpenter
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]
- . Frederick G. Bromberg
- . James T. Rapier
- . Charles Pelham
- . Charles Hays
- . John H. Caldwell
- . Joseph H. Sloss
- . Charles C. Sheats
- . Alexander White
Arkansas">List of United States Representatives from Arkansas">Arkansas
- . Asa Hodges
- . Oliver P. Snyder
- . William W. Wilshire, until June 16, 1874
- * Thomas M. Gunter, from June 16, 1874
- . William J. Hynes
California">List of United States Representatives from California">California
- . Charles Clayton
- . Horace F. Page
- . John K. Luttrell
- . Sherman O. Houghton
Connecticut">List of United States Representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut
- . Joseph R. Hawley
- . Stephen W. Kellogg
- . Henry H. Starkweather
- . William H. Barnum
Delaware">List of United States Representatives from Delaware">Delaware
- . James R. Lofland
Florida">List of United States Representatives from Florida">Florida
- . Josiah T. Walls
- . William J. Purman, until January 25, 1875
Georgia">List of United States Representatives from Georgia">Georgia
- . Morgan Rawls, until March 24, 1874
- * Andrew Sloan, from March 24, 1874
- . Richard H. Whiteley
- . Philip Cook
- . Henry R. Harris
- . James C. Freeman
- . James H. Blount
- . Pierce M. B. Young
- . Alexander H. Stephens, from December 1, 1873
- . Hiram P. Bell
Illinois">List of United States Representatives from Illinois">Illinois
- . John B. Rice, until December 17, 1874
- * Bernard G. Caulfield, from February 1, 1875
- . Jasper D. Ward
- . Charles B. Farwell
- . Stephen A. Hurlbut
- . Horatio C. Burchard
- . John B. Hawley
- . Franklin Corwin
- . Greenbury L. Fort
- . Granville Barrere
- . William H. Ray
- . Robert M. Knapp
- . James C. Robinson
- . John McNulta
- . Joseph G. Cannon
- . John R. Eden
- . James S. Martin
- . William R. Morrison
- . Isaac Clements
- . Samuel S. Marshall
Indiana">List of United States Representatives from Indiana">Indiana
- . William E. Niblack
- . Simeon K. Wolfe
- . William S. Holman
- . Jeremiah M. Wilson
- . John Coburn
- . Morton C. Hunter
- . Thomas J. Cason
- . James N. Tyner
- . John P. C. Shanks
- . Henry B. Sayler
- . Jasper Packard
- . Godlove S. Orth
- . William Williams
Iowa">List of United States Representatives from Iowa">Iowa
- . George W. McCrary
- . Aylett R. Cotton
- . William G. Donnan
- . Henry O. Pratt
- . James Wilson
- . William Loughridge
- . John A. Kasson
- . James W. McDill
- . Jackson Orr
Kansas">List of United States Representatives from Kansas">Kansas
- . Stephen A. Cobb
- . David P. Lowe
- . William A. Phillips
Kentucky">List of United States Representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky
- . Edward Crossland
- . John Y. Brown
- . Charles W. Milliken
- . William B. Read
- . Elisha D. Standiford
- . William E. Arthur
- . James B. Beck
- . Milton J. Durham
- . George M. Adams
- . John D. Young
Louisiana">List of United States Representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana
- . J. Hale Sypher, until March 3, 1875
- * Effingham Lawrence, from March 3, 1875
- . Lionel A. Sheldon
- . Chester B. Darrall
- . George L. Smith, from November 24, 1873
- . Frank Morey
- . George A. Sheridan
Maine">List of United States Representatives from Maine">Maine
- . John H. Burleigh
- . William P. Frye
- . James G. Blaine
- . Samuel F. Hersey, until February 3, 1875
- . Eugene Hale
Maryland">List of United States Representatives from Maryland">Maryland
- . Ephraim K. Wilson
- . Stevenson Archer
- . William J. O'Brien
- . Thomas Swann
- . William J. Albert
- . Lloyd Lowndes, Jr.
Massachusetts">List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- . James Buffington
- . Benjamin W. Harris
- . William Whiting, until June 29, 1873
- * Henry L. Pierce, from December 1, 1873
- . Samuel Hooper
- . Daniel W. Gooch
- . Benjamin F. Butler
- . Ebenezer R. Hoar
- . John M. S. Williams
- . George F. Hoar
- . Alvah Crocker, until December 26, 1874
- * Charles A. Stevens, from January 27, 1875
- . Henry L. Dawes
Michigan">List of United States Representatives from Michigan">Michigan
- . Moses W. Field
- . Henry Waldron
- . George Willard
- . Julius C. Burrows
- . Wilder D. Foster, until September 20, 1873
- * William B. Williams, from December 1, 1873
- . Josiah W. Begole
- . Omar D. Conger
- . Nathan B. Bradley
- . Jay A. Hubbell
Minnesota">List of United States Representatives from Minnesota">Minnesota
- . Mark H. Dunnell
- . Horace B. Strait
- . John T. Averill
Mississippi">List of United States Representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi
- . Lucius Q. C. Lamar
- . Albert R. Howe
- . Henry W. Barry
- . Jason Niles
- . George C. McKee
- . John R. Lynch
Missouri">List of United States Representatives from Missouri">Missouri
- . Edwin O. Stanard
- . Erastus Wells
- . William H. Stone
- . Robert A. Hatcher
- . Richard P. Bland
- . Harrison E. Havens
- . Thomas T. Crittenden
- . Abram Comingo
- . Isaac C. Parker
- . Ira B. Hyde
- . John B. Clark, Jr.
- . John M. Glover
- . Aylett H. Buckner
Nebraska">List of United States Representatives from Nebraska">Nebraska
- . Lorenzo Crounse
Nevada">List of United States Representatives from Nevada">Nevada
- . Charles W. Kendall
New Hampshire">List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- . William B. Small
- . Austin F. Pike
- . Hosea W. Parker
New Jersey">List of United States Representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey
- . John W. Hazelton
- . Samuel A. Dobbins
- . Amos Clark, Jr.
- . Robert Hamilton
- . William W. Phelps
- . Marcus L. Ward
- . Isaac W. Scudder
New York">List of United States Representatives from New York">New York
- . Henry J. Scudder
- . John G. Schumaker
- . Stewart L. Woodford, until July 1, 1874
- * Simeon B. Chittenden, from November 3, 1874
- . Philip S. Crooke
- . William R. Roberts
- . James Brooks, until April 30, 1873
- * Samuel S. Cox, from November 4, 1873
- . Thomas J. Creamer
- . John D. Lawson
- . David B. Mellish, until May 23, 1874
- * Richard Schell, from December 7, 1874
- . Fernando Wood
- . Clarkson N. Potter
- . Charles St. John
- . John O. Whitehouse
- . David M. De Witt
- . Eli Perry
- . James S. Smart
- . Robert S. Hale
- . William A. Wheeler
- . Henry H. Hathorn
- . David Wilber
- . Clinton L. Merriam
- . Ellis H. Roberts
- . William E. Lansing
- . R. Holland Duell
- . Clinton D. MacDougall
- . William H. Lamport
- . Thomas C. Platt
- . H. Boardman Smith
- . Freeman Clarke
- . George G. Hoskins
- . Lyman K. Bass
- . Walter L. Sessions
- . Lyman Tremain
North Carolina">List of United States Representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina
- . Clinton L. Cobb
- . Charles R. Thomas
- . Alfred M. Waddell
- . William A. Smith
- . James M. Leach
- . Thomas S. Ashe
- . William M. Robbins
- . Robert B. Vance
Ohio">List of United States Representatives from Ohio">Ohio
- . Milton Sayler
- . Henry B. Banning
- . John Q. Smith
- . Lewis B. Gunckel
- . Charles N. Lamison
- . Isaac R. Sherwood
- . Lawrence T. Neal
- . William Lawrence
- . James W. Robinson
- . Charles Foster
- . Hezekiah S. Bundy
- . Hugh J. Jewett, until June 23, 1874
- * William E. Finck, from December 7, 1874
- . Milton I. Southard
- . John Berry
- . William P. Sprague
- . Lorenzo Danford
- . Laurin D. Woodworth
- . James Monroe
- . James A. Garfield
- . Richard C. Parsons
Oregon">List of United States Representatives from Oregon">Oregon
- . Joseph G. Wilson, until July 2, 1873
- * James W. Nesmith, from December 1, 1873
Pennsylvania">List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- . Samuel J. Randall
- . Charles O'Neill
- . Leonard Myers
- . William D. Kelley
- . Alfred C. Harmer
- . James S. Biery
- . Washington Townsend
- . Hiester Clymer
- . A. Herr Smith
- . John W. Killinger
- . John B. Storm
- . Lazarus D. Shoemaker
- . James D. Strawbridge
- . John B. Packer
- . John A. Magee
- . John Cessna
- . R. Milton Speer
- . Sobieski Ross
- . Carlton B. Curtis
- . Hiram L. Richmond
- . Alexander W. Taylor
- . James S. Negley
- . Ebenezer McJunkin, until January 1, 1875
- * John M. Thompson, from January 5, 1875
- . William S. Moore
- . Charles Albright
- . Glenni W. Scofield
- . Lemuel Todd
Rhode Island">List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- . Benjamin T. Eames
- . James M. Pendleton
South Carolina">List of United States Representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina
- . Joseph H. Rainey
- . Alonzo J. Ransier
- . Robert B. Elliott, until November 1, 1874
- * Lewis C. Carpenter, from November 3, 1874
- . Alexander S. Wallace
- . Richard H. Cain
Tennessee">List of United States Representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee
- . Roderick R. Butler
- . Jacob M. Thornburgh
- . William Crutchfield
- . John M. Bright
- . Horace H. Harrison
- . Washington C. Whitthorne
- . John D. C. Atkins
- . David A. Nunn
- . Barbour Lewis
- . Horace Maynard
Texas">List of United States Representatives from Texas">Texas
- . William S. Herndon
- . William P. McLean
- . De Witt C. Giddings
- . John Hancock
- . Roger Q. Mills
- . Asa H. Willie
Vermont">List of United States Representatives from Vermont">Vermont
- . Charles W. Willard
- . Luke P. Poland
- . George W. Hendee
Virginia">List of United States Representatives from Virginia">Virginia
- . James B. Sener
- . James H. Platt, Jr.
- . J. Ambler Smith
- . William H. H. Stowell
- . Alexander M. Davis, until March 5, 1874
- * Christopher Y. Thomas, from March 5, 1874
- . Thomas Whitehead
- . John T. Harris
- . Eppa Hutton, II
- . Rees T. Bowen
West Virginia">List of United States Representatives from West Virginia">West Virginia
- . John J. Davis
- . John M. Hagans
- . Frank Hereford
Wisconsin">List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
- . Charles G. Williams
- . Gerry W. Hazelton
- . J. Allen Barber
- . Alexander Mitchell
- . Charles A. Eldredge
- . Philetus Sawyer
- . Jeremiah M. Rusk
- . Alexander S. McDill
Non-voting members
- . Richard C. McCormick
- . Jerome B. Chaffee
- . Moses K. Armstrong
- . Norton P. Chipman
- . John Hailey
- . Martin Maginnis
- . Stephen B. Elkins
- . George Q. Cannon
- . Obadiah B. McFadden
- . William R. Steele
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: no net change
- * Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 3
- resignations: 3
- interim appointments: 1
- vacancy: 1
- Total seats with changes: 7
House of Representatives
- replacements: 15
- * Democratic: 3 seat net gain
- * Republican: 4 seat net loss
- * Liberal Republican: 1 seat net gain
- deaths: 8
- resignations: 5
- contested election: 4
- Total seats with changes: 19
Committees
Senate
- Agriculture
- 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
- Finance
- Foreign Relations
- Indian Affairs
- Judiciary
- Manufactures
- Military Affairs
- Mines and Mining
- Mississippi River Levee System
- Naval Affairs
- Ordnance and War Ships
- Outrages in Southern States
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Private Land Claims
- Privileges and Elections
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railroads
- Removal of Political Disabilities
- Retrenchment
- Revision of the Laws
- Revolutionary Claims
- Rules
- Tariff Regulation
- Territories
- Transportation Routes to the Seaboard
- Whole
House of Representatives
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Appropriations
- Alabama Affairs
- Arkansas Affairs
- Banking and Currency
- Claims
- Coinage, Weights and Measures
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Elections
- Expenditures in the Interior Department
- Expenditures in the Justice Department
- Expenditures in the Navy Department
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department
- Expenditures in the State Department
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department
- Expenditures in the War Department
- Expenditures on Public Buildings
- Freedmen's Affairs
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Invalid Pensions
- Judiciary
- Manufactures
- Mileage
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Mines and Mining
- Naval Affairs
- Pacific Railroads
- Patents
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Private Land Claims
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Expenditures
- Public Lands
- Railways and Canals
- Reform on Civil Service
- Revision of Laws
- Revolutionary Pensions and War of 1812
- Rules
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories
- War Claims
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Conditions of Indian Tribes
- Enrolled Bills
- Inquire into the Affairs of the District of Columbia
- The Library
- Printing
Caucuses
- Democratic
- Democratic
Employees
Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#Legislative branch">Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
- Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
Senate
- Chaplain: John P. Newman, until December 8, 1873
- * Byron Sunderland, elected December 8, 1873
- Librarian: George S. Wagner
- Secretary: George C. Gorham
- Sergeant at Arms: John R. French
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: John G. Butler
- Clerk: Edward McPherson
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: John M. Barclay
- Doorkeeper: Otis S. Buxton
- Postmaster: Henry Sherwood, elected December 1, 1873
- Reading Clerks: Charles N. Clisbee and William K. Mehaffey
- Sergeant at Arms: Nehemiah G. Ordway