49th United States Congress


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 Tenth Census of the United States in 1880. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.

Major events

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.

Senate

House of Representatives

Leadership

Senate

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 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.

Alabama">List of United States Senators from Alabama">Alabama

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are listed by district.

[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]

Changes in membership

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

Senate

State
VacatorReason for VacancySubsequentDate of successor's installation
New Hampshire
VacantAppointed to fill vacancy in term.Henry W. Blair March 5, 1885
Illinois
VacantLegislature 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 May 19, 1885
Oregon
VacantFailure to elect.Charles N. Felton November 18, 1885
Arkansas
Augustus H. Garland Resigned March 6, 1885, after being appointed United States Attorney General. Successor was elected.James H. Berry March 20, 1885
Delaware
Thomas F. Bayard Resigned March 6, 1885, after being appointed United States Secretary of State. Successor was elected.George Gray March 18, 1885
Mississippi
Lucius Q. C. Lamar II Resigned March 6, 1885, after being appointed United States Secretary of the Interior. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected.Edward C. Walthall March 9, 1885
California
John F. Miller Died March 8, 1886. Successor was appointed.George Hearst March 23, 1886
Tennessee
Howell E. Jackson Resigned April 14, 1886, after being appointed judge for the United States Circuit Court for the Sixth Circuit. Successor was appointed.Washington C. Whitthorne April 16, 1886
California
George Hearst Successor was elected August 4, 1886.Abram Williams March 23, 1886
New Hampshire
Austin F. Pike Died October 8, 1886. Successor was appointed.Person C. Cheney January 19, 1887
Illinois
John A. Logan Died December 26, 1886. Successor was elected.Charles B. Farwell January 19, 1887

House of Representatives

Lists of committees and their party leaders, for members of the committees and their assignments, go into the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of the article and click on the link, in the directory after the pages of terms of service, you will see the committees of the Senate, House and Joint and after the committee pages, you will see the House/Senate committee assignments in the directory, 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.

Senate

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