64th United States Congress
| 64th United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Sixty-fourth 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, DC from March 4, 1915 to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
Major events
President Wilson before Congress, announcing the break in the official relations with Germany. February 3, 1917.
- June 9, 1915: (Prelude to World War I):U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned over a disagreement regarding the nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.
- July 24, 1915: The steamer SS Eastland capsized in central Chicago, with the loss of 844 lives.
- July 28, 1915: The United States occupation of Haiti began.
- August 5–August 23, 1915: Hurricane Two of the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season over Galveston and New Orleans left 275 dead.
- March 8–March 9, 1916: Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa led about 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 12 U.S. soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fights back and drives them away.
- March 15, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
- May 5, 1916: United States Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.
- July 30, 1916: German agents caused the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City, New Jersey, an act of sabotage destroying an ammunition depot and killing at least 7 people.
- November 7, 1916: U.S. presidential election, 1916: Democratic President Woodrow Wilson narrowly defeated Republican Charles E. Hughes.
- January 11, 1917: (Prelude to World War I): German saboteurs set off the Kingsland Explosion at Kingsland, NJ (now Lyndhurst, NJ), one of the events leading to U.S. involvement in WWI.
- February 3, 1917: (Prelude to World War I):The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany
Major legislation
- May 15, 1916: Kern Amendment
- May 29, 1916: Fraudulent Advertising Act of 1916
- May 31, 1916: Tillman Act
- June 3, 1916: National Defense Act of 1916
- June 9, 1916: Chamberlain-Ferris Act
- July 11, 1916: Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 (Bankhead-Shackleford Act, also known as Federal "Good Roads" Act)
- July 11, 1916: Terminal Inspection Act of 1916
- July 17, 1916: Federal Farm Loan Act (Hollis-Lever Act)
- July 27, 1916: River and Harbors Act of 1916
- July 28, 1916: Space Basis Act
- July 28, 1916: Railway Mail Service Pay Act
- August 9, 1916: Uniform Bill of Lading Act of 1916
- August 11, 1916: Irrigation District Act of 1916 (Smith Act)
- August 11, 1916: Wildlife Game Refuges Act of 1916
- August 11, 1916: Grain Standards Act of 1916
- August 11, 1916: Cotton Futures Act of 1916
- August 11, 1916: Brush Disposal Act of 1916
- August 11, 1916: Warehouse Act of 1916
- August 25, 1916: National Park Service Act (Kent-Smoot Act)
- August 29, 1916: 2nd Uniform Bill of Lading Act of 1916
- August 29, 1916: Jones Act (Philippines)
- August 29, 1916: Federal Possession and Control Act of 1916
- August 29, 1916: Army Appropriations Act of 1916
- August 29, 1916: Naval Act of 1916
- August 29, 1916: Naval Reserve Force Act
- August 31, 1916: Federal Standard Container Act
- August 31, 1916: Standard Fruits and Vegetable Baskets and Containers Act of 1916
- September 1, 1916: Keating-Owen Act
- September 3, 1916: Adamson Act
- September 7, 1916: Merchant Marine Act of 1916 (Alexander Act)
- September 7, 1916: Workingmen's Compensation Act (Kern-McGillicuddy Act)
- September 8, 1916: Anti-Dumping Act of 1916
- September 8, 1916: Emergency Revenue Act of 1916
- October 20, 1916: Special Air Preparedness Act
- December 29, 1916: Stock-Raising Homestead Act
- February 5, 1917: Immigration Act of 1917
- February 22, 1917: Federal Interpleader Act of 1917
- February 23, 1917: Smith-Hughes Act
- February 26, 1917: Mount McKinley National Park Act of 1917
- March 1, 1917: Flood Control Act of 1917 (Ransdell-Humphreys Act)
- March 2, 1917: Jones-Shafroth Act
- March 3, 1917: Reed Amendment
- March 3, 1917: Sheppard Bone-Dry Act
- March 3, 1917: Special Preparedness Fund Act of 1917
- March 4, 1917: Timber Export Act
Treaties
- January 17, 1917: Treaty of the Danish West Indies signed by President Wilson, ceding the Danish West Indies to the United States after their purchase from Denmark, and renaming them the US Virgin Islands.
Party summary
Map showing Senate party membership at the start of the 64th Congress. Red states are represented by two Republicans and blue by two Democrats. Purple states are represented by one senator from each party.
Senate
- Democratic (D): 56 (majority)
- Republican (R): 40
TOTAL members: 96
House of Representatives
- Democratic (D): 230 (majority)
- Republican (R): 196
- Progressive (Prog): 6
- Prohibition (Proh): 1
- Socialist (S): 1
- Independent (I): 1
TOTAL members: 435
Leadership
Senate
- President: Thomas R. Marshall
- Presidents pro tempore: James P. Clarke and Willard Saulsbury, Jr.
- Majority Whip: J. Hamilton Lewis (D)
- Minority Whip: Charles Curtis (R)
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Champ Clark (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership
- Majority Leader: Claude Kitchin
- Majority Whip: vacant
Minority (Republican) leadership
Members
Senate
At this time, most sitting Senators had been elected by the state legislatures, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Due to the 17th Amendment, the incoming class of senators from the 1914 election were all elected directly by the residents of their state.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Officers
Senate
- Secretary: James M. Baker of South Carolina
- Sergeant at Arms: Charles P. Higgins of Indiana
- Chaplain: F.J. Prettyman, Methodist
House of Representatives
- Clerk: South Trimble of Kentucky
- Sergeant at Arms: Robert B. Gordon of Ohio
- Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott of Virginia
- Postmaster: William M. Dunbar of Georgia
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: Bennett C. Clark
- Chaplain: Henry N. Couden, Universalist
References
- Gould, Lewis L. (2005). The Most Exclusive Club. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0-465-02778-4.
- Remini, Robert V. (2006). The House. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-088434-7.
- U.S. Congress (2005). "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
- U.S. House of Representatives (2006). "Congressional History". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
- U.S. Senate (2006). "Statistics and Lists". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
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