65th United States Congress
65th United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Sixty-fifth 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, 1917 to March 4, 1919, during the fourth and fifth years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910. The Senate had a Democratic majority, and the House had a Republican plurality but the Democrats remained in control with the support of the Progressives and Socialist Representative Meyer London.
Major events
- March 4, 1917: Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman member of the United States House of Representatives.
- March 8, 1917: The United States Senate adopted the cloture rule to limit filibusters.
- March 31, 1917: The United States took possession of the Danish West Indies, which become the US Virgin Islands, after paying $25 million to Denmark.
- April 2, 1917: World War I: President Woodrow Wilson asks the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.
- April 10, 1917: An ammunition factory explosion in Chester, Pennsylvania kills 133.
- May 21, 1917: Over 300 acres (73 blocks) are destroyed in the Great Atlanta fire of 1917.
- May 26, 1917: A tornado strikes Mattoon, Illinois, causing devastation and killing 101 people.
- July 1, 1917: A labor dispute ignited a race riot in East St. Louis, Illinois, which left 250 dead.
- July 12, 1917: The Phelps Dodge Corporation deported over 1,000 suspected Industrial Workers of the World members from Bisbee, Arizona.
- July 28, 1917: The Silent Protest was organized by the NAACP in New York to protest the East St. Louis Riot of July 2, as well as lynchings in Texas and Tennessee.
- August, 1917: The Green Corn Rebellion, an uprising by several hundred farmers against the World War I draft, took place in central Oklahoma.
- November 24, 1917: In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 9 members of the Milwaukee Police Department were killed by a bomb, the most fatal single event in U.S. police history until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
- December 26, 1917: President Woodrow Wilson used the Federal Possession and Control Act to place most U.S. railroads under the United States Railroad Administration, hoping to more efficiently transport troops and materials for the war effort.
- January 8, 1918: Woodrow Wilson delivered his Fourteen Points speech.
- March 4, 1918: A soldier at Camp Fuston, Kansas fell sick with the first confirmed case of the Spanish flu.
- May 15, 1918: The United States Post Office Department (later renamed the United States Postal Service) began the first regular airmail service in the world (between New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, DC).
- October 8, 1918: World War I: In the Argonne Forest in France, U.S. Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captures 132.
- December 4, 1918: U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sailed for the Paris Peace Conference, becoming the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office.
- January 6, 1919: Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, died.
- January 15, 1919: The Boston Molasses Disaster: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, killing 21 and injuring 150.
- January 16, 1919: The 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, authorizing Prohibition, went into effect in the United States.
- February 25, 1919: Oregon placed a 1 cent per U.S. gallon (.26¢/L) tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
Major legislation
- April 6, 1917: Declaration of war against Germany, Sess. 1 ch. 1, 40 Stat. 1
- April 24, 1917: First Liberty Bond Act, Sess. 1, ch. 4, 40 Stat. 35
- May 12, 1917: Enemy Vessel Confiscation Joint Resolution, Pub.L. 65–2, 40 Stat. 75
- May 12, 1917: First Army Appropriations Act of 1917, 40 Stat. 69
- May 18, 1917: Selective Service Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 15, 40 Stat. 76
- May 29, 1917: Esch Car Service Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 23, 40 Stat. 101
- June 15, 1917: Emergency Shipping Fund Act of 1917, c. 29, 40 Stat. 182
- June 15, 1917: Second Army Appropriations Act of 1917, 40 Stat. 188
- June 15, 1917: Espionage Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 30, 40 Stat. 217 (incl. title XI: Search Warrant Act of 1917)
- August 8, 1917: River and Harbor Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 49, 40 Stat. 250
- August 10, 1917: Priority of Shipments Act of 1917 (Obstruction of Interstate Commerce Act of 1917), Sess. 1, ch. 51, 40 Stat. 272
- August 10, 1917: Food and Fuel Control Act (Lever Act), Sess. 1, ch. 53, 40 Stat. 27
- October 1, 1917: Second Liberty Bond Act, Sess. 1, ch. 56, 40 Stat. 288
- October 1, 1917: Aircraft Board Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 61, 40 Stat. 296
- October 3, 1917: War Revenue Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 63, 40 Stat. 300
- October 5, 1917: Repatriation Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 68, 40 Stat. 340
- October 6, 1917: Explosives Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 83, 40 Stat. 385
- October 6, 1917: War Risk Insurance Act of 1917, Sess. 1, ch. 105, 40 Stat. 398
- October 6, 1917: International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Trading with the Enemy Act), Sess. 1, ch. 106, 40 Stat. 411
- December 7, 1917: Declaration of war against Austria-Hungary, Sess. 2, ch. 1, 40 Stat. 429
- February 24, 1918: Revenue Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 18, 40 Stat. 1057
- March 8, 1918: Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act, Sess. 2, ch. 20, 40 Stat. 440
- March 19, 1918: Standard Time Act of 1918 (Calder Act), Sess. 2, ch. 24, 40 Stat. 450
- March 21, 1918: Federal Control Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 25, 40 Stat. 451
- April 4, 1918: Third Liberty Bond Act, Sess. 2, ch. 44, 40 Stat. 502
- April 5, 1918: War Finance Corporation Act, Sess. 2, ch. 45, 40 Stat. 506
- April 10, 1918: Webb-Pomerene Act, Sess. 2, ch. 50, 40 Stat. 516
- April 18, 1918: American Forces Abroad Indemnity Act, Sess. 2, ch. 57, 40 Stat. 532
- April 20, 1918: Destruction of War Materials Act, Sess. 2, ch. 59, 40 Stat. 533
- April 23, 1918: Pittman Act, Sess. 2, ch. 63, 40 Stat. 535
- May 9, 1918: Alien Naturalization Act, Sess. 2, ch. 69, 40 Stat. 542
- May 16, 1918: Housing Act, Sess. 2, ch. 74, 40 Stat. 550
- May 16, 1918: Sedition Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 75, 40 Stat. 553
- May 20, 1918: Departmental Reorganization Act (Overman Act), Sess. 2, ch. 78, 40 Stat. 556
- May 22, 1918: Passport Control Act (Entry and Departure Controls Act), Sess. 2, ch. 81, 40 Stat. 559
- May 31, 1918: Saulsbury Resolution, Sess. 2, ch. 90, 40 Stat. 593
- June 27, 1918: Veterans Rehabilitation Act (Smith-Sears Act), Sess. 2, ch. 107, 40 Stat. 617
- July 3, 1918: Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 128, 40 Stat. 755
- July 9, 1918: Fourth Liberty Bond Act, Sess. 2, ch. 142, 40 Stat. 844
- July 9, 1918: Army Appropriations Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 143, 40 Stat. 845 (incl. ch. 15: Public Health and Research Act of 1918 (Chamberlain-Kahn Act))
- July 18, 1918: River and Harbor Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 155, 40 Stat. 904
- July 18, 1918: Charter Rate and Requisition Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 157, 40 Stat. 913
- October 16, 1918: Immigration Act of 1918 (Dillingham-Hardwick Act), Sess. 2, ch. 186, 40 Stat. 1012
- October 16, 1918: Corrupt Practices Act of 1918 (Gerry Act), Sess. 2, ch. 187, 40 Stat. 1013
- November 7, 1918: National Bank Consolidation Act of 1918, Sess. 2, ch. 209, 40 Stat. 1043
- November 21, 1918: Food Production Stimulation Act (War-Time Prohibition Act), Sess. 2, ch. 212, 40 Stat. 1045
- February 24, 1919: Child Labor Act of 1919, Sess. 3, ch. 18, 40 Stat. 1138
- February 26, 1919: Grand Canyon Park Act of 1919, Sess. 3, ch. 44, 40 Stat. 1178
- February 26, 1919: Acadia National Park Act of 1919, Sess. 3, ch. 45, 40 Stat. 1178
- March 2, 1919: War Risk Insurance Act of 1919 (War Minerals Relief Act of 1919, Dent Act), Sess. 3, ch. 94, 40 Stat. 1272
- March 2, 1919: River and Harbors Act of 1919, Sess. 3, ch. 95, 40 Stat. 1275
- March 3, 1919: Hospitalization Act of 1919, Sess. 3, ch. 98, 40 Stat. 1302
- March 3, 1919: Fifth Liberty Bond Act, Sess. 3, ch. 100, 40 Stat. 1309
- March 4, 1919: Wheat Price Guarantee Act, Sess. 3, ch. 125, 40 Stat. 1348
Party summary
Senate
Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Republican (R) | |||
End of the previous congress | 56 | 40 | 96 | 96 |
Begin | 56 | 39 | 95 | 1 |
End | 53 | 43 | 96 | 0 |
Final voting share | 55.2% | 44.8% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 46 | 49 | 95 | 1 |
House of Representatives
Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic | Progressive | Socialist | Prohibition | Republican | Vacant | ||
End of previous Congress | 230 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 196 | 435 | 0 |
Begin | 213 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 215 | 434 | 1 |
End | 211 | 212 | 429 | 6 | |||
Final voting share | 50.2% | 0.2% | 49.5% | ||||
Beginning of the next Congress | 192 | 1 (FL) | 1 | 1 | 240 | 435 | 0 |
Leadership
Senate
- President: Thomas R. Marshall (D)
- President pro tempore: Willard Saulsbury, Jr. (D)
- 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
Because of the 17th Amendment, starting in 1914 U.S. Senators were elected directly instead of by the state legislatures. However, this did not affect the terms of U.S. Senators whose terms had started before that Amendment took effect.
House of Representatives
Employees
Senate
- Secretary: James M. Baker of South Carolina
- Sergeant at Arms: Charles P. Higgins of Indiana
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: Henry N. Couden (Universalist)
- Clerk: South Trimble
- Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
- Postmaster: William M. Dunbar
- Clerk at the Speaker’s Table: Bennett C. Clark
- Sergeant at Arms: Robert B. Gordon
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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