71st United States Congress
71st United States Congress | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Seventy-first 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, 1929 to March 4, 1931, during the first two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Decennial Census of the United States in 1910. Both chambers had a Republican majority. This congress saw the most special elections of any congress with 27 in all.
Major events
- March 4, 1929: Herbert C. Hoover became President of the United States
- October 24, 1929 – October 29, 1929: Wall Street Crash of 1929: Three multi-digit percentage drops wipe out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange (10 times greater than the annual budget of the federal government).
- October 25, 1929: Former U.S. Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall is convicted of bribery for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal, becoming the first Presidential cabinet member to go to prison for actions in office.
Major legislation
- June 15, 1929: Agriculture Marketing Act, ch. 24, 46 Stat. 11
- June 18, 1929: Reapportionment Act of 1929, ch. 28, 46 Stat. 21
- June 17, 1930: Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, ch. 497, 46 Stat. 590, (including: Title III, Plant Patent Act, 46 Stat. 703)
- March 3, 1931: Davis–Bacon Act, ch. 411, 46 Stat. 1494
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.
Senate
Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Farmer-Labor (FL) | Republican (R) | |||
End of the previous congress | 45 | 1 | 50 | 96 | 0 |
Begin | 39 | 1 | 55 | 95 | 1 |
End | 41 | 54 | 96 | 0 | |
Final voting share | 42.7% | 1.0% | 56.3% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 59 | 1 | 36 | 96 | 0 |
House of Representatives
Party (Shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Democratic (D) |
Farmer–Labor (FL) | Republican (R) | |||
End of the previous congress | 203 | 5 | 219 | 427 | 7 |
Begin | 164 | 1 | 270 | 435 | 0 |
End | 165 | 269 | |||
Final voting share | 37.9% | 0.2% | 61.8% | ||
Beginning of the next congress | 215 | 1 | 218 | 434 | 1 |
Leadership
Senate
- President: Charles Curtis (R)
- President pro tempore: George H. Moses (R)
- Majority leader: James E. Watson (R)
- Minority leader: Joseph T. Robinson (D)
- Majority whip: Simeon D. Fess (R)
- Minority whip: Morris Sheppard (D)
House of Representatives
- Speaker: Nicholas Longworth (R)
- Majority leader: John Q. Tilson (R)
- Minority leader: John N. Garner (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 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 this Congress, requiring reelection in 1934; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1930; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1932.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their districts.
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- replacements: 9
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 5
- resignations: 3
- interim appointments: 6
- Total seats with changes: 9
State | Senator | Reason for Vacancy | Successor | Date of Successor's Installation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kansas (3) |
Vacant | Sen. Charles Curtis (R) resigned at end of previous congress after being elected Vice President of the United States. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. | Henry J. Allen (R) | April 1, 1929 |
Pennsylvania (3) |
Vacant | Sen.-elect William S. Vare (R) was apparently elected but vote was never certified by the Governor due to election irregularities. The US Senate could not agree to have him seated. | Joseph R. Grundy (R) | December 11, 1929 |
Tennessee (2) |
Lawrence Tyson (D) | Died August 24, 1929 | William E. Brock (D) | September 2, 1929 |
Ohio (3) |
Theodore E. Burton (R) | Died October 28, 1929. | Roscoe C. McCulloch (R) | November 5, 1929 |
New Jersey (2) |
Walter E. Edge (R) | Resigned November 21, 1929 after being appointed Ambassador to France | David Baird, Jr. (R) | November 30, 1929 |
Wyoming (2) |
Francis E. Warren (R) | Died November 24, 1929. | Patrick J. Sullivan (R) | December 5, 1929 |
Kentucky (2) |
Frederic M. Sackett (R) | Resigned January 9, 1930 after being appointed Ambassador to Germany | John M. Robsion (R) | January 11, 1930 |
Wyoming (2) |
Patrick Joseph Sullivan (R) | Resigned November 20, 1930. Successor was elected December 1, 1930. | Robert D. Carey (R) | December 1, 1930 |
Kansas (3) |
Henry J. Allen (R) | Unsuccessful candidate for full term. Successor was elected. | George McGill (D) | December 1, 1930 |
Kentucky (2) |
John M. Robsion (R) | Unsuccessful candidate for full term. Successor was elected December 1, 1930. | Ben M. Williamson (D) | December 1, 1930 |
Ohio (3) |
Roscoe C. McCulloch (R) | Unsuccessful candidate for full term. Successor was elected December 1, 1930. | Robert J. Bulkley (D) | December 1, 1930 |
Pennsylvania (3) |
Joseph R. Grundy (R) | Unsuccessful candidate for full term. Successor was elected December 1, 1930. | James J. Davis (R) | December 2, 1930 |
New Jersey (2) |
David Baird, Jr. (R) | Successor was elected December 3, 1930. | Dwight Morrow (R) | December 3, 1930 |
North Carolina (3) |
Lee S. Overman (D) | Died December 12, 1930 | Cameron A. Morrison (D) | December 13, 1930 |
Vermont (1) |
Frank L. Greene (R) | Died December 17, 1930. | Frank C. Partridge (R) | December 23, 1930 |
House of Representatives
- replacements: 27
- Democratic: 4 seat net gain
- Republican: 3 seat net loss
- deaths: 25
- resignations: 6
- contested election: 1
- Total seats with changes: 32
District | Vacator | Reason for Vacancy | Successor | |
---|---|---|---|---|
New York 21st | Vacant | Rep. Royal H. Weller died during previous congress | Joseph A. Gavagan (D) | November 5, 1929 |
Illinois 15th | Vacant | Rep. Edward J. King (R) died in previous congress | Burnett M. Chiperfield (R) | November 4, 1930 |
Kentucky 3rd | Charles W. Roark (R) | Died April 5, 1929 | John W. Moore (D) | June 1, 1929 |
Louisiana 3rd | Whitmell P. Martin (D) | Died April 6, 1929 | Numa F. Montet (D) | August 6, 1929 |
Pennsylvania 12th | John J. Casey (D) | Died May 5, 1929 | Charles M. Turpin (R) | June 1, 1929 |
Minnesota 5th | Walter Newton (R) | Resigned June 30, 1929 after being appointed secretary to President Herbert Hoover | William I. Nolan (R) | July 17, 1929 |
Georgia 5th | Leslie J. Steele (D) | Died July 24, 1929 | Robert Ramspeck (D) | October 2, 1929 |
Minnesota 7th | Ole J. Kvale (FL) | Died September 11, 1929 | Paul J. Kvale (FL) | October 16, 1929 |
New York 18th | John F. Carew (D) | Resigned October 28, 1929 after being appointed a justice to the New York Supreme Court | Martin J. Kennedy (D) | April 11, 1930 |
Illinois 24th | Thomas S. Williams (R) | Resigned November 11, 1929 after being appointed to the United States Court of Claims | Claude V. Parsons (D) | November 4, 1930 |
Pennsylvania 10th | William W. Griest (R) | Died December 5, 1929 | J. Roland Kinzer (R) | January 28, 1930 |
Massachusetts 2nd | Will Kirk Kaynor (R) | Died December 20, 1929 | William J. Granfield (D) | February 17, 1930 |
Utah 2nd | Elmer O. Leatherwood (R) | Died December 24, 1929 | Frederick C. Loofbourow (R) | November 4, 1930 |
Kentucky 11th | John M. Robsion (R) | Resigned January 10, 1930 after being appointed to the US Senate | Charles Finley (R) | February 15, 1930 |
Texas 14th | Augustus McCloskey (D) | Lost contested election February 10, 1930 | Harry M. Wurzbach (R) | February 10, 1930 |
West Virginia 4th | James A. Hughes (R) | Died March 2, 1930 | Robert L. Hogg (R) | November 4, 1930 |
Connecticut 5th | James P. Glynn (R) | Died March 6, 1930 | Edward W. Goss (R) | November 4, 1930 |
Texas 17th | Robert Q. Lee (D) | Died April 18, 1930 | Thomas L. Blanton (D) | May 20, 1930 |
Rhode Island 3rd | Jeremiah E. O'Connell (D) | Resigned May 9, 1930 after being appointed a justice to the Rhode Island Superior Court | Francis Condon (D) | November 4, 1930 |
Wisconsin 6th | Florian Lampert (R) | Died July 18, 1930 | Michael Reilly (D) | November 4, 1930 |
Pennsylvania 32nd | Edgar R. Kiess (R) | Died July 20, 1930 | Robert F. Rich (R) | November 4, 1930 |
Pennsylvania 16th | Stephen G. Porter (R) | Died June 27, 1930 | Edmund F. Erk (R) | November 4, 1930 |
North Carolina 5th | Charles M. Stedman (D) | Died September 23, 1930 | Franklin W. Hancock, Jr. (D) | November 4, 1930 |
North Carolina 7th | William C. Hammer (D) | Died September 26, 1930 | Hinton James (D) | November 4, 1930 |
Kentucky 2nd | David H. Kincheloe (D) | Resigned October 5, 1930 after being appointed to the United States Customs Court | John L. Dorsey, Jr. (D) | November 4, 1930 |
California 3rd | Charles F. Curry (R) | Died October 10, 1930 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
Arkansas 4th | Otis Wingo (D) | Died October 21, 1930 | Effiegene Locke Wingo (D) | November 4, 1930 |
New York 7th | John Quayle (D) | Died November 27, 1930 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | |
New York 9th | David J. O'Connell (D) | Died December 29, 1930 | Stephen A. Rudd (D) | February 17, 1931 |
Wisconsin 1st | Henry A. Cooper (R) | Died March 1, 1931 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
Officers
- Architect of the Capitol: David Lynn, appointed August 22, 1923
Senate
- Secretary: Edwin P. Thayer
- Sergeant at Arms: David S. Barry
- Chaplain: ZeBarney T. Phillips (Episcopalian)
- Democratic Party Secretary: Edwin A. Halsey
- Republican Party Secretary: Carl A. Loeffler
House of Representatives
- Clerk: William T. Page
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph G. Rodgers
- Doorkeeper: Bert W. Kennedy
- Postmaster: Frank W. Collier
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
- Chaplain: James S. Montgomery (Methodist)
References
- ↑ William S. Vare (R-PA) had been elected to the Senate for the term starting March 4, 1927, but the Senate had refused to qualify him due to charges of corruption and fraud concerning his election. The Senate finally unseated him on December 9, 1929. See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=V000071
- 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.
External links
- Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
- U.S. House of Representatives: House History
- U.S. Senate: Statistics and Lists
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