The 51st United States Congress, referred to by some critics as the Billion Dollar 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, 1889, to March 4, 1891, during the first two years of Benjamin Harrison's presidency.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1880 United States census.
The Republicans maintained their majority in the Senate, and won the majority in the House. With Benjamin Harrison being sworn in as president on March 4, 1889, this gave the Republicans an overall federal government trifecta for the first time since the 43rd Congress in 1873–1875.
Major events
March 4, 1889: Benjamin Harrison became President of the United States December 29, 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre
Major legislation
It was responsible for a number of pieces of landmark legislation, many of which asserted the authority of the federal government.
Emboldened by their success in the elections of 1888, the Republicans enacted virtually their entire platform during their first 303-day session, including a measure that provided American Civil War veterans with generous pensions and expanded the list of eligible recipients to include noncombatants and the children of veterans. Grover Cleveland had vetoed a similar bill in 1887. It was criticized as the "Billion Dollar Congress'" for its lavish spending and, for this reason it incited drastic reversals in public support that led to Cleveland's reelection in 1892.
Other important legislation passed into law by the Congress included the McKinley tariff, authored by Representative, and future President, William McKinley; the Sherman Antitrust Act, which prohibited business combinations that restricted trade; and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which required the U.S. government to mint silver. The last two were concessions to Western farmer interests in exchange for support of the tariff and would become central tenets of the Populist Party later in the decade. They were authored by Senator John Sherman.
The Fifty-first Congress was also responsible for passing the Land Revision Act of 1891, which created the national forests. Harrison authorized America's first forest reserve in Yellowstone, Wyoming, the same year.
Other bills were discussed but failed to pass, including two significant pieces of legislation focused on ensuring African Americans the right to vote. Henry Cabot Lodge sponsored a so-called Lodge Bill that would have established federal supervision of Congressional elections so as to prevent the disfranchisement of southern blacks. Henry W. Blair sponsored the Blair Education Bill, which advocated the use of federal aid for education in order to frustrate southern whites employing literacy tests to prevent blacks from registering to vote.
June 27, 1890: Dependent Pension Act July 2, 1890: Sherman Antitrust Act, ch. 647, July 14, 1890: Sherman Silver Purchase Act, ch. 708, August 30, 1890: Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act October 1, 1890: McKinley Tariff, ch. 1244, March 3, 1891: Forest Reserve Act of 1891 March 3, 1891: Land Revision Act of 1891 March 3, 1891: Immigration Act of 1891 March 3, 1891: Merchant Marine Act of 1891 March 3, 1891: International Copyright Act (The Chace Act)
States admitted and territories organized November 2, 1889: North Dakota and South Dakota were admitted as the 39th and 40th states. November 8, 1889: Montana was admitted as the 41st state. November 11, 1889: Washington was admitted as the 42nd state. May 2, 1890: Oklahoma Territory was organized. July 3, 1890: Idaho was admitted as the 43rd state. July 10, 1890: Wyoming was admitted as the 44th state.
Party summary
The count below identifies party affiliations at the beginning of this Congress. Changes resulting from subsequent replacements are shown below in the "Changes in membership" section.
Six new states were admitted during this Congress, and their senators and representatives were elected throughout the Congress.
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate President: Levi P. Morton (R) President pro tempore: John J. Ingalls (R), elected March 7, 1889 Charles F. Manderson (R), elected March 2, 1891 Republican Conference Chairman: George F. Edmunds Democratic Caucus Chairman: James B. Beck, until May 3, 1890 Arthur P. Gorman, afterwards
House of Representatives Speaker: Thomas B. Reed (R) Republican Conference Chairman: Thomas J. Henderson Democratic Caucus Chairman: William S. Holman Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: James T. Jones
Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district.
Skip to House of Representatives, below
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 began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1892; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1894; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1890.
Alabama 2. John T. Morgan (D) 3. James L. Pugh (D)
Arkansas 2. James H. Berry (D) 3. James K. Jones (D)
California 1. George Hearst (D), until February 28, 1891 3. Leland Stanford (R)
Colorado 2. Edward O. Wolcott (R) 3. Henry M. Teller (R)
Connecticut 1. Joseph R. Hawley (R) 3. Orville H. Platt (R)
Delaware 1. George Gray (D) 2. Anthony Higgins (R)
Florida 1. Samuel Pasco (D) 3. Wilkinson Call (D)
Georgia 2. Alfred H. Colquitt (D) 3. Joseph E. Brown (D)
Idaho 2. George L. Shoup (R), from December 18, 1890 3. William J. McConnell (R), from December 18, 1890
Illinois 2. Shelby M. Cullom (R) 3. Charles B. Farwell (R)
Indiana 1. David Turpie (D) 3. Daniel W. Voorhees (D)
Iowa 2. James F. Wilson (R) 3. William B. Allison (R)
Kansas 2. Preston B. Plumb (R) 3. John J. Ingalls (R)
Kentucky 2. James B. Beck (D), until May 3, 1890 John G. Carlisle (D), from May 26, 1890 3. Joseph C. S. Blackburn (D)
Louisiana 2. Randall L. Gibson (D) 3. James B. Eustis (D)
Maine 1. Eugene Hale (R) 2. William P. Frye (R)
Maryland 1. Arthur Pue Gorman (D) 3. Ephraim K. Wilson II (D), until February 24, 1891
Massachusetts 1. Henry L. Dawes (R) 2. George F. Hoar (R)
Michigan 1. Francis B. Stockbridge (R) 2. James McMillan (R)
Minnesota 1. Cushman K. Davis (R) 2. William D. Washburn (R)
Mississippi 1. James Z. George (D) 2. Edward C. Walthall (D)
Missouri 1. Francis Cockrell (D) 3. George G. Vest (D)
Montana 1. Wilbur F. Sanders (R), from January 1, 1890 2. Thomas C. Power (R), from January 2, 1890
Nebraska 1. Algernon S. Paddock (R) 2. Charles F. Manderson (R)
Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (R) 3. John P. Jones (R)
New Hampshire 2. Gilman Marston (R), until June 18, 1889 William E. Chandler (R), from June 18, 1889 3. Henry W. Blair (R)
New Jersey 1. Rufus Blodgett (D) 2. John R. McPherson (D)
New York 1. Frank Hiscock (R) 3. William M. Evarts (R)
North Carolina 2. Matt W. Ransom (D) 3. Zebulon B. Vance (D)
North Dakota 1. Lyman R. Casey (R), from November 25, 1889 3. Gilbert A. Pierce (R), from November 25, 1889
Ohio 1. John Sherman (R) 3. Henry B. Payne (D)
Oregon 2. Joseph N. Dolph (R) 3. John H. Mitchell (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Matthew S. Quay (R) 3. J. Donald Cameron (R)
Rhode Island 1. Nelson W. Aldrich (R) 2. Jonathan Chace (R), until April 9, 1889 Nathan F. Dixon III (R), from April 10, 1889
South Carolina 2. Matthew C. Butler (D) 3. Wade Hampton III (D)
South Dakota 2. Richard F. Pettigrew (R), from November 2, 1889 3. Gideon C. Moody (R), from November 2, 1889
Tennessee 1. William B. Bate (D) 2. Isham G. Harris (D)
Texas 1. John H. Reagan (D) 2. Richard Coke (D)
Vermont 1. George F. Edmunds (R) 3. Justin S. Morrill (R)
Virginia 1. John W. Daniel (D) 2. John S. Barbour Jr. (D)
Washington 1. John B. Allen (R), from November 20, 1889 3. Watson C. Squire (R), from November 20, 1889
West Virginia 1. Charles J. Faulkner Jr. (D) 2. John E. Kenna (D)
Wisconsin 1. Philetus Sawyer (R) 3. John C. Spooner (R)
Wyoming 1. Francis E. Warren (R), from November 24, 1890 2. Joseph M. Carey (R), from November 15, 1890
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Richard H. Clarke (D) . Hilary A. Herbert (D) . William C. Oates (D) . Louis W. Turpin (D), until June 4, 1890 John V. McDuffie (R), from June 4, 1890 . James E. Cobb (D) . John H. Bankhead (D) . William H. Forney (D) . Joseph Wheeler (D)
Arkansas . William H. Cate (D), until March 5, 1890 Lewis P. Featherstone (L), from March 5, 1890 . Clifton R. Breckinridge (D), until September 5, 1890 Clifton R. Breckinridge (D), from November 4, 1890 . Thomas C. McRae (D) . John H. Rogers (D) . Samuel W. Peel (D)
California . John J. De Haven (R), until October 1, 1890 Thomas J. Geary (D), from December 9, 1890 . Marion Biggs (D) . Joseph McKenna (R) . William W. Morrow (R) . Thomas J. Clunie (D) . William Vandever (R)
Colorado . Hosea Townsend (R)
Connecticut . William E. Simonds (R) . Washington F. Willcox (D) . Charles A. Russell (R) . Frederick Miles (R)
Delaware . John B. Penington (D)
Florida . Robert H. M. Davidson (D) . Robert Bullock (D)
Georgia . Rufus E. Lester (D) . Henry G. Turner (D) . Charles F. Crisp (D) . Thomas W. Grimes (D) . John D. Stewart (D) . James H. Blount (D) . Judson C. Clements (D) . Henry H. Carlton (D) . Allen D. Candler (D) . George T. Barnes (D)
Idaho . Willis Sweet (R), from October 1, 1890
Illinois . Abner Taylor (R) . Frank Lawler (D) . William E. Mason (R) . George E. Adams (R) . Albert J. Hopkins (R) . Robert R. Hitt (R) . Thomas J. Henderson (R) . Charles A. Hill (R) . Lewis E. Payson (R) . Philip S. Post (R) . William H. Gest (R) . Scott Wike (D) . William M. Springer (D) . Jonathan H. Rowell (R) . Joseph G. Cannon (R) . George W. Fithian (D) . Edward Lane (D) . William S. Forman (D) . Richard W. Townshend (D), until March 9, 1889 James R. Williams (D), from December 2, 1889 . George Washington Smith (R)
Indiana . William F. Parrett (D) . John H. O'Neall (D) . Jason B. Brown (D) . William S. Holman (D) . George W. Cooper (D) . Thomas M. Browne (R) . William D. Bynum (D) . Elijah V. Brookshire (D) . Joseph B. Cheadle (R) . William D. Owen (R) . Augustus N. Martin (D) . Charles A. O. McClellan (D) . Benjamin F. Shively (D)
Iowa . John H. Gear (R) . Walter I. Hayes (D) . David B. Henderson (R) . Joseph H. Sweney (R) . Daniel Kerr (R) . John F. Lacey (R) . Edwin H. Conger (R), until October 3, 1890 Edward R. Hays (R), from November 4, 1890 . James P. Flick (R) . Joseph R. Reed (R) . Jonathan P. Dolliver (R) . Isaac S. Struble (R)
Kansas . Edmund N. Morrill (R) . Edward H. Funston (R) . Bishop W. Perkins (R) . Thomas Ryan (R), until April 4, 1889 Harrison Kelley (R), from December 2, 1889 . John A. Anderson (R) . Erastus J. Turner (R) . Samuel R. Peters (R)
Kentucky . William J. Stone (D) . William T. Ellis (D) . Isaac H. Goodnight (D) . Alexander B. Montgomery (D) . Asher G. Caruth (D) . John G. Carlisle (D), until May 26, 1890 William W. Dickerson (D), from June 21, 1890 . William C. P. Breckinridge (D) . James B. McCreary (D) . Thomas H. Paynter (D) . John H. Wilson (R) . Hugh F. Finley (R)
Louisiana . Theodore S. Wilkinson (D) . Hamilton D. Coleman (R) . Edward J. Gay (D), until May 30, 1889