The 74th 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, D.C., from January 3, 1935, to January 3, 1937, during the third and fourth years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1930 United States census.
The Democrats increased their majorities in both the House and Senate, resulting in a supermajority in both chambers, and along with President Franklin D. Roosevelt maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
Major events
April 14, 1935: Dust Bowl: The great dust storm hit eastern New Mexico, Colorado, and western Oklahoma May 6, 1935: Executive Order 7034 created the Works Progress Administration (WPA). May 27, 1935: Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States: the U.S. Supreme Court declared the National Industrial Recovery Act unconstitutional June 12, 1935 – June 13, 1935: Senator Huey Long gave the second longest filibuster speech in Senate history up to that time, 15 hours and 30 minutes to retain a provision, opposed by President Franklin Roosevelt, requiring Senate confirmation for the National Recovery Administration's senior employees. July 1, 1935: Charles Watkins was appointed as the first officially recognized Parliamentarian of the United States Senate. September 10, 1935: Senator Huey Long of Louisiana died, as the result of being shot by an assassin on September 8. March 1, 1936: Construction of Hoover Dam was completed. March 2, 1936: Judge Halsted L. Ritter impeached by the U.S. House () April 17, 1936: Judge Halsted L. Ritter convicted by the U.S. Senate June 4, 1936: Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Jo Byrns died. William B. Bankhead was then elected later that day. November 3, 1936: General elections President: Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) was reelected with 60.8% of the vote over Alf Landon (R). Senate: Democrats gained 5 net seats during the election, and in combination with Democratic and Farmer–Labor interim appointments and the defection of George W. Norris from the Republican Party to become independent, the Republicans were reduced to 16 seats, the most lopsided Senate since Reconstruction. House: Democrats gained twelve more net seats from the Republicans, bringing them above a three-fourths majority. This was the largest majority since Reconstruction. The last time a party won so decisively was in 1866. November 25, 1936: Abraham Lincoln Brigade sailed from New York City on its way to the Spanish Civil War
Major legislation
April 27, 1935: Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, Sess. 1, ch. 85, July 5, 1935: National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act), Sess. 1, ch. 372, August 9, 1935: Motor Carrier Act, Sess. 1, ch. 498, (renamed part II of the Interstate Commerce Act) August 14, 1935: Social Security Act, including Aid to Dependent Children, Old Age Pension Act, , Sess. 1, ch. 531, August 23, 1935: Banking Act of 1935 August 26, 1935: Public Utility Act (including: Title I: Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, Title II: Federal Power Act), Sess. 1, ch. 687, August 30, 1935: Revenue Act of 1935, Sess. 1, ch. 829, August 31, 1935: Neutrality Act of 1935, Sess. 1, ch. 837, February 29, 1936: Neutrality Act of 1936, Sess. 2, ch. 106, May 20, 1936: Rural Electrification Act, Sess. 2, ch. 432, June 15, 1936: Commodity Exchange Act, Sess. 2, ch. 545, June 19, 1936: Robinson Patman Act, Sess. 2, ch. 592, June 22, 1936: Flood Control Act of 1936, , Sess. 2, ch. 688 June 29, 1936: Merchant Marine Act, Sess. 2, ch. 250, June 30, 1936: Walsh–Healey Public Contracts Act, Sess. 2, ch. 881,
Party summary
Senate
House
Leaders
Senate President:The Vice President of the United States serves as the President of the Senate. See U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 3, Clause 4 John N. Garner (D) President pro tempore: Key Pittman (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson Assistant majority leader (Majority whip): J. Hamilton Lewis Democratic Caucus Secretary: Hugo Black
Minority (Republican) leadership Minority leader: Charles L. McNary Assistant Minority leader (Minority whip): NoneNo Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide reelection of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the Republican Conference for the period state: "On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority." A note attached to the conference minutes added: "The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization." Source: Party Whips , via Senate.gov Republican Conference Secretary: Frederick Hale National Senatorial Committee Chair: Daniel O. Hastings then John G. Townsend Jr.
House of Representatives Speaker: Jo Byrns (D), died June 4, 1936 William B. Bankhead (D), elected June 4, 1936
Majority (Democratic) leadership Majority leader: William B. Bankhead, until June 4, 1936 John J. O'Connor Majority whip: Patrick J. Boland Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edward T. Taylor Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Patrick H. Drewry
Minority (Republican) leadership Minority leader: Bertrand H. Snell Minority whip: Harry L. Englebright Republican Conference Chairman: Frederick R. Lehlbach Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Martin Jr.
Members
Senate
Senators are popularly elected statewide 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 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1936; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1938; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1940.
Alabama 2. John H. Bankhead II (D) 3. Hugo Black (D)
Arizona 1. Henry F. Ashurst (D) 3. Carl Hayden (D)
Arkansas 2. Joseph Taylor Robinson (D) 3. Hattie Caraway (D)
California 1. Hiram W. Johnson (R) 3. William Gibbs McAdoo (D)
Colorado 2. Edward P. Costigan (D) 3. Alva B. Adams (D)
Connecticut 1. Francis Maloney (D) 3. Augustine Lonergan (D)
Delaware 1. John G. Townsend Jr. (R) 2. Daniel O. Hastings (R)
Florida 1. Park Trammell (D), until May 8, 1936 Scott Loftin (D), from May 26, 1936, until November 3, 1936 Charles O. Andrews (D), from November 4, 1936 3. Duncan U. Fletcher (D), until June 17, 1936 William Luther Hill (D), from July 1, 1936, until November 3, 1936 Claude Pepper (D), from November 4, 1936
Georgia 2. Walter F. George (D) 3. Richard Russell Jr. (D)
Idaho 2. William E. Borah (R) 3. James P. Pope (D)
Illinois 2. James Hamilton Lewis (D) 3. William H. Dieterich (D)
Indiana 1. Sherman Minton (D) 3. Frederick Van Nuys (D)
Iowa 2. Lester J. Dickinson (R) 3. Richard L. Murphy (D), until July 16, 1936 Guy M. Gillette (D), from November 3, 1936
Kansas 2. Arthur Capper (R) 3. George McGill (D)
Kentucky 2. Marvel M. Logan (D) 3. Alben W. Barkley (D)
Louisiana 2. Huey Long (D), until September 10, 1935 Rose McConnell Long (D), from January 31, 1936 3. John H. Overton (D)
Maine 1. Frederick Hale (R) 2. Wallace H. White Jr. (R)
Maryland 1. George L. P. Radcliffe (D) 3. Millard Tydings (D)
Massachusetts 1. David I. Walsh (D) 2. Marcus A. Coolidge (D)
Michigan 1. Arthur H. Vandenberg (R) 2. James J. Couzens (R), until October 22, 1936 Prentiss M. Brown (D), from November 19, 1936
Minnesota 1. Henrik Shipstead (FL) 2. Thomas D. Schall (R), until December 22, 1935 Elmer Austin Benson (FL), from December 27, 1935, until November 3, 1936 Guy V. Howard (R), from November 3, 1936
Mississippi 1. Theodore G. Bilbo (D) 2. Pat Harrison (D)
Missouri 1. Harry S. Truman (D) 3. Bennett Champ Clark (D)
Montana 1. Burton K. Wheeler (D) 2. James E. Murray (D)
Nebraska 1. Edward R. Burke (D) 2. George W. Norris (R)
Nevada 1. Key Pittman (D) 3. Pat McCarran (D)
New Hampshire 2. Henry W. Keyes (R) 3. Fred H. Brown (D)
New Jersey 1. A. Harry Moore (D) 2. William Warren Barbour (R)
New Mexico 1. Bronson M. Cutting (R), until May 6, 1935 Dennis Chávez (D), from May 11, 1935 2. Carl Hatch (D)
New York 1. Royal S. Copeland (D) 3. Robert F. Wagner (D)
North Carolina 2. Josiah William Bailey (D) 3. Robert R. Reynolds (D)
North Dakota 1. Lynn Frazier (R-NPL) 3. Gerald Nye (R)
Ohio 1. A. Victor Donahey (D) 3. Robert J. Bulkley (D)
Oklahoma 2. Thomas P. Gore (D) 3. Elmer Thomas (D)
Oregon 2. Charles L. McNary (R) 3. Frederick Steiwer (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Joseph F. Guffey (D) 3. James J. Davis (R)
Rhode Island 1. Peter G. Gerry (D) 2. Jesse H. Metcalf (R)
South Carolina 2. James F. Byrnes (D) 3. Ellison D. Smith (D)
South Dakota 2. William J. Bulow (D) 3. Peter Norbeck (R), until December 20, 1936 Herbert E. Hitchcock (D), from December 29, 1936
Tennessee 1. Kenneth McKellar (D) 2. Nathan L. Bachman (D)
Texas 1. Tom T. Connally (D) 2. Morris Sheppard (D)
Utah 1. William H. King (D) 3. Elbert D. Thomas (D)
Vermont 1. Warren Austin (R) 3. Ernest Willard Gibson (R)
Virginia 1. Harry F. Byrd (D) 2. Carter Glass (D)
Washington 1. Lewis B. Schwellenbach (D) 3. Homer Bone (D)
West Virginia 1. Rush D. Holt Sr. (D), from June 21, 1935 2. Matthew M. Neely (D)
Wisconsin 1. Robert M. La Follette Jr. (P) 3. F. Ryan Duffy (D)
Wyoming 1. Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D) 2. Robert D. Carey (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . John McDuffie (D), until March 2, 1935 Frank W. Boykin (D), from July 30, 1935 . J. Lister Hill (D) . Henry B. Steagall (D) . Sam Hobbs (D) . Joe Starnes (D) . William B. Oliver (D) . William B. Bankhead (D) . Archibald Hill Carmichael (D) . George Huddleston (D)
Arizona . Isabella Selmes Greenway (D)
Arkansas . William J. Driver (D) . John E. Miller (D) . Claude A. Fuller (D) . William B. Cravens (D) . David D. Terry (D) . John L. McClellan (D) . Tilman B. Parks (D)
California . Clarence F. Lea (D) . Harry L. Englebright (R) . Frank H. Buck (D) . Florence P. Kahn (R) . Richard J. Welch (R) . Albert E. Carter (R) . John H. Tolan (D) . John J. McGrath (D) . Bertrand W. Gearhart (R) . Henry E. Stubbs (D) . John S. McGroarty (D) . John H. Hoeppel (D) . Charles Kramer (D) . Thomas F. Ford (D) . John M. Costello (D) . John F. Dockweiler (D) . Charles J. Colden (D) . Byron N. Scott (D) . Sam L. Collins (R) . George Burnham (R)
Colorado . Lawrence Lewis (D) . Fred N. Cummings (D) . John A. Martin (D) . Edward T. Taylor (D)
Connecticut . Herman P. Kopplemann (D) . William L. Higgins (R) . James A. Shanley (D) . Schuyler Merritt (R) . J. Joseph Smith (D) . William M. Citron (D)
Delaware . J. George Stewart (R)
Florida . J. Hardin Peterson (D) . Robert A. Green (D) . Millard F. Caldwell (D) . J. Mark Wilcox (D) . William J. Sears (D)
Georgia . Hugh Peterson (D) . Edward E. Cox (D) . Bryant T. Castellow (D) . Emmett M. Owen (D) . Robert Ramspeck (D) . Carl Vinson (D) . Malcolm C. Tarver (D) . Braswell Deen (D) . B. Frank Whelchel (D) . Paul Brown (D)
Idaho . Compton I. White (D) . D. Worth Clark (D)
Illinois . Arthur W. Mitchell (D) . Raymond S. McKeough (D) . Edward A. Kelly (D) . Harry P. Beam (D) . Adolph J. Sabath (D) . Thomas J. O'Brien (D) . Leonard W. Schuetz (D) . Leo Kocialkowski (D)