The 69th 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, 1925, to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth years of Calvin Coolidge's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census.
The Republicans made modest gains in maintaining their majority in both chambers, and with the election of President Calvin Coolidge to his own term in office, the Republicans maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
Major events
A special session of the Senate was called by President Coolidge on February 14, 1925. Impeachment of Judge George W. English — On April 1, 1926, the House of Representatives impeached Judge George W. English of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. Both Houses adjourned on July 3, 1926, with the Senate scheduled to reconvene on November 10, 1926, as a Court of Impeachment. English resigned before the impeachment trial began. The Senate met as planned on November 10, 1926, to adjourn the court of impeachment sine die. On December 13, 1926, the Senate, acting on advice from the House managers of the impeachment, formally dismissed all charges against Judge English. January 17, 1927: U.S. Supreme Court held (McGrain v. Daugherty) that Congress has the power to compel witness and testimony.
Major legislation
February 26, 1926: Revenue Act of 1926 April 12, 1926: Timber Exportation Act of 1926 May 8, 1926: Federal Interpleader Act of 1926 May 20, 1926: Air Commerce Act May 20, 1926: Federal Black Bass Act of 1926 May 20, 1926: Railway Labor Act (Parker-Watson Act) May 25, 1926: Omnibus Adjustment Act of 1926 May 25, 1926: Public Buildings Act of 1926 (Elliot-Fernald Act) May 26, 1926: Shenandoah National Park Act of 1926 June 3, 1926: Subsistence Expense Act of 1926 June 14, 1926: Recreation and Public Purposes Act June 15, 1926: Limitation of National Forest Designation Act July 2, 1926: Cooperative Marketing Act July 3, 1926: Walsh Act July 3, 1926: Passport Act of 1926 July 4, 1926: United States Sesquicentennial January 21, 1927: River and Harbors Act of 1927 February 23, 1927: Radio Act of 1927 (Dill-White Act) February 25, 1927: McFadden Act (Pepper-McFadden Act) March 3, 1927: Foreign and Domestic Commerce Act of 1927 March 3, 1927: Produce Agency Act of 1927 March 4, 1927: Mayfield-Newton Act
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
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate
President: Charles G. Dawes (R) President pro tempore: Albert B. Cummins (R), elected March 4, 1925 George H. Moses (R), elected March 6, 1925
Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: Charles Curtis Majority Whip: Wesley L. Jones Republican Conference Secretary: James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. National Senatorial Committee Chair: Lawrence C. Phipps
Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority Leader: Joseph T. Robinson Minority Whip: Peter G. Gerry Democratic Caucus Secretary: William H. King
House of Representatives
Speaker: Nicholas Longworth (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: John Q. Tilson Majority Whip: Albert H. Vestal Republican Conference Chairman: Willis C. Hawley Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: William R. Wood
Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority Leader: Finis J. Garrett Minority Whip: William Allan Oldfield Democratic Caucus Chairman: Charles D. Carter
Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives 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 the last Congress, facing re-election in 1928; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1930; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1926.
Alabama 2. J. Thomas Heflin (D) 3. Oscar Underwood (D)
Arizona 1. Henry F. Ashurst (D) 3. Ralph H. Cameron (R)
Arkansas 2. Joseph Taylor Robinson (D) 3. Thaddeus H. Caraway (D)
California 1. Hiram W. Johnson (R) 3. Samuel M. Shortridge (R)
Colorado 2. Lawrence C. Phipps (R) 3. Rice W. Means (R)
Connecticut 1. George P. McLean (R) 3. Hiram Bingham III (R)
Delaware 1. Thomas F. Bayard Jr. (D) 2. T. Coleman du Pont (R)
Florida 1. Park Trammell (D) 3. Duncan U. Fletcher (D)
Georgia 2. William J. Harris (D) 3. Walter F. George (D)
Idaho 2. William E. Borah (R) 3. Frank R. Gooding (R)
Illinois 2. Charles S. Deneen (R) 3. William B. McKinley (R), until December 7, 1926Frank L. Smith (R-IL) was elected to the Senate for the term starting March 4, 1927, and when McKinley died he was appointed to finish McKinley's term. The Senate refused to qualify him due to charges of corruption concerning his election. He would later resign. See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000534.
Indiana 1. Samuel M. Ralston (D), until October 14, 1925 Arthur R. Robinson (R), from October 20, 1925 3. James E. Watson (R)
Iowa 2. Smith W. Brookhart (R), until April 12, 1926 Daniel F. Steck (D), from April 12, 1926 3. Albert B. Cummins (R), until July 30, 1926 David W. Stewart (R), from August 7, 1926
Kansas 2. Arthur Capper (R) 3. Charles Curtis (R)
Kentucky 2. Frederic M. Sackett (R) 3. Richard P. Ernst (R)
Louisiana 2. Joseph E. Ransdell (D) 3. Edwin S. Broussard (D)
Maine 1. Frederick Hale (R) 2. Bert M. Fernald (R), until August 23, 1926 Arthur R. Gould (R), from November 30, 1926
Maryland 1. William Cabell Bruce (D) 3. Ovington E. Weller (R)
Massachusetts 1. William M. Butler (R), until December 6, 1926 David I. Walsh (D), from December 6, 1926 2. Frederick H. Gillett (R)
Michigan 1. Woodbridge N. Ferris (D) 2. James J. Couzens (R)
Minnesota 1. Henrik Shipstead (FL) 2. Thomas D. Schall (R)
Mississippi 1. Hubert D. Stephens (D) 2. Pat Harrison (D)
Missouri 1. James A. Reed (D) 3. Selden P. Spencer (R), until May 16, 1925 George H. Williams (R), May 25, 1925 – December 6, 1926 Harry B. Hawes (D), from December 6, 1926
Montana 1. Burton K. Wheeler (D) 2. Thomas J. Walsh (D)
Nebraska 1. Robert B. Howell (R) 2. George W. Norris (R)
Nevada 1. Key Pittman (D) 3. Tasker Oddie (R)
New Hampshire 2. Henry W. Keyes (R) 3. George H. Moses (R)
New Jersey 1. Edward I. Edwards (D) 2. Walter E. Edge (R)
New Mexico 1. Andrieus A. Jones (D) 2. Sam G. Bratton (D)
New York 1. Royal S. Copeland (D) 3. James W. Wadsworth Jr. (R)
North Carolina 2. Furnifold M. Simmons (D) 3. Lee S. Overman (D)
North Dakota 1. Lynn Frazier (R-NPL) 3. Edwin F. Ladd (R), until June 22, 1925 Gerald Nye (R), from November 14, 1925
Ohio 1. Simeon D. Fess (R) 3. Frank B. Willis (R)
Oklahoma 2. William B. Pine (R) 3. John W. Harreld (R)
Oregon 2. Charles L. McNary (R) 3. Robert N. Stanfield (R)
Pennsylvania 1. David A. Reed (R) 3. George Wharton Pepper (R)
Rhode Island 1. Peter G. Gerry (D) 2. Jesse H. Metcalf (R)
South Carolina 2. Coleman L. Blease (D) 3. Ellison D. Smith (D)
South Dakota 2. William H. McMaster (R) 3. Peter Norbeck (R)
Tennessee 1. Kenneth McKellar (D) 2. Lawrence Tyson (D)
Texas 1. Earle B. Mayfield (D) 2. Morris Sheppard (D)
Utah 1. William H. King (D) 3. Reed Smoot (R)
Vermont 1. Frank L. Greene (R) 3. Porter H. Dale (R)
Virginia 1. Claude A. Swanson (D) 2. Carter Glass (D)
Washington 1. Clarence Cleveland Dill (D) 3. Wesley L. Jones (R)
West Virginia 1. Matthew M. Neely (D) 2. Guy D. Goff (R)
Wisconsin 1. Robert M. La Follette Sr. (R), until June 18, 1925 Robert M. La Follette Jr. (R), from September 30, 1925 3. Irvine Lenroot (R)
Wyoming 1. John B. Kendrick (D) 2. Francis E. Warren (R)
House of Representatives
Alabama . John McDuffie (D) . J. Lister Hill (D) . Henry B. Steagall (D) . Lamar Jeffers (D) . William B. Bowling (D) . William B. Oliver (D) . Miles C. Allgood (D) . Edward B. Almon (D) . George Huddleston (D) . William B. Bankhead (D)
Arizona . Carl Hayden (D)
Arkansas . William J. Driver (D) . William A. Oldfield (D) . John N. Tillman (D) . Otis Wingo (D) . Heartsill Ragon (D) . James B. Reed (D) . Tilman B. Parks (D)
California . Clarence F. Lea (D) . John E. Raker (D), until January 22, 1926 Harry L. Englebright (R), from August 31, 1926 . Charles F. Curry (R) . Florence P. Kahn (R) . Lawrence J. Flaherty (R), until June 13, 1926 Richard J. Welch (R), from August 31, 1926 . Albert E. Carter (R) . Henry E. Barbour (R) . Arthur M. Free (R) . Walter F. Lineberger (R) . John D. Fredericks (R) . Philip D. Swing (R)
Colorado . William N. Vaile (R) . Charles Bateman Timberlake (R) . Guy U. Hardy (R) . Edward T. Taylor (D)
Connecticut . E. Hart Fenn (R) . Richard P. Freeman (R) . John Q. Tilson (R) . Schuyler Merritt (R) . James P. Glynn (R)
Delaware . Robert G. Houston (R)
Florida . Herbert J. Drane (D) . Robert A. Green (D) . John H. Smithwick (D) . William J. Sears (D)
Georgia . Charles G. Edwards (D) . Edward E. Cox (D) . Charles R. Crisp (D) . William C. Wright (D) . William D. Upshaw (D) . Samuel Rutherford (D) . Gordon Lee (D) . Charles H. Brand (D) . Thomas Montgomery Bell (D) . Carl Vinson (D) . William C. Lankford (D) . William W. Larsen (D)
Idaho . Burton L. French (R) . Addison T. Smith (R)
Illinois . Martin B. Madden (R) . Morton D. Hull (R) . Elliott W. Sproul (R) . Thomas A. Doyle (D) . Adolph J. Sabath (D) . John J. Gorman (R) . M. Alfred Michaelson (R) . Stanley H. Kunz (D) . Frederick A. Britten (R) . Carl R. Chindblom (R) . Frank R. Reid (R) . Charles Eugene Fuller (R), until June 25, 1926 . William R. Johnson (R) . John C. Allen (R) . Edward John King (R) . William E. Hull (R) . Frank H. Funk (R) . William P. Holaday (R) . Charles Adkins (R) . Henry T. Rainey (D) . Loren E. Wheeler (R) . Edward M. Irwin (R) . William W. Arnold (D) . Thomas S. Williams (R) . Edward E. Denison (R) . Henry R. Rathbone (R) . Richard Yates Jr. (R)
Indiana . Harry E. Rowbottom (R) . Arthur H. Greenwood (D) . Frank Gardner (D) . Harry C. Canfield (D) . Noble J. Johnson (R) . Richard N. Elliott (R) . Ralph E. Updike (R) . Albert H. Vestal (R) . Fred S. Purnell (R) . William R. Wood (R) . Albert R. Hall (R) . David Hogg (R) . Andrew J. Hickey (R)
Iowa . William F. Kopp (R) . F. Dickinson Letts (R) . Thomas J. B. Robinson (R) . Gilbert N. Haugen (R) . Cyrenus Cole (R) . C. William Ramseyer (R) . Cassius C. Dowell (R) . Lloyd Thurston (R) . William R. Green (R) . Lester J. Dickinson (R) . William D. Boies (R)
Kansas . Daniel Read Anthony Jr. (R) . Chauncey B. Little (D) . William H. Sproul (R) . Homer Hoch (R) . James G. Strong (R) . Hays B. White (R) . Jasper N. Tincher (R) . William A. Ayres (D)
Kentucky . Alben Barkley (D) . David Hayes Kincheloe (D) . Robert Y. Thomas Jr. (D), until September 3, 1925 John W. Moore (D), from December 26, 1925 . Ben Johnson (D) . Maurice H. Thatcher (R) . Arthur B. Rouse (D) . Virgil Chapman (D) . Ralph W. E. Gilbert (D) . Fred M. Vinson (D) . John W. Langley (R), until January 11, 1926 Andrew J. Kirk (R), from February 13, 1926 . John M. Robsion (R)