The 56th 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 March 4, 1899, to March 4, 1901, during the third and fourth years of William McKinley's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1890 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority. There was one African-American member, George Henry White of North Carolina, who served his second and final term as a representative in this Congress, and would be the last black member of Congress until 1928, and the last black member of Congress from the South until 1972.
Major events
June 2, 1899: The Filipino Rebellion began the Philippine–American War. November 21, 1899: Vice President Garret Hobart died. January 8, 1900: President McKinley placed Alaska under military rule. January 17, 1900: Brigham H. Roberts was refused a seat in the United States House of Representatives because of his polygamy. February 5, 1900: Britain and the United States signed a treaty for the building of a Central American shipping canal through Nicaragua. February 16, 1900: The United States, Germany and Great Britain ratified the Tripartite Convention partitioning the Samoan Islands. November 6, 1900: U.S. presidential election, 1900: Republican incumbent William McKinley was reelected by defeating Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryan.
Major legislation
March 14, 1900: Gold Standard Act, Sess. 1, ch. 41, April 2, 1900: Foraker Act, Sess. 1, ch. 191, (Puerto Rico Civil Code)
Territory organized April 30, 1900: Hawaii Territory was organized, Sess. 1, ch. 339,
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: Garret Hobart (R), until November 21, 1899; vacant thereafter. President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R) Democratic Caucus Chairman: James K. Jones Republican Conference Chairman: William B. Allison Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Stephen M. White
House of Representatives Speaker: David B. Henderson (R) Democratic Caucus Chairman: James Hay Republican Conference Chairman: Joseph G. Cannon Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Babcock
Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: Sereno E. Payne Majority Whip: James A. Tawney
Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority Leader: James D. Richardson Minority Whip: Oscar Underwood
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
At this time, 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 with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1904; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1902.
Alabama 2. John T. Morgan (D) 3. Edmund W. Pettus (D)
Arkansas 2. James H. Berry (D) 3. James K. Jones (D)
California 1. Thomas R. Bard (R), from February 7, 1900 3. George C. Perkins (R)
Colorado 2. Edward O. Wolcott (R) 3. Henry M. Teller (SR)
Connecticut 1. Joseph R. Hawley (R) 3. Orville H. Platt (R)
Delaware 1. vacant 2. Richard R. Kenney (D)
Florida 1. Samuel Pasco (D), until April 18, 1899 James Taliaferro (D), from April 19, 1899 3. Stephen R. Mallory (D)
Georgia 2. Augustus O. Bacon (D) 3. Alexander S. Clay (D)
Idaho 2. George L. Shoup (R) 3. Henry Heitfeld (P)
Illinois 2. Shelby M. Cullom (R) 3. William E. Mason (R)
Indiana 1. Albert J. Beveridge (R) 3. Charles W. Fairbanks (R)
Iowa 2. John H. Gear (R), until July 14, 1900 Jonathan P. Dolliver (R), from August 22, 1900 3. William B. Allison (R)
Kansas 2. Lucien Baker (R) 3. William A. Harris (P)
Kentucky 2. William Lindsay (D) 3. William J. Deboe (R)
Louisiana 2. Donelson Caffery (D) 3. Samuel D. McEnery (D)
Maine 1. Eugene Hale (R) 2. William P. Frye (R)
Maryland 1. Louis E. McComas (R) 3. George L. Wellington (R)
Massachusetts 1. Henry Cabot Lodge (R) 2. George F. Hoar (R)
Michigan 1. Julius C. Burrows (R) 2. James McMillan (R)
Minnesota 1. Cushman K. Davis (R), until November 27, 1900 Charles A. Towne (D), December 5, 1900 – January 23, 1901 Moses E. Clapp (R), from January 23, 1901 2. Knute Nelson (R)
Mississippi 1. Hernando D. Money (D) 2. William V. Sullivan (D)
Missouri 1. Francis Cockrell (D) 3. George G. Vest (D)
Montana 1. William A. Clark (D), until May 15, 1900 2. Thomas H. Carter (R)
Nebraska 1. Monroe L. Hayward (R), March 8, 1899 – December 5, 1899 William V. Allen (P), from December 13, 1899 2. John M. Thurston (R)
Nevada 1. William M. Stewart (S) 3. John P. Jones (S)
New Hampshire 2. William E. Chandler (R) 3. Jacob H. Gallinger (R)
New Jersey 1. John Kean Jr. (R) 2. William J. Sewell (R)
New York 1. Chauncey M. Depew (R) 3. Thomas C. Platt (R)
North Carolina 2. Marion Butler (P) 3. Jeter C. Pritchard (R)
North Dakota 1. Porter J. McCumber (R) 3. Henry C. Hansbrough (R)
Ohio 1. Marcus A. Hanna (R) 3. Joseph B. Foraker (R)
Oregon 2. George W. McBride (R) 3. Joseph Simon (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Matthew S. Quay (R), from January 16, 1901 3. Boies Penrose (R)
Rhode Island 1. Nelson W. Aldrich (R) 2. George P. Wetmore (R)
South Carolina 2. Benjamin R. Tillman (D) 3. John L. McLaurin (D)
South Dakota 2. Richard F. Pettigrew (SR) 3. James H. Kyle (P)
Tennessee 1. William B. Bate (D) 2. Thomas B. Turley (D)
Texas 1. Charles A. Culberson (D) 2. Horace Chilton (D)
Utah 1. Thomas Kearns (R), from January 23, 1901 3. Joseph L. Rawlins (D)
Vermont 1. Redfield Proctor (R) 3. Jonathan Ross (R), until October 18, 1900 William P. Dillingham (R), from October 18, 1900
Virginia 1. John W. Daniel (D) 2. Thomas S. Martin (D)
Washington 1. Addison G. Foster (R) 3. George Turner (SR)
West Virginia 1. Nathan B. Scott (R) 2. Stephen B. Elkins (R)
Wisconsin 1. Joseph V. Quarles (R) 3. John C. Spooner (R)
Wyoming 1. Clarence D. Clark (R) 2. Francis E. Warren (R)
House of Representatives
Alabama . George W. Taylor (D) . Jesse F. Stallings (D) . Henry D. Clayton (D) . Gaston A. Robbins (D), until March 8, 1900 William F. Aldrich (R), from March 8, 1900 . Willis Brewer (D) . John H. Bankhead (D) . John L. Burnett (D) . Joseph Wheeler (D), until April 20, 1900 William N. Richardson (D), from December 3, 1900 . Oscar Underwood (D)
Arkansas . Philip D. McCulloch Jr. (D) . John S. Little (D) . Thomas C. McRae (D) . William L. Terry (D) . Hugh A. Dinsmore (D) . Stephen Brundidge Jr. (D)
California . John A. Barham (R) . Marion De Vries (D), until August 20, 1900 Samuel D. Woods (R), from December 3, 1900 . Victor H. Metcalf (R) . Julius Kahn (R) . Eugene F. Loud (R) . Russell J. Waters (R) . James C. Needham (R)
Colorado . John F. Shafroth (SR) . John C. Bell (P)
Connecticut . E. Stevens Henry (R) . Nehemiah D. Sperry (R) . Charles A. Russell (R) . Ebenezer J. Hill (R)
Delaware . John H. Hoffecker (R), until June 16, 1900 Walter O. Hoffecker (R), from November 6, 1900
Florida . Stephen M. Sparkman (D) . Robert W. Davis (D)
Georgia . Rufus E. Lester (D) . James M. Griggs (D) . Elijah B. Lewis (D) . William C. Adamson (D) . Leonidas F. Livingston (D) . Charles L. Bartlett (D) . John W. Maddox (D) . William M. Howard (D) . Farish C. Tate (D) . William H. Fleming (D) . William G. Brantley (D)
Idaho . Edgar Wilson (SR)
Illinois . James R. Mann (R) . William Lorimer (R) . George P. Foster (D) . Thomas Cusack (D) . Edward T. Noonan (D) . Henry S. Boutell (R) . George E. Foss (R) . Albert J. Hopkins (R) . Robert R. Hitt (R) . George W. Prince (R) . Walter Reeves (R) . Joseph G. Cannon (R) . Vespasian Warner (R) . Joseph V. Graff (R) . Benjamin F. Marsh (R) . William E. Williams (D) . Ben F. Caldwell (D) . Thomas M. Jett (D) . Joseph B. Crowley (D) . James R. Williams (D) . William A. Rodenberg (R) . George Washington Smith (R)
Indiana . James A. Hemenway (R) . Robert W. Miers (D) . William T. Zenor (D) . Francis M. Griffith (D) . George W. Faris (R) . James E. Watson (R) . Jesse Overstreet (R) . George W. Cromer (R) . Charles B. Landis (R) . Edgar D. Crumpacker (R) . George W. Steele (R) . James M. Robinson (D) . Abraham L. Brick (R)
Iowa . Thomas Hedge (R) . Joseph R. Lane (R) . David B. Henderson (R) . Gilbert N. Haugen (R) . Robert G. Cousins (R) . John F. Lacey (R) . John A. T. Hull (R) . William P. Hepburn (R) . Smith McPherson (R), until June 6, 1900 Walter I. Smith (R), from December 3, 1900 . Jonathan P. Dolliver (R), until August 22, 1900 James P. Conner (R), from December 4, 1900 . Lot Thomas (R)
Kansas . Charles Curtis (R) . Justin De Witt Bowersock (R) . Edwin R. Ridgely (P) . James Monroe Miller (R) . William A. Calderhead (R) . William A. Reeder (R) . Chester I. Long (R) . Willis Joshua Bailey (R)
Kentucky . Charles K. Wheeler (D) . Henry Dixon Allen (D) . John S. Rhea (D) . David Highbaugh Smith (D) . Oscar Turner (D) . Albert S. Berry (D) . Evan E. Settle (D), until November 16, 1899 June Ward Gayle (D), from January 15, 1900 . George G. Gilbert (D) . Samuel J. Pugh (R) . Thomas Y. Fitzpatrick (D) . Vincent Boreing (R)
Louisiana . Adolph Meyer (D) . Robert C. Davey (D) . Robert F. Broussard (D) . Phanor Breazeale (D) . Samuel T. Baird (D), until April 22, 1899 Joseph E. Ransdell (D), from August 29, 1899 . Samuel M. Robertson (D)
Maine . Thomas B. Reed (R), until September 4, 1899 Amos L. Allen (R), from November 6, 1899 . Charles E. Littlefield (R), from June 19, 1899 . Edwin C. Burleigh (R) . Charles A. Boutelle (R), until March 3, 1901
Maryland . John W. Smith (D), until January 12, 1900 Josiah Kerr (R), from November 6, 1900 . William B. Baker (R) . Frank C. Wachter (R) . James W. Denny (D) . Sydney E. Mudd (R) . George A. Pearre (R)
Massachusetts . George P. Lawrence (R) . Frederick H. Gillett (R) . John R. Thayer (D) . George W. Weymouth (R) . William S. Knox (R) . William H. Moody (R) . Ernest W. Roberts (R) . Samuel W. McCall (R) . John F. Fitzgerald (D) . Henry F. Naphen (D) . Charles F. Sprague (R) . William C. Lovering (R) . William S. Greene (R)
Michigan . John B. Corliss (R) . Henry C. Smith (R) . Washington Gardner (R) . Edward L. Hamilton (R) . William Alden Smith (R) . Samuel W. Smith (R) . Edgar Weeks (R) . Joseph W. Fordney (R) . Roswell P. Bishop (R) . Rousseau O. Crump (R) . William S. Mesick (R) . Carlos D. Shelden (R)
Minnesota . James Albertus Tawney (R) . James T. McCleary (R) . Joel Heatwole (R) . Frederick C. Stevens (R) . Loren Fletcher (R) . R. Page W. Morris (R) . Frank Eddy (R)
Mississippi . John M. Allen (D) . Thomas Spight (D) . Thomas C. Catchings (D) . Andrew F. Fox (D) . John Sharp Williams (D) . Frank A. McLain (D) . Patrick Henry (D)
Missouri . James T. Lloyd (D) . William W. Rucker (D) . John Dougherty (D) . Charles F. Cochran (D) . William S. Cowherd (D) . David A. De Armond (D) . James Cooney (D) . Richard P. Bland (D), until June 15, 1899