The 61st 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, 1909, to March 4, 1911, during the first two years of William H. Taft's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1900 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority.
Major events
March 4, 1909: William Howard Taft became President of the United States.
Major legislation
August 5, 1909 – Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act, ch. 6, May 16, 1910: Federal Mines Safety Act of 1910, ch. 240, June 1, 1910: Height of Buildings Act of 1910, ch. 263, June 18, 1910: Mann–Elkins Act, ch. 309, June 25, 1910: Mann Act, ch. 395, March 3, 1911: Judicial Code of 1911, ch. 231,
Constitutional amendments July 12, 1909: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution allowing the Congress to levy an income tax without apportioning it among the states or basing it on the United States Census, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification Amendment was later ratified on February 3, 1913, becoming the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate President: James S. Sherman (R) President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R) Republican Conference Chairman: Eugene Hale Republican Conference Secretary: Charles Curtis Democratic Caucus Chairman: Hernando Money Democratic Caucus Secretary: Robert Latham Owen
House of Representatives
Speaker: Joseph Gurney Cannon (R)
Majority (Republican) leadership Majority Leader: Sereno E. Payne Majority Whip: John W. Dwight Republican Conference Chairman: Frank Dunklee Currier
Minority (Democratic) leadership Minority Leader: Champ Clark Minority Whip: vacant Democratic Caucus Chairman: Henry De Lamar Clayton Jr. Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: James Tilghman Lloyd
Members Skip to House of Representatives, below
Senate
At this time, most senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. A few senators were elected directly by the residents of the state. 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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1910; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1912; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1914.
Alabama 2. John H. Bankhead (D) 3. Joseph F. Johnston (D)
Arkansas 2. Jeff Davis (D) 3. James P. Clarke (D)
California 1. Frank P. Flint (R) 3. George C. Perkins (R)
Colorado 2. Simon Guggenheim (R) 3. Charles J. Hughes Jr. (D), until January 11, 1911
Connecticut 1. Morgan G. Bulkeley (R) 3. Frank B. Brandegee (R)
Delaware 1. Henry A. du Pont (R) 2. Harry A. Richardson (R)
Florida 1. James P. Taliaferro (D) 3. Duncan U. Fletcher (D)
Georgia 2. Augustus O. Bacon (D) 3. Alexander S. Clay (D), until November 10, 1910 Joseph M. Terrell (D), from November 17, 1910
Idaho 2. William E. Borah (R) 3. Weldon B. Heyburn (R)
Illinois 2. Shelby Moore Cullom (R) 3. William Lorimer (R), from June 18, 1909
Indiana 1. Albert J. Beveridge (R) 3. Benjamin F. Shively (D)
Iowa 2. Jonathan P. Dolliver (R), until October 15, 1910 Lafayette Young (R), from November 12, 1910 3. Albert B. Cummins (R)
Kansas 2. Charles Curtis (R) 3. Joseph L. Bristow (R)
Kentucky 2. Thomas H. Paynter (D) 3. William O. Bradley (R)
Louisiana 2. Murphy J. Foster (D) 3. Samuel D. McEnery (D), until June 10, 1910 John Thornton (D), from December 10, 1910
Maine 1. Eugene Hale (R) 2. William P. Frye (R)
Maryland 1. Isidor Rayner (D) 3. John W. Smith (D)
Massachusetts 1. Henry Cabot Lodge (R) 2. Winthrop M. Crane (R)
Michigan 1. Julius C. Burrows (R) 2. William Alden Smith (R)
Minnesota 1. Moses E. Clapp (R) 2. Knute Nelson (R)
Mississippi 1. Hernando D. Money (D) 2. Anselm J. McLaurin (D), until December 22, 1909 James Gordon (D), December 27, 1909 – February 22, 1910 LeRoy Percy (D), from February 23, 1910
Missouri 1. William Warner (R) 3. William J. Stone (D)
Montana 1. Thomas H. Carter (R) 2. Joseph M. Dixon (R)
Nebraska 1. Elmer J. Burkett (R) 2. Norris Brown (R)
Nevada 1. George S. Nixon (R) 3. Francis G. Newlands (D)
New Hampshire 2. Henry E. Burnham (R) 3. Jacob H. Gallinger (R)
New Jersey 1. John Kean Jr. (R) 2. Frank O. Briggs (R)
New York 1. Chauncey M. Depew (R) 3. Elihu A. Root (R)
North Carolina 2. Furnifold M. Simmons (D) 3. Lee S. Overman (D)
North Dakota 1. Porter J. McCumber (R) 3. Martin N. Johnson (R), until October 21, 1909 Fountain L. Thompson (D), November 10, 1909 – January 31, 1910 William E. Purcell (D), February 1, 1910 – February 1, 1911 Asle Gronna (R), from February 2, 1911
Ohio 1. Charles W. F. Dick (R) 3. Theodore E. Burton (R)
Oklahoma 2. Robert L. Owen (D) 3. Thomas P. Gore (D)
Oregon 2. Jonathan Bourne Jr. (R) 3. George E. Chamberlain (D)
Pennsylvania 1. Philander C. Knox (R), until March 4, 1909 George T. Oliver (R), from March 17, 1909 3. Boies Penrose (R)
Rhode Island 1. Nelson W. Aldrich (R) 2. George P. Wetmore (R)
South Carolina 2. Benjamin R. Tillman (D) 3. Ellison D. Smith (D)
South Dakota 2. Robert J. Gamble (R) 3. Coe I. Crawford (R)
Tennessee 1. James B. Frazier (D) 2. Robert L. Taylor (D)
Texas 1. Charles A. Culberson (D) 2. Joseph W. Bailey (D)
Utah 1. George Sutherland (R) 3. Reed Smoot (R)
Vermont 1. Carroll S. Page (R) 3. William P. Dillingham (R)
Virginia 1. John W. Daniel (D), until June 29, 1910 Claude A. Swanson (D), from August 1, 1910 2. Thomas S. Martin (D)
Washington 1. Samuel H. Piles (R) 3. Wesley L. Jones (R)
West Virginia 1. Nathan B. Scott (R) 2. Stephen B. Elkins (R), until January 4, 1911 Davis Elkins (R), January 9, 1911 – January 31, 1911 Clarence W. Watson (D), from February 1, 1911
Wisconsin 1. Robert M. La Follette Sr. (R) 3. Isaac Stephenson (R)
Wyoming 1. Clarence D. Clark (R) 2. Francis E. Warren (R)
House of Representatives
Alabama . George W. Taylor (D) . S. Hubert Dent Jr. (D) . Henry D. Clayton (D) . William B. Craig (D) . J. Thomas Heflin (D) . Richmond P. Hobson (D) . John L. Burnett (D) . William N. Richardson (D) . Oscar Underwood (D)
Arkansas . Robert B. Macon (D) . William A. Oldfield (D) . John C. Floyd (D) . William B. Cravens (D) . Charles C. Reid (D) . Joseph Taylor Robinson (D) . Robert M. Wallace (D)
California . William F. Englebright (R) . Duncan E. McKinlay (R) . Joseph R. Knowland (R) . Julius Kahn (R) . Everis A. Hayes (R) . James C. Needham (R) . James McLachlan (R) . Sylvester C. Smith (R)
Colorado . Atterson Walden Rucker (D) . John A. Martin (D) . Edward T. Taylor (D)
Connecticut . E. Stevens Henry (R) . Nehemiah D. Sperry (R) . Edwin W. Higgins (R) . Ebenezer J. Hill (R) . John Q. Tilson (R)
Delaware . William H. Heald (R)
Florida . Stephen M. Sparkman (D) . Frank Clark (D) . Dannite H. Mays (D)
Georgia . Charles G. Edwards (D) . James M. Griggs (D), until January 5, 1910 Seaborn Roddenbery (D), from February 6, 1910 . Dudley M. Hughes (D) . William C. Adamson (D) . Leonidas F. Livingston (D) . Charles L. Bartlett (D) . Gordon Lee (D) . William M. Howard (D) . Thomas Montgomery Bell (D) . Thomas W. Hardwick (D) . William G. Brantley (D)
Idaho . Thomas Ray Hamer (R)
Illinois . Martin B. Madden (R) . James R. Mann (R) . William W. Wilson (R) . James T. McDermott (D) . Adolph J. Sabath (D) . William Lorimer (R), until June 17, 1909 William J. Moxley (R), from November 23, 1909 . Frederick Lundin (R) . Thomas Gallagher (D) . Henry S. Boutell (R) . George E. Foss (R) . Howard M. Snapp (R) . Charles Eugene Fuller (R) . Frank O. Lowden (R) . James McKinney (R) . George W. Prince (R) . Joseph V. Graff (R) . John A. Sterling (R) . Joseph G. Cannon (R) . William B. McKinley (R) . Henry T. Rainey (D) . James M. Graham (D) . William A. Rodenberg (R) . Martin D. Foster (D) . Pleasant T. Chapman (R) . Napoleon B. Thistlewood (R)
Indiana . John W. Boehne (D) . William A. Cullop (D) . William E. Cox (D) . Lincoln Dixon (D) . Ralph Wilbur Moss (D) . William O. Barnard (R) . Charles A. Korbly (D) . John A. M. Adair (D) . Martin A. Morrison (D) . Edgar D. Crumpacker (R) . George W. Rauch (D) . Cyrus Cline (D) . Henry A. Barnhart (D)
Iowa . Charles A. Kennedy (R) . Albert F. Dawson (R) . Charles E. Pickett (R) . Gilbert N. Haugen (R) . James W. Good (R) . Nathan E. Kendall (R) . John A. T. Hull (R) . William Darius Jamieson (D) . Walter I. Smith (R) . Frank P. Woods (R) . Elbert H. Hubbard (R)
Kansas . Daniel Read Anthony Jr. (R) . Charles Frederick Scott (R) . Philip P. Campbell (R) . James Monroe Miller (R) . William A. Calderhead (R) . William A. Reeder (R) . Edmond H. Madison (R) . Victor Murdock (R)
Kentucky . Ollie M. James (D) . Augustus Stanley (D) . Robert Y. Thomas Jr. (D) . Ben Johnson (D) . J. Swagar Sherley (D) . Joseph L. Rhinock (D) . J. Campbell Cantrill (D) . Harvey Helm (D) . Joseph B. Bennett (R) . John W. Langley (R) . Don C. Edwards (R)
Louisiana . Albert Estopinal (D) . Samuel Louis Gilmore (D), March 30, 1909 – July 18, 1910 Henry Garland Dupré (D), from November 8, 1910 . Robert F. Broussard (D) . John Thomas Watkins (D) . Joseph E. Ransdell (D) . Robert Charles Wickliffe (D) . Arsène Paulin Pujó (D)
Maine . Amos L. Allen (R), until February 20, 1911 . John P. Swasey (R) . Edwin C. Burleigh (R) . Frank E. Guernsey (R)
Maryland . J. Harry Covington (D) . J. Frederick C. Talbott (D) . John Kronmiller (R) . John Gill Jr. (D) . Sydney E. Mudd (R) . George A. Pearre (R)
Massachusetts . George P. Lawrence (R) . Frederick H. Gillett (R) . Charles G. Washburn (R) . Charles Q. Tirrell (R), until July 31, 1910 John Joseph Mitchell (D), from November 8, 1910 . Butler Ames (R) . Augustus P. Gardner (R) . Ernest W. Roberts (R) . Samuel W. McCall (R) . John A. Keliher (D) . Joseph F. O'Connell (D) . Andrew J. Peters (D) . John W. Weeks (R) . William S. Greene (R) . William C. Lovering (R), until February 4, 1910 Eugene Foss (D), March 22, 1910 – January 4, 1911
Michigan . Edwin C. Denby (R) . Charles E. Townsend (R) . Washington Gardner (R) . Edward L. Hamilton (R) . Gerrit J. Diekema (R) . Samuel W. Smith (R) . Henry McMorran (R) . Joseph W. Fordney (R) . James C. McLaughlin (R) . George A. Loud (R) . Francis H. Dodds (R) . H. Olin Young (R)
Minnesota . James Albertus Tawney (R) . Winfield Scott Hammond (D) . Charles Russell Davis (R) . Frederick C. Stevens (R) . Frank Nye (R) . Charles August Lindbergh (R) . Andrew Volstead (R) . Clarence B. Miller (R) . Halvor Steenerson (R)
Mississippi . Ezekiel S. Candler Jr. (D) . Thomas Spight (D) . Benjamin G. Humphreys II (D) . Thomas U. Sisson (D) . Adam M. Byrd (D) . Eaton J. Bowers (D) . William A. Dickson (D) . James W. Collier (D)
Missouri . James T. Lloyd (D) . William W. Rucker (D) . Joshua Willis Alexander (D) . Charles F. Booher (D) . William Patterson Borland (D) . David A. De Armond (D), until November 23, 1909 Clement C. Dickinson (D), from February 1, 1910 . Courtney W. Hamlin (D) . Dorsey W. Shackleford (D) . James Beauchamp Clark (D) . Richard Bartholdt (R) . Patrick F. Gill (D) . Harry M. Coudrey (R) . Politte Elvins (R) . Charles A. Crow (R) . Charles H. Morgan (R) . Arthur P. Murphy (R)
Montana . Charles N. Pray (R)
Nebraska