The 47th 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, 1881, to March 4, 1883, during the six months of James Garfield's presidency, and the first year and a half of Chester Arthur's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1870 United States census. The House had a Republican majority; the Senate was evenly divided for the first time ever, with no vice president to break ties for most of this term.
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 Party (Shading indicates party control) Total Democratic(D) Independent(I) Readjuster(RA) Republican(R) Vacant End ofprevious Congress 42 1 0 32 75 1 Begin 37 1 1 36 75 1 March 5, 1881 35 74 2 March 7, 1881 33 72 4 March 8, 1881 34 73 3 March 12, 1881 35 74 2 March 14, 1881 36 75 1 March 18, 1881 37 1 1 37 76 0 May 16, 1881 37 1 1 35 74 2 July 27, 1881 36 75 1 August 2, 1881 37 1 1 37 76 0 September 13, 1881 36 75 1 October 5, 1881 1 37 76 0 November 15, 1881 April 17, 1882 August 16, 1882 36 75 1 November 15, 1882 37 76 0 January 27, 1883 Final voting share 48.7% 1.3% 1.3% 48.7% Beginning of thenext Congress 36 0 2 38 76 0
House of Representatives Party (Shading indicates party control) Total Democratic(D) IndependentDemocrat(ID) Independent(I) Greenback(GB) IndependentRepublican(IR) Republican(R) Vacant End ofprevious Congress 146 4 1 11 0 129 291 2 Begin 134 1 1 9 0 146 291 2 March 17, 1881 145 290 3 March 21, 1881 144 289 4 April 5, 1881 145 290 3 April 26, 1881 133 289 4 June 9, 1881 134 290 3 July 26, 1881 144 289 4 July 29, 1881 143 288 5 September 12, 1881 144 289 4 October 5, 1881 143 288 5 November 8, 1881 135 145 291 2 December 5, 1881 136 146 293 0 April 8, 1882 135 292 1 April 29, 1882 134 147 May 31, 1882 133 1 June 1, 1882 132 148 June 3, 1882 131 10 June 29, 1882 147 291 2 July 19, 1882 130 148 July 20, 1882 129 290 3 October 12, 1882 9 289 4 November 4, 1882 128 288 5 November 7, 1882 129 149 290 3 November 30, 1882 148 289 4 December 4, 1882 130 290 3 December 15, 1882 149 291 2 December 16, 1882 148 290 3 January 2, 1883 149 291 2 January 15, 1883 131 292 1 January 17, 1883 150 293 0 January 18, 1883 130 292 1 March 2, 1883 129 151 March 3, 1883 130 150 Final voting share Beginning of the next Congress 196 3 6 2 1 117 325 1
Leadership
Senate
President: Chester A. Arthur (R), until September 19, 1881; vacant thereafter President pro tempore: Thomas F. Bayard (D), October 10, 1881 – October 13, 1881 David Davis (I), from October 13, 1881 George F. Edmunds (R), from March 3, 1883 Democratic Caucus Chairman: George H. Pendleton Republican Conference Chairman: Henry B. Anthony
House of Representatives
Speaker: J. Warren Keifer (R) Republican Conference Chairman: George M. Robeson
Major events
March 4, 1881: James A. Garfield became President of the United States September 19, 1881: President Garfield died. Vice President Chester A. Arthur became President of the United States
Major legislation
February 25, 1882: Apportionment of the Tenth Census, ch. 20, May 6, 1882: Chinese Exclusion Act, August 2, 1882: Passenger Act of 1882, August 2, 1882: Rivers and Harbors Act January 16, 1883: Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, ch. 27, March 3, 1883: Tariff of 1883 (Mongrel Tariff)
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.
Alabama 2. John T. Morgan (D) 3. James L. Pugh (D)
Arkansas 2. Augustus H. Garland (D) 3. James D. Walker (D)
California 1. John F. Miller (R) 3. James T. Farley (D)
Colorado 2. Henry M. Teller (R), until April 17, 1882 George M. Chilcott (R), April 17, 1882 - January 27, 1883 Horace A. W. Tabor (R), from January 27, 1883 3. Nathaniel P. Hill (R)
Connecticut 1. Joseph R. Hawley (R) 3. Orville H. Platt (R)
Delaware 1. Thomas F. Bayard Sr. (D) 2. Eli Saulsbury (D)
Florida 1. Charles W. Jones (D) 3. Wilkinson Call (D)
Georgia 2. Benjamin H. Hill (D), until August 16, 1882 M. Pope Barrow (D), from November 15, 1882 3. Joseph E. Brown (D)
Illinois 2. David Davis (I) 3. John A. Logan (R)
Indiana 1. Benjamin Harrison (R) 3. Daniel W. Voorhees (D)
Iowa 2. Samuel J. Kirkwood (R), until March 7, 1881 James W. McDill (R), from March 8, 1881 3. William B. Allison (R)
Kansas 2. Preston B. Plumb (R) 3. John J. Ingalls (R)
Kentucky 2. James B. Beck (D) 3. John S. Williams (D)
Louisiana 2. William Pitt Kellogg (R) 3. Benjamin F. Jonas (D)
Maine 1. Eugene Hale (R) 2. James G. Blaine (R), until March 5, 1881 William P. Frye (R), from March 15, 1881
Maryland 1. Arthur Pue Gorman (D) 3. James B. Groome (D)
Massachusetts 1. Henry L. Dawes (R) 2. George F. Hoar (R)
Michigan 1. Omar D. Conger (R) 2. Thomas W. Ferry (R)
Minnesota 1. Samuel J. R. McMillan (R) 2. William Windom (R), until March 7, 1881 Alonzo J. Edgerton (R), March 12, 1881 – October 30, 1881 William Windom (R), from November 15, 1881
Mississippi 1. James Z. George (D) 2. Lucius Q. C. Lamar (D)
Missouri 1. Francis M. Cockrell (D) 3. George G. Vest (D)
Nebraska 1. Charles H. Van Wyck (R) 2. Alvin Saunders (R)
Nevada 1. James G. Fair (D) 3. John P. Jones (R)
New Hampshire 2. Edward H. Rollins (R) 3. Henry W. Blair (R)
New Jersey 1. William J. Sewell (R) 2. John R. McPherson (D)
New York 1. Thomas C. Platt (R), until May 16, 1881 Warner Miller (R), from July 27, 1881 3. Roscoe Conkling (R), until May 16, 1881 Elbridge G. Lapham (R), from July 29, 1881
North Carolina 2. Matt W. Ransom (D) 3. Zebulon B. Vance (D)
Ohio 1. John Sherman (R) 3. George H. Pendleton (D)
Oregon 2. La Fayette Grover (D) 3. James H. Slater (D)
Pennsylvania 1. John I. Mitchell (R) 3. J. Donald Cameron (R)
Rhode Island 1. Ambrose E. Burnside (R), until September 13, 1881 Nelson W. Aldrich (R), from October 5, 1881 2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
South Carolina 2. Matthew C. Butler (D) 3. Wade Hampton III (D)
Tennessee 1. Howell E. Jackson (D) 2. Isham G. Harris (D)
Texas 1. Samuel B. Maxey (D) 2. Richard Coke (D)
Vermont 1. George F. Edmunds (R) 3. Justin S. Morrill (R)
Virginia 1. William Mahone (RA) 2. John W. Johnston (D)
West Virginia 1. Johnson N. Camden (D) 2. Henry G. Davis (D)
Wisconsin 1. Philetus Sawyer (R) 3. Angus Cameron (R), from March 14, 1881
House of Representatives
Names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Thomas H. Herndon (D) . Hilary A. Herbert (D) . William C. Oates (D) . Charles M. Shelley (D), until July 20, 1882 Charles M. Shelley (D), from November 7, 1882 . Thomas Williams (D) . Goldsmith W. Hewitt (D) . William H. Forney (D) . Joseph Wheeler (D), until June 3, 1882 William M. Lowe (GB), June 3, 1882 – October 12, 1882 Joseph Wheeler (D), from January 15, 1883
Arkansas . Poindexter Dunn (D) . James K. Jones (D) . Jordan E. Cravens (D) . Thomas M. Gunter (D)
California . William S. Rosecrans (D) . Horace F. Page (R) . Campbell P. Berry (D) . Romualdo Pacheco (R)
Colorado . James B. Belford (R)
Connecticut . John R. Buck (R) . James Phelps (D) . John T. Wait (R) . Frederick Miles (R)
Delaware . Edward L. Martin (D)
Florida . Robert H. M. Davidson (D) . Jesse J. Finley (D), until June 1, 1882 Horatio Bisbee Jr. (R), from June 1, 1882
Georgia . George R. Black (D) . Henry G. Turner (D) . Philip Cook (D) . Hugh Buchanan (D) . Nathaniel J. Hammond (D) . James H. Blount (D) . Judson C. Clements (D) . Alexander H. Stephens (D), until November 4, 1882 Seaborn Reese (D), from December 4, 1882 . Emory Speer (ID)
Illinois . William Aldrich (R) . George R. Davis (R) . Charles B. Farwell (R) . John C. Sherwin (R) . Robert M. A. Hawk (R), until June 29, 1882 Robert R. Hitt (R), from December 4, 1882 . Thomas J. Henderson (R) . William Cullen (R) . Lewis E. Payson (R) . John H. Lewis (R) . Benjamin F. Marsh (R) . James W. Singleton (D) . William M. Springer (D) . Dietrich C. Smith (R) . Joseph G. Cannon (R) . Samuel W. Moulton (D) . William A. J. Sparks (D) . William R. Morrison (D) . John R. Thomas (R) . Richard W. Townshend (D)
Indiana . William Heilman (R) . Thomas R. Cobb (D) . Strother M. Stockslager (D) . William S. Holman (D) . Courtland C. Matson (D) . Thomas M. Browne (R) . Stanton J. Peelle (R) . Robert B. F. Peirce (R) . Godlove S. Orth (R), until December 16, 1882 Charles T. Doxey (R), from January 17, 1883 . Mark L. De Motte (R) . George W. Steele (R) . Walpole G. Colerick (D) . William H. Calkins (R)
Iowa . Moses A. McCoid (R) . Sewall S. Farwell (R) . Thomas Updegraff (R) . Nathaniel C. Deering (R) . William G. Thompson (R) . Marsena E. Cutts (R), until March 3, 1883 John C. Cook (D), from March 3, 1883 . John A. Kasson (R) . William P. Hepburn (R) . Cyrus C. Carpenter (R)
Kansas . John A. Anderson (R) . Dudley C. Haskell (R) . Thomas Ryan (R)
Kentucky . Oscar Turner (D) . James A. McKenzie (D) . John William Caldwell (D) . J. Proctor Knott (D) . Albert S. Willis (D) . John G. Carlisle (D) . Joseph C. S. Blackburn (D) . Philip B. Thompson Jr. (D) . John D. White (R) . Elijah C. Phister (D)
Louisiana . Randall L. Gibson (D) . E. John Ellis (D) . Chester B. Darrall (R) . Newton C. Blanchard (D) . J. Floyd King (D) . Edward W. Robertson (D)
Maine . Thomas B. Reed (R) . William P. Frye (R), until March 17, 1881 Nelson Dingley Jr. (R) from September 12, 1881 . Stephen D. Lindsey (R) . George W. Ladd (GB) . Thompson H. Murch (GB)
Maryland . George W. Covington (D) . J. Frederick C. Talbott (D) . Fetter S. Hoblitzell (D) . Robert M. McLane (D) . Andrew G. Chapman (D) . Milton G. Urner (R)
Massachusetts . William W. Crapo (R) . Benjamin W. Harris (R) . Ambrose A. Ranney (R) . Leopold Morse (D) . Selwyn Z. Bowman (R) . Eben F. Stone (R) . William A. Russell (R) . John W. Candler (R) . William W. Rice (R) . Amasa Norcross (R) . George D. Robinson (R)
Michigan . Henry W. Lord (R) . Edwin Willits (R) . Edward S. Lacey (R) . Julius C. Burrows (R) . George W. Webber (R) . Oliver L. Spaulding (R) . John T. Rich (R), from April 5, 1881 . Roswell G. Horr (R) . Jay A. Hubbell (R)
Minnesota . Mark H. Dunnell (R) . Horace B. Strait (R) . William D. Washburn (R)
Mississippi . Henry L. Muldrow (D) . Vannoy H. Manning (D) . Hernando Money (D) . Otho R. Singleton (D) . Charles E. Hooker (D) . James R. Chalmers (D), until April 29, 1882 John R. Lynch (R), from April 29, 1882
Missouri . Martin L. Clardy (D) . Thomas Allen (D), until April 8, 1882 James Henry McLean (R), from December 15, 1882 . Richard G. Frost (D), until March 2, 1883 Gustavus Sessinghaus (R), from March 2, 1883 . Lowndes H. Davis (D) . Richard P. Bland (D) . Ira Haseltine (GB) . Theron M. Rice (GB) . Robert T. Van Horn (R) . Nicholas Ford (GB) . Joseph H. Burrows (GB) . John B. Clark Jr. (D) . William H. Hatch (D) . Aylett H. Buckner (D)
Nebraska . Edward K. Valentine (R)
Nevada . George W. Cassidy (D)
New Hampshire . Joshua G. Hall (R) . James F. Briggs (R)