50th United States Congress
The 50th 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, 1887, to March 4, 1889, during the third and fourth years of Grover Cleveland's first presidency. The president vetoed 212 pieces of legislation, the greatest number in a single session of Congress.
The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Tenth Census of the United States in 1880. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.
Major events
Major legislation
- October 8, 1888: Chinese Exclusion Act
- January 14, 1889: Nelson Act of 1889
- February 22, 1889: Enabling Act of 1889, Sess. 2, ch. 180,
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate
- President: Vacant
- President pro tempore: John J. Ingalls
- Republican Conference Chairman: George F. Edmunds
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: James B. Beck
- Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: John E. Kenna
House of Representatives
- Speaker: John G. Carlisle
- Democratic Caucus Chairman: Samuel S. Cox
- Republican Conference Chairman: Joseph Gurney Cannon
Members
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. In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1892; Class 2 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1888; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1890.[List of [United States Senators from Alabama|Alabama]]
- 2. John T. Morgan
- 3. James L. Pugh
Arkansas">List of United States Senators from Arkansas">Arkansas
- 2. James H. Berry
- 3. James K. Jones
California">List of United States Senators from California">California
- 1. George Hearst
- 3. Leland Stanford
Colorado">List of United States Senators from Colorado">Colorado
- 2. Thomas M. Bowen
- 3. Henry M. Teller
Connecticut">List of United States Senators from Connecticut">Connecticut
- 1. Joseph R. Hawley
- 3. Orville H. Platt
Delaware">List of United States Senators from Delaware">Delaware
- 1. George Gray
- 2. Eli M. Saulsbury
Florida">List of United States Senators from Florida">Florida
- 1. Samuel Pasco, from May 19, 1887
- 3. Wilkinson Call
Georgia">List of United States Senators from Georgia">Georgia
- 2. Alfred H. Colquitt
- 3. Joseph E. Brown
Illinois">List of United States Senators from Illinois">Illinois
- 2. Shelby M. Cullom
- 3. Charles B. Farwell
Indiana">List of United States Senators from Indiana">Indiana
- 1. David Turpie
- 3. Daniel W. Voorhees
Iowa">List of United States Senators from Iowa">Iowa
- 2. James F. Wilson
- 3. William B. Allison
Kansas">List of United States Senators from Kansas">Kansas
- 2. Preston B. Plumb
- 3. John J. Ingalls
Kentucky">List of United States Senators from Kentucky">Kentucky
- 2. James B. Beck
- 3. Joseph C. S. Blackburn
Louisiana">List of United States Senators from Louisiana">Louisiana
- 2. Randall L. Gibson
- 3. James B. Eustis
Maine">List of United States Senators from Maine">Maine
- 1. Eugene Hale
- 2. William P. Frye
Maryland">List of United States Senators from Maryland">Maryland
- 1. Arthur Pue Gorman
- 3. Ephraim K. Wilson
Massachusetts">List of United States Senators from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- 1. Henry L. Dawes
- 2. George F. Hoar
Michigan">List of United States Senators from Michigan">Michigan
- 1. Francis B. Stockbridge
- 2. Thomas W. Palmer
Minnesota">List of United States Senators from Minnesota">Minnesota
- 1. Cushman K. Davis
- 2. Dwight M. Sabin
Mississippi">List of United States Senators from Mississippi">Mississippi
- 1. James Z. George
- 2. Edward C. Walthall
Missouri">List of United States Senators from Missouri">Missouri
- 1. Francis M. Cockrell
- 3. George G. Vest
Nebraska">List of United States Senators from Nebraska">Nebraska
- 1. Algernon S. Paddock
- 2. Charles F. Manderson
Nevada">List of United States Senators from Nevada">Nevada
- 1. William M. Stewart
- 3. John P. Jones
New Hampshire">List of United States Senators from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- 2. Person C. Cheney, until June 14, 1887
- * William E. Chandler, from June 14, 1887
- 3. Henry W. Blair
New Jersey">List of United States Senators from New Jersey">New Jersey
- 1. Rufus Blodgett
- 2. John R. McPherson
New York">List of United States Senators from New York">New York
- 1. Frank Hiscock
- 3. William M. Evarts
North Carolina">List of United States Senators from North Carolina">North Carolina
- 2. Matt W. Ransom
- 3. Zebulon B. Vance
Ohio">List of United States Senators from Ohio">Ohio
- 1. John Sherman
- 3. Henry B. Payne
Oregon">List of United States Senators from Oregon">Oregon
- 2. Joseph N. Dolph
- 3. John H. Mitchell
Pennsylvania">List of United States Senators from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- 1. Matthew S. Quay
- 3. J. Donald Cameron
Rhode Island">List of United States Senators from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- 1. Nelson W. Aldrich
- 2. Jonathan Chace
South Carolina">List of United States Senators from South Carolina">South Carolina
- 2. Matthew C. Butler
- 3. Wade Hampton, III
Tennessee">List of United States Senators from Tennessee">Tennessee
- 1. William B. Bate
- 2. Isham G. Harris
Texas">List of United States Senators from Texas">Texas
- 1. John H. Reagan
- 2. Richard Coke
Vermont">List of United States Senators from Vermont">Vermont
- 1. George F. Edmunds
- 3. Justin S. Morrill
Virginia">List of United States Senators from Virginia">Virginia
- 1. John W. Daniel
- 2. Harrison H. Riddleberger
West Virginia">List of United States Senators from West Virginia">West Virginia
- 1. Charles J. Faulkner, from May 5, 1887
- 2. John E. Kenna
Wisconsin">List of United States Senators from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
- 1. Philetus Sawyer
- 3. John C. Spooner
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.[List of [United States Representatives from Alabama|Alabama]]
- . James T. Jones
- . Hilary A. Herbert
- . William C. Oates
- . Alexander C. Davidson
- . James E. Cobb
- . John H. Bankhead
- . William H. Forney
- . Joseph Wheeler
Arkansas">List of United States Representatives from Arkansas">Arkansas
- . Poindexter Dunn
- . Clifton R. Breckinridge
- . Thomas C. McRae
- . John H. Rogers
- . Samuel W. Peel
California">List of United States Representatives from California">California
- . Thomas L. Thompson
- . Marion Biggs
- . Joseph McKenna
- . William W. Morrow
- . Charles N. Felton
- . William Vandever
Colorado">List of United States Representatives from Colorado">Colorado
- . George G. Symes
Connecticut">List of United States Representatives from Connecticut">Connecticut
- . Robert J. Vance
- . Carlos French
- . Charles A. Russell
- . Miles T. Granger
Delaware">List of United States Representatives from Delaware">Delaware
- . John B. Penington
Florida">List of United States Representatives from Florida">Florida
- . Robert H. M. Davidson
- . Charles Dougherty
Georgia">List of United States Representatives from Georgia">Georgia
- . Thomas M. Norwood
- . Henry G. Turner
- . Charles F. Crisp
- . Thomas W. Grimes
- . John D. Stewart
- . James H. Blount
- . Judson C. Clements
- . Henry H. Carlton
- . Allen D. Candler
- . George T. Barnes
Illinois">List of United States Representatives from Illinois">Illinois
- . Ransom W. Dunham
- . Frank Lawler
- . William E. Mason
- . George E. Adams
- . Albert J. Hopkins
- . Robert R. Hitt
- . Thomas J. Henderson
- . Ralph Plumb
- . Lewis E. Payson
- . Philip S. Post
- . William H. Gest
- . George A. Anderson
- . William M. Springer
- . Jonathan H. Rowell
- . Joseph G. Cannon
- . Silas Z. Landes
- . Edward Lane
- . Jehu Baker
- . Richard W. Townshend
- . John R. Thomas
Indiana">List of United States Representatives from Indiana">Indiana
- . Alvin P. Hovey, until January 17, 1889
- * Francis B. Posey, from January 29, 1889
- . John H. O'Neall
- . Jonas G. Howard
- . William S. Holman
- . Courtland C. Matson
- . Thomas M. Browne
- . William D. Bynum
- . James T. Johnston
- . Joseph B. Cheadle
- . William D. Owen
- . George W. Steele
- . James B. White
- . Benjamin F. Shively
Iowa">List of United States Representatives from Iowa">Iowa
- . John H. Gear
- . Walter I. Hayes
- . David B. Henderson
- . William E. Fuller
- . Daniel Kerr
- . James B. Weaver
- . Edwin H. Conger
- . Albert R. Anderson
- . Joseph Lyman
- . Adoniram J. Holmes
- . Isaac S. Struble
Kansas">List of United States Representatives from Kansas">Kansas
- . Edmund N. Morrill
- . Edward H. Funston
- . Bishop W. Perkins
- . Thomas Ryan
- . John A. Anderson
- . Erastus J. Turner
- . Samuel R. Peters
Kentucky">List of United States Representatives from Kentucky">Kentucky
- . William J. Stone
- . Polk Laffoon
- . W. Godfrey Hunter
- . Alexander B. Montgomery
- . Asher G. Caruth
- . John G. Carlisle
- . William C. P. Breckinridge
- . James B. McCreary
- . George M. Thomas
- . William P. Taulbee
- . Hugh F. Finley
Louisiana">List of United States Representatives from Louisiana">Louisiana
- . Theodore S. Wilkinson
- . Matthew D. Lagan
- . Edward J. Gay
- . Newton C. Blanchard
- . Cherubusco Newton
- . Edward W. Robertson, until August 2, 1887
- * Samuel M. Robertson, from December 5, 1887
Maine">List of United States Representatives from Maine">Maine
- . Thomas B. Reed
- . Nelson Dingley, Jr.
- . Seth L. Milliken
- . Charles A. Boutelle
Maryland">List of United States Representatives from Maryland">Maryland
- . Charles H. Gibson
- . Frank T. Shaw
- . Henry W. Rusk
- . Isidor Rayner
- . Barnes Compton
- . Louis E. McComas
Massachusetts">List of United States Representatives from Massachusetts">Massachusetts
- . Robert T. Davis
- . John D. Long
- . Leopold Morse
- . Patrick A. Collins
- . Edward D. Hayden
- . Henry Cabot Lodge
- . William Cogswell
- . Charles H. Allen
- . Edward Burnett
- . John E. Russell
- . William Whiting
- . Francis W. Rockwell
Michigan">List of United States Representatives from Michigan">Michigan
- . J. Logan Chipman
- . Edward P. Allen
- . James O'Donnell
- . Julius C. Burrows
- . Melbourne H. Ford
- . Mark S. Brewer
- . Justin R. Whiting
- . Timothy E. Tarsney
- . Byron M. Cutcheon
- . Spencer O. Fisher
- . Seth C. Moffatt, until December 22, 1887
- * Henry W. Seymour, from February 14, 1888
Minnesota">List of United States Representatives from Minnesota">Minnesota
- . Thomas Wilson
- . John Lind
- . John L. MacDonald
- . Edmund Rice
- . Knute Nelson
Mississippi">List of United States Representatives from Mississippi">Mississippi
- . John M. Allen
- . James B. Morgan
- . Thomas C. Catchings
- . Frederick G. Barry
- . Chapman L. Anderson
- . Thomas R. Stockdale
- . Charles E. Hooker
Missouri">List of United States Representatives from Missouri">Missouri
- . William H. Hatch
- . Charles H. Mansur
- . Alexander M. Dockery
- . James N. Burnes, until January 23, 1889
- * Charles F. Booher, from February 19, 1889
- . William Warner
- . John T. Heard
- . John E. Hutton
- . John J. O'Neill
- . John M. Glover
- . Martin L. Clardy
- . Richard P. Bland
- . William J. Stone
- . William H. Wade
- . James P. Walker
Nebraska">List of United States Representatives from Nebraska">Nebraska
- . John A. McShane
- . James Laird
- . George W. E. Dorsey
Nevada">List of United States Representatives from Nevada">Nevada
- . William Woodburn
New Hampshire">List of United States Representatives from New Hampshire">New Hampshire
- . Luther F. McKinney
- . Jacob H. Gallinger
New Jersey">List of United States Representatives from New Jersey">New Jersey
- . George Hires
- . James Buchanan
- . John Kean, Jr.
- . James N. Pidcock
- . William W. Phelps
- . Herman Lehlbach
- . William McAdoo
New York">List of United States Representatives from New York">New York
- . Perry Belmont, until December 1, 1888
- . Felix Campbell
- . Stephen V. White
- . Peter P. Mahoney
- . Archibald M. Bliss
- . Amos J. Cummings
- . Lloyd S. Bryce
- . Timothy J. Campbell
- . Samuel S. Cox
- . Francis B. Spinola
- . Truman A. Merriman
- . W. Bourke Cockran
- . Ashbel P. Fitch
- . William G. Stahlnecker
- . Henry Bacon
- . John H. Ketcham
- . Stephen T. Hopkins
- . Edward W. Greenman
- . Nicholas T. Kane, until September 14, 1887
- * Charles Tracey, from November 8, 1887
- . George West
- . John H. Moffitt
- . Abraham X. Parker
- . James S. Sherman
- . David Wilber
- . James J. Belden, from November 8, 1887
- . Milton De Lano
- . Newton W. Nutting
- . Thomas S. Flood
- . Ira Davenport
- . Charles S. Baker
- . John G. Sawyer
- . John M. Farquhar
- . John B. Weber
- . William G. Laidlaw
North Carolina">List of United States Representatives from North Carolina">North Carolina
- . Louis C. Latham
- . Furnifold McLendel Simmons
- . Charles W. McClammy
- . John Nichols
- . John M. Brower
- . Alfred Rowland
- . John S. Henderson
- . William H. H. Cowles
- . Thomas D. Johnston
Ohio">List of United States Representatives from Ohio">Ohio
- . Benjamin Butterworth
- . Charles E. Brown
- . Elihu S. Williams
- . Samuel S. Yoder
- . George E. Seney
- . Melvin M. Boothman
- . James E. Campbell
- . Robert P. Kennedy
- . William C. Cooper
- . Jacob Romeis
- . Albert C. Thompson
- . Jacob J. Pugsley
- . Joseph H. Outhwaite
- . Charles P. Wickham
- . Charles H. Grosvenor
- . Beriah Wilkins
- . Joseph D. Taylor
- . William McKinley, Jr.
- . Ezra B. Taylor
- . George W. Crouse
- . Martin A. Foran
Oregon">List of United States Representatives from Oregon">Oregon
- . Binger Hermann
Pennsylvania">List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania">Pennsylvania
- . Henry H. Bingham
- . Charles O'Neill
- . Samuel J. Randall
- . William D. Kelley
- . Alfred C. Harmer
- . Smedley Darlington
- . Robert M. Yardley
- . Daniel Ermentrout
- . John A. Hiestand
- . William H. Sowden
- . Charles R. Buckalew
- . John Lynch
- . Charles N. Brumm
- . Franklin Bound
- . Frank C. Bunnell
- . Henry C. McCormick
- . Edward Scull
- . Louis E. Atkinson
- . Levi Maish
- . John Patton
- . Welty McCullogh
- . John Dalzell
- . Thomas M. Bayne
- . Oscar L. Jackson
- . James T. Maffett
- . Norman Hall
- . William L. Scott
- . Edwin S. Osborne
Rhode Island">List of United States Representatives from Rhode Island">Rhode Island
- . Henry J. Spooner
- . Warren O. Arnold
South Carolina">List of United States Representatives from South Carolina">South Carolina
- . Samuel Dibble
- . George D. Tillman
- . James S. Cothran
- . William H. Perry
- . John J. Hemphill
- . George W. Dargan
- . William Elliott
Tennessee">List of United States Representatives from Tennessee">Tennessee
- . Roderick R. Butler
- . Leonidas C. Houk
- . John R. Neal
- . Benton McMillin
- . James D. Richardson
- . Joseph E. Washington
- . Washington C. Whitthorne
- . Benjamin A. Enloe
- . Presley T. Glass
- . James Phelan, Jr.
Texas">List of United States Representatives from Texas">Texas
- . Charles Stewart
- . John H. Reagan, until March 4, 1887
- * William H. Martin, from November 4, 1887
- . Constantine B. Kilgore
- . David B. Culberson
- . Silas Hare
- . Joseph Abbott
- . William H. Crain
- . Littleton W. Moore
- . Roger Q. Mills
- . Joseph D. Sayers
- . Samuel W. T. Lanham
Vermont">List of United States Representatives from Vermont">Vermont
- . John W. Stewart
- . William W. Grout
Virginia">List of United States Representatives from Virginia">Virginia
- . Thomas H. B. Browne
- . George E. Bowden
- . George D. Wise
- . William E. Gaines
- . John R. Brown
- . Samuel I. Hopkins
- . Charles T. O'Ferrall
- . William H. F. Lee
- . Henry Bowen
- . Jacob Yost
West Virginia">List of United States Representatives from West Virginia">West Virginia
- . Nathan Goff
- . William L. Wilson
- . Charles P. Snyder
- . Charles E. Hogg
Wisconsin">List of United States Representatives from Wisconsin">Wisconsin
- . Lucien B. Caswell
- . Richard W. Guenther
- . Robert M. La Follette
- . Henry Smith
- . Thomas R. Hudd
- . Charles B. Clark
- . Ormsby B. Thomas
- . Nils P. Haugen
- . Isaac Stephenson
Non-voting members
- . Marcus A. Smith
- . Oscar S. Gifford
- . Fred T. Dubois
- . Joseph K. Toole
- . Antonio Joseph
- . John T. Caine
- . Charles S. Voorhees
- . Joseph M. Carey
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.Senate
- replacements: 1
- * Democratic: no net change
- * Republican: no net change
- * Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- deaths: 0
- resignations: 1
- interim appointments: 1
- Total seats with changes: 2
State | Vacator | Reason for Vacancy | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
West Virginia | Vacant | Filled vacancy in term. | Charles J. Faulkner | May 5, 1887 |
Florida | Vacant | Filled vacancy in term. | Samuel Pasco | May 19, 1887 |
New Hampshire | Person C. Cheney | Successor was elected June 14, 1887 | William E. Chandler | June 14, 1887 |
House of Representatives
- replacements: 8
- * Democratic: no net change
- * Republican: no net change
- deaths: 4
- resignations: 5
- contested election: 0
- Total seats with changes: 8
Committees
Senate
- Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress
- Agriculture and Forestry
- Appropriations
- Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate
- Canadian Relations
- Census
- Centennial of the Constitution and the Discovery of America
- Civil Service and Retrenchment
- Civil Service Operations
- Claims
- Coast Defenses
- Commerce
- Distributing Public Revenue Among the States
- District of Columbia
- Education and Labor
- Engrossed Bills
- Enrolled Bills
- Epidemic Diseases
- Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service
- Executive Departments Methods
- Expenditures of Public Money
- Finance
- Fisheries
- Foreign Relations
- Fishing Bounties and Allowances
- Five Civilized Tribes of Indians
- Government Printing Office
- Indian Affairs
- Indian Traders
- Interstate Commerce
- Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands
- Judiciary
- Library
- Manufactures
- Military Affairs
- Mines and Mining
- Mississippi River and its Tributaries
- Naval Affairs
- Nicaraguan Claims
- Pacific Railway Commission
- Patents
- Pensions
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Potomac River Front
- Printing
- Private Land Claims
- Privileges and Elections
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railroads
- Revision of the Laws
- Revolutionary Claims
- Rules
- Tariff Regulation
- Territories
- Transportation and Sale of Meat Products
- Transportation Routes to the Seaboard
- Whole
- Woman Suffrage
House of Representatives
- Accounts
- Agriculture
- Alcoholic Liquor Traffic
- American Ship building
- Appropriations
- Banking and Currency
- Claims
- Coinage, Weights and Measures
- Commerce
- District of Columbia
- Education
- Elections
- Enrolled Bills
- Expenditures in the Interior Department
- Expenditures in the Justice Department
- Expenditures in the Navy Department
- Expenditures in the Post Office Department
- Expenditures in the State Department
- Expenditures in the Treasury Department
- Expenditures in the War Department
- Expenditures on Public Buildings
- Foreign Affairs
- Indian Affairs
- Invalid Pensions
- Judiciary
- Labor
- Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River
- Library
- Manufactures
- Merchant Marine and Fisheries
- Mileage
- Military Affairs
- Militia
- Mines and Mining
- Naval Affairs
- Pacific Railroads
- Patents
- Pensions
- Printing
- Private Land Claims
- Post Office and Post Roads
- Public Buildings and Grounds
- Public Lands
- Railways and Canals
- Revision of Laws
- Rivers and Harbors
- Rules
- Standards of Official Conduct
- Territories
- War Claims
- Ways and Means
- Whole
Joint committees
- Conditions of Indian Tribes
- Disposition of Executive Papers
- To Investigate Work on the Washington Aqueduct Tunnel
- The Library
- Printing
Caucuses
- Democratic
- Democratic
Administrative officers
Legislative branch agency">List of federal agencies in the United States#Legislative branch">Legislative branch agency directors
- Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
- Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
- Public Printer of the United States: Thomas E. Benedict
Senate
- Chaplain: John G. Butler
- Secretary: Anson G. McCook
- Librarian: Alonzo M. Church
- Sergeant at Arms: William P. Canady
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: William H. Milburn
- Clerk: John B. Clark, Jr.
- Doorkeeper: Alvin B. Hurt, elected December 5, 1887
- Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Nathaniel T. Crutchfield
- Postmaster: Lycurgus Dalton
- Reading Clerks: Thomas S. Pettit and Neill S. Brown, Jr.
- Sergeant at Arms: John P. Leedom