62nd United States Congress

The 62nd 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, DC from March 4, 1911, to March 4, 1913, during the third and fourth years of William H. Taft's presidency.

62nd United States Congress
61st 
 63rd

March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1913
Members96 senators
394 representatives
7 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityRepublican
Senate PresidentJames S. Sherman (R)
(until October 30, 1912)
Vacant
(from October 30, 1912)
House MajorityDemocratic
House SpeakerChamp Clark (D)
Sessions
1st: April 4, 1911 – August 22, 1911
2nd: December 4, 1911 – August 26, 1912
3rd: December 2, 1912 – March 3, 1913

The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Twelfth Census of the United States in 1900. Additional House seats were assigned to the two new states of New Mexico and Arizona. The size of the House was to be 435 starting with the new Congress coming into session in 1913. The Senate had a Republican majority, and the House had a Democratic majority.

Major events

Major legislation

Constitutional amendments

States admitted and territories created

Map showing Senate party membership at the start of the 62nd Congress. Red states are represented by two Republicans, blue by two Democrats, and purple by one of each.

Party summary

Senate

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Progressive
(P)
Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 32 0 59 91 1
Begin 40 0 50 90 2
End 45 951
Final voting share 47.4% 0.0% 52.6%
Beginning of next congress 49 1 42 92 4

House of Representatives

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Socialist
(S)
Progressive
(P)
Republican
(R)
Other
(O)
End of previous congress 173 0 0 210 1[lower-alpha 1] 384 7
Begin 228 1 0 161 0 390 1
End 225 156 38212
Final voting share 58.9% 0.3% 0.0% 40.8% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 289 0 10 134 1[lower-alpha 2] 434 1

Leaders

Senate

President of the Senate
James S. Sherman

House of Representatives

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

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 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1912; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1914; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1916.

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Changes in membership

Senate

There were 20 changes: 6 deaths, 2 resignations, 1 invalidated election, 6 appointees replaced by electees, 4 seats added from new states, and 1 seat vacant from the previous Congress. Democrats had a 4-seat net gain, and no other parties had a net change.

State
(class)
Vacator Reason for vacancy Subsequent Date of successor's installation
New York
(1)
Vacant Legislature failed to elect. Election deadlock extends for three months until successor is chosen. James A. O'Gorman (D) March 31, 1911
Arizona
(1)
New seats Arizona achieved statehood February 14, 1912 Henry F. Ashurst (D) April 2, 1912[1]
Arizona
(3)
Marcus A. Smith (D)
New Mexico
(1)
New Mexico achieved statehood January 6, 1912 Thomas B. Catron (R)
New Mexico
(2)
Albert B. Fall (R)
Colorado
(3)
Vacant Sen. Charles J. Hughes, Jr. died January 11, 1911, before the end of the previous Congress. Winner was elected to finish term ending March 4, 1915. Charles S. Thomas (D) January 15, 1913
Iowa
(2)
Lafayette Young (R) Appointment expired April 11, 1911, upon successor's special election to finish term ending March 4, 1913. William S. Kenyon (R) April 12, 1911
Georgia
(3)
Joseph M. Terrell (D) Resigned July 14, 1911, due to health reasons.
Successor was elected.
Hoke Smith (D) November 16, 1911
Maine
(2)
William P. Frye (R) Died August 8, 1911.
Successor was appointed September 23, 1911, and subsequently elected April 2, 1912.
Obadiah Gardner (D) September 23, 1911
Tennessee
(2)
Robert Love Taylor (D) Died March 31, 1912.
Successor was appointed to continue the term.
Newell Sanders (R) April 11, 1912
Nevada
(1)
George S. Nixon (R) Died June 5, 1912.
Successor was appointed to continue the term.
William A. Massey (R) July 1, 1912
Illinois
(3)
William Lorimer (R) Senate invalidated election July 13, 1912. Vacant until next Congress
Idaho
(3)
Weldon B. Heyburn (R) Died October 17, 1912.
Successor was appointed to continue the term.
Kirtland I. Perky (D) November 18, 1912
Maryland
(1)
Isidor Rayner (D) Died November 25, 1912.
Successor was appointed.
William P. Jackson (R) November 29, 1912
Arkansas
(2)
Jeff Davis (D) Died January 3, 1913.
Successor was appointed to continue the term.
John N. Heiskell (D) January 6, 1913
Texas
(2)
Joseph W. Bailey (D) Resigned January 3, 1913, due to investigations brought to light suspicious income and financial ties to the oil industry.
Successor was appointed to continue the therm.
Rienzi Melville Johnston (D) January 4, 1913
Tennessee
(2)
Newell Sanders (R) Appointment expired January 24, 1913, upon successor's special election to finish term ending March 4, 1913. William R. Webb (D) January 24, 1913
Nevada
(1)
William A. Massey (R) Appointment expired January 29, 1913, upon successor's special election. Key Pittman (D) January 29, 1913
Arkansas
(2)
John N. Heiskell (D) Appointment expired January 29, 1913, upon successor's special election to finish term ending March 4, 1913. William M. Kavanaugh (D)
Texas
(2)
Rienzi M. Johnston (D) Morris Sheppard (D)
Idaho
(3)
Kirtland I. Perky (D) Appointment expired February 5, 1913, upon successor's special election. James H. Brady (R) February 6, 1913

House of Representatives


House vacancies are only filled by elections. State laws regulate when (and if) there will be special elections.

District Previous Reason for change Subsequent Date of successor's installation
Pennsylvania 2nd Vacant Rep-elect Joel Cook died in office December 15, 1910. Seat filled in special election held May 23, 1911. William S. Reyburn (R) May 23, 1911
Iowa 9th Walter I. Smith (R) Resigned March 15, 1911, after being appointed judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. William R. Green (R) June 5, 1911
Kansas 2nd Alexander C. Mitchell (R) Died July 7, 1911. Joseph Taggart (D) November 7, 1911
Pennsylvania 14th George W. Kipp (D) Died July 24, 1911. William D.B. Ainey (R) November 7, 1911
Tennessee 10th George W. Gordon (D) Died August 9, 1911. Kenneth McKellar (D) December 4, 1911
New Jersey 1st Henry C. Loudenslager (R) Died August 12, 1911. William J. Browning (R) November 7, 1911
Nebraska 3rd James P. Latta (D) Died September 11, 1911. Dan V. Stephens (D) November 7, 1911
Kansas 7th Edmond H. Madison (R) Died September 18, 1911. George A. Neeley (D) January 9, 1912
New Mexico Territory At-Large William Henry Andrews (R) New State January 6, 1912. seat eliminated
New Mexico At-large New seat New State January 6, 1912. Harvey B. Fergusson (D) January 8, 1912
New Mexico At-large New seat New State January 6, 1912. George Curry (R) January 8, 1912
Arizona Territory At-large Ralph H. Cameron (R) New State February 14, 1912. seat eliminated
Arizona At-large New seat New State February 14, 1912. Carl Hayden (D) February 19, 1912[2]
Vermont 1st David J. Foster (R) Died March 21, 1912 Frank L. Greene (R) July 30, 1912
Pennsylvania 1st Henry H. Bingham (R) Died March 22, 1912. William S. Vare (R) May 24, 1912
Iowa 11th Elbert H. Hubbard (R) Died June 4, 1912. George Cromwell Scott (R) November 5, 1912
Louisiana 6th Robert Charles Wickliffe (D) Died June 11, 1912. Lewis Lovering Morgan (D) November 5, 1912
New York 26th George R. Malby (R) Died July 5, 1912. Edwin A. Merritt (R) November 5, 1912
Missouri 11th Theron Ephron Catlin (R) Lost contested election August 12, 1912. Patrick F. Gill (D) August 12, 1912
New Jersey 6th William Hughes (D) Resigned September 27, 1912, after being appointed to the Passaic County Court of Common Pleas. Archibald C. Hart (D) November 5, 1912
Ohio 13th Carl C. Anderson (D) Died October 1, 1912. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
New York 21st Richard E. Connell (D) Died October 30, 1912. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Rhode Island 2nd George H. Utter (R) Died November 3, 1912. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Pennsylvania 11th Charles C. Bowman (R) Seat declared vacant December 12, 1912. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Pennsylvania 16th John G. McHenry (D) Died December 27, 1912. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
New York 10th William Sulzer (D) Resigned December 31, 1912, after being elected Governor of New York. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Michigan 2nd William Wedemeyer (R) Died January 2, 1913. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
North Dakota 1st Louis B. Hanna (R) Resigned January 7, 1913, after being elected Governor of North Dakota Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Ohio 3rd James M. Cox (D) Resigned January 12, 1913, after being elected Governor of Ohio Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Arkansas 6th Joseph Taylor Robinson (D) Resigned January 14, 1913, after being elected Governor of Arkansas Samuel M. Taylor (D) January 15, 1913
California 8th Sylvester C. Smith (R) Died January 26, 1913. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
South Carolina 1st George S. Legare (D) Died January 31, 1913. Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Texas 1st J. Morris Sheppard (D) Resigned February 3, 1913, after being elected to the U.S. Senate Seat remained vacant until next Congress

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders, for members (House and Senate) of the committees and their assignments, go into the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of the article and click on the link (6 links), in the directory after the pages of terms of service, you will see the committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and after the committee pages, you will see the House/Senate committee assignments in the directory, on the committees section of the House and Senate in the Official Congressional Directory, the committee's members on the first row on the left side shows the chairman of the committee and on the right side shows the ranking member of the committee.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

  • Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
  • Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
  • Federal Aid in Construction of Post Roads
  • Investigations of Conditions in Alaska (Chairman: Sen. Knute Nelson)
  • Investigate the General Parcel Post
  • The Library
  • Printing (Chairman: Sen. Reed Smoot)
  • Postage on 2nd Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Transportation of Mail (Chairman: Sen. Jonathan Bourne, Jr.)
  • Second Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Rail Mail Service

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

  • United States elections, 1910 (elections leading to this Congress)
    • United States Senate elections, 1910 and 1911
    • United States House of Representatives elections, 1910
  • United States elections, 1912 (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)

Notes

  1. Independent Democratic
  2. Independent
  1. "Senate Now Numbers 96". New York Times. April 3, 1912.
  2. Rice, Ross R (1994). Carl Hayden: Builder of the American West. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. p. 40. ISBN 0-8191-9399-2.

References

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