64th United States Congress

The 64th 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, 1915, to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the Thirteenth Census of the United States in 1910. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.

64th United States Congress
63rd ←
→ 65th
March 4, 1915 – March 4, 1917
Members96 senators
435 representatives
5 non-voting delegates
Senate MajorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentThomas R. Marshall (D)
House MajorityDemocratic
House SpeakerChamp Clark (D)
Sessions
1st: December 6, 1915 – September 8, 1916
2nd: December 4, 1916 – March 3, 1917 (lame duck)

Major events
President Wilson before Congress, announcing the break in the official relations with Germany. February 3, 1917.
Main articles: 1915 in the United States, 1916 in the United States, and 1917 in the United States
  • June 9, 1915: (Prelude to World War I):U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned over a disagreement regarding the nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.
  • July 24, 1915: The steamer SS Eastland capsized in central Chicago, with the loss of 844 lives.
  • July 28, 1915: The United States occupation of Haiti began.
  • August 5–August 23, 1915: Hurricane Two of the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season over Galveston and New Orleans left 275 dead.
  • March 8–March 9, 1916: Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa led about 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 12 U.S. soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fights back and drives them away.
  • March 15, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa.
  • May 5, 1916: United States Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.
  • July 30, 1916: German agents caused the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City, New Jersey, an act of sabotage destroying an ammunition depot and killing at least 7 people.
  • November 7, 1916: U.S. presidential election, 1916: Democratic President Woodrow Wilson narrowly defeated Republican Charles E. Hughes.
  • January 11, 1917: (Prelude to World War I): German saboteurs set off the Kingsland Explosion at Kingsland, NJ (now Lyndhurst, NJ), one of the events leading to U.S. involvement in World War I.
  • February 3, 1917: (Prelude to World War I):The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany

Major legislation

Treaties

Party summary
Map showing Senate party membership at the start of the 64th Congress. Red states are represented by two Republicans and blue by two Democrats. Purple states are represented by one senator from each party.

Senate
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Republican
(R)		Other
End of previous congress 53 42 1[lower-alpha 1] 96 0
Begin 56 40 0 96 0
End 55 41
Final voting share 57.3% 42.7% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 54 42 0 96 0

House of Representatives
Party
(shading shows control)		 Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)		 Progressive
(P)		Socialist
(S)		Independent
(I)		Prohibition
(P)		Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 282 11 0 1 0 130 424 11
Begin 230 5 1 1 1 194 432 3
End 227 4 200 4341
Final voting share 52.3% 0.9% 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 46.1%
Beginning of next congress 213 3 1 0 1 216 434 1

Leadership

Senate

House of Representatives

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Members
Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate

At this time, most sitting Senators had been elected by the state legislatures, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. Due to the 17th Amendment, the incoming class of senators from the 1914 election were all elected directly by the residents of their state, In this Congress, Class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1916; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1918; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1920.

House of Representatives

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

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate
  • Replacements: 3
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 0
  • Vacancy: 0
  • Total seats with changes: 4
State Senator Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
Indiana
(3)		 Benjamin F. Shively (D) Died March 14, 1916. Successor was appointed. Thomas Taggart (D) March 20, 1916
Maine
(2)		 Edwin C. Burleigh (R) Died June 16, 1916. Successor was elected. Bert M. Fernald (R) September 12, 1916
Arkansas
(3)		 James P. Clarke (D) Died October 1, 1916. Successor was elected. William F. Kirby (D) November 8, 1916
Indiana
(3)		 Thomas Taggart (D) Successor was elected. James E. Watson (R) November 8, 1916

House of Representatives
  • Replacements: 9
  • Deaths: 8
  • Resignations: 12
  • Contested elections: 4
  • Total seats with changes: 15
District Vacator Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
New York 31st Vacant Rep. Edwin A. Merritt died during previous congress Bertrand Snell (R) November 2, 1915
New York 36th Vacant Rep. Sereno E. Payne died during previous congress Norman J. Gould (R) November 2, 1915
Pennsylvania 24th Vacant Rep.-elect William M. Brown died during previous congress Henry W. Temple (R) November 2, 1915
South Carolina 4th Joseph T. Johnson (D) Resigned April 19, 1915 Samuel J. Nicholls (D) September 4, 1915
New York 23rd Joseph A. Goulden (D) Died May 3, 1915 William S. Bennet (R) November 2, 1915
Mississippi 5th Samuel A. Witherspoon (D) Died November 24, 1915 William W. Venable (D) January 4, 1916
West Virginia 2nd William Gay Brown Jr. (D) Died March 9, 1916 George M. Bowers (R) May 9, 1916
West Virginia 4th Hunter H. Moss Jr. (R) Died July 15, 1916 Harry C. Woodyard (R) November 7, 1916
California 10th William Stephens (Prog.) Resigned July 22, 1916, after being elected Lieutenant Governor of California Henry S. Benedict (R) November 7, 1916
Virginia 7th James Hay (D) Resigned October 1, 1916, after being appointed judge of the United States Court of Claims Thomas W. Harrison (D) November 7, 1916
Philippines Resident Commissioner Manuel L. Quezon Resigned October 15, 1916, after being elected to the Senate of the Philippines Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Luis Muñoz Rivera Died November 15, 1916 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Georgia 8th Samuel J. Tribble (D) Incumbent died December 8, 1916.
Successor elected January 11, 1917.		 Tinsley W. Rucker Jr. (D) January 11, 1917
South Carolina 5th David E. Finley (D) Resigned January 26, 1917.
Successor elected February 21, 1917.		 Paul G. McCorkle (D) February 21, 1917
New York 15th Michael F. Conry (D) Died March 2, 1917 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 (5 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
  • Armor Plant Costs (Special)
  • Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
  • Federal Aid in Construction of Post Roads
  • Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
  • The Library (Chairman: Sen. John Sharp Williams)
  • Interstate Commerce (Chairman: Sen. Francis G. Newlands)
  • Investigate the General Parcel Post
  • Printing (Chairman: Sen. Duncan U. Fletcher)
  • Postage on 2nd Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Transportation of Mail (Chairman: Sen. Jonathan Bourne, Jr.)
  • Rural Credits (Chairman: Rep. Carter Glass)
  • Second Class Mail Matter and Compensation for Rail Mail Service

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes
  1. Progressive

References
  • Gould, Lewis L. (2005). The Most Exclusive Club. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Books Group. ISBN 0-465-02778-4.
  • Remini, Robert V. (2006). The House. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-06-088434-7.
  • U.S. Congress (2005). "Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
  • U.S. House of Representatives (2006). "Congressional History". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
  • U.S. Senate (2006). "Statistics and Lists". Archived from the original on 1 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-06-01.
  • Official Congressional Directory for the 64th Congress, 1st Session.
  • Official Congressional Directory for the 64th Congress, 1st Session (1st Revision). hdl:2027/uc1.l0075858456.
  • Official Congressional Directory for the 64th Congress, 1st Session (2nd Revision).
  • Congress, United States (1916). Official Congressional Directory for the 64th Congress, 2nd Session.
  • Official Congressional Directory for the 64th Congress, 2nd Session (Revision).
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