The 43rd 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, 1873, to March 4, 1875, during the fifth and sixth years of Ulysses S. Grant's presidency.
The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1870 United States census.
Both chambers had a Republican majority. This is the last time Republicans held a 2/3 majority in the Senate.
Major events
Major legislation
- June 22, 1874: Revised Statutes of the United States
- June 23, 1874: Poland Act,
- January 14, 1875: Specie Payment Resumption Act ch. 15,
- March 1, 1875: Civil Rights Act of 1875, (Butler-Sumner Act)
- March 3, 1875: Tariff of 1875
- March 3, 1875: Page Act of 1875,
Treaties
- March 18, 1874: Hawaii signed a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trading rights.
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
House of Representatives
Before this Congress, the 1870 United States census and resulting reapportionment changed the size of the House to 292 members.
Leadership
Senate
House of Representatives
Members
This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class and Members of the House 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. In this Congress, class 1 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1874; class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1876; and class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1878.
2. George Goldthwaite (D)
3. George E. Spencer (R)
2. Powell Clayton (R)
3. Stephen W. Dorsey (R)
1. Eugene Casserly (D), until November 29, 1873
: John S. Hager (D), from December 23, 1873
3. Aaron A. Sargent (R)
1. William A. Buckingham (R), until February 5, 1875
: William W. Eaton (D), from February 5, 1875
3. Orris S. Ferry (LR)
1. Thomas F. Bayard Sr. (D)
2. Eli Saulsbury (D)
1. Abijah Gilbert (R)
3. Simon B. Conover (R)
2. Thomas M. Norwood (D)
3. John B. Gordon (D)
2. John A. Logan (R)
3. Richard J. Oglesby (R)
1. Daniel D. Pratt (R)
3. Oliver H. P. T. Morton (R)
2. George G. Wright (R)
3. William B. Allison (R)
2. Alexander Caldwell (R), until March 24, 1873
: Robert Crozier (R), November 24, 1873 - February 12, 1874
: James M. Harvey (R), from February 12, 1874
3. John J. Ingalls (R)
2. John W. Stevenson (D)
3. Thomas C. McCreery (D)
2. J. Rodman West (R)
3: vacant
1. Hannibal Hamlin (R)
2. Lot M. Morrill (R)
1. William T. Hamilton (D)
3. George R. Dennis (D)
1. Charles Sumner (LR), until March 11, 1874
: William B. Washburn (R), from April 17, 1874
2. George S. Boutwell (R), from March 17, 1873
1. Zachariah Chandler (R)
2. Thomas W. Ferry (R)
1. Alexander Ramsey (R)
2. William Windom (R)
1. Adelbert Ames (R), until January 10, 1874
: Henry R. Pease (R), from February 3, 1874
2. James L. Alcorn (R)
1. Carl Schurz (R)
3. Lewis V. Bogy (D)
1. Thomas Tipton (R)
2. Phineas Hitchcock (R)
1. William M. Stewart (R)
3. John P. Jones (R)
2. Aaron H. Cragin (R)
3. Bainbridge Wadleigh (R)
1. John P. Stockton (D)
2. Frederick T. Frelinghuysen (R)
1. Reuben E. Fenton (R)
3. Roscoe Conkling (R)
2. Matt W. Ransom (D)
3. Augustus S. Merrimon (D)
1. Allen G. Thurman (D)
3. John Sherman (R)
2. James K. Kelly (D)
3. John H. Mitchell (R)
1. John Scott (R)
3. Simon Cameron (R)
1. William Sprague IV (R)
2. Henry B. Anthony (R)
2. Thomas J. Robertson (R)
3. John J. Patterson (R)
1. William G. Brownlow (R)
2. Henry Cooper (D)
1. James W. Flanagan (R)
2. Morgan C. Hamilton (LR)
1. George F. Edmunds (R)
3. Justin S. Morrill (R)
1. John F. Lewis (R)
2. John W. Johnston (D)
1. Arthur I. Boreman (R)
2. Henry G. Davis (D)
1. Matthew H. Carpenter (R)
3. Timothy O. Howe (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
. Frederick G. Bromberg (LR)
. James T. Rapier (R)
. Charles Pelham (R)
. Charles Hays (R)
. John H. Caldwell (D)
. Joseph H. Sloss (D)
. Charles C. Sheats (R)
. Alexander White (R)
. Asa Hodges (R)
. Oliver P. Snyder (R)
. William W. Wilshire (R), until June 16, 1874
: Thomas M. Gunter (D), from June 16, 1874
. William J. Hynes (LR)
. Charles Clayton (R)
. Horace F. Page (R)
. John K. Luttrell (D)
. Sherman O. Houghton (R)
. Joseph R. Hawley (R)
. Stephen W. Kellogg (R)
. Henry H. Starkweather (R)
. William H. Barnum (D)
. James R. Lofland (R)
. Josiah T. Walls (R)
. William J. Purman (R), until January 25, 1875
. Morgan Rawls (D), until March 24, 1874
: Andrew Sloan (R), from March 24, 1874
. Richard H. Whiteley (R)
. Philip Cook (D)
. Henry R. Harris (D)
. James C. Freeman (R)
. James H. Blount (D)
. Pierce M. B. Young (D)
. Alexander H. Stephens (D), from December 1, 1873
. Hiram P. Bell (D)
. John B. Rice (R), until December 17, 1874
: Bernard G. Caulfield (D), from February 1, 1875
. Jasper D. Ward (R)
. Charles B. Farwell (R)
. Stephen A. Hurlbut (R)
. Horatio C. Burchard (R)
. John B. Hawley (R)
. Franklin Corwin (R)
. Greenbury L. Fort (R)
. Granville Barrere (R)
. William H. Ray (R)
. Robert M. Knapp (D)
. James C. Robinson (D)
. John McNulta (R)
. Joseph G. Cannon (R)
. John R. Eden (D)
. James S. Martin (R)
. William R. Morrison (D)
. Isaac Clements (R)
. Samuel S. Marshall (D)
. William E. Niblack (D)
. Simeon K. Wolfe (D)
. William S. Holman (D)
. Jeremiah M. Wilson (R)
. John Coburn (R)
. Morton C. Hunter (R)
. Thomas J. Cason (R)
. James N. Tyner (R)
. John P. C. Shanks (R)
. Henry B. Sayler (R)
. Jasper Packard (R)
. Godlove S. Orth (R)
. William Williams (R)
. George W. McCrary (R)
. Aylett R. Cotton (R)
. William G. Donnan (R)
. Henry O. Pratt (R)
. James Wilson (R)
. William Loughridge (R)
. John A. Kasson (R)
. James W. McDill (R)
. Jackson Orr (R)
. Stephen A. Cobb (R)
. David P. Lowe (R)
. William A. Phillips (R)
. Edward Crossland (D)
. John Y. Brown (D)
. Charles W. Milliken (D)
. William B. Read (D)
. Elisha D. Standiford (D)
. William E. Arthur (D)
. James B. Beck (D)
. Milton J. Durham (D)
. George M. Adams (D)
. John D. Young (D)
. J. Hale Sypher (R), until March 3, 1875
: Effingham Lawrence (D), from March 3, 1875
. Lionel A. Sheldon (R)
. Chester B. Darrall (R)
. George L. Smith (R), from November 24, 1873
. Frank Morey (R)
. George A. Sheridan (LR) from March 3, 1875
. John H. Burleigh (R)
. William P. Frye (R)
. James G. Blaine (R)
. Samuel F. Hersey (R), until February 3, 1875
. Eugene Hale (R)
. Ephraim K. Wilson II (D)
. Stevenson Archer (D)
. William J. O'Brien (D)
. Thomas Swann (D)
. William Albert (R)
. Lloyd Lowndes Jr. (R)
. James Buffington (R)
. Benjamin W. Harris (R)
. William Whiting (R), until June 29, 1873
: Henry L. Pierce (R), from December 1, 1873
. Samuel Hooper (R)
. Daniel W. Gooch (R)
. Benjamin F. Butler (R)
. Ebenezer R. Hoar (R)
. John M. S. Williams (R)
. George F. Hoar (R)
. Alvah Crocker (R), until December 26, 1874
: Charles A. Stevens (R), from January 27, 1875
. Henry L. Dawes (R)
. Moses W. Field (R)
. Henry Waldron (R)
. George Willard (R)
. Julius C. Burrows (R)
. Wilder D. Foster (R), until September 20, 1873
: William B. Williams (R), from December 1, 1873
. Josiah Begole (R)
. Omar D. Conger (R)
. Nathan B. Bradley (R)
. Jay A. Hubbell (R)
. Mark H. Dunnell (R)
. Horace B. Strait (R)
. John T. Averill (R)
. Lucius Q. C. Lamar (D)
. Albert R. Howe (R)
. Henry W. Barry (R)
. Jason Niles (R)
. George C. McKee (R)
. John R. Lynch (R)
. Edwin O. Stanard (R)
. Erastus Wells (D)
. William H. Stone (D)
. Robert A. Hatcher (D)
. Richard P. Bland (D)
. Harrison E. Havens (R)
. Thomas T. Crittenden (D)
. Abram Comingo (D)
. Isaac C. Parker (R)
. Ira B. Hyde (R)
. John B. Clark Jr. (D)
. John M. Glover (D)
. Aylett H. Buckner (D)
. Lorenzo Crounse (R)
. Charles W. Kendall (D)
. William B. Small (R)
. Austin F. Pike (R)
. Hosea W. Parker (D)
. John W. Hazelton (R)
. Samuel A. Dobbins (R)
. Amos Clark Jr. (R)
. Robert Hamilton (D)
. William W. Phelps (R)
. Marcus L. Ward (R)
. Isaac W. Scudder (R)
. Henry J. Scudder (R)
. John G. Schumaker (D)
. Stewart L. Woodford (R), until July 1, 1874
: Simeon B. Chittenden (IR), from November 3, 1874
. Philip S. Crooke (R)
. William R. Roberts (D)
. James Brooks (D), until April 30, 1873
: Samuel S. Cox (D), from November 4, 1873
. Thomas J. Creamer (D)
. John D. Lawson (R)
. David B. Mellish (R), until May 23, 1874
: Richard Schell (D), from December 7, 1874
. Fernando Wood (D)
. Clarkson N. Potter (D)
. Charles St. John (R)
. John O. Whitehouse (D)
. David M. De Witt (D)
. Eli Perry (D)
. James S. Smart (R)
. Robert S. Hale (R)
. William A. Wheeler (R)
. Henry H. Hathorn (R)
. David Wilber (R)
. Clinton L. Merriam (R)
. Ellis H. Roberts (R)
. William E. Lansing (R)
. R. Holland Duell (R)
. Clinton D. MacDougall (R)
. William H. Lamport (R)
. Thomas C. Platt (R)
. H. Boardman Smith (R)
. Freeman Clarke (R)
. George G. Hoskins (R)
. Lyman K. Bass (R)
. Walter L. Sessions (R)
. Lyman Tremain (R)
. Clinton L. Cobb (R)
. Charles R. Thomas (R)
. Alfred M. Waddell (D)
. William A. Smith (R)
. James M. Leach (D)
. Thomas S. Ashe (D)
. William M. Robbins (D)
. Robert B. Vance (D)
. Milton Sayler (D)
. Henry B. Banning (LR)
. John Q. Smith (R)
. Lewis B. Gunckel (R)
. Charles N. Lamison (D)
. Isaac R. Sherwood (R)
. Lawrence T. Neal (D)
. William Lawrence (R)
. James W. Robinson (R)
. Charles Foster (R)
. Hezekiah S. Bundy (R)
. Hugh J. Jewett (D), until June 23, 1874
: William E. Finck (D), from December 7, 1874
. Milton I. Southard (D)
. John Berry (D)
. William P. Sprague (R)
. Lorenzo Danford (R)
. Laurin D. Woodworth (R)
. James Monroe (R)
. James A. Garfield (R)
. Richard C. Parsons (R)
. Joseph G. Wilson (R), until July 2, 1873
: James W. Nesmith (D), from December 1, 1873
. Samuel J. Randall (D)
. Charles O'Neill (R)
. Leonard Myers (R)
. William D. Kelley (R)
. Alfred C. Harmer (R)
. James S. Biery (R)
. Washington Townsend (R)
. Hiester Clymer (D)
. A. Herr Smith (R)
. John W. Killinger (R)
. John B. Storm (D)
. Lazarus D. Shoemaker (R)
. James D. Strawbridge (R)
. John B. Packer (R)
. John A. Magee (D)
. John Cessna (R)
. R. Milton Speer (D)
. Sobieski Ross (R)
. Carlton B. Curtis (R)
. Hiram L. Richmond (R)
. Alexander W. Taylor (R)
. James S. Negley (R)
. Ebenezer McJunkin (R), until January 1, 1875
: John M. Thompson (R), from January 5, 1875
. William S. Moore (R)
. Charles Albright (R)
. Glenni W. Scofield (R)
. Lemuel Todd (R)
. Benjamin T. Eames (R)
. James M. Pendleton (R)
. Joseph Rainey (R)
. Alonzo J. Ransier (R)
. Robert B. Elliott (R), until November 1, 1874
: Lewis C. Carpenter (R), from November 3, 1874
. Alexander S. Wallace (R)
. Richard H. Cain (R)
. Roderick R. Butler (R)
. Jacob M. Thornburgh (R)
. William Crutchfield (R)
. John M. Bright (D)
. Horace Harrison (R)
. Washington C. Whitthorne (D)
. John D. C. Atkins (D)
. David A. Nunn (R)
. Barbour Lewis (R)
. Horace Maynard (R)
. William S. Herndon (D)
. William P. McLean (D)
. De Witt C. Giddings (D)
. John Hancock (D)
. Roger Q. Mills (D)
. Asa H. Willie (D)
. Charles W. Willard (R)
. Luke P. Poland (R)
. George W. Hendee (R)
. James B. Sener (R)
. James H. Platt Jr. (R)
. J. Ambler Smith (R)
. William H. H. Stowell (R)
. Alexander Davis (D), until March 5, 1874
: Christopher Thomas (R), from March 5, 1874
. Thomas Whitehead (D)
. John T. Harris (D)
. Eppa Hunton, II (D)
. Rees Bowen (D)
. John J. Davis (ID)
. John Hagans (R)
. Frank Hereford (D)
. Charles G. Williams (R)
. Gerry W. Hazelton (R)
. J. Allen Barber (R)
. Alexander Mitchell (D)
. Charles A. Eldredge (D)
. Philetus Sawyer (R)
. Jeremiah M. Rusk (R)
. Alexander S. McDill (R)
Non-voting members
. Richard C. McCormick (NU)
. Jerome B. Chaffee (R)
. Moses K. Armstrong (D)
. Norton P. Chipman (R)
. John Hailey (D)
. Martin Maginnis (D)
. Stephen B. Elkins (R)
. George Q. Cannon (R)
. Obadiah B. McFadden (D)
. William R. Steele (D)
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
Senate
- Replacements: 5
- Democratic: 1 seat net gain
- Republican: no net change
- Liberal Republican: 1 seat net loss
- Deaths: 3
- Resignations: 3
- Interim appointments: 1
- Vacancy: 1
- Total seats with changes: 7
|- | Massachusetts (2) | Vacant | Henry Wilson resigned in previous congress after becoming Vice President of the United States.<br/>Successor elected March 17, 1873. | nowrap | George S. Boutwell (R) | March 17, 1873
|- | Mississippi (1) | nowrap | Adelbert Ames (R) | Resigned March 17, 1873, after being elected Governor of Mississippi.<br/>Successor elected February 3, 1874. | nowrap | Henry R. Pease (R) | February 3, 1874
|- | Kansas (2) | nowrap | Alexander Caldwell (R) | Resigned March 24, 1873.<br/>Successor appointed November 24, 1873. | nowrap | Robert Crozier (R) | November 24, 1873
|- | California (1) | nowrap | Eugene Casserly (D) | Resigned November 29, 1873.<br/>Successor elected December 23, 1873. | nowrap | John S. Hager (D) | December 23, 1873
|- | Kansas (2) | nowrap | Robert Crozier (R) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected February 2, 1874. | nowrap | James M. Harvey (R) | February 2, 1874
|- | Massachusetts (1) | nowrap | Charles Sumner (LR) | Died March 11, 1874.<br/>Successor elected April 17, 1874. | nowrap | William B. Washburn (R) | April 17, 1874
|- | Connecticut (1) | nowrap | William A. Buckingham (R) | Died February 5, 1875.<br/>Successor appointed February 5, 1875, having already been elected to the next tern. | nowrap | William W. Eaton (D) | February 5, 1875
House of Representatives
|- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep-elect Samuel Peters died before taking seat | nowrap | George L. Smith (R) | November 24, 1873 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep-elect Ambrose R. Wright died before taking seat | nowrap | Alexander H. Stephens (D) | December 1, 1873 |- | | nowrap | James Brooks (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died April 30, 1873 | nowrap | Samuel S. Cox (D) | November 4, 1873 |- | | nowrap | William Whiting (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died June 29, 1873 | nowrap | Henry L. Pierce (R) | December 1, 1873 |- | | nowrap | Joseph G. Wilson (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died July 2, 1873 | nowrap | James Nesmith (D) | December 1, 1873 |- | | nowrap | Wilder D. Foster (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died September 20, 1873 | nowrap | William B. Williams (R) | December 1, 1873 |- | | nowrap | Alexander Davis (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election March 5, 1874 | nowrap | Christopher Thomas (R) | March 5, 1874 |- | | nowrap | Morgan Rawls (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election March 24, 1874 | nowrap | Andrew Sloan (R) | March 24, 1874 |- | | nowrap | David B. Mellish (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died May 23, 1874 | nowrap | Richard Schell (D) | December 7, 1874 |- | | nowrap | William W. Wilshire (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election June 16, 1874 | nowrap | Thomas M. Gunter (D) | June 16, 1874 |- | | nowrap | Hugh J. Jewett (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned June 23, 1874, after becoming President of the Erie Railroad | nowrap | William E. Finck (D) | December 7, 1874 |- | | nowrap | Stewart L. Woodford (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned July 1, 1874 | nowrap | Simeon B. Chittenden (IR) | November 3, 1874 |- | | nowrap | Robert B. Elliott (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned November 1, 1874 | nowrap | Lewis C. Carpenter (R) | November 3, 1874 |- | | nowrap | John B. Rice (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 17, 1874 | nowrap | Bernard G. Caulfield (D) | February 1, 1875 |- | | nowrap | Alvah Crocker (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 26, 1874 | nowrap | Charles A. Stevens (R) | January 27, 1875 |- | | nowrap | Ebenezer McJunkin (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 1, 1875 | nowrap | John M. Thompson (R) | January 5, 1875 |- | | nowrap | William J. Purman (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned January 25, 1875 | Vacant | Not filled this term |- | | nowrap | Samuel F. Hersey (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died February 3, 1875 | Vacant | Not filled this term |- | | nowrap | J. Hale Sypher (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election March 3, 1875 | nowrap | Effingham Lawrence (D) | March 3, 1875 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Contested election originally won by Pinckney Pinchback | nowrap | George A.Sheridan (R) | March 3, 1875
Committees
Senate
House of Representatives
Joint committees
Caucuses
Employees
Senate
House of Representatives
See also
Notes
References
External links