75th United States Congress

The 75th 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, D.C., from January 3, 1937, to January 3, 1939, during the fifth and sixth years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency.[lower-alpha 1]

75th United States Congress
74th 
 76th

January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1939
Members96 senators
435 representatives
5 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentJohn N. Garner (D)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerWilliam B. Bankhead (D)
Sessions
1st: January 5, 1937 – August 21, 1937
2nd: November 15, 1937 – December 21, 1937
3rd: January 3, 1938 – June 16, 1938
Washington, D.C., March 25, 1937: Navy Chaplain Edward Duff opens the House of Representatives with a prayer for the first time since 1820. It was the first time in 117 years that the Navy was again honored in giving the invocation. Left to right: James S. Montgomery, Chaplain of the House; Speaker William Bankhead; and Capt. Edward A. Duff, Chief of Chaplains U.S. Navy

The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1930 United States census.

Both chambers had a Democratic supermajority, with the party increasing their majority in both the House and Senate, and with the reelection of President Roosevelt, maintained an overall federal government trifecta.[1][2]

This is the most recent Congress to feature a 3/4th majority in the House or Senate by either party.

Major events

Major legislation

Party summary

Senate

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Farmer–
Labor

(F)
Wisconsin
Progressive

(P)
Republican
(R)
Independent
(I)
End of previous congress 72 1 1 22 0 96 0
Begin 76 2 1 16 1 96 0
End 74 18
Final voting share 77.1% 2.1% 1.0% 18.8% 1.0%
Beginning of next congress 69 2 1 23 1 96 0

House of Representatives

House seats by party holding plurality in state
  80+% to 100% Democratic
  80+% to 100% Republican
  60+% to 80% Democratic
  60+% to 80% Republican
  Up to 60% Democratic
  Up to 60% Republican
Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Farmer–
Labor

(FL)
Wisconsin
Progressive

(P)
Republican
(R)
Other
End of previous congress 308 3 7 100 0 418 17
Begin 333 5 7 89 1 435 0
End 324 4269
Final voting share 76.1% 1.2% 1.6% 20.9% 0.2%
Beginning of next congress 260 1 2 169 2 434 1

Leadership

(L-R): House Speaker William Bankhead, Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley, and House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn
(L-R): Vice President John Nance Garner, Senate Majority Leader Alben Barkley, Speaker of the House William Bankhead, and House Majority Leader Sam Rayburn, January 9, 1939

Senate

House of Representatives

Members

Senate

Senators are popularly elected statewide 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 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1938; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1940; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1942.

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 this Congress.

Senate


Senate changes
State
(class)
Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 2]
Tennessee
(2)
Nathan L. Bachman (D) Died April 23, 1937.
Successor appointed to continue the term.
George L. Berry (D) May 6, 1937
Arkansas
(2)
Joseph T. Robinson (D) Died July 14, 1937.
Successor elected October 19, 1937.
John E. Miller (D) November 15, 1937
Alabama
(3)
Hugo Black (D) Resigned August 19, 1937, after being appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Successor appointed to continue the term.
Dixie Bibb Graves (D) August 20, 1937
Alabama
(3)
Dixie Bibb Graves (D) Resigned January 10, 1938, after successor elected. J. Lister Hill (D) January 11, 1938
New Jersey
(1)
A. Harry Moore (D) Resigned January 17, 1938, after being elected Governor of New Jersey.
Successor appointed to continue the term.
John G. Milton (D) January 18, 1938
Oregon
(3)
Frederick Steiwer (R) Resigned January 31, 1938, due to poor health.
Successor appointed to continue the term.
Alfred E. Reames (D) February 1, 1938
New York
(1)
Royal S. Copeland (D) Died June 17, 1938.
Successor elected November 8, 1938.
James M. Mead (D) December 3, 1938
California
(3)
William G. McAdoo (D) Resigned November 8, 1938, after losing nomination for upcoming term.
Successor appointed to continue the term.
Thomas M. Storke (D) November 9, 1938
New Jersey
(1)
John G. Milton (D) Interim appointee retired when successor elected.
Successor elected November 8, 1938.
William W. Barbour (R) November 9, 1938
Oregon
(3)
Alfred E. Reames (D) Interim appointee retired when successor elected.
Successor elected November 8, 1938.
Alexander G. Barry (R) November 9, 1938
South Dakota
(3)
Herbert E. Hitchcock (D) Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term.
Successor elected November 8, 1938.
Gladys Pyle (R) November 9, 1938
Tennessee
(2)
George L. Berry (D) Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term.
Successor elected November 8, 1938.
Tom Stewart (D) November 9, 1938.

House of Representatives

House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[lower-alpha 2]
Virginia 3 Andrew Jackson Montague (D) Died January 24, 1937. Dave E. Satterfield Jr. (D) November 2, 1937
Texas 10 James P. Buchanan (D) Died February 22, 1937. Lyndon B. Johnson (D) April 10, 1937
California 10 Henry E. Stubbs (D) Died February 28, 1937. Alfred J. Elliott (D) May 4, 1937
Pennsylvania 18 Benjamin K. Focht (R) Died March 27, 1937. Richard M. Simpson (R) May 11, 1937
New York 27 Philip A. Goodwin (R) Died June 6, 1937. Lewis K. Rockefeller (R) November 2, 1937
Massachusetts 7 William P. Connery Jr. (D) Died June 15, 1937. Lawrence J. Connery (D) September 28, 1937
New York 17 Theodore A. Peyser (D) Died August 8, 1937. Bruce F. Barton (R) November 2, 1937
Ohio 4 Frank Le Blond Kloeb (D) Resigned August 19, 1937, to become justice of United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. Walter H. Albaugh (R) November 8, 1938
New York 25 Charles D. Millard (R) Resigned September 29, 1937, to become surrogate of Westchester County, New York. Ralph A. Gamble (R) November 2, 1937
Massachusetts 11 John P. Higgins (D) Resigned September 30, 1937, to become chief justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court. Thomas A. Flaherty (D) December 14, 1937
Oklahoma 5 Robert P. Hill (D) Died October 29, 1937. Gomer Griffith Smith (D) December 10, 1937
Arkansas 2 John E. Miller (D) Resigned November 14, 1937, to become U.S. senator. Vacant until the next Congress
Pennsylvania 33 Henry Ellenbogen (D) Resigned January 3, 1938, to become judge of Common Pleas of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Vacant until the next Congress
Alabama 2 J. Lister Hill (D) Resigned January 11, 1938, to become U.S. senator. George M. Grant (D) June 14, 1938
New Jersey 9 Edward A. Kenney (D) Died January 27, 1938. Vacant until the next Congress
California 17 Charles J. Colden (D) Died April 15, 1938. Vacant until the next Congress
Kentucky 8 Fred M. Vinson (D) Resigned May 27, 1938, to become associate justice of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Joe B. Bates (D) June 4, 1938
New Hampshire 1 Arthur B. Jenks (R) Lost contested election June 9, 1938 Alphonse Roy (D) June 9, 1938
South Carolina 6 Allard H. Gasque (D) Died June 17, 1938. Elizabeth Hawley Gasque (D) September 13, 1937
New York 1 Robert L. Bacon (R) Died September 12, 1938. Vacant until the next Congress
Resident Commissioner of the Philippines Quintin Paredes (NAC) Resigned September 29, 1938. Joaquín Miguel Elizalde (NAC) September 29, 1938
New York 15 John J. Boylan (D) Died October 5, 1938. Vacant until the next Congress
Iowa 1 Edward C. Eicher (D) Resigned December 2, 1938, to become commissioner to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Vacant until the next Congress
New York 42 James M. Mead (D) Resigned December 2, 1938, after being elected to the U.S. Senate. Vacant until the next Congress
Maryland 5 Stephen W. Gambrill (D) Died December 19, 1938. Vacant until the next Congress

Committees

Lists of committees and their party leaders for members of the House and Senate committees can be found through the Official Congressional Directory at the bottom of this article. The directory after the pages of terms of service lists committees of the Senate, House (Standing with Subcommittees, Select and Special) and Joint and, after that, House/Senate committee assignments. 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

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

Notes

  1. Starting in 1937, the 20th Amendment required new presidential terms to begin 17 days after the new Congress convened.
  2. When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.

References

  1. Altman, O. R. (1937). "First Session of the Seventy-fifth Congress, January 5, 1937, to August 21, 1937". American Political Science Review. 31 (6): 1071–1093. doi:10.2307/1948958. ISSN 0003-0554.
  2. Altman, O. R. (1938). "Second and Third Sessions of the Seventy-fifth Congress, 1937–38". American Political Science Review. 32 (6): 1099–1123. doi:10.2307/1947974. ISSN 0003-0554.
  3. Tom Stewart won a special election November 8, 1938. Although eligible and elected, did not "take his seat" as he preferred to remain as district attorney general. Nevertheless, his service begins when eligible and elected, not upon the taking of an oath.
  4. Official Congressional Directory for the United States Congress. Washington: United States Government Printing Office. 1937. pp. 760.
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