63rd United States Congress

63rd United States Congress
62nd ←
→ 64th
United States Capitol (1906)
March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1915
Members96 senators
435 representatives
5 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentThomas R. Marshall (D)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerChamp Clark (D)
Sessions
Special[a]: March 4, 1913 – March 17, 1913
1st: April 7, 1913 – December 1, 1913
2nd: December 1, 1913 – October 24, 1914
3rd: December 7, 1914 – March 3, 1915

The 63rd 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 March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1915, during the first two years of Woodrow Wilson's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census.

The Democrats had greatly increased their majority in the House, and won control of the Senate, giving them full control of Congress for the first time since the 53rd Congress in 1893. With Woodrow Wilson being sworn in as president on March 4, 1913, this gave the Democrats an overall federal government trifecta - also for the first time since the 53rd Congress.

Major events

Inauguration platform being constructed on the east steps of the U.S. Capitol, ten days before Woodrow Wilson's March 4, 1913, presidential inauguration.
Main articles: 1913 in the United States, 1914 in the United States, and 1915 in the United States

Major legislation

Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 63rd United States Congress

Constitutional amendments

Party summary

Senate

Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Democratic
(D) 		Bull
Moose
(Prog.)		Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 45 0 50 95 1
Begin 49 1 42 92 4
End 53 960
Final voting share 55.2% 1.0% 43.8%
Beginning of next congress 56 0 40 96 0

House of Representatives

Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Democratic
(D) 		Bull
Moose
(Prog.)		Independent
(I)		Republican
(R)		Other
End of previous congress 225 0 0 156 1[b] 382 12
Begin 289 10 1 134 0 434 1
End 282 11 130 42411
Final voting share 66.5% 2.6% 0.2% 30.7% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 230 5 1 194 2[c] 432 3

Leadership

Senate leadership

Senate president
Senate President Thomas R. Marshall
Thomas R. Marshall (D)
Senate president pro tempore
Senate President pro tempore James Paul Clarke
James Paul Clarke (D)

Presiding

House leadership

House Speaker
Speaker of the House Champ Clark
Champ Clark (D)

Presiding

Majority (Democratic) leadership

Minority (Republican) leadership

Members

Skip to House of Representatives, below

Senate

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 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1914; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1916; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1918.

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

Changes in membership

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

Senate

  • Replacements: 3
  • Deaths: 3
  • Resignations: 3
  • Vacancies: 3
  • Total seats with changes: 9
State Senator Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
New Hampshire
(2) 		Vacant Elected late. Henry F. Hollis (D) March 13, 1913
Illinois
(2) 		Vacant Due to US Sen.Lorimer scandal, general assembly refused to seat elected Senator at beginning of term. Compromise was later reached with Governor of Illinois to seat senator to replace Lorimer after another election was called. J. Hamilton Lewis (D) March 26, 1913
Illinois
(3) 		Vacant Due to US Sen.Lorimer scandal, general assembly refused to seat elected Senator at beginning of term. Compromise was later reached with Governor of Illinois to seat senator who supported Sen Lorimer. Lawrence Y. Sherman (R) March 26, 1913
West Virginia
(2) 		Vacant Elected to seat at beginning of term but delayed installation to continue as judge of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Nathan Goff Jr. (R) April 1, 1913
Alabama
(3) 		Joseph F. Johnston (D) Died August 8, 1913. Successor was appointed to finish term. Francis S. White (D) May 11, 1914
Maryland
(1) 		William P. Jackson (R) Successor was elected. Blair Lee (D) January 28, 1914
Georgia
(2) 		Augustus O. Bacon (D) Died February 14, 1914. Successor was appointed. William S. West (D) March 2, 1914
Kentucky
(3) 		William O. Bradley (R) Died May 23, 1914. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. Johnson N. Camden Jr. (D) June 16, 1914
Georgia
(2) 		William S. West (D) Successor was elected. Thomas W. Hardwick (D) November 4, 1914

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 20
  • Deaths: 11
  • Resignations: 19
  • Contested elections: 2
  • Total seats with changes: 15
District Vacated by Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
South Carolina 1st Vacant Rep. George S. Legaré died during previous congress Richard S. Whaley (D) April 29, 1913
Massachusetts 13th John W. Weeks (R) Resigned March 4, 1913, after being elected to the U.S. Senate John J. Mitchell (D) April 15, 1913
Texas 10th Albert S. Burleson (D) Resigned March 6, 1913, after being appointed United States Postmaster General James P. Buchanan (D) April 15, 1913
New Jersey 6th Lewis J. Martin (D) Died May 5, 1913 Archibald C. Hart (D) July 22, 1913
Michigan 12th H. Olin Young (R) Resigned May 16, 1913, while election was being contested William J. MacDonald (Prog.) August 26, 1913
Maine 3rd Forrest Goodwin (R) Died May 28, 1913 John A. Peters (R) September 9, 1913
Maryland 3rd George Konig (D) Died May 31, 1913 Charles P. Coady (D) November 4, 1913
West Virginia 1st John W. Davis (D) Resigned August 29, 1913, after being appointed Solicitor General of the United States Matthew M. Neely (D) October 14, 1913
New York 13th Timothy Sullivan (D) Died August 31, 1913 George W. Loft (D) November 4, 1913
New York 20th Francis B. Harrison (D) Resigned September 1, 1913, after being appointed Governor-General of the Philippines Jacob A. Cantor (D) November 4, 1913
Massachusetts 3rd William Wilder (R) Died September 11, 1913 Calvin Paige (R) November 4, 1913
Georgia 2nd Seaborn Roddenbery (D) Died September 25, 1913 Frank Park (D) November 4, 1913
Iowa 2nd Irvin S. Pepper (D) Died December 22, 1913 Henry Vollmer (D) February 10, 1914
Massachusetts 12th James Michael Curley (D) Resigned February 4, 1914, after being elected Mayor of Boston James A. Gallivan (D) April 7, 1914
New Jersey 7th Robert G. Bremner (D) Died February 5, 1914 Dow H. Drukker (R) April 7, 1914
Alabama 8th William N. Richardson (D) Died March 31, 1914 Christopher C. Harris (D) May 11, 1914
Alabama 3rd Henry D. Clayton Jr. (D) Resigned May 25, 1914, after being appointed judge for U.S. District Court for Middle and Northern Districts of Alabama William O. Mulkey (D) June 29, 1914
Missouri 12th Leonidas C. Dyer (R) Lost contested election June 9, 1914 Michael J. Gill (D) June 9, 1914
Illinois 4th James T. McDermott (D) Resigned July 21, 1914 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Ohio 14th William G. Sharp (D) Resigned July 23, 1914, after being appointed United States Ambassador to France Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Massachusetts 11th Andrew J. Peters (D) Resigned August 15, 1914, after being appointed Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Massachusetts 10th William F. Murray (D) Resigned September 28, 1914, after being appointed Postmaster of Boston Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Maryland 1st J. Harry Covington (D) Resigned September 30, 1914, after being appointed to serve as chief justice of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Jesse Price (D) November 3, 1914
New Jersey 9th Walter I. McCoy (D) Resigned October 3, 1914, after being appointed associate justice for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia Richard W. Parker (R) December 1, 1914
Georgia 10th Thomas W. Hardwick (D) Resigned November 2, 1914, after being elected to the U.S. Senate Carl Vinson (D) November 3, 1914
New York 36th Sereno E. Payne (R) Died December 10, 1914 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
New York 31st Edwin A. Merritt (R) Died December 14, 1914 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
New York 2nd Denis O'Leary (D) Resigned December 31, 1914 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Minnesota 2nd Winfield Scott Hammond (D) Resigned January 6, 1915, after being elected Governor of Minnesota Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Ohio 5th Timothy T. Ansberry (D) Resigned January 9, 1915, after being appointed associate justice of the Ohio Court of Appeals Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Ohio 8th Frank B. Willis (R) Resigned January 9, 1915, after being elected Governor of Ohio Seat remained vacant until next Congress
New Jersey 8th Eugene F. Kinkead (D) Resigned February 4, 1915, after becoming sheriff of Hudson County, New Jersey Seat remained vacant until 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

References

  1. ^ Special session of the Senate.
  2. ^ Socialist
  3. ^ Socialist & Prohibition