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1947–1949 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 80th 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, 1947, to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth years of 33rd President Harry S. Truman's administration (1945–1952). This congressional term featured the most recent special Senate sessions. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.
| 80th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
79th ← → 81st | |
United States Capitol (1956) | |
January 3, 1947 – January 3, 1949 | |
| Members | 96 senators 435 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Republican |
| Senate President | Vacant[a] |
| House majority | Republican |
| House Speaker | Joseph W. Martin Jr. (R) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 3, 1947 – December 19, 1947 Special[b]: November 17, 1947 – December 19, 1947 2nd: January 6, 1948 – December 31, 1948 Special[c]: July 26, 1948 – August 7, 1948 | |
The Republicans won the majority in both chambers, marking the first time since the 71st Congress of 1929–1931, that they held full control of Congress, and the first time since the 72nd Congress of 1931–1933, that they held control of either of the two chambers. This also ended a 14-year Democratic overall federal government trifecta period, dating back to the 73rd Congress (1933–1935). This ties with the previous 14-year Republican trifecta from 1897 to 1911 as the longest trifectas of Congress and is the last time, (as of the year 2024), that a trifecta was achieved that lasted longer than a decade.
Although the 80th Congress passed a total of 906 public bills,[1] President Truman nicknamed it during his campaign speeches and remarks as the "Do Nothing Congress" and, during the 1948 elections, campaigned as much against it as against his formal opponent, Thomas E. Dewey of New York. the Republican presidential nominee. The 80th Congress did however pass several significant bills with bipartisan support, most famously the Truman Doctrine (on Greece-Turkey anti-communists aid in developing Cold War with former ally Soviet Union), the Marshall Plan (aid for devastated Europe after World War II), and the Taft–Hartley Act of 1947 on labor relations (over Truman's veto), but it opposed most of Truman's Fair Deal domestic programs bills.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Progressive (P) | Republican (R) | |||
| End of previous congress | 53 | 1 | 42 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 45 | 0 | 51 | 96 | 0 |
| End | |||||
| Final voting share | 46.9% | 0.0% | 53.1% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 54 | 0 | 42 | 96 | 0 |
From the beginning to the end of this Congress, there was no net change in party power. The Democrats lost one seat, which remained vacant until the next Congress.
| Affiliation | Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) |
Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Democratic | American Labor | Progressive | Vacant | ||
| End of previous Congress | 191 | 236 | 1 | 1 | 429 | 6 |
| Begin | 245 | 187 | 1 | 0 | 433 | 2 |
| End | 242 | 186 | 2 | 430 | 5 | |
| Final voting share | 56.7% | 43.1% | 0.2% | 0.0% | ||
| Beginning of the next Congress | 171 | 262 | 1 | 0 | 434 | 1 |
Section contents: Senate: Majority (R), Minority (D) • House: Majority (R), Minority (D)
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 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1948; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1950; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1952.
The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide at-large, are preceded by an "At-Large", and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.
The congressional district numbers are linked to articles describing the district itself. Since the boundaries of the districts have changed often and substantially, the linked article may only describe the district as it exists today, and not as it was at the time of this Congress.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress
There were three deaths, two resignations, and one lost mid-term election.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[e] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi (1) |
Theodore G. Bilbo (D) | Died August 21, 1947. Successor was elected November 17, 1947. |
John C. Stennis (D) | November 17, 1947 |
| Louisiana (3) |
John H. Overton (D) | Died May 14, 1948. Successor was appointed to continue the term. |
William C. Feazel (D) | May 18, 1948 |
| South Dakota (2) |
Harlan J. Bushfield (R) | Died September 27, 1948. Successor was appointed to finish the term. |
Vera C. Bushfield (R) | October 6, 1948 |
| South Dakota (2) |
Vera C. Bushfield (R) | Interim appointee resigned December 26, 1948. Successor was appointed to finish the term. |
Karl E. Mundt (R) | December 31, 1948 |
| Louisiana (3) |
William C. Feazel (D) | Interim appointee retired when successor elected. Successor was elected December 31, 1948. |
Russell B. Long (D) | December 31, 1948 |
| North Carolina (2) |
William B. Umstead (D) | Interim appointee lost election to finish the term. Successor was elected December 31, 1948. |
J. Melville Broughton (D) | December 31, 1948 |
There were nine deaths and seven resignations.
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[e] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama 8th |
Vacant | John Sparkman resigned in previous Congress after being elected to the US Senate having been re-elected as well. | Robert E. Jones Jr. (D) | Seated January 28, 1947 |
| Wisconsin 2nd |
Vacant | Representative Robert Kirkland Henry died during previous Congress having been previously re-elected. | Glenn Robert Davis (R) | Seated April 22, 1947 |
| Washington 3rd |
Fred B. Norman (R) | Died April 18, 1947 | Russell V. Mack (R) | Seated June 7, 1947 |
| Pennsylvania 8th |
Charles L. Gerlach (R) | Died May 5, 1947 | Franklin H. Lichtenwalter (R) | Seated September 9, 1947 |
| Maryland 3rd |
Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. (D) | Resigned May 16, 1947, after being elected Mayor of Baltimore | Edward Garmatz (D) | Seated July 15, 1947 |
| Michigan 11th |
Frederick Van Ness Bradley (R) | Died May 24, 1947 | Charles E. Potter (R) | Seated August 26, 1947 |
| Texas 9th |
Joseph J. Mansfield (D) | Died July 12, 1947 | Clark W. Thompson (D) | Seated August 23, 1947 |
| Texas 16th |
R. Ewing Thomason (D) | Resigned July 31, 1947, after being appointed as a judge of the US District Court for the Western District of Texas | Kenneth M. Regan (D) | Seated August 23, 1947 |
| Massachusetts 9th |
Charles L. Gifford (R) | Died August 23, 1947 | Donald W. Nicholson (R) | Seated November 18, 1947 |
| Indiana 10th |
Raymond S. Springer (R) | Died August 28, 1947 | Ralph Harvey (R) | Seated November 4, 1947 |
| Ohio 4th |
Robert Franklin Jones (R) | Resigned September 2, 1947, to become a member of the Federal Communications Commission | William Moore McCulloch (R) | Seated November 4, 1947 |
| New York 14th |
Leo F. Rayfiel (D) | Resigned September 13, 1947, having been appointed a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York | Abraham J. Multer (D) | Seated November 4, 1947 |
| Illinois 21st |
George Evan Howell (R) | Resigned October 5, 1947, after being appointed judge of the US Court of Claims | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Virginia 4th |
Patrick H. Drewry (D) | Died December 21, 1947 | Watkins Moorman Abbitt (D) | Seated February 17, 1948 |
| New York 24th |
Benjamin J. Rabin (D) | Resigned December 31, 1947 | Leo Isacson (AL) | Seated February 17, 1948 |
| Kentucky 2nd |
Earle Clements (D) | Resigned January 6, 1948, to become Governor of Kentucky | John A. Whitaker (D) | Seated April 17, 1948 |
| Kentucky 9th |
John M. Robsion (R) | Died February 17, 1948 | William Lewis (R) | Seated April 24, 1948 |
| Missouri 10th |
Orville Zimmerman (D) | Died April 7, 1948 | Paul C. Jones (D) | Seated November 2, 1948 |
| Virginia 6th |
J. Lindsay Almond (D) | Resigned April 17, 1948, having been elected attorney General of Virginia | Clarence G. Burton (D) | Seated November 2, 1948 |
| Illinois 7th |
Thomas L. Owens (R) | Died June 7, 1948 | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Indiana 6th |
Noble J. Johnson (R) | Resigned July 1, 1948, after being appointed as judge of US Court of Customs & Patent Appeals | Vacant until next Congress | |
| Texas 15th |
Milton H. West (D) | Died October 28, 1948 | Lloyd Bentsen (D) | Seated December 4, 1948 |
| New York 7th |
John J. Delaney (D) | Died November 18, 1948 | Vacant until next Congress | |
| South Dakota 1st |
Karl E. Mundt (R) | Resigned December 30, 1948, after being appointed to the U.S. Senate having already been elected. | Vacant until next Congress | |
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.
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