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1955–1957 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 84th 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, 1955, to January 3, 1957, during the third and fourth years of Dwight D. Eisenhower's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1950 United States census.
| 84th United States Congress | |
|---|---|
83rd ← → 85th | |
United States Capitol (1956) | |
January 3, 1955 – January 3, 1957 | |
| Members | 96 senators 435 representatives 3 non-voting delegates |
| Senate majority | Democratic |
| Senate President | Richard Nixon (R) |
| House majority | Democratic |
| House Speaker | Sam Rayburn (D) |
| Sessions | |
| 1st: January 5, 1955 – August 2, 1955 2nd: January 3, 1956 – July 27, 1956 | |
The Democratic Party won back majorities in both the House and Senate, thus giving them full control of Congress, although Republican Party won the Senate in the last Congress.
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.
The independent Wayne Morse, who caucused with Republicans in the second session of the previous Congress, began caucusing with the Democrats at the start of this Congress before ultimately becoming a Democrat himself.
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Independent (I) | Republican (R) | |||
| End of previous congress | 47 | 1 | 48 | 96 | 0 |
| Begin | 48 | 1 | 47 | 96 | 0 |
| End | 47 | 0 | 49 | ||
| Final voting share | 49.0% | 0.0% | 51.0% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 49 | 0 | 46 | 95 | 1 |
| Party (shading shows control) |
Total | Vacant | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic (D) |
Independent (I) | Republican (R) | |||
| End of previous congress | 212 | 1 | 213 | 426 | 9 |
| Begin | 231 | 0 | 203 | 434 | 1 |
| End | 228 | 200 | 428 | 7 | |
| Final voting share | 53.3% | 0.0% | 46.7% | ||
| Beginning of next congress | 233 | 0 | 200 | 433 | 2 |
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This list is arranged by chamber, then by state.
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 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1958; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1960; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1956.
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
| State (class) |
Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oregon (3) |
Wayne Morse (I) | Changed Political Parties February 17, 1955 | Wayne Morse (D) | February 17, 1955 |
| West Virginia (1) |
Harley M. Kilgore (D) | Died February 28, 1956 | William Laird III (D) | March 13, 1956 |
| South Carolina (2) |
Strom Thurmond (ID) | Resigned April 4, 1956, to trigger a contested primary as promised to voters | Thomas A. Wofford (D) | April 5, 1956 |
| Kentucky (2) |
Alben W. Barkley (D) | Died April 30, 1956 | Robert Humphreys (D) | June 21, 1956 |
| Kentucky (2) |
Robert Humphreys (D) | Successor elected November 6, 1956 | John Sherman Cooper (R) | November 7, 1956 |
| South Carolina (2) |
Thomas A. Wofford (D) | Successor elected November 6, 1956 | Strom Thurmond (D) | November 7, 1956 |
| West Virginia (1) |
William Laird III (D) | Successor elected November 6, 1956 | Chapman Revercomb (R) | November 7, 1956 |
| District | Vacated by | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's formal installation[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida 6th | Vacant | Rep. Dwight L. Rogers died during the previous congress after having been re-elected. Successor elected January 11, 1955. |
Paul Rogers (D) | January 11, 1955 |
| Michigan 15th | John Dingell Sr. (D) | Died September 19, 1955. Successor elected December 13, 1955. |
John Dingell (D) | December 13, 1955 |
| Pennsylvania 30th | Vera Buchanan (D) | Died November 26, 1955. Successor elected January 24, 1956. |
Elmer J. Holland (D) | January 24, 1956 |
| New York 22nd | Sidney A. Fine (D) | Resigned January 2, 1956. Successor elected February 7, 1956. |
James C. Healey (D) | February 7, 1956 |
| Illinois 14th | Chauncey W. Reed (R) | Died February 9, 1956 Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
| Pennsylvania 2nd | William T. Granahan (D) | Died May 25, 1956. Successor elected November 6, 1956. |
Kathryn E. Granahan (D) | November 6, 1956 |
| California 20th | John Carl Hinshaw (R) | Died August 5, 1956. Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
| Tennessee 5th | Percy Priest (D) | Died October 12, 1956. Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
| New Mexico at-large | Antonio M. Fernández (D) | Died November 7, 1956. Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
| New Jersey 2nd | T. Millet Hand (R) | Died December 26, 1956. Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
| New York 19th | Arthur George Klein (D) | Resigned December 31, 1956 after being elected to the New York Supreme Court. Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
| New York 20th | Irwin D. Davidson (DL) | Resigned December 31, 1956. Seat remained unfilled until next term. |
Vacant | |
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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