The 64th 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, 1915, to March 4, 1917, during the third and fourth 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 maintained a majority in both chambers (albeit reduced in the House) and, along with President Wilson, also maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
Major events
June 9, 1915 (Prelude to World War I): U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigned over a disagreement regarding the nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking. July 24, 1915: The steamer SS Eastland capsized in central Chicago, with the loss of 844 lives. July 28, 1915: The United States occupation of Haiti began. August 5–August 23, 1915: Hurricane Two of the 1915 Atlantic hurricane season over Galveston and New Orleans left 275 dead. March 8–March 9, 1916: Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa led about 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against Columbus, New Mexico, killing 12 U.S. soldiers. A garrison of the U.S. 13th Cavalry Regiment fights back and drives them away. March 15, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 United States troops over the U.S.-Mexico border to pursue Pancho Villa. May 5, 1916: United States Marines invaded and started the occupation of the Dominican Republic. July 30, 1916: German agents caused the Black Tom explosion in Jersey City, New Jersey, an act of sabotage destroying an ammunition depot and killing at least seven people. November 7, 1916: U.S. presidential election, 1916: Democratic President Woodrow Wilson narrowly defeated Republican Charles E. Hughes. January 11, 1917 (Prelude to World War I): German saboteurs set off the Kingsland explosion at Kingsland, New Jersey (now Lyndhurst, New Jersey), one of the events leading to U.S. involvement in World War I. February 3, 1917 (Prelude to World War I): The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany
Major legislation May 15, 1916: Kern Amendment May 29, 1916: Fraudulent Advertising Act of 1916 May 31, 1916: Tillman Act June 3, 1916: National Defense Act of 1916 June 9, 1916: Chamberlain–Ferris Act July 11, 1916: Federal Aid Road Act of 1916 (Bankhead–Shackleford Act, also known as Federal "Good Roads" Act) July 11, 1916: Terminal Inspection Act of 1916 July 17, 1916: Federal Farm Loan Act (Hollis–Lever Act) July 27, 1916: River and Harbors Act of 1916 July 28, 1916: Post Office Appropriation Act of 1916 August 9, 1916: Uniform Bill of Lading Act of 1916 August 11, 1916: Irrigation District Act of 1916 (Smith Act) August 11, 1916: Wildlife Game Refuges Act of 1916 August 11, 1916: Grain Standards Act of 1916 August 11, 1916: Cotton Futures Act of 1916 August 11, 1916: Brush Disposal Act of 1916 August 11, 1916: Warehouse Act of 1916 August 25, 1916: National Park Service Act (Kent–Smoot Act) August 29, 1916: 2nd Uniform Bill of Lading Act of 1916 August 29, 1916: Jones Act (Philippines) August 29, 1916: Federal Possession and Control Act of 1916 August 29, 1916: Army Appropriations Act of 1916 August 29, 1916: Naval Act of 1916 August 29, 1916: Naval Reserve Force Act August 31, 1916: Federal Standard Container Act August 31, 1916: Standard Fruits and Vegetable Baskets and Containers Act of 1916 September 1, 1916: Keating–Owen Act September 3, 1916: Adamson Act September 7, 1916: Merchant Marine Act of 1916 (Alexander Act) September 7, 1916: Workingmen's Compensation Act (Kern–McGillicuddy Act) September 8, 1916: Anti-Dumping Act of 1916 September 8, 1916: Emergency Revenue Act of 1916 October 20, 1916: Special Air Preparedness Act December 29, 1916: Stock-Raising Homestead Act February 5, 1917: Immigration Act of 1917 February 22, 1917: Federal Interpleader Act of 1917 February 23, 1917: Smith–Hughes Act February 26, 1917: Mount McKinley National Park Act of 1917 March 1, 1917: Flood Control Act of 1917 (Ransdell–Humphreys Act) March 2, 1917: Jones–Shafroth Act March 3, 1917: Reed Amendment March 3, 1917: Sheppard Bone-Dry Act March 3, 1917: Special Preparedness Fund Act of 1917 March 4, 1917: Timber Export Act
Treaties January 17, 1917: Treaty of the Danish West Indies signed by President Wilson, ceding the Danish West Indies to the United States after their purchase from Denmark and renaming them the US Virgin Islands.
Party summary
Senate
House of Representatives
Leadership
Senate President: Thomas R. Marshall (D) Presidents pro tempore: James P. Clarke (D) and Willard Saulsbury Jr. (D) Majority Whip: J. Hamilton Lewis (D) Minority Whip: Charles Curtis (R) Republican Conference Chairman: Jacob Harold Gallinger Democratic Caucus Chairman: John W. Kern Republican Conference Secretary: James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr. Democratic Caucus Secretary: Willard Saulsbury Jr., until December 14, 1916 Key Pittman, acting
House of Representatives Speaker: Champ Clark (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership Majority Leader: Claude Kitchin Majority Whip: vacant Democratic Caucus Chairman: Edward W. Saunders Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Frank Ellsworth Doremus
Minority (Republican) leadership Minority Leader: James R. Mann Minority Whip: Charles M. Hamilton Republican Conference Chairman: William S. Greene Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Frank P. Woods
Members Skip to House of Representatives, below
Senate
Prior to the 64th Congress, per Article 1, Section 3, Clause 1 of the Constitution, all senators had been "chosen by the [State] Legislature thereof." (As a practical matter, many senators had been "elected"; however, technically, those elections were subject to affirmation by the State Legislatures.)
However, 32 senators of the 64th Congress - those of Senate Class 3 - were directly elected by popular vote in the 1914 United States Senate Elections as directed by the 17th Amendment. The 17th stipulated that it "...shall not be so construed as to affect the election or term of any senator chosen before it becomes valid as part of the Constitution." Thus, Class 1 and 2 senators were not subject to election until 1916 and 1918, respectively. (Note, however, that should a senator have perished prior to the end of his term, then their replacement would have been subject to direct election as they would not have been "chosen before" ratification. This is why Augustus Bacon was the first senator constitutionally elected on July 15, 1913.)
Alabama 2. John H. Bankhead (D) 3. Oscar Underwood (D)
Arizona 1. Henry F. Ashurst (D) 3. Marcus A. Smith (D)
Arkansas 2. Joseph Taylor Robinson (D) 3. James P. Clarke (D), until October 1, 1916 William F. Kirby (D), from November 8, 1916
California 1. John D. Works (R) 3. James D. Phelan (D)
Colorado 2. John F. Shafroth (D) 3. Charles S. Thomas (D)
Connecticut 1. George P. McLean (R) 3. Frank B. Brandegee (R)
Delaware 1. Henry A. du Pont (R) 2. Willard Saulsbury Jr. (D)
Florida 1. Nathan P. Bryan (D) 3. Duncan U. Fletcher (D)
Georgia 2. Thomas W. Hardwick (D) 3. Hoke Smith (D)
Idaho 2. William E. Borah (R) 3. James H. Brady (R)
Illinois 2. James Hamilton Lewis (D) 3. Lawrence Y. Sherman (R)
Indiana 1. John W. Kern (D) 3. Benjamin F. Shively (D), until March 14, 1916 Thomas Taggart (D), March 20, 1916 - November 7, 1916 James E. Watson (R), from November 8, 1916
Iowa 2. William S. Kenyon (R) 3. Albert B. Cummins (R)
Kansas 2. William H. Thompson (D) 3. Charles Curtis (R)
Kentucky 2. Ollie M. James (D) 3. John C. W. Beckham (D)
Louisiana 2. Joseph E. Ransdell (D) 3. Robert F. Broussard (D)
Maine 1. Charles Fletcher Johnson (D) 2. Edwin C. Burleigh (R), until June 16, 1916 Bert M. Fernald (R), from September 11, 1916
Maryland 1. Blair Lee (D) 3. John W. Smith (D)
Massachusetts 1. Henry Cabot Lodge (R) 2. John W. Weeks (R)
Michigan 1. Charles E. Townsend (R) 2. William Alden Smith (R)
Minnesota 1. Moses E. Clapp (R) 2. Knute Nelson (R)
Mississippi 1. John Sharp Williams (D) 2. James K. Vardaman (D)
Missouri 1. James A. Reed (D) 3. William J. Stone (D)
Montana 1. Henry L. Myers (D) 2. Thomas J. Walsh (D)
Nebraska 1. Gilbert M. Hitchcock (D) 2. George W. Norris (R)
Nevada 1. Key Pittman (D) 3. Francis G. Newlands (D)
New Hampshire 2. Henry F. Hollis (D) 3. Jacob H. Gallinger (R)
New Jersey 1. James E. Martine (D) 2. William Hughes (D)
New Mexico 1. Thomas B. Catron (R) 2. Albert B. Fall (R)
New York 1. James A. O'Gorman (D) 3. James W. Wadsworth Jr. (R)
North Carolina 2. Furnifold M. Simmons (D) 3. Lee S. Overman (D)
North Dakota 1. Porter J. McCumber (R) 3. Asle Gronna (R)
Ohio 1. Atlee Pomerene (D) 3. Warren G. Harding (R)
Oklahoma 2. Robert L. Owen (D) 3. Thomas P. Gore (D)
Oregon 2. Harry Lane (D) 3. George E. Chamberlain (D)
Pennsylvania 1. George T. Oliver (R) 3. Boies Penrose (R)
Rhode Island 1. Henry F. Lippitt (R) 2. LeBaron B. Colt (R)
South Carolina 2. Benjamin R. Tillman (D) 3. Ellison D. Smith (D)
South Dakota 2. Thomas Sterling (R) 3. Edwin S. Johnson (D)
Tennessee 1. Luke Lea (D) 2. John K. Shields (D)
Texas 1. Charles A. Culberson (D) 2. Morris Sheppard (D)
Utah 1. George Sutherland (R) 3. Reed Smoot (R)
Vermont 1. Carroll S. Page (R) 3. William P. Dillingham (R)
Virginia 1. Claude A. Swanson (D) 2. Thomas S. Martin (D)
Washington 1. Miles Poindexter (R) 3. Wesley L. Jones (R)
West Virginia 1. William E. Chilton (D) 2. Nathan Goff (R)
Wisconsin 1. Robert M. La Follette Sr. (R) 3. Paul O. Husting (D)
Wyoming 1. Clarence D. Clark (R) 2. Francis E. Warren (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Oscar Lee Gray (D) . S. Hubert Dent Jr. (D) . Henry B. Steagall (D) . Fred L. Blackmon (D) . J. Thomas Heflin (D) . William B. Oliver (D) . John L. Burnett (D) . Edward B. Almon (D) . George Huddleston (D) . John Abercrombie (D)
Arizona . Carl Hayden (D)
Arkansas . Thaddeus H. Caraway (D) . William A. Oldfield (D) . John N. Tillman (D) . Otis Wingo (D) . Henderson M. Jacoway (D) . Samuel M. Taylor (D) . William S. Goodwin (D)
California . William Kent (I) . John E. Raker (D) . Charles F. Curry (R) . Julius Kahn (R) . John I. Nolan (R) . John A. Elston (Prog.) . Denver S. Church (D) . Everis A. Hayes (R) . Charles H. Randall (Proh.) . William Stephens (Prog.), until July 22, 1916 Henry S. Benedict (R), from November 7, 1916 . William Kettner (D)
Colorado . Benjamin Hilliard (D) . Charles Bateman Timberlake (R) . Edward Keating (D) . Edward T. Taylor (D)
Connecticut . P. Davis Oakey (R) . Richard P. Freeman (R) . John Q. Tilson (R) . Ebenezer J. Hill (R) . James P. Glynn (R)
Delaware . Thomas W. Miller (R)
Florida . Stephen M. Sparkman (D) . Frank Clark (D) . Emmett Wilson (D) . William J. Sears (D)
Georgia . Charles G. Edwards (D) . Frank Park (D) . Charles R. Crisp (D) . William C. Adamson (D) . William S. Howard (D) . James W. Wise (D) . Gordon Lee (D) . Samuel J. Tribble (D), until December 8, 1916 Tinsley W. Rucker Jr. (D), from January 11, 1917 . Thomas Montgomery Bell (D) . Carl Vinson (D) . John R. Walker (D) . Dudley M. Hughes (D)
Idaho . Addison T. Smith (R) . Robert M. McCracken (R)
Illinois . Martin B. Madden (R) . James R. Mann (R) . William W. Wilson (R) . James T. McDermott (D) . Adolph J. Sabath (D) . James McAndrews (D) . Frank Buchanan (D) . Thomas Gallagher (D) . Frederick A. Britten (R) . George E. Foss (R) . Ira C. Copley (Prog.) . Charles Eugene Fuller (R) . John C. McKenzie (R) . Clyde H. Tavenner (D)