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The Forty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1881, during the last two years of the administration of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Ninth Census of the United States in 1870. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
Party summary 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. - Senate
TOTAL members: 76 | - House of Representatives
TOTAL members: 293 | Leadership - Senate
- House of Representatives
Major events - Main article: Events of 1879; Events of 1880; Events of 1881
Samuel J. Randall was elected in one of the most tightly fought contests for the speakership after the Civil War. Randall, who favored the protective tariff and "hard money," drew his greatest strength from northern cities and greatest opposition from the west and south. The midterm elections of 1878 had gone badly for the Democrats, with the Greenback Party making inroads in key districts. This emboldened Randall's opponents, who rallied to the support of Joseph Blackburn from Kentucky. In the end, Randall prevailed in the Democratic caucus to receive the nomination, with 75 votes to Blackburn's 57 and a scattering of 9 votes to three other candidates. Blackburn, in moving to make Randall's nomination unanimous, steered his supporters away from the nomination of Hendrick B. Wright, a Democrat from Pennsylvania who was nominated by the Greenbacks. In the eventual vote in the House to elect the Speaker, Randall prevailed with 144 votes, to 125 for James Garfield (Republican from Ohio), 13 for Wright, and one for William "Pig Iron" Kelley (Pennsylvania). Major legislation Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and Representatives are listed by district. Senate Senators were elected by the state legislatures 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 ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1880; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1882; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1884. - Alabama
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- Luke Pryor (D), January 7, 1880 - November 23, 1880
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- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
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- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
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- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
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- New Jersey
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
| House of Representatives The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide on the general ticket or otherwise at-large, are preceded by an "A/L," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers. Many of 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. -
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Non-voting members Changes in membership The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress. Senate - replacements: 4
- deaths: 3
- resignations: 1
- interim appointments: 2
- Total seats with changes: 5
|- | New Hampshire (3) | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Vacancy in term. An interim successor was appointed. | nowrap | Charles H. Bell (R) | March 13, 1879 |- | New Hampshire (3) | nowrap | Charles H. Bell (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Successor elected June 18, 1879 | nowrap | Henry W. Blair (R) | June 20, 1879 |- | Michigan (1) | nowrap | Zachariah Chandler (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died November 1, 1879 | nowrap | Henry P. Baldwin (R) | November 17, 1879 |- | Alabama (3) | nowrap | George S. Houston (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 31, 1879. An interim successor was appointed. | nowrap | Luke Pryor (D) | January 7, 1880 |- | Georgia (3) | nowrap | John B. Gordon (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned My 26, 1880 to promote building of the Georgia Pacific Railway | nowrap | Joseph E. Brown (D) | May 26, 1880 |- | Alabama (3) | nowrap | Luke Pryor (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Successor elected November 23, 1880. | nowrap | James L. Pugh (D) | November 24, 1880 |- | Wisconsin (3) | nowrap | Matthew H. Carpenter (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Died February 24, 1881 | Vacant | Not filled this term |} - House of Representatives
- replacements: 8
- deaths: 4
- resignations: 3
- contested election: 2
- Total seats with changes: 11
|- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep. Gustav Schleicher died during previous congress | nowrap | Christopher C. Upson (D) | April 15, 1879 |- | | Vacant | style="font-size:80%" | Rep.-elect Alexander Smith died during previous congress | nowrap | Waldo Hutchins (D) | November 4, 1879 |- | | nowrap | Rush Clark (R) | style="font-size:80%" |Died April 29, 1879 | nowrap | William G. Thompson (R) | October 14, 1879 |- | | nowrap | James A. Garfield (R) | style="font-size:80%" |Resigned ????, 1880 | nowrap | Ezra B. Taylor (R) | December 13, 1880 |- | | nowrap | Alfred M. Lay (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died December 8, 1879 | nowrap | John F. Philips (D) | January 10, 1880 |- | | nowrap | Ray V. Pierce (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned September 18, 1880 | nowrap | Jonathan Scoville (D) | November 12, 1880 |- | | nowrap | Burwell B. Lewis (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Resigned October 1, 1880 to accept presidency of the University of Alabama | nowrap | Newton N. Clements (D) | December 8, 1880 |- | | nowrap | Evarts W. Farr (R) | style="font-size:80%" |Died November 30, 1880 | nowrap | Ossian Ray (R) | January 8, 1881 |- | | nowrap | Noble A. Hull (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election January 22, 1881 | nowrap | Horatio Bisbee, Jr. (R) | January 22, 1881 |- | | nowrap | Joseph J. Martin (R) | style="font-size:80%" | Lost contested election January 29, 1881 | nowrap | Jesse J. Yeates (D) | January 29, 1881 |- | | nowrap | Fernando Wood (D) | style="font-size:80%" | Died February 14, 1881 | Vacant | Not filled this term |} Officers - Senate
- Other
| - House of Representatives
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