55th United States Congress
The 55th 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, 1897, to March 4, 1899, during the first two years of William McKinley's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1890 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority. There was one African-American member, George Henry White, a Republican from the state of North Carolina, and one Kaw member, Charles Curtis, a Republican from Kansas. Major events March 4, 1897: William McKinley became President of the United States. February 15, 1898: Spanish–American War: USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor. December 10, 1898: Treaty of Paris ended Spanish–American War, . Major legislation July 24, 1897: Dingley tariff, ch. 11, , increased trade duties for revenue and protection April 20, 1898: Teller Resolution (Cuba), April 25, 1898: United States declaration of war upon Spain (Spanish–American War), June 1, 1898: Erdman Act, June 13, 1898: War Revenue Act of 1898, June 28, 1898: Curtis Act of 1898, , authorized the mass dispossession of territory from the Cherokee Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Choctaw Nation, Muscogee Nation, and Seminole Nation and the divestiture of power from their national governments. July 1, 1898: Bankruptcy Act of 1898 (Henderson-Nelson Act), ch. 541, , gave companies an option of gaining protection from creditors. July 7, 1898: Newlands Resolution, No. 55, , authorized the annexation of the Republic of Hawaii March 3, 1899: Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, Ch. 425, , § 9, Treaties ratified February 6, 1899: Treaty of Paris, ending the Spanish–American War. Guam, The Philippines, and Puerto Rico became possessions of the U.S. 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 House of Representatives Leadership Senate President: Garret Hobart (R) President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R) Republican Conference Chairman: William B. Allison Democratic Caucus Chairman: Arthur Pue Gorman, until 1898 David Turpie, afterwards House of Representatives Speaker: Thomas Brackett Reed (R) Minority Leader: Joseph W. Bailey Republican Conference Chairman: Charles H. Grosvenor Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Babcock Democratic Caucus Chairman: James D. Richardson Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles James Faulkner Members This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed by district. Skip to House of Representatives, below 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 re-election in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began