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71st United States Congress

The 71st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislature 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, 1929, to March 4, 1931, during the first two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census.

71st United States Congress
70th ←
→ 72nd
United States Capitol (1906)
March 4, 1929 – March 4, 1931
Members96 senators
435 representatives
5 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityRepublican
Senate PresidentCharles Curtis (R)
House majorityRepublican
House SpeakerNicholas Longworth (R)
Sessions
Special[a]: March 4, 1929 – March 5, 1929
1st: April 15, 1929 – November 22, 1929
2nd: December 2, 1929 – July 3, 1930
Special[b]: July 7, 1930 – July 21, 1930
3rd: December 1, 1930 – March 3, 1931

Both the House and Senate remained under Republican control, with increased majorities in each chamber. And with Herbert Hoover being sworn in as president on March 4, 1929, the Republicans maintained an overall federal government trifecta.[1][2]

The 71st Congress also featured the most special elections of any Congress with 27 in all.

Major events

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Main articles: 1929 in the United States, 1930 in the United States, and 1931 in the United States
  • March 4, 1929: Herbert C. Hoover became President of the United States
  • October 24, 1929 – October 29, 1929: Wall Street Crash of 1929: Three multi-digit percentage drops wipe out more than $30 billion from the New York Stock Exchange (3 times greater than the annual budget of the federal government).
  • October 25, 1929: Former U.S. Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall is convicted of bribery for his role in the Teapot Dome scandal, becoming the first Presidential cabinet member to go to prison for actions in office.

Major legislation

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Main article: List of United States federal legislation § 71st United States Congress

Party summary

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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

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Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Democratic
(D) 		Farmer–
Labor
(FL)		Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 45 1 49 95 1
Begin 39 1 54 94 2
End 42 53 960
Final voting share 43.8% 1.0% 55.2%
Beginning of next congress 46 1 48 95 1

House of Representatives

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Party
(shading shows control) 		Total Vacant
Democratic
(D) 		Farmer–
Labor
(FL)		Republican
(R)		Other
End of previous congress 193 2 232 1[c] 428 7
Begin 164 1 268 0 433 2
End 166 265 4323
Final voting share 38.4% 0.2% 61.3% 0.0%
Beginning of next congress 216 1 217 0 434 1

Leadership

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Senate

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President of the Senate
Charles Curtis
 
President pro tempore of the Senate
George H. Moses

House of Representatives

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Members

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This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed in order of seniority, and representatives are listed by district.

Senate

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Senators were elected 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 this Congress, requiring reelection in 1934; Class 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1930; and Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1932.

House of Representatives

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The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their districts.

Changes in membership

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The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.

Senate

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  • Replacements: 15
  • Deaths: 5
  • Resignations: 3
  • Interim appointments: 6
  • Total seats with changes: 9
Senate changes
State
(class) 		Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[d]
Kansas
(3) 		Vacant Charles Curtis (R) had resigned at end of previous congress to become Vice President of the United States.
Successor appointed April 1, 1929, to continue the term.
Successor later lost nomination to finish the term, see below. 		Henry J. Allen (R) April 1, 1929
Pennsylvania
(3) 		Vacant Sen.-elect William S. Vare (R) was apparently elected but vote was never certified by the Governor due to election irregularities. The Senate refused to qualify him and he was formally unseated December 9, 1929.
Successor appointed December 11, 1929.
Successor later lost nomination to finish the term, see below. 		Joseph R. Grundy (R) December 11, 1929
Tennessee
(2) 		Lawrence Tyson (D) Died August 24, 1929.
Successor appointed September 2, 1929, to continue the term.
Successor was also later elected November 4, 1930, to finish the term.[4] 		William E. Brock (D) September 2, 1929
Ohio
(3) 		Theodore E. Burton (R) Died October 28, 1929.
Successor appointed November 5, 1929, to continue the term.
Successor later lost election to finish the term, see below. 		Roscoe C. McCulloch (R) November 5, 1929
New Jersey
(2) 		Walter E. Edge (R) Resigned November 21, 1929, to become U.S. Ambassador to France.
Successor appointed November 30, 1929, to continue the term.
Successor later did not run to finish the term, see below. 		David Baird Jr. (R) November 30, 1929
Wyoming
(2) 		Francis E. Warren (R) Died November 24, 1929.
Successor appointed December 5, 1929.
Successor later did not run to finish the term, see below. 		Patrick J. Sullivan (R) December 5, 1929
Kentucky
(2) 		Frederic M. Sackett (R) Resigned January 9, 1930, to become U.S. Ambassador to Germany.
Successor appointed January 11, 1930, to continue the term.
Successor later lost election to finish the term, see below. 		John M. Robsion (R) January 11, 1930
Wyoming
(2) 		Patrick Joseph Sullivan (R) Interim appointee did not run to finish the term.
Successor elected November 4, 1930. 		Robert D. Carey (R) December 1, 1930
Kansas
(3) 		Henry J. Allen (R) Interim appointee lost election to finish the term.
Successor elected November 4, 1930. 		George McGill (D) December 1, 1930
Kentucky
(2) 		John M. Robsion (R) Interim appointee lost election to finish the term.
Successor elected November 4, 1930. 		Ben M. Williamson (D) December 1, 1930
Ohio
(3) 		Roscoe C. McCulloch (R) Interim appointee lost election to finish the term.
Successor elected November 4, 1930. 		Robert J. Bulkley (D) December 1, 1930
Pennsylvania
(3) 		Joseph R. Grundy (R) Interim appointee lost nomination to finish the term.
Successor elected November 4, 1930. 		James J. Davis (R) December 2, 1930
New Jersey
(2) 		David Baird Jr. (R) Interim appointee did not run to finish the term.
Successor elected November 4, 1930. 		Dwight Morrow (R) December 3, 1930
North Carolina
(3) 		Lee S. Overman (D) Died December 12, 1930.
Successor appointed December 13, 1930, to continue the term.
Successor later lost election to finish the term, see (72nd United States Congress). 		Cameron A. Morrison (D) December 13, 1930
Vermont
(1) 		Frank L. Greene (R) Died December 17, 1930.
Successor appointed December 23, 1930, to continue the term.
Successor later lost nomination to finish the term, see (72nd United States Congress). 		Frank C. Partridge (R) December 23, 1930

House of Representatives

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  • Replacements: 27
  • Deaths: 25
  • Resignations: 6
  • Contested election: 1
  • Total seats with changes: 32
District Vacated by Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
New York 21st Vacant Rep. Royal H. Weller died during previous congress Joseph A. Gavagan (D) November 5, 1929
Illinois 15th Vacant Rep. Edward J. King died in previous congress Burnett M. Chiperfield (R) November 4, 1930
Kentucky 3rd Charles W. Roark (R) Died April 5, 1929 John W. Moore (D) June 1, 1929
Louisiana 3rd Whitmell P. Martin (D) Died April 6, 1929 Numa F. Montet (D) August 6, 1929
Pennsylvania 12th John J. Casey (D) Died May 5, 1929 Charles M. Turpin (R) June 1, 1929
Minnesota 5th Walter Newton (R) Resigned June 30, 1929, after being appointed secretary to President Herbert Hoover William I. Nolan (R) July 17, 1929
Georgia 5th Leslie J. Steele (D) Died July 24, 1929 Robert Ramspeck (D) October 2, 1929
Minnesota 7th Ole J. Kvale (FL) Died September 11, 1929 Paul J. Kvale (FL) October 16, 1929
New York 18th John F. Carew (D) Resigned December 28, 1929, after being appointed a justice to the New York Supreme Court Martin J. Kennedy (D) April 11, 1930
Illinois 24th Thomas S. Williams (R) Resigned November 11, 1929, after being appointed to the United States Court of Claims Claude V. Parsons (D) November 4, 1930
Pennsylvania 10th William W. Griest (R) Died December 5, 1929 J. Roland Kinzer (R) January 28, 1930
Massachusetts 2nd Will Kirk Kaynor (R) Died December 20, 1929 William J. Granfield (D) February 17, 1930
Utah 2nd Elmer O. Leatherwood (R) Died December 24, 1929 Frederick C. Loofbourow (R) November 4, 1930
Kentucky 11th John M. Robsion (R) Resigned January 10, 1930, after being appointed to the U.S. Senate Charles Finley (R) February 15, 1930
Texas 14th Augustus McCloskey (D) Lost contested election February 10, 1930 Harry M. Wurzbach (R) February 10, 1930
West Virginia 4th James A. Hughes (R) Died March 2, 1930 Robert L. Hogg (R) November 4, 1930
Connecticut 5th James P. Glynn (R) Died March 6, 1930 Edward W. Goss (R) November 4, 1930
Texas 17th Robert Q. Lee (D) Died April 18, 1930 Thomas L. Blanton (D) May 20, 1930
Rhode Island 3rd Jeremiah E. O'Connell (D) Resigned May 9, 1930, after being appointed a justice to the Rhode Island Superior Court Francis Condon (D) November 4, 1930
Wisconsin 6th Florian Lampert (R) Died July 18, 1930 Michael Reilly (D) December 1, 1930
Pennsylvania 32nd Edgar R. Kiess (R) Died July 20, 1930 Robert F. Rich (R) November 4, 1930
Pennsylvania 16th Stephen G. Porter (R) Died June 27, 1930 Edmund F. Erk (R) November 4, 1930
North Carolina 5th Charles M. Stedman (D) Died September 23, 1930 Franklin W. Hancock Jr. (D) November 4, 1930
North Carolina 7th William C. Hammer (D) Died September 26, 1930 Hinton James (D) November 4, 1930
Kentucky 2nd David H. Kincheloe (D) Resigned October 5, 1930, after being appointed to the United States Customs Court John L. Dorsey Jr. (D) November 4, 1930
California 3rd Charles F. Curry (R) Died October 10, 1930 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Arkansas 4th Otis Wingo (D) Died October 21, 1930 Effiegene Locke Wingo (D) November 4, 1930
New York 7th John Quayle (D) Died November 27, 1930 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
New York 9th David J. O'Connell (D) Died December 29, 1930 Stephen A. Rudd (D) February 17, 1931
Wisconsin 1st Henry A. Cooper (R) Died March 1, 1931 Seat remained vacant until next Congress

Committees

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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.

Joint committees

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Caucuses

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Officers

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Legislative branch agency directors

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Senate

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House of Representatives

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Special session of the Senate.
  2. ^ Special session of the Senate.
  3. ^ Socialist
  4. ^ When seated or oath administered, not necessarily when service began.
  1. ^ Macmahon, Arthur W. (1930). "First Session of the Seventy-First Congress". The American Political Science Review. 24 (1): 38–59. doi:10.2307/1946785. JSTOR 1946785.
  2. ^ Macmahon, Arthur W. (1930). "Second Session of the Seventy-first Congress, December 2, 1929, to July 3, 1930; Special Session of the Senate, July 7–21". American Political Science Review. 24 (4): 913–946. doi:10.2307/1946750. ISSN 0003-0554. JSTOR 1946750.
  3. ^ William S. Vare (R-PA) had been elected to the Senate for the term starting March 4, 1927, but the Senate had refused to qualify him due to charges of corruption and fraud concerning his election. The Senate finally unseated him on December 9, 1929. See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=V000071
  4. ^ Byrd, p. 171.

References

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  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
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