69th United States Congress
68th 
 70th

March 4, 1925 – March 4, 1927
Members96 senators
435 representatives
5 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityRepublican
Senate PresidentCharles G. Dawes (R)
House majorityRepublican
House SpeakerNicholas Longworth (R)
Sessions
Special: March 4, 1925 – March 18, 1925
1st: December 7, 1925 – July 3, 1926
2nd: December 6, 1926 – March 3, 1927

The 69th 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, 1925, to March 4, 1927, during the third and fourth years of Calvin Coolidge's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census.

The Republicans made modest gains in maintaining their majority in both chambers, and with the election of President Calvin Coolidge to his own term in office, the Republicans maintained an overall federal government trifecta.[1]

Major events

A special session of the Senate was called by President Coolidge on February 14, 1925.

  • Impeachment of Judge George W. English — On April 1, 1926, the House of Representatives impeached Judge George W. English of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. Both Houses adjourned on July 3, 1926, with the Senate scheduled to reconvene on November 10, 1926, as a Court of Impeachment. English resigned before the impeachment trial began. The Senate met as planned on November 10, 1926, to adjourn the court of impeachment sine die. On December 13, 1926, the Senate, acting on advice from the House managers of the impeachment, formally dismissed all charges against Judge English.
  • January 17, 1927: U.S. Supreme Court held (McGrain v. Daugherty) that Congress has the power to compel witness and testimony.

Major legislation

Representative Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts presiding over the House chamber in 1926

Party summary

Senators' party membership by state at the opening of the 69th Congress in March 1925. The green stripes denote Farmer-Labor Senator Henrik Shipstead.
  2 Democrats
  1 Democrat and 1 Republican
  2 Republicans

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

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Farmer–
Labor

(FL)
Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 42 2 52 96 0
Begin 40 1 55 96 0
End 42 52 951
Final voting share 44.2% 1.1% 54.7%
Beginning of next congress 47 1 46 94 2

House of Representatives

Party
(shading shows control)
Total Vacant
Democratic
(D)
Farmer–
Labor

(FL)
Socialist
(Soc.)
Republican
(R)
End of previous congress 208 2 1 222 433 2
Begin 183 3 2 246 434 1
End 182 4332
Final voting share 42.0% 0.7% 0.5% 56.8%
Beginning of next congress 194 2 1 237 434 1

Leadership

Senate

Senate President
Charles G. Dawes
Senate President
Charles G. Dawes (R)
Senate Presidents pro tempore
Albert B. Cummins
Senate President pro tempore
Albert B. Cummins (R), until March 6, 1925
George H. Moses
Senate President pro tempore
George H. Moses (R), from March 6, 1925

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

House of Representatives

House leadership
Nicholas Longworth
House Speaker
Nicholas Longworth (R)

Majority (Republican) leadership

Minority (Democratic) leadership

Members

This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives by district.

Senate

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 the last Congress, facing re-election in 1928; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, facing re-election in 1930; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1926.

House of Representatives

Changes in membership

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

Senate

  • Replacements: 10
  • Deaths: 7
  • Resignations: 0
  • Contested election: 1
  • Interim appointments: 2
  • Total seats with changes: 9
State Senator Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
Missouri
(3)
Selden P. Spencer (R) Died May 16, 1925. Successor was appointed. George H. Williams (R) May 25, 1925
Wisconsin
(1)
Robert M. La Follette (R) Died June 18, 1925. Successor was elected. Robert M. La Follette Jr. (R) September 30, 1925
North Dakota
(3)
Edwin F. Ladd (R) Died June 22, 1925. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected Gerald Nye (R) November 14, 1925
Indiana
(1)
Samuel M. Ralston (D) Died October 14, 1925. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. Arthur R. Robinson (R) October 20, 1925
Iowa
(2)
Smith W. Brookhart (R) Lost election challenge April 12, 1926 Daniel F. Steck (D) April 12, 1926
Iowa
(3)
Albert B. Cummins (R) Died July 30, 1926.
Successor was appointed and subsequently elected.
David W. Stewart (R) August 7, 1926
Maine
(2)
Bert M. Fernald (R) Died August 23, 1926. Successor was elected. Arthur R. Gould (R) November 30, 1926
Massachusetts
(1)
William M. Butler (R) Appointed in previous Congress and served until successor was elected. David I. Walsh (D) December 6, 1926
Missouri
(3)
George H. Williams (R) Successor was elected. Harry B. Hawes (D) December 6, 1926
Illinois
(3)
William B. McKinley (R) Died December 7, 1926. Frank L. Smith was appointed by the governor some date in December 1926[3] but the US Senate voted to not allow him to qualify as a senator, based upon fraud and corruption in his campaign. Vacant

House of Representatives

  • Replacements: 9
  • Deaths: 9
  • Resignations: 2
  • Total seats with changes: 12
District Vacated by Reason for vacancy Successor Date of successor's installation
New Jersey 3rd Vacant Rep. T. Frank Appleby died during previous congress Stewart H. Appleby (R) November 3, 1925
Massachusetts 5th John J. Rogers (R) Died March 28, 1925 Edith Nourse Rogers (R) June 30, 1925
Michigan 3rd Arthur B. Williams (R) Died May 1, 1925 Joseph L. Hooper (R) August 18, 1925
Massachusetts 2nd George B. Churchill (R) Died July 1, 1925 Henry L. Bowles (R) September 29, 1925
Kentucky 3rd Robert Y. Thomas Jr. (D) Died September 3, 1925 John W. Moore (D) December 26, 1925
California 2nd John E. Raker (D) Died January 22, 1926 Harry L. Englebright (R) August 31, 1926
Massachusetts 8th Harry I. Thayer (R) Died March 10, 1926 Frederick W. Dallinger (R) November 2, 1926
California 5th Lawrence J. Flaherty (R) Died June 13, 1926 Richard J. Welch (R) August 31, 1926
Illinois 12th Charles E. Fuller (R) Died June 25, 1926 Seat remained vacant until next Congress
Kentucky 10th John W. Langley (R) Resigned January 11, 1926, after being convicted of illegally selling alcohol Andrew J. Kirk (R) February 13, 1926
Missouri 11th Harry B. Hawes (D) Resigned October 15, 1926 John J. Cochran (D) November 2, 1926
Ohio 2nd Ambrose E. B. Stephens (R) Died February 12, 1927 Seat remained vacant until next Congress

Committees

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.

Senate

House of Representatives

Joint committees

Caucuses

Employees

Legislative branch agency directors

Senate

House of Representatives

See also

References

    1. Macmahon, Arthur W. (1926). "First Session of the Sixty-Ninth Congress: December 7, 1925, to July 3, 1926". American Political Science Review. 20 (3): 604–622. doi:10.2307/1945289. ISSN 0003-0554.
    2. Frank L. Smith (R-IL) was elected to the Senate for the term starting March 4, 1927, and when McKinley died he was appointed to finish McKinley's term. The Senate refused to qualify him due to charges of corruption concerning his election. He would later resign. See http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=S000534.
    3. Exact date of Frank L. Smith's appointment to the Senate is unknown, but certainly between his predecessor's death on December 7, 1926, and the end of the term on March 4, 1927.[data missing]
    • 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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