# 59th United States Congress

The 59th 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, 1905, to March 4, 1907, during the fifth and sixth years of Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1900 United States census. Both chambers had a Republican majority.

## Major events

* March 4, 1905: President Theodore Roosevelt began his second (only full) term.

## Major legislation

* May 28, 1906: Foreign Dredge Act of 1906
* June 8, 1906: Antiquities Act
* June 29, 1906: Hepburn Act
* June 30, 1906: Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 (Wiley Act), ch. 3915, 34 Stat. 768
* June 30, 1906: Meat Inspection Act (Beveridge Act)
* 1906: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching chartered.
* March 2, 1907: Expatriation Act of 1907, 34 Stat. 1228

## Party summary
### Senate

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 33 | 56 | 89 | 1 |
| Begin | 32 | 56 | 88 | 2 |
| End | 32 | 58 | 90 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 35.6% | 64.4% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 29 | 61 | 90 | 0 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Republican (R) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 175 | 209 | 384 | 2 |
| Begin | 136 | 249 | 385 | 1 |
| End | 133 | 246 | 379 | 7 |
| Final voting share | 35.1% | 64.9% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 162 | 221 | 383 | 3 |

## Leaders
### Senate leadership
#### Presiding

* President: Charles W. Fairbanks (R)
* President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R)
* Republican Conference Chairman: William B. Allison
* Democratic Caucus Chair: Arthur Pue Gorman, until June 4, 1906
** Joseph Clay Stiles Blackburn, afterwards
* Democratic Caucus Secretary: Edward W. Carmack

### House leadership
#### Presiding

* Speaker: Joseph G. Cannon (R)

#### Majority (Republican) leadership

* Majority Leader: Sereno E. Payne
* Majority Whip: James E. Watson
* Republican Conference Chair: William Peters Hepburn

#### Minority (Democratic) leadership

* Minority Leader: John Sharp Williams
* Minority Whip: James T. Lloyd
* Democratic Caucus Chairman: Robert Lee Henry
* Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: James M. Griggs

## 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

At this time, 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 2 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1906; Class 3 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1908; and Class 1 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1910.

### House of Representatives
## Changes in membership

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

### Senate

* Replacements: 8
** Democratic: no net change
** Republican: no net change
* Deaths: 5
* Resignations: 1
* Vacancies: 2
* Total seats with changes: 9
| State (class) | Vacated by | Reason for vacancy | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
| Missouri (1) | Vacant | Legislature had elected late. | William Warner (R) | March 18, 1905 |
| Delaware (1) | Vacant | Legislature had elected late. | Henry A. du Pont (R) | June 13, 1906 |
| Tennessee (1) | William B. Bate (D) | Died March 9, 1905. Successor was elected. | James B. Frazier (D) | March 21, 1905 |
| Connecticut (3) | Orville H. Platt (R) | Died April 21, 1905. Successor was appointed and subsequently elected. | Frank B. Brandegee (R) | May 10, 1905 |
| Oregon (2) | John H. Mitchell (R) | Died December 8, 1905. Successor was appointed. | John M. Gearin (D) | December 13, 1905 |
| Kansas (2) | Joseph R. Burton (R) | Resigned June 4, 1906, due to a conviction of corruption charges. Successor was appointed. | Alfred W. Benson (R) | June 11, 1906 |
| Maryland (2) | Arthur P. Gorman (D) | Died June 4, 1906. Successor was appointed. | William P. Whyte (D) | June 8, 1906 |
| Oregon (2) | John M. Gearin (D) | Successor was elected. | Frederick W. Mulkey (R) | January 23, 1907 |
| Michigan (2) | Russell A. Alger (R) | Died January 24, 1907. Successor was elected. | William A. Smith (R) | February 6, 1907 |
| Kansas (2) | Alfred W. Benson (R) | Successor was elected. | Charles Curtis (R) | January 29, 1907 |

### House of Representatives

* Replacements: 17
** Democratic: no net change
** Republican: no net change
* Deaths: 12
* Resignations: 11
* Contested elections: 1
* New seats: 1
* Total seats with changes: 26
| District | Previous | Reason for change | Subsequent | Date of successor's installation |
| Indiana 1st | Vacant | Rep. James A. Hemenway resigned during previous congress | John H. Foster (R) | May 16, 1905 |
| Nebraska 1st | Elmer Burkett (R) | Resigned March 4, 1905, after being elected to the U.S. Senate | Ernest M. Pollard (R) | July 18, 1905 |
| West Virginia 2nd | Alston G. Dayton (R) | Resigned March 16, 1905, after being appointed judge for the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia | Thomas B. Davis (D) | June 6, 1905 |
| Texas 8th | John M. Pinckney (D) | Died April 24, 1905 | John M. Moore (D) | June 6, 1905 |
| Connecticut 3rd | Frank B. Brandegee (R) | Resigned May 10, 1905, after being elected to the U.S. Senate | Edwin W. Higgins (R) | October 2, 1905 |
| Illinois 14th | Benjamin F. Marsh (R) | Died June 2, 1905 | James McKinney (R) | November 7, 1905 |
| California 1st | James Gillett (R) | Resigned January 4, 1906, after being elected Governor of California | William F. Englebright (R) | November 6, 1906 |
| Virginia 5th | Claude A. Swanson (D) | Resigned January 30, 1906, after being elected Governor of Virginia | Edward W. Saunders (D) | November 6, 1906 |
| Pennsylvania 3rd | George A. Castor (R) | Died February 19, 1906 | J. Hampton Moore (R) | November 6, 1906 |
| Pennsylvania 12th | George R. Patterson (R) | Died March 21, 1906 | Charles N. Brumm (R) | November 6, 1906 |
| Pennsylvania 2nd | Robert Adams Jr. (R) | Died June 1, 1906 | John E. Reyburn (R) | November 6, 1906 |
| Georgia 1st | Rufus E. Lester (D) | Died June 16, 1906 | James W. Overstreet (D) | October 3, 1906 |
| Missouri 12th | Ernest E. Wood (D) | Lost contested election June 23, 1906 | Harry M. Coudrey (R) | June 23, 1906 |
| District of Alaska | New seat | New delegate seat August 14, 1906 | Frank H. Waskey (D) | August 14, 1906 |
| Wisconsin 2nd | Henry C. Adams (R) | Died July 9, 1906 | John M. Nelson (R) | September 4, 1906 |
| New York 8th | Timothy Sullivan (D) | Resigned July 27, 1906 | Daniel J. Riordan (D) | November 6, 1906 |
| Illinois 13th | Robert R. Hitt (R) | Died September 20, 1906 | Frank O. Lowden (R) | November 6, 1906 |
| Massachusetts 3rd | Rockwood Hoar (R) | Died November 1, 1906 | Charles G. Washburn (R) | December 18, 1906 |
| New York 21st | John H. Ketcham (R) | Died November 4, 1906 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
| Tennessee 10th | Malcolm R. Patterson (D) | Resigned November 5, 1906, after being elected Governor of Tennessee | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
| Indiana 12th | Newton W. Gilbert (R) | Resigned November 6, 1906, after being appointed judge of the court of first instance at Manila, Philippines | Clarence C. Gilhams (R) | November 6, 1906 |
| Arkansas 4th | John S. Little (D) | Resigned January 14, 1907, after being elected Governor of Arkansas | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
| Kansas 1st | Charles Curtis (R) | Resigned January 28, 1907, after being elected to the U.S. Senate | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
| New York 26th | William H. Flack (R) | Died February 2, 1907 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
| Virginia 8th | John F. Rixey (D) | Died February 8, 1907 | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | Seat remained vacant until next Congress |
| Michigan 5th | William Alden Smith (R) | Resigned February 9, 1907, after being elected to the U.S. Senate | Seat remained vacant until next Congress | 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

* Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress (Select) (Chairman: Thomas S. Martin)
* Agriculture and Forestry (Chairman: Redfield Proctor; Ranking Member: Chester I. Long)
* Appropriations (Chairman: William B. Allison; Ranking Member: Henry M. Teller)
* Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses of the Senate (Chairman: John Kean; Ranking Member: Hernando D. Money)
* Canadian Relations (Chairman: Winthrop Murray Crane; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
* Census (Chairman: Chester I. Long; Ranking Member: Samuel D. McEnery)
* Civil Service and Retrenchment (Chairman: George C. Perkins; Ranking Member: Fred T. Dubois)
* Claims (Chairman: Charles W. Fulton; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
* Coast and Insular Survey (Chairman: Samuel H. Piles; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Coast Defenses (Chairman: Philander C. Knox; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
* Commerce (Chairman: William P. Frye; Ranking Member: James H. Berry)
* Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia (Chairman: Samuel D. McEnery; Ranking Member: Nelson W. Aldrich)
* Cuban Relations (Chairman: Henry E. Burnham; Ranking Member: Henry M. Teller)
* Distributing Public Revenue Among the States (Select)
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Jacob H. Gallinger; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
* Education and Labor (Chairman: Jonathan P. Dolliver; Ranking Member: John W. Daniel)
* Engrossed Bills (Chairman: James H. Berry; Ranking Member: Alfred B. Kittredge)
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: John F. Dryden; Ranking Member: Murphy J. Foster Jr.)
* Establish a University in the United States (Select) (Chairman: James A. Hemenway; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
* Examination of Disposition of Documents (Select) (Chairman: Edmund W. Pettus)
* Examine the Several Branches in the Civil Service (Chairman: Morgan G. Bulkeley; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
* Expenditures in Executive Departments
* Finance (Chairman: Nelson W. Aldrich; Ranking Member: John W. Daniel)
* Fisheries (Chairman: Albert J. Hopkins; Ranking Member: Stephen R. Mallory)
* Five Civilized Tribes of Indians (Select) (Chairman: Benjamin R. Tillman; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Foreign Relations (Chairman: Shelby M. Cullom; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game (Chairman: Frank B. Brandegee; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Geological Survey (Chairman: Frank P. Flint; Ranking Member: Hernando D. Money)
* Immigration (Chairman: William P. Dillingham; Ranking Member: Anselm J. McLaurin)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: Moses E. Clapp; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Indian Depredations (Chairman: Elmer J. Burkett; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Bacon)
* Industrial Expositions (Chairman: William Warner; Ranking Member: John W. Daniel)
* Investigate the Condition of the Potomac River Front at Washington (Select) (Chairman: Joseph H. Millard; Ranking Member: Thomas S. Martin)
* Indian Territory (Select)
* Interoceanic Canals (Chairman: Joseph H. Millard; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Interstate Commerce (Chairman: Stephen B. Elkins; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
* Irrigation and Reclamation of Arid Lands (Chairman: Levi Ankeny; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Van Duzer)
* Judiciary (Chairman: Clarence D. Clark; Ranking Member: Joseph W. Bailey)
* Library (Chairman: George P. Wetmore; Ranking Member: William A. Clark)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Weldon B. Heyburn; Ranking Member: Alexander S. Clay)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: Francis E. Warren; Ranking Member: Edmund W. Pettus)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: Charles Dick; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
* Mississippi River and its Tributaries (Select) (Chairman: Knute Nelson)
* National Banks (Select) (Chairman: George S. Nixon; Ranking Member: Samuel D. McEnery)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: Eugene Hale; Ranking Member: Benjamin R. Tillman)
* Organization, Conduct and Expenditures of the Executive Departments (Chairman: Thomas H. Carter; Ranking Member: Anselm J. McLaurin)
* Pacific Islands and Puerto Rico (Chairman: Joseph B. Foraker; Ranking Member: Stephen R. Mallory)
* Pacific Railroads (Chairman: Russell A. Alger; Ranking Member: John T. Morgan)
* Patents (Chairman: Alfred B. Kittredge; Ranking Member: Stephen R. Mallory)
* Pensions (Chairman: Porter J. McCumber; Ranking Member: James P. Taliaferro)
* Philippines (Chairman: Henry Cabot Lodge; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Boies Penrose; Ranking Member: Arthur P. Gorman)
* Potomac River Front (Select)
* Printing (Chairman: Thomas C. Platt; Ranking Member: Arthur P. Gorman)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: Henry M. Teller; Ranking Member: Eugene Hale)
* Privileges and Elections (Chairman: Julius C. Burrows; Ranking Member: Edmund W. Pettus)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Nathan B. Scott; Ranking Member: Charles A. Culberson)
* Public Health and National Quarantine (Chairman: John Tyler Morgan; Ranking Member: John Coit Spooner)
* Public Lands (Chairman: Henry C. Hansbrough; Ranking Member: James H. Berry)
* Railroads (Chairman: J. Frank Allee; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Bacon)
* Revision of the Laws (Chairman: Chauncey M. Depew; Ranking Member: John W. Daniel)
* Revolutionary Claims (Chairman: Alexander S. Clay; Ranking Member: Russell A. Alger)
* Rules (Chairman: John C. Spooner; Ranking Member: Henry M. Teller)
* Standards, Weights and Measures (Select) (Chairman: Reed Smoot; Ranking Member: William A. Clark)
* Tariff Regulation (Select)
* Territories (Chairman: Albert J. Beveridge; Ranking Member: Thomas M. Patterson)
* Transportation and Sale of Meat Products (Select) (Chairman: John W. Daniel; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Clark)
* Transportation Routes to the Seaboard (Chairman: Robert J. Gamble; Ranking Member: Edmund W. Pettus)
* Trespassers upon Indian Lands (Select) (Chairman: George Sutherland)
* Ventilation and Acoustics (Select) (Chairman: Roswell P. Bishop; Ranking Member: David H. Smith)
* Whole
* Woman Suffrage (Select) (Chairman: Augustus O. Bacon; Ranking Member: George P. Wetmore)

### House of Representatives

* Accounts (Chairman: H. Burd Cassel; Ranking Member: Charles Lafayette Bartlett)
* Agriculture (Chairman: James W. Wadsworth; Ranking Member: John Lamb)
* Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (Chairman: Nehemiah D. Sperry; Ranking Member: John L. Burnett)
* Appropriations (Chairman: James A. Tawney; Ranking Member: Leonidas F. Livingston)
* Banking and Currency (Chairman: Charles N. Fowler; Ranking Member: Elijah B. Lewis)
* Census (Chairman: Edgar D. Crumpacker; Ranking Member: James Hay)
* Claims (Chairman: James M. Miller; Ranking Member: Henry M. Goldfogle)
* Coinage, Weights and Measures (Chairman: James H. Southard; Ranking Member: John W. Gaines)
* Disposition of Executive Papers
* District of Columbia (Chairman: Joseph W. Babcock; Ranking Member: Thetus W. Sims)
* Education (Chairman: George N. Southwick; Ranking Member: Edwin Y. Webb)
* Election of the President, Vice President and Representatives in Congress (Chairman: Joseph H. Gaines; Ranking Member: William W. Rucker)
* Elections No.#1 (Chairman: James Robert Mann; Ranking Member: Ollie M. James)
* Elections No.#2 (Chairman: Marlin E. Olmsted; Ranking Member: Joshua Frederick Cockey Talbott)
* Elections No.#3 (Chairman: Michael E. Driscoll; Ranking Member: Choice B. Randell)
* Enrolled Bills (Chairman: Frank C. Wachter; Ranking Member: James T. Lloyd)
* Expenditures in the Agriculture Department (Chairman: Charles E. Littlefield; Ranking Member: Henry D. Flood)
* Expenditures in the Commerce and Labor Departments (Chairman: David J. Foster; Ranking Member: Arsene P. Pujo)
* Expenditures in the Interior Department (Chairman: Edward S. Minor; Ranking Member: Robert N. Page)
* Expenditures in the Justice Department (Chairman: William A. Calderhead; Ranking Member: Robert N. Page)
* Expenditures in the Navy Department (Chairman: Joseph W. Fordney; Ranking Member: Choice B. Randell)
* Expenditures in the Post Office Department (Chairman: Irving P. Wanger; Ranking Member: Carter Glass)
* Expenditures in the State Department (Chairman: John H. Ketcham; Ranking Member: Rufus E. Lester)
* Expenditures in the Treasury Department (Chairman: Robert G. Cousins; Ranking Member: John Lamb)
* Expenditures in the War Department (Chairman: George P. Lawrence; Ranking Member: George F. Burgess)
* Expenditures on Public Buildings (Chairman: James A. Hughes; Ranking Member: John H. Small)
* Foreign Affairs (Chairman: Robert R. Hitt; Ranking Member: William M. Howard)
* Immigration and Naturalization (Chairman: Benjamin F. Howell; Ranking Member: Jacob Ruppert Jr.)
* Indian Affairs (Chairman: James S. Sherman; Ranking Member: John H. Stephens)
* Industrial Arts and Expositions (Chairman: Augustus P. Gardner; Ranking Member: Charles L. Bartlett)
* Insular Affairs (Chairman: Henry Allen Cooper; Ranking Member: William A. Jones)
* Interstate and Foreign Commerce (Chairman: William P. Hepburn; Ranking Member: Robert C. Davey)
* Invalid Pensions (Chairman: Cyrus A. Sulloway; Ranking Member: George H. Lindsay)
* Irrigation of Arid Lands (Chairman: Frank W. Mondell; Ranking Member: Clarence D. Van Duzer)
* Judiciary (Chairman: John J. Jenkins; Ranking Member: David A. De Armond)
* Labor (Chairman: John J. Gardner; Ranking Member: William Randolph Hearst)
* Levees and Improvements of the Mississippi River (Chairman: George W. Prince; Ranking Member: Robert F. Broussard)
* Library (Chairman: James T. McCleary; Ranking Member: William M. Howard)
* Manufactures (Chairman: Joseph C. Sibley; Ranking Member: Charles H. Weisse)
* Merchant Marine and Fisheries (Chairman: Charles H. Grosvenor; Ranking Member: Thomas Spight)
* Mileage (Chairman: William A. Reeder; Ranking Member: Elijah B. Lewis)
* Military Affairs (Chairman: John A.T. Hull; Ranking Member: William Sulzer)
* Militia (Chairman: Edward De V. Morrell; Ranking Member: Augustus O. Stanley)
* Mines and Mining (Chairman: Webster E. Brown; Ranking Member: Adolph Meyer)
* Naval Affairs (Chairman: George E. Foss; Ranking Member: Adolph Meyer)
* Pacific Railroads (Chairman: Thomas S. Butler; Ranking Member: James L. Slayden)
* Patents (Chairman: Frank D. Currier; Ranking Member: William Sulzer)
* Pensions (Chairman: Henry C. Loudenslager; Ranking Member: William Richardson)
* Post Office and Post Roads (Chairman: Jesse Overstreet; Ranking Member: John A. Moon)
* Printing (Chairman: Charles B. Landis; Ranking Member: James M. Griggs)
* Private Land Claims (Chairman: George W. Smith; Ranking Member: William A. Jones)
* Public Buildings and Grounds (Chairman: Richard Bartholdt; Ranking Member: John H. Bankhead)
* Public Lands (Chairman: John F. Lacey; Ranking Member: John L. Burnett)
* Railways and Canals (Chairman: James H. Davidson; Ranking Member: John L. Burnett)
* Reform in the Civil Service (Chairman: Frederick H. Gillett; Ranking Member: Edward W. Pou)
* Revision of Laws (Chairman: Reuben O. Moon; Ranking Member: Robert B. Macon)
* Rivers and Harbors (Chairman: Theodore E. Burton; Ranking Member: Rufus E. Lester)
* Rules (Chairman: John Dalzell; Ranking Member: John S. Williams)
* Standards of Official Conduct
* Territories (Chairman: Edward L. Hamilton; Ranking Member: John A. Moon)
* Ventilation and Acoustics (Chairman: Roswell P. Bishop; Ranking Member: David H. Smith)
* War Claims (Chairman: Thaddeus M. Mahon; Ranking Member: Thetus W. Sims)
* Ways and Means (Chairman: Sereno E. Payne; Ranking Member: John S. Williams)
* Whole

### Joint committees

* Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
* Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers (Chairman: Rep. Arthur L. Bates; Vice Chairman: Sen. )
* Revision of the Laws
* The Library
* Printing
* Second Class Mail Matter

## Caucuses

* Democratic (House)
* Democratic (Senate)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: Elliott Woods
* Librarian of Congress: Herbert Putnam
* Public Printer of the United States: Francis W. Palmer, until 1905
** Charles A. Stillings, from 1905

### Senate

* Secretary: Charles G. Bennett
* Librarian: Edward C. Goodwin
* Sergeant at Arms: Daniel M. Ransdell
* Chaplain: The Rev. Edward E. Hale, Unitarian

### House of Representatives

* Clerk: Alexander McDowell
* Sergeant at Arms: Henry Casson
* Doorkeeper: Frank B. Lyon
* Postmaster: Joseph C. McElroy
* Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Asher C. Hinds
* Reading Clerks: E.L. Sampson (D) and Dennis E. Alward (R)
* Chaplain: The Rev. Henry N. Couden, Universalist