# 54th United States Congress

The 54th 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, 1895, to March 4, 1897, during the last two years of Grover Cleveland's second presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1890 United States census. The House had a Republican majority, and the Republicans were the largest party in the Senate.

## Major events

* May 27, 1896: 1896 St. Louis–East St. Louis tornado: The costliest and third deadliest tornado in U.S. history levels a mile wide swath of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, incurring over $10,000,000 (over $375 mil. in 2025) in damages at contemporaneous prices, killing more than 255 and injuring over 1,000 people.
* November 3, 1896: U.S. presidential election, 1896: Republican William McKinley defeats Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan. This is regarded as a realigning election, that ended the old Third Party System and started the Fourth Party System
* February 19, 1897: United States Copyright Office established as a department in the Library of Congress.

## Major legislation

* May 21, 1896: Oil Pipe Line Act, ch. 212, 29 Stat. 127 (43 U.S.C. § 962 et seq.)
* May 22, 1896: Condemned Cannon Act, 29 Stat. 133
* May 28, 1896: United States Commissioners Act, 29 Stat. 184
* June 1, 1896: Married Women's Rights Act (District of Columbia), 29 Stat. 193
* June 6, 1896: Filled Cheese Act, 29 Stat. 253
* January 13, 1897: Stock Reservoir Act, 29 Stat. 484, (43 U.S.C. § 952 et seq.)
* March 2, 1897: Tea Importation Act, 29 Stat. 604, (21 U.S.C. § 41 et seq.)

## States admitted

* January 4, 1896: Utah was admitted as the 45th state.

## Party summary

This count 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) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Populist (P) | Republican (R) | Silver Republican (SR) | Silver (S) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 43 | 3 | 41 | 0 | 1 | 88 | 0 |
| Begin | 39 | 4 | 42 | 0 | 2 | 87 | 1 |
| End | 40 | 4 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 90 | 0 |
| Final voting share | 44.4% | 4.4% | 48.9% | 0.0% | 2.2% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 33 | 5 | 43 | 5 | 2 | 88 | 2 |

### House of Representatives

| | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Party (shading shows control) | Total | Vacant |
| | Democratic (D) | Populist (P) | Republican (R) | Silver (S) | Other (O) | Total | Vacant |
| End of previous congress | 214 | 11 | 123 | 1 | 1 | 350 | 6 |
| Begin | 104 | 7 | 240 | 1 | 0 | 352 | 4 |
| End | 94 | 9 | 252 | 1 | 0 | 356 | 1 |
| Final voting share | 26.4% | 2.5% | 70.8% | 0.3% | 0.0% | | |
| Beginning of next congress | 126 | 22 | 202 | 1 | 4 | 355 | 2 |

## Leadership
### Senate

* President: Adlai E. Stevenson (D)
* President pro tempore: William P. Frye (R)

#### Majority (Republican) leadership

* Republican Conference Chairman: John Sherman

#### Minority (Democratic) leadership

* Democratic Caucus Chairman: Arthur P. Gorman

### House of Representatives

* Speaker: Thomas B. Reed (R)
* Minority Leader: Charles F. Crisp (D)

#### Majority (Republican) leadership

* Republican Conference Chairman: Charles H. Grosvenor
* Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Babcock

#### Minority (Democratic) leadership

* Democratic Caucus Chairman: David B. Culberson
* 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 began in the last Congress, requiring re-election in 1898; Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1900; and Class 3 meant their term ended in this Congress, requiring re-election in 1896.

### House of Representatives

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

## Changes in membership

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

### Senate

Two seats were added when Utah was admitted and one seat was filled late.

### House of Representatives

There were 4 deaths, 2 resignations, 13 election challenges, 1 new seat, and 4 seats vacant from the previous Congress. Democrats had a 10-seat net loss; Republicans had a 12-seat net gain; and Populists had a 2-seat net gain.

## 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.

### Joint committees

* Alcohol in the Arts (Select)
* Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
* Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
* Investigate Charities and Reformatory Institutions in the District of Columbia
* The Library
* Printing
* Ford's Theater Disaster

## Caucuses

* Democratic (House)
* Democratic (Senate)

## Employees
### Legislative branch agency directors

* Architect of the Capitol: Edward Clark
* Librarian of Congress: Ainsworth Rand Spofford
* Public Printer of the United States: Thomas E. Benedict

### Senate

* Chaplain: William H. Millburn (Methodist)
* Secretary: William Ruffin Cox
* Librarian: Alonzo M. Church
* Sergeant at Arms: Richard J. Bright

### House of Representatives

* Chaplain: Edward P. Bagby (Disciples of Christ), until December 2, 1895
** Henry N. Couden (Universalist), elected December 2, 1895
* Clerk: James Kerr, until December 2, 1895
** Alexander McDowell, from December 2, 1895
* Clerk at the Speaker's Table: Asher C. Hinds
* Doorkeeper: William J. Glenn, elected December 2, 1895
* Postmaster: Joseph C. McElroy, elected December 2, 1895
* Reading Clerks: E. L. Sampson (D) and R. S. Hatcher (R)
* Sergeant at Arms: Herman W. Snow, until December 2, 1895
** Benjamin F. Russell, from December 2, 1895