Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-09-29
Misfellaueuns &eadiug,
THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS-.
4 CHAPTER FROM POLITICAL HISTO

THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS.
4 CHAPTER FROM POLITICAL HISTORY.
The House of Representatives of the
49th Congress as originally elected, was
made up of 14s Democrats and los Repub-
licans, the Democratic majority being 43.
The death of Representative Hahn, OF
Louisiana, and the election of Democrat
in his stead, has increased this majority to
A. If the unbroken precedents of the last
forty-five years teach anything it is that
while there is no apparent reason why the
Democratic majority may not be increased,
decreased Democratic membership in the
5Oth Congress need not surprise anybody.
Never since 1S40 has the party which
named the president been able to return as
many members to Congress elected in the
middle of the Presidential term as to that
which was elected at the same time with
the President. The Wings in 1910 swept
the country and elected Whig House as
we'll as Whig President. Two years later
the House of Representatives contained
a Democratic majority of not less than six
ty-one. Although the popular vote as be-
tween Clay and Polk was in 1910 very
evenly divided. Mr.. Polk, upon entering
upon his administration found in the House
of Representatives of the Goth Congress
an administration majority of sixty-two.
But when the 30th Congress met the ad-
ministration was faced with an adverse
majority in the House of eleven, and O
Whig, Winthrop, Of Massachusetts,, was
elected Speaker.
The Wings in 1S4S, although they elected
Gen. Taylor President, returned four less
than one half of the House of Representa-
tives. This very evenly divided House was,
however, in two years replaced by one in
which the opponents Of the Wing admins
tration outnumbered its supporters in the
proportion of about thirteen to eight. The
Democratic deluge of 1852, which carried
every State in the Union save for the
Democratic electoral ticket, brought with
it House of Representatives, in which
there was Democratic majority OF eighty
four. The rise of the know-nothing party,
and the opposition caused by the passage OF
the Kansas. Nebraska act, completely chang
ed the situation, and the very next House
had an anti-Democratic majority of seven
ty-fve. The Democratic party soon recov-
cred a portion at least of its strength, and
when Buchanan was inaugurated the DEM
ocratic party had majority of two in the
House then newly elected. This was, how
ever, lost again at the next election, and
in the thirty-sixth Congress there was an
anti-administration majority Of fifty-one.
The war now came. After the withdraw
al of the Southern members from their
seats in Congress, the Republicans had a
majority of 36 in the first Congress of the
war period. In spite of all the war fever,
the next House had Republican majority
of about eighteen. When Lincoln was elect
ed a second time, the country, or rather the
northern portion of it, sent to support him
House in which the supporters of the ad-
ministration outnumbered its opponents by
more than three to one.
In 1866, although the Southern States
were vet re-admitted through their repre-
sentatives to the floor of Congress, the Re-
publican majority was cut down from one
hundred and five to ninety-four. When
Gen. Grant was first elected, there was
chosen at the same time a House in which
the Republican majority was ninety-three.
In 1870 the Congress elected in the mid
die of his term had an administration ma
jority of but 35. In 1872 the collapse of the
Greedy movement was fatal to the opposition
strength in the House, which found itself
in the Forty-third Congress in minority
of one hundred and three. The Republl-
can triumph was short lived, for in 1874
came the great Democratic tidal wave and
with it House of Representatives which
had Democratic majority of seventy-four.
In the election of 1876, although the DEM
cratic plurality in the popular vote was a
quarter of million, the House of Represen-
tatives elected had Democratic majority
of but thirteen. In the next House, elect
ed in the middle of Hayes term, the ma
jority was increased to twenty-three. In
1880 the Forty-seventh Congress was elect
ed, and in it the Republican majority was
five. In 1882 Keifer, Hubbell & Co. might
have read, if they had chosen to do so, the
verdict of the country upon their course in
the Democratic majority of seventy-seven
which was then returned to the Forty
eighth Congress. If the elections of this
fall shall result in the choice of Congress
in which the Democratic majority is no
less than it's in the present Congress, Cleve-
lands administration will receive an in
dorsement which has been given to no Pres
ident for the last forty-five years. On the
other hand, if the Democratic strength shall
be less, he will only experience the same
treatment as the country gave to Polk, to
Fillmore, to Pierce, to Buchanan, to Lin
coin, to Grant, to Hayes and to Arthur