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72nd United States Congress
1931–1933 U.S. Congress From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 72nd 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.[1][2] It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931, to March 4, 1933, during the last two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census. The Senate had a Republican majority. The House started with a very slim Republican majority, but by the time it first met in December 1931, the Democrats had gained a majority through special elections.
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Major events
- Ongoing: Great Depression
- January 12, 1932: Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas became the first woman elected to the United States Senate. (Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia had been appointed to fill a vacancy in 1922) Caraway had won a special election to fill the remaining months of the term of her late husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway. She won re-election to a full term in 1932 and again in 1938 and served in the Senate until January 1945.[3]
- July 28, 1932: Bonus Army was dispersed.
- November 8, 1932: 1932 United States elections:
- 1932 United States presidential election: Incumbent Republicans Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis lost to Democrats Franklin Roosevelt as President, and John Nance Garner as Vice President.
- 1932 United States Senate elections: Democrats gained 12 seats for a 59–36 majority.
- 1932 United States House of Representatives elections: Democrats gained 97 seats for a 313–117 majority.
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Major legislation
- January 22, 1932: Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, Sess. 1, ch. 8, 47 Stat. 5
- February 27, 1932: Glass-Steagall Act of 1932, Sess. 1, ch. 58, 47 Stat. 56
- March 23, 1932: Norris-LaGuardia Act, Sess. 1, ch. 90, 47 Stat. 70
- June 6, 1932: Revenue Act of 1932, Sess. 1, ch. 209, 47 Stat. 169
- June 22, 1932: Federal Kidnapping Act, Sess. 1, ch. 271, 47 Stat. 326
- June 30, 1932: Economy Act of 1932, Sess. 1, ch. 314, 47 Stat. 399
- July 21, 1932: Emergency Relief and Construction Act, Sess. 1, ch. 520, 47 Stat. 709
- July 22, 1932: Federal Home Loan Bank Act, Sess. 1, ch. 522, 47 Stat. 725
- January 17, 1933: Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, Sess. 2, ch. 11, 47 Stat. 761
- March 3, 1933: Buy American Act, Sess. 2, ch. 212, title III, 47 Stat. 1520
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Constitutional amendments
- March 2, 1932: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution moving the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4 to January 20, and of members of Congress from March 4 to January 3, and also establishing what is to be done when there is no president-elect, and submitted it to the state legislatures for ratification
- January 23, 1933: The Twentieth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 36) to become part of the Constitution.
- February 20, 1933: Approved an amendment to the U.S. Constitution repealing the Eighteenth Amendment, and submitted it to state ratifying conventions for ratification
- Amendment was later ratified on December 5, 1933, becoming the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
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
Republicans controlled the Senate through a VP-tie-breaking majority.
House of Representatives
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Leadership
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Charles Curtis (R)
Senate
Majority (Republican)
Minority (Democratic)
House of Representatives

- Speaker: John N. Garner (D)
Note: Republican Nicholas Longworth, the Speaker of the House in the previous Congress, was Speaker-presumptive with his party's mere three-seat majority. However, Longworth died on April 9, 1931, and by the time the 72nd Congress convened in December 1931, Democrats had gained four seats from Republicans through special elections following deaths, thus becoming the majority party in the House. Democrat John Garner was subsequently elected as Speaker.[4]
Majority (Democratic)
Minority (Republican)
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Members
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This list is arranged by chamber, then by state. Senators are listed by class, and representatives are listed 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, requiring reelection in 1934; Class 2 meant their term began with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1936; and Class 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, requiring reelection in 1932.
House of Representatives
The names of members of the House of Representatives elected statewide on the general ticket or otherwise at-large, are preceded by an "At-large," and the names of those elected from districts, whether plural or single member, are preceded by their district numbers.
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Changes in membership
Senate
- Replacements: 11
- Democratic: 1-seat net loss
- Republican: no net change
- Deaths: 6
- Resignations: 1
- Interim appointments: 5
- Total seats with changes: 8
House of Representatives
- Replacements: 23
- Democratic: 6 seat net gain
- Republican: 6 seat net loss
- Deaths: 24
- Resignations: 7
- Contested election: 1
- Total seats with changes: 32
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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
- Conditions of Indian Tribes (Special)
- Disposition of (Useless) Executive Papers
- The Library (Chairman: Sen. Simeon D. Fess)
- Printing (Chairman: Sen. George H. Moses then Duncan U. Fletcher; Vice Chairman: Rep. Edgar R. Kiess)
- Taxation (Chairman: Rep. Willis C. Hawley)
- Veterans' Affairs
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Caucuses
- Democratic (House)
- Democratic (Senate)
Employees
Legislative branch agency directors
Senate
- Chaplain: ZeBarney T. Phillips (Episcopalian)
- Secretary: Edwin P. Thayer
- Librarian: James D. Preston
- Sergeant at Arms: David S. Barry
- Democratic Party Secretary: Edwin A. Halsey
- Republican Party Secretary: Carl A. Loeffler
House of Representatives
- Chaplain: James S. Montgomery (Methodist)
- Clerk: South Trimble
- Doorkeeper: Joseph J. Sinnott
- Parliamentarian: Lewis Deschler
- Postmaster: Finis E. Scott
- Reading Clerks: Patrick Joseph Haltigan (D) and Alney E. Chaffee (R)
- Sergeant at Arms: Joseph G. Rodgers, until December 7, 1931
- Kenneth Romney, from December 7, 1931
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See also
- 1930 United States elections (elections leading to this Congress)
- 1932 United States elections (elections during this Congress, leading to the next Congress)
Notes
- Huey Long (D-Louisiana) was elected in November 1930 to a Senate term beginning March 4, 1931; however, he chose not to assume office until January 25, 1932, when his term as governor of Louisiana ended.[5]
References
External links
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