The 82nd 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 January 3, 1951, to January 3, 1953, during the last two years of President Harry S. Truman's second term in office.
The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.
Both chambers had a Democratic majority (albeit reduced from the 81st Congress), and with President Truman, maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
Major events
March 29, 1951: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage. On April 5 they were sentenced to receive the death penalty. April 11, 1951: President Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his Far Eastern commands. April 13, 1951: Congress passed a large defense budget 372 votes for the budget and 44 votes against the budget. The budget was intended to help the United States combat communism. August 31, 1951: The United States Senate passes the Mutual Security Act by a vote of 61 votes in favor and 5 votes against. The act provided $7.5 billion for foreign military assistance and food aid to America's allies, primarily the United Kingdom. The vote was condemned by the government of the Soviet Union and praised by the government of the United Kingdom.Crisis in Britain 1951 by Joan Mitchell Secker & Warburg, 1963 pg. 45 September 5, 1951: Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations signed a peace treaty with Japan to formally end the Pacific War. October 24, 1951: President Truman declared an official end to war with Germany. November 10, 1951: Direct dial coast-to-coast telephone service began in the United States. December 31, 1951: The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $13.3 billion USD in foreign aid to rebuild Europe. March 29, 1952: President Truman announced that he will not seek reelection. June 19, 1952: The Special Forces created. July 25, 1952: Puerto Rico became a Commonwealth of the United States, an unincorporated organized territory, with the ratification of its constitution. November 4, 1952: 1952 United States presidential election: Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson November 4, 1952: National Security Agency founded.
Major legislation
October 10, 1951: Mutual Security Act, ch. 479, June 25, 1952: Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1952, , June 27, 1952: Immigration and Nationality Act (McCarran-Walter Act), July 14, 1952: McGuire Act, , July 16, 1952: Veterans' Readjustment Assistance Act, July 16, 1952: Federal Coal Mine Safety Act of 1952, July 16, 1952: Wire Fraud Act of 1952,
Constitutional amendments February 27, 1951: Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, setting a term limit for election and overall time of service to the office of President of the United States, was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 36) to become part of the Constitution
Treaties
March 20, 1952: Treaty of San Francisco ratified
Party summary
Senate Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) Total Vacant Democratic Independent Republican End of previous Congress 53 0 43 96 0 Begin 49 0 47 96 0 March 8, 1951 48 95 1 March 19, 1951 49 96 0 April 18, 1951 46 95 1 April 23, 1951 50 96 0 November 29, 1951 45 95 1 December 10, 1951 46 96 0 July 28, 1952 49 95 1 August 29, 1952 47 96 0 November 5, 1952 47 49 December 31, 1952 48 95 1 Latest voting share Beginning of the next Congress 47 1 48 96 0
House of Representatives Party (Shading indicates majority caucus) Total Vacant Democratic Independent Republican Other End of previous Congress 259 0 168 2 429 6 Begin 235 1 199 0 435 0 End 228 198 0 427 8 Final voting share 53.4% 0.2% 46.4% 0.0% Beginning of next Congress 211 1 221 0 433 2
Leadership
Senate
President: Alben W. Barkley (D) President pro tempore: Kenneth McKellar (D)
Majority (Democratic) party Majority leader: Ernest McFarland Majority whip: Lyndon B. Johnson Democratic Caucus Secretary: Brien McMahon Policy Committee Chairman: Ernest McFarland
Minority (Republican) party Minority leader: Kenneth S. Wherry, until November 29, 1951 Styles Bridges, from January 8, 1952 Minority whip: Leverett Saltonstall Republican Conference Chairman: Eugene Millikin Republican Conference Secretary: Milton Young National Senatorial Committee Chair: Owen Brewster Policy Committee Chairman: Robert A. Taft
House of Representatives
Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D)
Majority (Democratic) party Majority leader: John W. McCormack Majority whip: J. Percy Priest Democratic Caucus Chairman: Jere Cooper Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Michael J. Kirwan
Minority (Republican) party Minority leader: Joseph W. Martin Jr. Minority whip: Leslie C. Arends Republican Conference Chairman: Clifford R. Hope Policy Committee Chairman: Joseph W. Martin Jr. Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Leonard Hall
Caucuses House Democratic Caucus Senate Democratic Caucus
Members
Senate
Senators are popularly elected statewide 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 ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1952; Class 2 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1954; and Class 3 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1956.
Alabama 2. John Sparkman (D) 3. J. Lister Hill (D)
Arizona 1. Ernest McFarland (D) 3. Carl Hayden (D)
Arkansas 2. John L. McClellan (D) 3. J. William Fulbright (D)
California 1. William Knowland (R) 3. Richard Nixon (R), until January 1, 1953 Thomas Kuchel (R), from January 2, 1953
Colorado 2. Edwin C. Johnson (D) 3. Eugene Millikin (R)
Connecticut 1. William Benton (D) 3. Brien McMahon (D), until July 28, 1952 William A. Purtell (R), August 29, 1952 – November 4, 1952 Prescott Bush (R), from November 5, 1952
Delaware 1. John J. Williams (R) 2. J. Allen Frear Jr. (D)
Florida 1. Spessard Holland (D) 3. George Smathers (D)
Georgia 3. Walter F. George (D) 2. Richard Russell Jr. (D)
Idaho 2. Henry Dworshak (R) 3. Herman Welker (R)
Illinois 2. Paul Douglas (D) 3. Everett Dirksen (R)
Indiana 1. William E. Jenner (R) 3. Homer E. Capehart (R)
Iowa 2. Guy Gillette (D) 3. Bourke B. Hickenlooper (R)
Kansas 2. Andrew Frank Schoeppel (R) 3. Frank Carlson (R)
Kentucky 2. Virgil Chapman (D), until March 8, 1951 Thomas R. Underwood (D), March 19, 1951 – November 4, 1952 John Sherman Cooper (R), from November 5, 1952 3. Earle Clements (D)
Louisiana 2. Allen J. Ellender (D) 3. Russell B. Long (D)
Maine 1. Ralph Owen Brewster (R), until December 31, 1952 2. Margaret Chase Smith (R)
Maryland 1. Herbert O'Conor (D) 3. John Marshall Butler (R)
Massachusetts 1. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R) 2. Leverett Saltonstall (R)
Michigan 1. Arthur Vandenberg (R), until April 18, 1951 Blair Moody (D), April 23, 1951 – November 4, 1952 Charles E. Potter (R), from November 5, 1952 2. Homer S. Ferguson (R)
Minnesota 1. Edward John Thye (R) 2. Hubert Humphrey (DFL)
Mississippi 1. John C. Stennis (D) 2. James Eastland (D)
Missouri 1. James P. Kem (R) 3. Thomas C. Hennings Jr. (D)
Montana 1. Zales Ecton (R) 2. James E. Murray (D)
Nebraska 1. Hugh A. Butler (R) 2. Kenneth S. Wherry (R), until November 29, 1951 Fred A. Seaton (R), December 10, 1951 – November 4, 1952 Dwight Griswold (R), from November 5, 1952
Nevada 1. George W. Malone (R) 3. Patrick A. McCarran (D)
New Hampshire 2. Styles Bridges (R) 3. Charles W. Tobey (R)
New Jersey 1. Howard Alexander Smith (R) 2. Robert C. Hendrickson (R)
New Mexico 1. Dennis Chávez (D) 2. Clinton P. Anderson (D)
New York 1. Irving Ives (R) 3. Herbert H. Lehman (D)
North Carolina 2. Willis Smith (D) 3. Clyde R. Hoey (D)
North Dakota 1. William Langer (R-NPL) 3. Milton Young (R)
Ohio 1. John W. Bricker (R) 3. Robert A. Taft (R)
Oklahoma 2. Robert S. Kerr (D) 3. A. S. Mike Monroney (D)
Oregon 2. Guy Cordon (R) 3. Wayne Morse (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Edward Martin (R) 3. James H. Duff (R)
Rhode Island 1. John Pastore (D) 2. Theodore F. Green (D)
South Carolina 2. Burnet R. Maybank (D) 3. Olin D. Johnston (D)
South Dakota 2. Karl E. Mundt (R) 3. Francis Case (R)
Tennessee 1. Kenneth McKellar (D) 2. Estes Kefauver (D)
Texas 1. Tom T. Connally (D) 2. Lyndon B. Johnson (D)
Utah 1. Arthur Vivian Watkins (R) 3. Wallace F. Bennett (R)
Vermont 1. Ralph Flanders (R) 3. George Aiken (R)
Virginia 1. Harry F. Byrd (D) 2. A. Willis Robertson (D)
Washington 1. Harry P. Cain (R) 3. Warren G. Magnuson (D)
West Virginia 1. Harley M. Kilgore (D) 2. Matthew M. Neely (D)
Wisconsin 1. Joseph McCarthy (R) 3. Alexander Wiley (R)
Wyoming 1. Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D) 2. Lester C. Hunt (D)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Frank W. Boykin (D) . George M. Grant (D) . George W. Andrews (D) . Kenneth A. Roberts (D) . Albert Rains (D) . Edward deGraffenried (D) . Carl Elliott (D) . Robert E. Jones Jr. (D) . Laurie C. Battle (D)
Arizona . John R. Murdock (D) . Harold Patten (D)
Arkansas . Ezekiel C. Gathings (D) . Wilbur Mills (D) . James William Trimble (D) . Boyd Anderson Tackett (D) . Brooks Hays (D) . William F. Norrell (D) . Oren Harris (D)
California . Hubert B. Scudder (R) . Clair Engle (D) . J. Leroy Johnson (R) . Franck R. Havenner (D) . John F. Shelley (D) . George P. Miller (D) . John J. Allen Jr. (R) . Jack Z. Anderson (R) . Allan O. Hunter (R) . Thomas H. Werdel (R) . Ernest K. Bramblett (R) . Patrick J. Hillings (R) . Norris Poulson (R) . Sam Yorty (D) . Gordon L. McDonough (R) . Donald L. Jackson (R) . Cecil R. King (D) . Clyde Doyle (D) . Chester E. Holifield (D) . John Carl Hinshaw (R) . Harry R. Sheppard (D) . John R. Phillips (R) . Clinton D. McKinnon (D)
Colorado . Byron G. Rogers (D) . William S. Hill (R) . John Chenoweth (R) . Wayne N. Aspinall (D)
Connecticut . Abraham Ribicoff (D) . Horace Seely-Brown Jr. (R) . John A. McGuire (D) . Albert P. Morano (R) . James T. Patterson (R) . Antoni Sadlak (R)
Delaware . J. Caleb Boggs (R)
Florida . Chester B. McMullen (D) . Charles E. Bennett (D) . Robert L. F. Sikes (D) . Bill Lantaff (D) . Syd Herlong (D) . Dwight L. Rogers (D)
Georgia . Prince Hulon Preston Jr. (D) . E. Eugene Cox (D), until December 24, 1952 . Tic Forrester (D) . Albert Sidney Camp (D) . James C. Davis (D) . Carl Vinson (D) . Henderson Lovelace Lanham (D) . William McDonald Wheeler (D) . John S. Wood (D) . Paul Brown (D)
Idaho . John Travers Wood (R) . Hamer Budge (R)
Illinois . William L. Dawson (D) . Richard B. Vail (R) . Fred E. Busbey (R) . William E. McVey (R) . John C. Kluczynski (D) . Thomas J. O'Brien (D) . Adolph J. Sabath (D), until November 6, 1952 . Thomas S. Gordon (D) . Sidney R. Yates (D) . Richard W. Hoffman (R) . Timothy P. Sheehan (R) . Edgar A. Jonas (R) . Marguerite S. Church (R) . Chauncey W. Reed (R) . Noah M. Mason (R) . Leo E. Allen (R) . Leslie C. Arends (R) . Harold H. Velde (R) . Robert B. Chiperfield (R) . Sid Simpson (R) . Peter F. Mack Jr. (D) . William L. Springer (R) . Edward H. Jenison (R) . Charles W. Vursell (R) . Melvin Price (D) . C. W. Bishop (R)
Indiana . Ray Madden (D) . Charles A. Halleck (R) . Shepard J. Crumpacker Jr. (R) . E. Ross Adair (R) . John V. Beamer (R) . Cecil M. Harden (R) . William G. Bray (R) . Winfield K. Denton (D) . Earl Wilson (R)