The 78th 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, 1943, to January 3, 1945, during the last two years of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency. The apportionment of seats in the House of Representatives was based on the 1940 United States census.
Both chambers had a Democratic majority - albeit greatly reduced from the 77th Congress, with the Democrats losing their supermajority in the House and Senate. Along with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Democrats maintained an overall federal government trifecta.
Major events
World War II continued (1941–1945) June 6, 1944: Battle of Normandy November 7, 1944: General elections: President Roosevelt was re-elected to a fourth term. Senate Democrats kept their majority despite 1-seat net loss. House Democrats increased their majority with a 20-seat net gain.
Major legislation
December 17, 1943: Magnuson Act (Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943), Sess. 1, ch. 344, February 3, 1944: Mustering-out Payment Act, Sess. 2, , June 6, 1944: Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill), Sess. 2, ch. 268, , June 27, 1944: Veterans' Preference Act, Sess. 2, ch. 287, , July 1, 1944: Public Health Service Act, Sess. 2, ch. 373, Contract Settlement Act of 1944, , Sess. 2, an act to provide for the settlement of claims arising from terminated war contracts December 22, 1944: Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act, Sess. 2, ch. 665, ,
Party summary Senate
House of Representatives
Leaders
Senate President: Henry A. Wallace (D) President pro tempore: Carter Glass (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership Majority Leader: Alben W. Barkley Majority Whip: J. Lister Hill Democratic Caucus Secretary: Francis T. Maloney
Minority (Republican) leadership Minority Leader: Charles L. McNary, until February 25, 1944 Wallace H. White Jr., after February 25, 1944 Minority whip: No Republican whips were appointed from 1935 to 1944 since only 17 Republicans were in the Senate following the landslide reelection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936. Accordingly, the minutes of the Republican Conference for the period state: "On motion of Senator Hastings, duly seconded and carried, it was agreed that no Assistant Leader or Whip be elected but that the chairman be authorized to appoint Senators from time to time to assist him in taking charge of the interests of the minority." A note attached to the conference minutes added: "The chairman of the conference, Senator McNary, apparently appointed Senator Austin of Vermont as assistant leader in 1943 and 1944, until the conference adopted Rules of Organization." Republican Conference Secretary: Wallace H. White Jr., until February 25, 1944 Harold Hitz Burton (from February 25, 1944) National Senatorial Committee Chair: John G. Townsend Jr.
House of Representatives Speaker: Sam Rayburn (D)
Majority (Democratic) leadership Majority Leader: John W. McCormack Majority whip: Robert Ramspeck Democratic Caucus Chairman: Harry R. Sheppard Democratic Campaign Committee Chairman: Patrick H. Drewry
Minority (Republican) leadership Minority Leader: Joseph W. Martin Jr. Minority whip: Harry Lane Englebright, until May 13, 1943 Leslie C. Arends, from May 13, 1943 Republican Conference Chairman: Roy O. Woodruff Republican Campaign Committee Chairman: Charles A. Halleck
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 3 meant their term ended with this Congress, facing re-election in 1944; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, facing re-election in 1946; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, facing re-election in 1948.
Alabama 2. John H. Bankhead II (D) 3. J. Lister Hill (D)
Arizona 1. Ernest McFarland (D) 3. Carl Hayden (D)
Arkansas 2. John L. McClellan (D) 3. Hattie Caraway (D)
California 1. Hiram W. Johnson (R) 3. Sheridan Downey (D)
Colorado 2. Edwin C. Johnson (D) 3. Eugene Millikin (R)
Connecticut 1. Francis T. Maloney (D) 3. John A. Danaher (R)
Delaware 1. James M. Tunnell (D) 2. C. Douglass Buck (R)
Florida 1. Charles O. Andrews (D) 3. Claude Pepper (D)
Georgia 2. Richard Russell Jr. (D) 3. Walter F. George (D)
Idaho 2. John Thomas (R) 3. D. Worth Clark (D)
Illinois 2. Charles W. Brooks (R) 3. Scott W. Lucas (D)
Indiana 1. Raymond E. Willis (R) 3. Frederick Van Nuys (D), until January 25, 1944 Samuel D. Jackson (D), January 28, 1944 – November 13, 1944 William E. Jenner (R), from November 14, 1944
Iowa 2. George A. Wilson (R) 3. Guy M. Gillette (D)
Kansas 2. Arthur Capper (R) 3. Clyde M. Reed (R)
Kentucky 2. Happy Chandler (D) 3. Alben Barkley (D)
Louisiana 2. Allen J. Ellender (D) 3. John H. Overton (D)
Maine 1. Ralph Owen Brewster (R) 2. Wallace H. White Jr. (R)
Maryland 1. George L. P. Radcliffe (D) 3. Millard Tydings (D)
Massachusetts 1. David I. Walsh (D) 2. Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (R), until February 3, 1944 Sinclair Weeks (R), February 8, 1944 – December 19, 1944 Vacant from December 19, 1944
Michigan 1. Arthur H. Vandenberg (R) 2. Homer S. Ferguson (R)
Minnesota 1. Henrik Shipstead (R) 2. Joseph H. Ball (R)
Mississippi 1. Theodore G. Bilbo (D) 2. James Eastland (D)
Missouri 1. Harry S. Truman (D) 3. Bennett Champ Clark (D)
Montana 1. Burton K. Wheeler (D) 2. James E. Murray (D)
Nebraska 1. Hugh A. Butler (R) 2. Kenneth S. Wherry (R)
Nevada 1. James G. Scrugham (D) 3. Patrick A. McCarran (D)
New Hampshire 2. Styles Bridges (R) 3. Charles W. Tobey (R)
New Jersey 1. William Warren Barbour (R), until November 22, 1943 Arthur Walsh (D), November 26, 1943 – December 7, 1944 Howard Alexander Smith (R), from December 7, 1944 2. Albert W. Hawkes (R)
New Mexico 1. Dennis Chávez (D) 2. Carl Hatch (D)
New York 1. James M. Mead (D) 3. Robert F. Wagner (D)
North Carolina 2. Josiah William Bailey (D) 3. Robert R. Reynolds (D)
North Dakota 1. William Langer (R-NPL) 3. Gerald Nye (R)
Ohio 1. Harold Hitz Burton (R) 3. Robert A. Taft (R)
Oklahoma 2. Edward H. Moore (R) 3. Elmer Thomas (D)
Oregon 2. Charles L. McNary (R), until February 25, 1944 Guy Cordon (R), from March 4, 1944 3. Rufus C. Holman (R)
Pennsylvania 1. Joseph F. Guffey (D) 3. James J. Davis (R)
Rhode Island 1. Peter G. Gerry (D) 2. Theodore F. Green (D)
South Carolina 2. Burnet R. Maybank (D) 3. Ellison D. Smith (D), until November 17, 1944 Wilton E. Hall (D), from November 20, 1944
South Dakota 2. Harlan J. Bushfield (R) 3. John Chandler Gurney (R)
Tennessee 1. Kenneth McKellar (D) 2. Tom Stewart (D)
Texas 1. Tom T. Connally (D) 2. W. Lee O'Daniel (D)
Utah 1. Abe Murdock (D) 3. Elbert D. Thomas (D)
Vermont 1. Warren Austin (R) 3. George Aiken (R)
Virginia 1. Harry F. Byrd (D) 2. Carter Glass (D)
Washington 1. Monrad Wallgren (D) 3. Homer Bone (D), until November 13, 1944 Warren G. Magnuson (D), from December 14, 1944
West Virginia 1. Harley M. Kilgore (D) 2. Chapman Revercomb (R)
Wisconsin 1. Robert M. La Follette Jr. (P) 3. Alexander Wiley (R)
Wyoming 1. Joseph C. O'Mahoney (D) 2. Edward V. Robertson (R)
House of Representatives
The names of representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
Alabama . Frank W. Boykin (D) . George M. Grant (D) . Henry B. Steagall (D), until November 22, 1943 George W. Andrews (D), from March 14, 1944 . Sam Hobbs (D) . Joe Starnes (D) . Pete Jarman (D) . Carter Manasco (D) . John J. Sparkman (D) . John P. Newsome (D)
Arizona . John R. Murdock (D) . Richard F. Harless (D)
Arkansas . Ezekiel C. Gathings (D) . Wilbur Mills (D) . J. William Fulbright (D) . William Fadjo Cravens (D) . Brooks Hays (D) . William F. Norrell (D) . Oren Harris (D)
California . Clarence F. Lea (D) . Harry L. Englebright (R), until May 13, 1943 Clair Engle (D), from August 31, 1943 . J. Leroy Johnson (R) . Thomas Rolph (R) . Richard J. Welch (R) . Albert E. Carter (R) . John H. Tolan (D) . Jack Z. Anderson (R) . Bertrand W. Gearhart (R) . Alfred J. Elliott (D) . George E. Outland (D) . Jerry Voorhis (D) . Norris Poulson (R) . Thomas F. Ford (D) . John M. Costello (D) . Will Rogers Jr. (D), until May 23, 1944 . Cecil R. King (D) . William Ward Johnson (R) . Chester E. Holifield (D) . John Carl Hinshaw (R) . Harry R. Sheppard (D) . John R. Phillips (R) . Edouard V. M. Izac (D)
Colorado . Lawrence Lewis (D), until December 9, 1943 Dean M. Gillespie (R), from March 7, 1944 . William S. Hill (R) . John Chenoweth (R) . Robert F. Rockwell (R)
Connecticut . William J. Miller (R) . John D. McWilliams (R) . Ranulf Compton (R) . Clare Boothe Luce (R) . Joseph E. Talbot (R) . B. J. Monkiewicz (R)
Delaware . Earle D. Willey (R)
Florida . J. Hardin Peterson (D) . Emory H. Price (D) . Robert L. F. Sikes (D), until October 19, 1944 . Pat Cannon (D) . Joe Hendricks (D) . Robert A. Green (D), until November 25, 1944
Georgia . Hugh Peterson (D) . Edward E. Cox (D) . Stephen Pace (D) . Albert Sidney Camp (D) . Robert Ramspeck (D) . Carl Vinson (D) . Malcolm C. Tarver (D) . John S. Gibson (D) . B. Frank Whelchel (D) . Paul Brown (D)
Idaho . Compton I. White (D) . Henry Dworshak (R)
Illinois . William L. Dawson (D) . William A. Rowan (D) . Fred E. Busbey (R) . Martin Gorski (D) . Adolph J. Sabath (D) . Thomas J. O'Brien (D) . Leonard W. Schuetz (D), until February 13, 1944 . Thomas S. Gordon (D) . Charles S. Dewey (R) . Ralph E. Church (R) . Chauncey W. Reed (R) . Noah M. Mason (R) . Leo E. Allen (R) . Anton J. Johnson (R) . Robert B. Chiperfield (R) . Everett M. Dirksen (R) . Leslie C. Arends (R) . Jessie Sumner (R) . William H. Wheat (R), until January 16, 1944 Rolla C. McMillen (R), from June 13, 1944 . Sid Simpson (R) . George Evan Howell (R) . Calvin D. Johnson (R) . Charles W. Vursell (R) . James V. Heidinger (R) . C. W. Bishop (R) . Stephen A. Day (R)
Indiana . Ray Madden (D) . Charles A. Halleck (R) . Robert A. Grant (R) . George W. Gillie (R) . Forest Harness (R) . Noble J. Johnson (R) . Gerald W. Landis (R) . Charles M. La Follette (R) . Earl Wilson (R) . Raymond S. Springer (R) . Louis Ludlow (D)
Iowa . Thomas E. Martin (R) . Henry O. Talle (R) . John W. Gwynne (R) . Karl M. LeCompte (R) . Paul H. Cunningham (R) . Fred C. Gilchrist (R) . Ben F. Jensen (R) . Charles B. Hoeven (R)
Kansas . William P. Lambertson (R) . Ulysses S. Guyer (R), until June 5, 1943 Errett P. Scrivner (R), from September 14, 1943 . Thomas Daniel Winter (R) . Edward Herbert Rees (R) . Clifford R. Hope (R) . Frank Carlson (R)
Kentucky . Noble J. Gregory (D) . Beverly M. Vincent (D) . Emmet O'Neal (D) . Edward W. Creal (D), until October 13, 1943 Chester O. Carrier (R), from November 30, 1943 . Brent Spence (D) . Virgil Chapman (D) . Andrew J. May (D) . Joe B. Bates (D) . John M. Robsion (R)
Louisiana . F. Edward Hébert (D) . Paul H. Maloney (D) . James R. Domengeaux (D), until April 15, 1944 . James R. Domengeaux (D), from November 7, 1944 . Overton Brooks (D) . Charles E. McKenzie (D) . James H. Morrison (D) . Henry D. Larcade Jr. (D) . A. Leonard Allen (D)
Maine . Robert Hale (R) . Margaret Chase Smith (R) . Frank Fellows (R)
Maryland . David Jenkins Ward (D) . Harry Streett Baldwin (D) . Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. (D) . Daniel Ellison (R) . Lansdale G. Sasscer (D) . James Glenn Beall (R)
Massachusetts . Allen T. Treadway (R) . Charles Clason (R)