*Party division totals are based on election day results.
Republicans resoundingly won control of both chambers of the 54th Congress (1895–1897) amid a deepening economic depression, but President Grover Cleveland’s fearless use of the veto, tempered the new majority’s ambition. A veto, for example, defeated an attempt to limit immigration to the literate. In response to Cleveland’s defense of the Monroe Doctrine, Congress approved an arbitration commission over the Venezuela-British Guiana boundary dispute. Congress also lifted the ban on former Confederate officials, soldiers, and sailors serving in the armed forces.
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To view complete lists of individuals who have served in these leadership and official positions since the 1st Congress, visit the People section
1Elected December 2, 1895.