The Democrats had greatly increased their majority in the House, and won control of the Senate, giving them full control of Congress for the first time since the 53rd Congress in 1893. With Woodrow Wilson being sworn in as president on March 4, 1913, this gave the Democrats an overall federal government trifecta - also for the first time since the 53rd Congress.
Major events
Inauguration platform being constructed on the east steps of the U.S. Capitol, ten days before Woodrow Wilson's March 4, 1913, presidential inauguration.
March 4, 1913: Woodrow Wilson became President of the United States.
March 9, 1914: The Senate adopted a rule forbidding smoking on the floor of the Senate because Senator Ben Tillman, recovering from a stroke, found the smoke irritating.
April 8, 1913: Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, establishing the popular election of United States senators by the people of the states, was ratified by the requisite number of states (then 36) to become part of the Constitution
Most senators were elected by the state legislatures every two years, with one-third beginning new six-year terms with each Congress. A few senators were elected directly by the residents of the state. 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, requiring reelection in 1914; Class 1 meant their term began in the last Congress, requiring reelection in 1916; and Class 2 meant their term began in this Congress, requiring reelection in 1918.
House of Representatives
Changes in membership
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of the first session of this Congress.
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.
Senate
Additional Accommodations for the Library of Congress (Select) (Chairman: Boies Penrose; Ranking Member: William J. Stone)