82nd United States Congress

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82nd United States Congress
81st ←
→ 83rd

January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1953
Members96 senators
435 representatives
3 non-voting delegates
Senate majorityDemocratic
Senate PresidentAlben W. Barkley (D)
House majorityDemocratic
House SpeakerSam Rayburn (D)
Sessions
1st: January 3, 1951 – October 20, 1951
2nd: January 8, 1952 – July 7, 1952

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

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.[1]
  • 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.[2][3] The vote was condemned by the government of the Soviet Union and praised by the government of the United Kingdom.[4]
  • 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

Constitutional amendments

Treaties

Members of the Japanese delegation signing the Treaty of San Francisco.

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 49% 0% 51%
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

Senate President
Senate President pro tempore

Majority (Democratic) party

Minority (Republican) party

House of Representatives

House Speaker
Sam Rayburn
House Speaker
Sam Rayburn (D)

Majority (Democratic) party

Minority (Republican) party

Caucuses

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.

House of Representatives

The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.

Changes in membership

The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.

Senate

Senate changes
State
(class)
Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Kentucky
(2)
Virgil Chapman (D) Died March 8, 1951.
Successor appointed March 19, 1951, to continue the term.
Thomas R. Underwood (D) March 19, 1951
Michigan
(1)
Arthur Vandenberg (R) Died April 18, 1951.
Successor appointed April 23, 1951, to continue the term.
Blair Moody (D) April 23, 1951
Nebraska
(2)
Kenneth S. Wherry (R) Died November 29, 1951.
Successor appointed December 10, 1951, to continue the term.
Fred A. Seaton
(R)
December 10, 1951
Connecticut
(3)
Brien McMahon (D) Died July 28, 1952.
Successor appointed August 29, 1952, to continue the term.
William A. Purtell (R) August 29, 1952
Connecticut
(3)
William A. Purtell (R) Retired upon special election.
Successor
elected
November 4, 1952.
Prescott Bush (R) November 5, 1952
Kentucky
(2)
Thomas R. Underwood (D) Lost election to finish the term.
Successor
elected
November 4, 1952.
John Sherman Cooper (R) November 5, 1952
Michigan
(1)
Blair Moody (D) Lost election to finish the term.
Successor
elected
November 4, 1952.
Charles E. Potter (R) November 5, 1952
Nebraska
(2)
Fred A. Seaton
(R)
Lost election to finish the term.
Successor
elected
November 4, 1952.
Dwight Griswold (R) November 5, 1952
Maine
(1)
Owen Brewster (R) Resigned December 31, 1952.
Seat was not filled during this Congress.
Vacant
California
(3)
Richard Nixon (R) Resigned January 1, 1953, after being elected U.S. Vice President.
Successor appointed to continue the term.
Thomas Kuchel (R) January 2, 1953

House of Representatives

House changes
District Vacated by Reason for change Successor Date of successor's
formal installation[a]
Missouri 11 John B. Sullivan (D) Died January 29, 1951. Successor
elected March 9, 1951
.
Claude I. Bakewell (R) March 9, 1951
Kentucky 6 Thomas R. Underwood (D) Resigned March 17, 1951, after being appointed
elected April 4, 1951
.
John C. Watts (D) April 4, 1951
Pennsylvania 33 Frank Buchanan (D) Died April 27, 1951. Successor
elected July 24, 1951
.
Vera Buchanan (D) July 24, 1951
West Virginia 5 John Kee (D) Died May 8, 1951. Successor
elected July 17, 1951
.
Elizabeth Kee (D) July 17, 1951
Texas 13 Ed Gossett (D) Resigned July 31, 1951. Successor
elected September 8, 1951
.
Frank N. Ikard (D) September 8, 1951
Pennsylvania 14 Wilson D. Gillette (R) Died August 7, 1951. Successor
elected November 6, 1951
.
Joseph L. Carrigg (R) November 6, 1951
Maine 3 Frank Fellows (R) Died August 27, 1951. Successor
elected October 22, 1951
.
Clifford McIntire (R) October 22, 1951
Pennsylvania 8 Albert C. Vaughn (R) Died September 1, 1951. Successor
elected November 6, 1951
.
Karl C. King (R) November 6, 1951
New Jersey 9
Harry L. Towe
(R)
Resigned September 7, 1951, to become Assistant
elected November 6, 1951
.
Frank C. Osmers Jr. (R) November 6, 1951
Ohio 3 Edward G. Breen (D) Resigned October 1, 1951, due to ill health.
Successor
elected November 6, 1951
.
Paul F. Schenck (R) November 6, 1951
Nebraska 3 Karl Stefan (R) Died October 2, 1951. Successor
elected December 4, 1951
.
Robert D. Harrison
(R)
December 4, 1951
Kentucky 2 John A. Whitaker (D) Died December 15, 1951. Successor
elected August 2, 1952
.
Garrett Withers (D) August 2, 1952
New York 5 T. Vincent Quinn (D) Resigned December 30, 1951, to become District Attorney of
elected February 19, 1952
.
Robert T. Ross (R) February 19, 1952
New York 32 William T. Byrne (D) Died January 27, 1952. Successor
elected April 1, 1952
.
Leo W. O'Brien (D) April 1, 1952
Oklahoma 1 George B. Schwabe (R) Died April 2, 1952. Seat not filled during this Congress. Vacant
Wisconsin 7 Reid F. Murray (R) Died April 29, 1952. Seat not filled during this Congress.
Texas 7 Tom Pickett (D) Resigned June 30, 1952, to become Vice-President of the
elected September 23, 1952
.
John Dowdy (D) September 23, 1952
Oklahoma 2 William G. Stigler (D) Died August 21, 1952. Seat not filled during this Congress. Vacant
Massachusetts 2 Foster Furcolo (D) Resigned September 30, 1952, to become Treasurer and Receiver-General of Massachusetts.
Seat not filled during this Congress.
Michigan 11 Charles E. Potter (R) Resigned November 4, 1952, after being
elected U.S. Senator
.
Seat not filled during this Congress.
Illinois 7 Adolph J. Sabath (D) Died November 6, 1952. Seat not filled during this Congress.
Georgia 2
Edward E. Cox
(D)
Died December 24, 1952. Seat not filled during this Congress.
New York 2 Leonard W. Hall (R) Resigned December 31, 1952. Seat not filled during this Congress.

Committees

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.