Party divisions of United States Congresses have played a central role on the organization and operations of both chambers of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

—the Senate and the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

—since its establishment as the bicameral legislature of the

Federal government of the United States The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fe ...

in 1789. Political parties had not been anticipated when the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

was drafted in 1787, nor did they exist at the time the first Senate elections and House elections occurred in 1788 and 1789. Organized political parties developed in the U.S. in the 1790s, but political factions—from which organized parties evolved—began to appear almost immediately after the 1st Congress convened. Those who supported the Washington administration were referred to as "pro-administration" and would eventually form the Federalist Party, while those in opposition joined the emerging

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

.U.S. Senate: Party Divisions
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Party divisions by Congress

The following table lists the party divisions for each

. Note that numbers in boldface denote the majority party at that particular time while italicized numbers signify a Congress in which the majority party changed intra-term.

Partisan control of Congress

This table shows the number of Congresses in which a party controlled either the House, the Senate, or the presidency.

References

External links

U.S. Senate: Party Divisions

Office of the House Clerk: Party Divisions of the House of Representatives
{{USCongress, state=expanded, powersprivilegesprocedurecommitteeshistoryandmedia United States Congresses History of the United States Congress Political history of the United States United States history-related lists Democratic Party (United States)-related lists

Party divisions by Congress

Partisan control of Congress

See also

References

External links