The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931, to March 4, 1933, during the last two years of Herbert Hoover's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the 1910 United States census. The Senate had a Republican majority. The House started with a very slim Republican majority, but by the time it first met in December 1931, the Democrats had gained a majority through special elections. Major events Ongoing: Great Depression January 12, 1932: Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas became the first woman elected to the United States Senate. (Rebecca Latimer Felton of Georgia had been appointed to fill a vacancy in 1922; the 87-year-old Felton served one day as a senator.) Caraway had won a special election to fill the remaining months of the term of her late husband, Senator Thaddeus Caraway. She won re-election to a full term in 1932 and again in 1938 and served in the Senate until January 1945. July 28, 1932: Bonus Army was dispersed. November 8, 1932: United States elections, 1932: 1932 United States presidential election: Incumbent Republicans Herbert Hoover and Charles Curtis lost to Democrats Franklin Roosevelt as President, and John Nance Garner as Vice President. United States Senate elections, 1932: Democrats gained 12 seats for a 59–36 majority. United States House of Representatives elections, 1932: Democrats gained 97 seats for a 313–117 majority. Major legislation January 22, 1932: Reconstruction Finance Corporation Act, Sess. 1, ch. 8, February 27, 1932: Glass-Steagall Act of 1932, Sess. 1, ch. 58, March 23, 1932: Norris-LaGuardia Act, Sess. 1, ch. 90, June 6, 1932: Revenue Act of 1932, Sess. 1, ch. 209, June 22, 1932: Federal Kidnapping Act, Sess. 1, ch. 271, June 30, 1932: Economy Act of 1932, Sess. 1, ch. 314, July 21, 1932: Emergency Relief and Construction Act, Sess. 1, ch. 520, July 22, 1932: Federal Home Loan Bank Act, Sess. 1, ch. 522, January 17, 1933: Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act, Sess. 2, ch. 11, March 3, 1933: Buy American Act, Sess. 2, ch. 212, title III, Constitutional amendments March 2, 1932: Approved an amendment to the United States Constitution moving the beginning and ending of the terms of the president and vice president from March 4